Running Linux

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Once a little-known productivity boost for personal computers, Linux is now becoming a central part of computing environments everywhere. This operating system now serves as corporate hubs, Web servers, academic research platforms, and program development systems. All along it's also managed to keep its original role as an enjoyable environment for personal computing, learning system administration and programming skills, and all-around hacking.This book, now in its third edition, has been widely recognized for years in the Linux community as the getting-started book people need. It goes into depth about configuration issues that often trip up users but are glossed over by other books.A complete, UNIX-compatible operating system developed by volunteers on the Internet, Linux is distributed freely in electronic form and at a low cost from many vendors. Developed first on the PC, it has been ported to many other architectures and can now support such heavy-duty features as multiprocessing, RAID, and clustering.Software packages on Linux include the Samba file server and Apache Web server; the X Window System (X11R6); TCP/IP networking (including PPP, SSH, and NFS support); popular software tools such as Emacs and TeX; a complete software development environment including C, C++, Java, Perl, Tcl/Tk, and Python; libraries, debuggers, multimedia support, scientific and database applications, and much more. Commercial applications that run on Linux range from end-user tools like word processors and spreadsheets to mission-critical software like the Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and IBM DB/2 database management systems. Running Linux has all the information you need to understand, install, and start using the Linux operating system. This includes a comprehensive installation tutorial, complete information on system maintenance, tools for document development and programming, and guidelines for network, file, printer, and Web site administration.New topics in the third edition include:

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. xi)
• Chapter 1 Introduction To Linux (p. 1)
• About This Book (p. 2)
• A Brief History of Linux (p. 4)
• Who's Using Linux? (p. 6)
• System Features (p. 8)
• Software Features (p. 12)
• About Linux's Copyright (p. 24)
• Open Source and the Philosophy of Linux (p. 26)
• Differences Between Linux and Other Operating Systems (p. 31)
• Hardware Requirements (p. 35)
• Sources of Linux Information (p. 40)
• Getting Help (p. 42)
• Chapter 2 Preparing To Install Linux (p. 46)
• Distributions of Linux (p. 46)
• Preparing to Install Linux (p. 49)
• Chapter 3 Installation and Initial Configuration (p. 56)
• Installing the Linux Software (p. 56)
• Post-Installation Procedures (p. 73)
• Running Into Trouble (p. 77)
• Chapter 4 Basic Unix Commands and Concepts (p. 91)
• Logging In (p. 92)
• Setting a Password (p. 93)
• Virtual Consoles (p. 94)
• Popular Commands (p. 94)
• Shells (p. 98)
• Useful Keys and How to Get Them to Work (p. 100)
• Typing Shortcuts (p. 101)
• Filename Expansion (p. 102)
• Saving Your Output (p. 104)
• What Is a Command? (p. 107)
• Putting a Command in the Background (p. 108)
• Manual Pages (p. 109)
• File Ownership and Permissions (p. 111)
• Changing the Owner, Group, and Permissions (p. 113)
• Startup Files (p. 116)
• Important Directories (p. 118)
• Programs That Serve You (p. 119)
• Processes (p. 120)
• Chapter 5 Essential System Management (p. 124)
• Running the System (p. 125)
• Booting the System (p. 128)
• System Startup and Initialization (p. 137)
• Single-User Mode (p. 145)
• Shutting Down the System (p. 145)
• The /proc filesystem (p. 147)
• Managing User Accounts (p. 149)
• Chapter 6 Managing Filesystems, Swap, and Devices (p. 159)
• Managing Filesystems (p. 159)
• Managing Swap Space (p. 175)
• Device Files (p. 179)
• Chapter 7 Upgrading Software and the Kernel (p. 183)
• Archive and Compression Utilities (p. 184)
• Upgrading Software (p. 194)
• Using RPM (p. 203)
• Building a New Kernel (p. 207)
• Loadable Device Drivers (p. 219)
• Loading Modules Automatically (p. 223)
• Chapter 8 Other Administrative Tasks (p. 224)
• Making Backups (p. 224)
• Scheduling Jobs Using cron (p. 231)
• Managing System Logs (p. 237)
• Managing Print Services (p. 240)
• Setting Terminal Attributes (p. 270)
• What to Do in an Emergency (p. 270)
• Chapter 9 Editors, Text Tools, Graphics, and Printing (p. 276)
• Editing Files Using vi (p. 276)
• The Emacs Editor (p. 286)
• Text and Document Processing (p. 299)
• Graphics (p. 317)
• Printing (p. 323)
• Chapter 10 Installing the X Window System (p. 331)
• X Concepts (p. 332)
• Hardware Requirements (p. 333)
• Installing XFree86 (p. 336)
• Configuring XFree86 (p. 339)
• Filling in Video Card Information (p. 349)
• Running XFree86 (p. 352)
• Running Into Trouble (p. 353)
• Chapter 11 Customizing Your X Environment (p. 355)
• Basics of X Customization (p. 356)
• The fvwm Window Manager (p. 363)
• The K Development Environment (p. 370)
• X Applications (p. 379)
• Chapter 12 Windows Compatibility and Samba (p. 394)
• Sharing Files (p. 395)
• Sharing Programs (p. 411)
• Chapter 13 Programming Languages (p. 419)
• Programming with gcc (p. 420)
• Makefiles (p. 431)
• Shell Programming (p. 440)
• Using Perl (p. 442)
• Programming in Tcl and Tk (p. 450)
• Java (p. 462)
• Other Languages (p. 468)
• Chapter 14 Tools for Programmers (p. 471)
• Debugging with gdb (p. 471)
• Programming Tools (p. 489)
• Chapter 15 TCP/IP and PPP (p. 514)
• Networking with TCP/IP (p. 514)
• Dial-up PPP (p. 533)
• PPP over ISDN (p. 541)
• NFS and NIS Configuration (p. 550)
• Chapter 16 The World Wide Web and Electronic Mail (p. 555)
• The World Wide Web (p. 555)
• Electronic Mail (p. 588)
• Appendix A Sources of Linux Information (p. 609)
• Appendix B The Gnome Project (p. 614)
• Appendix C Installing Linux on Digital/Compaq Alpha Systems (p. 625)
• Appendix D LinuxPPC: Installing Linux on PowerPC Computers (p. 642)
• Appendix E Installing Linux/M68K on Motorola 68000-Series Systems (p. 655)
• Appendix F Installing Linux on Sun Sparc Systems (p. 662)
• Appendix G LILO Boot Options (p. 671)
• Appendix H Zmodem File Transfer (p. 680)
• Bibliography (p. 689)
• Index (p. 703)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Lar Kaufman is a documentation consultant living in Concord, Massachusetts. He began writing about UNIX in 1983 and since then has written on System V, BSD, Mach, OSF/1, and now Linux. His hobbies include interactive media as art/literature, homebuilt and antique aircraft (he's a licensed aircraft mechanic), and natural history. Formerly a BBS operator, in 1987 Lar founded the Fidonet echoes (newsgroups) Biosphere and BioNews. He is currently leading a project to establish a global biological conservation network, using a Linux host as the mail, news, and file server.

is a computer scientist with research interests spanning many aspects of complex systems, including operating systems design, distributed systems, networking, and parallel computing. Matt is a long-time Linux advocate and developer, a role in which he has fielded questions from thousands of Linux users over the years. He was the original coordinator of the Linux Documentation Project and author of the original Linux Installation and Getting Started guide. He completed his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley and is currently a researcher at Intel Research Labs in Berkeley, and will be joining the faculty of the Computer Science department at Harvard University in July 2003.