Practical, in-depth knowledge of the system programming interfaces that drive the UNIX and Linux kernels
Building on W. Rich Stevens’ pioneering work, this third edition of the classic was updated by Steve Rago, a colleague of Stevens, to reflect technical advances and best practices aligning with Version 4 of the Single UNIX Specification.
This edition covers more than seventy interfaces including:
POSIX asynchronous I/OSpin locksBarriersPOSIX semaphores
Steve carefully retains the spirit and approach that have made this book so valuable, starting with files, directories, and processes, carefully laying the groundwork for more advanced techniques, such as signal handling and terminal I/O. And he thoroughly covers threads and multithreaded programming, and socket-based IPC.
Filled with examples, case-studies, and access to thousands of lines of downloadable code, Advanced Programming in the UNIX® Environment has helped generations of programmers write code with exceptional power, performance, and reliability.
From the Publisher

Learn with Code, Examples & Case Studies
As in previous editions, you’ll learn through examples, including more than ten thousand lines of downloadable, ISO C source code. More than four hundred system calls and functions are demonstrated with concise, complete programs that clearly illustrate their usage, arguments, and return values. To tie together what you’ve learned, the book presents several chapter-length case studies, each reflecting contemporary environments.
Publisher : Addison-Wesley Professional
Publication date : May 14, 2013
Edition : 3rd
Language : English
Print length : 1032 pages
ISBN-10 : 0321637739
ISBN-13 : 978-0321637734
Item Weight : 3.66 pounds
Dimensions : 7.4 x 2.5 x 9.1 inches
Part of series : Addison-Wesley Professional Computing
Best Sellers Rank: #270,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #4 in Unix Programming #20 in Unix Operating System #28 in Computer Operating Systems (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (254) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
13 reviews for Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment, 3rd Edition
Add a review
Original price was: $69.99.$51.93Current price is: $51.93.


Amazon Customer –
Enjoyable guide to Advanced Unix
A classic! Nicely updated. I bought it for the C style used in the examples. Fortunately, they are readable on the iPad Air. In some titles the examples are just 8×8 bit maps, and worthless. It’s a nice easy intro into more advanced programming. Beware, the first chapter is mostly a review of Unix history and standards, which I found almost lethally boring, maybe others find it interesting. I consult this edition when revisiting an area I don’t use every day, knowing It will give me a solid base to elaborate on.
Momi H. –
Awesome gift idea
Was a gift and l never heard if the person who received it liked it or not. At any rate l thought it was a great gift.
Ronny –
… for two years (four times) and I am very happy with it
I have been teaching a course in advanced Unix based on this text for two years (four times) and I am very happy with it. It is thorough, clearly explaining the main features while drawing attention to possible problems and pitfalls. It is a bit hefty, but one need not cover it all in a course. I choose chapters 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 15, 16, 18, 14, 11, 12 and then go off to show shell scripting, which is not covered in this book.
LV –
Makefile and GCC experts will find their way through the book easier than for others
The book does not tell you that you have to compile the examples to create a bunch of custom libraries that all the examples in the book will use (remember that). The README file in the source folder is the only place that mentions it shortly. After you have done that in order to compile the examples of the book don’t even try to just follow the text that tells you type: cc filename. Something that simple will not work of course, there is a reason Java exist, so for the real gcc instructions to compile you will have to take a look at the makefile included in the source folders. Of course you could just run make directly in each folder but there is a lot to learn from the documentation of the many gcc flags that are used in those makefile. I bumped up the book one star now that the examples seem to be working. I will try to append to that review later, once I get closer to the end 🙂
Pooja –
This is book can be used as a refresher and a good purchase if you deal in Unix on a regular …
As an advanced programming book, this book covers a lot of topics. This is book can be used as a refresher and a good purchase if you deal in Unix on a regular basis.
Vishal Kasliwal –
Is there abetter UNIX book?
Read this – cover to cover. This is simply the best book on UNIX out there. If you use Linux, pair this with ‘The Linux Programming Interface’ by Michael Kerrisk. My only gripe with this book is that they’ve dropped the hardcover from this edition and now it comes only in a soft-cover version. For a book like this, having a sturdy hardcover is a must because a softcover will just wear every time you pull this book out until the pages are dog-eared.
LT –
Excellent book
An excellent book as a daily reference for a system programmer in a semiconductor design and manufacturing plant. Both this and the second edition are the best Unix programming books I have ever used.
Flyboy152 –
Absolute must-have for any serious Unix developer
This book has it all. Threads, sockets, IPC, and everything else you need to know to access the Unix/Linux OS features when programming in C/C++.
Boris –
All good.
Mr jain –
The book content is good. It expect an user level familiarity to unix Or linux.It teaches programming and using tools in unix/ linux
Kenneth –
Book came in great condition.The source code can still be compiled and use in modern Linux systems.You can also substitute deprecaded libraries with near one and use the same code.I’ve gone through have the first chapter and I have learned a lot.It lives up to the standards of W. Richard Stevens from whom I read the TCP/IP Illustrated.
ramses –
Prodotto secondo le aspettative
Amazon Customer –
The book is extremely well organised and extremely clear in explaining all the different concept. Extremely recommended if you want to really understand what’s happening under the hood.