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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Unix Workbench by Johns Hopkins University

4.7
stars
1,333 ratings

About the Course

Unix forms a foundation that is often very helpful for accomplishing other goals you might have for you and your computer, whether that goal is running a business, writing a book, curing disease, or creating the next great app. The means to these goals are sometimes carried out by writing software. Software can’t be mined out of the ground, nor can software seeds be planted in spring to harvest by autumn. Software isn’t produced in factories on an assembly line. Software is a hand-made, often bespoke good. If a software developer is an artisan, then Unix is their workbench. Unix provides an essential and simple set of tools in a distraction-free environment. Even if you’re not a software developer learning Unix can open you up to new methods of thinking and novel ways to scale your ideas. This course is intended for folks who are new to programming and new to Unix-like operating systems like macOS and Linux distributions like Ubuntu. Most of the technologies discussed in this course will be accessed via a command line interface. Command line interfaces can seem alien at first, so this course attempts to draw parallels between using the command line and actions that you would normally take while using your mouse and keyboard. You’ll also learn how to write little pieces of software in a programming language called Bash, which allows you to connect together the tools we’ll discuss. My hope is that by the end of this course you be able to use different Unix tools as if they’re interconnecting Lego bricks....

Top reviews

SM

May 24, 2022

This course is extremly helpful and well designed for beginnner and working professionals with neat info. I strongly recomended this course. Thanks for mentors/authors with real time example commands.

RW

Apr 29, 2020

This is a very friendly step-by-step guide to Unix for beginners, it helps to build a solid foundation, and the exercises are designed to explore more about what has been introduced in the course.

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51 - 75 of 399 Reviews for The Unix Workbench

By Zhengguan L

Nov 20, 2018

Very good overall, I will give it 5 starts!!!

But small advice, since it is written in markdown, I hope we can use code blocks to make the keywords like unix command stand out which can help us easier to find it and give more clear context structure.

By Rodrigo

Nov 21, 2019

Very straight forward course that teaches you the basics of Linux, Git and Cloud. After this course Linux becomes easy to use and you can start learning more advance commands. I would recommend this course for those that want to start using Linux.

By Argha M

Oct 26, 2022

This course is very good for anyone who wants a brief introduction to the the Unix World and the "terminal". This course has step-by-step hands-on guide for better understanding. I recommend anyone who wants to know how Unix system really works.

By Vipul G

Jan 26, 2018

Not only the course covered the Linux from basic to advanced but also gave a brief insight on cloud computing as well as GitHub which proved essentially useful and practical giving it an edge industrially over other courses. Thanks Sean Kross! :)

By Darshankumar H

May 30, 2020

Very good course to learn all major topics of UNIX. This also focuses on GitHub and Cloud, which are really important for any developers. I really liked the given peer graded assignment, If possible please consider to add it in every week.

By widraugr

Jun 10, 2020

Давно хотел более подробно изучить Bash, и в этом достаточно не плохо помог этот курс. Очень понравилась последовательность подачи материала, темы связаны между собой. Единственное, хотелось бы видеть больше видео материала с примерами.

By Ben B

May 27, 2019

Excellent! Peer review was a great first experience, but very worthwhile to look at other's work after thinking hard about the problem myself. Very well structured - and I now feel confident on cloud computers, bash, and UNIX/GitHub.

By Steven B C

Apr 10, 2020

I am a retired broadcast engineer. I never worked in IT or programming, but I have used Linux at home for many years. This is a great course for Linux users that want to know more about Linux, Github and the cloud. Great course!

By Sunil S

Apr 24, 2019

Overall, the course was well structured and easy to understand. The mentors reply regularly to any questions posted in the discussion forums. A wonderful learning experience that introduces you to the command-line interface.

By Vladimir O

Oct 12, 2017

Thanks you for your curse, it was very helpful for me.

Plus: Classes about GitHub

Minus: Overview does not contain check that the script is working fine, I mean some scripts failed if a user tries to enter invalid information.

By Shahzaib K

Feb 14, 2023

peer-graded assignments are a bit nuisance especially when there is no one to check your assignment. Secondly, having free credits without credit card info is something we students always want. Else everything was PERFECT.

By Keenal S

May 11, 2020

I like how the discussion forum was so helpful and I was getting my questions answered within a day. The content is great, informative and to the point. The exercises and projects are great as well. Loved the course!

By sonam j

Dec 30, 2020

this course is very useful for upgrading your skills for UNIX & LINUX. but on the completion, I did not receive my certificate.

Instead it is asking to purchase the course and it is free of cost for my organisation.

By Nikolay M

May 15, 2018

Great introduction to get to speed fast. I didn't know anything about command prompt, terminal, bash and Git before starting the course, and I have mastered it after completing the course. Highly recommended.

By Marshall

Jan 9, 2020

My only complaint is that there are a few typos in the course instructions that are not in the e-book. Other than that, this is a great course for beginners that offers many suggestions for further learning.

By Jerome C

Nov 8, 2017

Very good class! I learned so much stuff about how to manipulate files, write scripts to automate actions on my "file explorer", and some basics about using a remote server. The course is very entertaining.

By Carlos A

Jan 2, 2018

Nice course to get started. Most of the time when you might think "hmm, but what if..." you just keep reading and you will get the answer. I liked the course format and the selected examples. Thank you :)

By Huy V

May 20, 2019

I really want to learn Unix and Git for a long time but I was struggled with finding a good resource to learn. Thanks to Coursera and John Hopkins University, this course gives me what i really expect to

By Srinivasulu M

May 25, 2022

This course is extremly helpful and well designed for beginnner and working professionals with neat info. I strongly recomended this course. Thanks for mentors/authors with real time example commands.

By Pieter F P

Jun 7, 2018

Very good course. I had a fair working knowledge to begin with, but the course expanded my understanding and skills to where I can actively apply them in my work. It comes highly recommended.

By Long H

Jan 31, 2023

A very good walk-through for newbies. Although there's no video lectures, I could easily follow the instructions and learn the most basic concepts about UNIX and Bash. Thank you JHU team <3.

By Dejan M

May 10, 2020

Even though I had some Unix background before, the course helped me to significantly improve my understanding of Unix. Thanks to whole team for providing this beautiful learning material.

By Juan M R

Aug 29, 2022

The course will allow you to have resourses in your technological stack. Very easy to follow and the way that teachers show you the course is very playfull and will you make angage on!

By Andrei K

Apr 17, 2020

I have warm feeling about this course. I received basic knowledge of unix commands, bash programming, Git tool. And practice lessons helped me to increase undestanding of this things.

By Ajeetkumar V

Dec 31, 2017

Nice content to get you started with Unix and it's power. It would have been good if it would have covered symbolic links and file structure. those are anyway covered in the book