The main text for this course is A Student's Guide to Unix, by Harley Hahn. I've ordered the black-covered second edition of Hahn through the bookstore. (If you have the blue-covered first edition, you may use that instead, but check with me: the chapter numbers are different and some subjects have been added.) This very engaging, fun book discusses Unix philosophy and many common tools and commands. It does not cover Unix internals and programmers' tools, so I expect you to learn about those through online documentation later in the semester.
I expect to give a few reading assignments in C by Dissection, by Kelley & Pohl, 3rd edition. This is the same textbook we're using in CSC 270, which most of you are taking concurrently. If you're not taking CSC 270, find somebody to borrow the book from. (If you have the 2nd edition, check with me; the chapter numbers are different.) I may also give some reading assignments on the World Wide Web, by email, or in magazines.
To be more specific, I want you to read most of the Hahn book before the midterm exam. This amounts to about a hundred pages a week. It's easy reading because the book is written in a light style, but you do need to keep up with the reading.
You are responsible for everything in the reading assignments, whether or not I discuss it in a lecture.