The Art of UNIX Programming

The current quote above ("When in doubt, use brute force") was retreived from the following book:

The Art of UNIX Programming

It's an interesting read (and free too!). It isn't a technical manual on how to write applications for the UNIX environment, but rather a philosphical approach for programming according to the (so called) UNIX philosophy.

The 17 rules are good rules to follow iregardless of the platform/language/environment that you work with. Also, the Interface Pattern page has a lot of insight on how to organise your tools. Make a number of small, flexible tools that can be used in conjunction to accomplish a number of tasks, instead of making a monolithic utility that tries to do everything itself.

I could go on & on, but instead you should go and check out the book for yourself. (Even if you're not a UNIX person)