Sams' Teach Yourself Linux in 24 Hours

Sams Teach Yourself Linux in 24 Hours is a tutorial aimed at making the Linux beginner more effective and productive users of the operating system. Most books in this category are more of a general reference in nature and are designed to cover Linux in general. Well, every Linux distribution is different - file locations can change, commands can be a little different, etc. This means the readers of those books may not find answers specific to their installation. This book will use the effective Sams Teach Yourself format to instruct the reader how to: install the operating system, configure their hardware, and effectively use the tools that come with the Red Hat distribution included on the CD-ROM.

• Learn how to install Red Hat Linux by walking through an easy to follow hardware configuration
• Understand how to use Linux commands, configure your network and servers and manage users of your system
• Discover the power of X(TM) Windows
• The CD-ROM delivers Red Hat Linux V5.0--a $49.95 value-- complete with source code

While this guide won't make you an expert in Linux, it will explain how to get Red Hat Linux to work and how to do basic things with it. Organized into 24 lessons that take about an hour apiece, this book helps you ensure that your system can handle Linux and walks you through the process of installing Red Hat Linux and the Xfree86 windowing system. Ball's coverage of installation is rather weak, through paying only cursory attention to this confusing process. From there, however, Ball hits his stride in detailing the ins and outs of file-system commands, shells, Internet connections (by PPP), various Internet tools, and administration. For example, in the lesson on graphics programs, Ball explores the most popular graphics program of recent memory: the GNU Image Manipulation Program, affectionately known to its users as the GIMP. Similarly, he covers the popular but cryptic Emacs in his lesson on text editing. In brief, this book introduces you to Linux and the world of Unix tools in a palatable, easy-to-follow way. --David Wall