Running Linux - Softcover

Welsh, Matt; Dalheimer, Matthias Kalle; Dawson, Terry; Kaufman, Lar

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0596002726 ISBN 13: 9780596002725

Publisher: O'Reilly Media, 2002

Synopsis

You're about to begin your first Linux installation. Or, you may have been using Linux for years and need to know more about adding a network printer or configuring for ADSL. Running Linux, now in its fourth edition, is the book you'll want to reach for. Widely recognized in the Linux community as the getting-started book that people need, it answers the questions and tackles configuration issues that frequently plague users, but are seldom addressed in other books.Running Linux has everything you'll need to understand, install, and start using Linux. The book doesn't draw the line at the OS, or the shell, or the GUI, or even at the point of essential applications. Rather, the authors, experienced Linux enthusiasts, have anticipated problem areas, selected stable and popular solutions, and provided clear discussions and instructions to ensure that you'll have a satisfying experience using Linux. The discussion is direct and complete enough to guide novice users while still providing the additional information experienced users will need to progress in their mastery of Linux.The fourth edition of Running Linux delves deeper into installation, configuring the windowing system, system administration, and networking. New topics include applications ready for prime time, basic security and firewalling, package management on Debian, sound configuration, ADSL, the GNOME desktop, the Postfix mail transfer agent, and the popular LAMP configuration that combines Apache, MySQL, and PHP. A solid foundation text for any Linux user, the book also includes additional resources for dealing with special requirements imposed by hardware, advanced applications, and emerging technologies. Whether you are using Linux on a home workstation or maintaining a network server, Running Linux will provide expert advice just when you need it.

About this title

Review

The Linux operating system has made a lot of progress in the past few years, and Running Linux has progressed right along with it to remain the single best general-purpose book for curious computer users who want to install, use, and enjoy Linux. The team of authors present a text that's simultaneously detailed and readable. Coupled with an inquisitive and capable reader, that's a recipe for success with the world's most popular open-source operating system. This new edition adds coverage of the GNOME desktop environment, the Apache/MySQL/PHP server suite, and the Postfix mail transfer daemon. It also covers core capabilities and behaviors of Linux through kernel version 2.4. There's better coverage of network security (including firewalling and ADSL link configuration), and coverage of how to set up audio-related hardware and software.

Perhaps best of all, this book conveys a sense of the "Linux attitude" as the authors see it. Linux, they say, is largely about experimentation, research, trial and error, and participation in a community. This comes in welcome contrast to books that focus on recipes (follow these steps to accomplish A; do these things to make your system do B). Though the authors of this book provide lots of how-to information, it's always presented with an eye toward further exploration. In explaining how to build the kernel, for example, the authors provide six concise steps as a reference, but then go on for several pages about designing makefiles and how to deal with error messages. This book's a treat. --David Wall

Topics covered: Assuming you know next to nothing about Linux, socially and historically as well as technically, this book teaches you what you need to know to make the operating system meet your desktop and server computing requirements. Coverage takes you from preparing to install Linux (in a multi-OS environment if you wish), continues through system administration and the most useful applications (like TeX and Internet clients), and proceeds to cover programming tools and server daemons (notably Apache, MySQL, and PHP). The coverage is mostly generic, but peculiarities of Red Hat, SuSE, and Debian get attention, too.

Book Description

A Distribution-Neutral Guide for Servers and Desktops

About this edition

• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0596002726
• ISBN 13: 9780596002725
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 696