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I am a web dev seeking deep knowledge of the Unix-style command line.

Please if anyone has a recommendation on any high quality courses avail. over the web respond to this thread.

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You probably want to pick a platform/distro; they each have quirks specific to the platform. FreeBSD is different from OS X is different from each of the Linux distros for certain tasks while being similar enough to confuse you. –  Bart Silverstrim Sep 21 '10 at 18:19
Second, I'd highly recommend you install a VM (VMWare Player, Virtualbox) and install a sandbox of the platform of choice in which to play around and learn. Makes it handy and convenient to roll back to a previous state using snapshots. –  Bart Silverstrim Sep 21 '10 at 18:21
As for online courses, I don't know any (which is why I didn't submit an answer), because personally the best way I've found to learn is a combination of playing with systems/VM's to create an actual server or workstation to use and looking for a couple good books for reference material at the local bookstore or Amazon. –  Bart Silverstrim Sep 21 '10 at 18:22
+1 @Bart... You'll learn a lot more actually using it rather than just reading about it, and VMWare is invaluable for helping with that. –  Andy Smith Dec 20 '10 at 1:03

2 Answers 2

I agree with Bart, you should be a little more specific and select a distro. A good source for various online trainings in linux, be it beginner to expert is


I use VMWare to install different platforms and I agree that it is the best way, being hands-on, to learn.

TrainSignal.com has great training, although not free. I have used it for various Windows products while simultaneous working on a virtual machine.

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If you're looking for a generic introduction to commonly-used tools (and how to pipe them together for awesome hackery), I highly recommend the Linux Phrasebook by Scott Granneman. It teaches individual useful commands and shows you how to build off of each to cover very common everyday tasks, making life easier. The book is 'pocket-sized' and only a couple hundred pages, but there's a lot of good info. Each topic/solution is at most a couple pages.

It is a book and not an online resource, but I personally have found it invaluable.

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