- Covering all major platforms-Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, and Windows-this guide shows programmers and power users how to customize an operating system, automate commands, and simplify administration tasks using shell scripts - Offers complete shell-scripting instructions, robust code examples, and full scripts for OS customization - Covers shells as a user interface, basic scripting techniques, script editing and debugging, graphing data, and simplifying administrative tasks - In addition to Unix and Linux scripting, the book covers the latest Windows scripting techniques and offers a complete tutorial on Mac OS X scripting, including detailed coverage of mobile file systems, legacy applications, Mac text editors, video captures, and the Mac OS X Open Scripting Architecture