When learning Java, how important is it to know Unix well?

Question

Other than the Java language itself, you have to learn the java framework. Similiar to how you have to learn the .net framework in addition to the language (C#/VB).

How important is it to know unix? Or rather, what unix areas should one focus on?

Seeing as many people run java based applications (desktop/web) on unix boxes, what sort of unix skills do you need? Are we just talking basic directory traversing, creating files, etc or is there much more to it?

Answer 1

The answer as read from Sun marketing material is that Java is cross platform, so you don't.

The practical answer is that you need to know enough to get your own application up and running on the platform where you plan to use it. Getting to know Apache or Tomcat configuration helps if you're working with web development, and so does knowing how to use the basic network analysis tools - the ifconfig, netstat and traceroute commands are all useful. File permission tools are also a must for getting a system working - look into chmod and chown and how those commands work.

Desktop systems have it easier, since most windowing systems are very good at working cross platform, but you still need to know a little bit about how the file system and permissions are structured.

Answer 2

Really, you don't need unix skills directly for writing java-based applications. However, if you want to develop java-based applications on unix boxes and deploy there, you want a good working understanding of how to operate and administer a unix box.

But for the areas you mention (directory traversing, creating files), you'll be using Java APIs that only occasionally touch on Unix-specific ("\n" vs "\r\n", directories rooted at "/", etc.) information. When they do touch, it's not something you need to know in a programming sort of way, it's something you need to know in a user/administrator sort of way.