Mave Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 i have recently installed linux and i started to discover the desktop and all other stuff in this cool OS... problem is that i think i want to know more.. if its an Open source OS then i will want to learn more than just the basics..... what kinda books would you recommend me to read so i can master it? i want a book that can teach everything from drivers installing to all unix commands tutorials and stuff like that thanx in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kongit Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 the internet is the best source for information because it is usually up to date. Books are good and can be viewed elsewhere, but most of the time they are slightly out of date with the newest software. I have a book called "The Complete Linux Reference, 4th edition" I got it at a used book store for about $8. It is a little out of date, but the fundamentals presented in it still mostly hold true. This book might have a 5th edition, but I didn't really try looking for this book, it found me while I was looking for a book about c programming, which I also found for rather cheap. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKer Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I'de alway recommend the O'Reilly books - http://www.oreilly.com/ - as they aren't afraid to go into detail about things and on the most part they are well written. If you're at Univeristy there should be quite a few available from your library, if you have a substantially sized CS department, otherwise you should be able to get cheap copies off eBay, as many people get these books expecting an easy ride, when unfortunately there is a steep learning curve when you get beyond using automatic scripts/GUIs and also if you choose to get into into serious development, but the rewards are great, as there is a good demand for people who are knowledgable in OSS. Also consider a certification if you want to boost your employment chances by a huge amount, SUSE and RedHat have excellent courses, but be warned learning a distro other than RedHat/SUSE will mean that you are learning different environments with different filestructures and ways of doing things, so I'de always recommend one of the two, you don't want to be having to re-learn half the techniques when you get to a real world situation. For a home desktop Debian/Gentoo/Slack is great but I'de at least run some virtualisation software (e.g. VMware) so you can do your learning on SUSE/RedHat. A good start would be http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1593270348/ as it's non techical and aimed at people who want to learn the basics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniacid Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Also which Distro you using? I'd also recommend Red Hat 9 Bible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixSixSix Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 i want a book that can teach everything from drivers installing to all unix commands tutorials and stuff like that try Redhat Manuals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwolfe Veteran Posted March 18, 2004 Veteran Share Posted March 18, 2004 I went into the local neighborhood Barnes & Noble bookstore, went to their UNIX/Linux section, and opened up and browsed several different books until I found one that started at my level, and covered the more advanced features I wanted to learn (and with the detail I wanted). It was (and I am going to paraphrase the title, since it is at home right now) "Red Hat Professional Secrets Unleashed", or something like that. I remember the "secrets" part, because I found it amusing as there are no secrets in Open Source Software! ;) But, it covered configuring servers, networks, security, and some other topics I am not very familiar with. While the web is a good place to search for items, I still prefer (and recommend!) people go out and spend the $30-$60 to get a good book or two. My presonal recommendation is to AVOID buying a book that consumes a large portion by just printing out the 'man' pages. Learn the processes and methods of Linux in a book, and just type 'man xxxxx' in a shell to find the specifics. Any book that contains man page printouts is a waste of space/time/money. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mave Posted March 20, 2004 Author Share Posted March 20, 2004 thank you all for this. i know what i want now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banzai Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 i have recently installed linux and i started to discover the desktop and all other stuff in this cool OS... problem is that i think i want to know more.. if its an Open source OS then i will want to learn more than just the basics..... what kinda books would you recommend me to read so i can master it? i want a book that can teach everything from drivers installing to all unix commands tutorials and stuff like thatthanx in advance red hat in 24 hours it applys to all linux os's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwolfe Veteran Posted March 20, 2004 Veteran Share Posted March 20, 2004 red hat in 24 hours it applys to all linux os's For the most part, it will... However, they will have sections on using the 'RedHat' tools to set up your system. These tools don't exist in other distros. I have two 'RedHat' books, and two 'distro independant' books. Mave, you never told us what distro you are running... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revvo Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 In my collection of O'Reilly books, I have Running Linux and Linux in a Nutshell (both are the latest, 4th edition) and let me tell you this, the combination of these two books is deadly! Running Linux: great book which goes in depth on how to install, run and configure basic elements of linux like networking, printers n samba. It does more than just "throw you the code". It explains how everything they give works so you actually understand what you're doing. Linux in a Nutshell: THE reference book to have. O'Reilly books that are "in a nutshell" shouldn't be considered to be used for learning. These books (... in a nutshell) give everything possible with brief explanations. (check out table of content on their site) Any book that contains man page printouts is a waste of space/time/money. Partially true. Although you have the manual comming with any distro, books that usually print out information similar to man pages cover more than just commands. There are obviously many other great books but I only get O'Reilly and SAMS books so I wouldn't know about other editors/authors although I know that course.com books suck major schlongs cause they tend to give you something and not really explain it so you have to dig in other places to understand AND its full of typos (very unprofessional). I've said it before and I'l say it again, best source of help is what we have available in the internet: IRC (irc.freenode.net for one), Forums (LinuxQuestions.org is great) last but not the least, GOOGLE. It's a pain to search sometimes in google but you will always find helpful information just by going thru the pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyro Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 nOObs .. please dont learn linux ... if u all learn vi , nano , df-h , named.conf settings.. apache hhtpd.conf, zones files, sendmail , vpop , qmail , tripwire setting, smoothwall , bash, innittab, nmap, ntsysv, xinetd, service start stop restart, ifup down, vnc, kernel compiling, kernel pacthing, module loading-unloading, ps -ef, ssh , and all the small things i learned from a institute... paying a load of money and sleepless nights .... what will i earn, i will go without food and on neowin all day again .. or playing ping pong .. please dont kick my stomach by learning nOObs .. play with the sweet little windoze and keep the tux work for us guys... please ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordHatrus Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 nOObs .. please dont learn linux ... if u all learn vi , nano , df-h , named.conf settings.. apache hhtpd.conf, zones files, sendmail , vpop , qmail , tripwire setting, smoothwall , bash, innittab, nmap, ntsysv, xinetd, service start stop restart, ifup down, vnc, kernel compiling, kernel pacthing, module loading-unloading, ps -ef, ssh , and all the small things i learned from a institute... paying a load of money and sleepless nights .... what will i earn, i will go without food and on neowin all day again .. or playing ping pong .. please dont kick my stomach by learning nOObs .. play with the sweet little windoze and keep the tux work for us guys... please ..... We welcome newcomers to our truly open community... erm, are you trying to get someone to flame you? I say only to those who do... YHBT. YHL. HAND. < "You Have Been Trolled. You Have Lost. Have A Nice Day" for those who dont speak USENET .... > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyro Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 We welcome newcomers to our truly open community...erm, are you trying to get someone to flame you? I say only to those who do... YHBT. YHL. HAND. < "You Have Been Trolled. You Have Lost. Have A Nice Day" for those who dont speak USENET .... > i am trying reverse psychology here... when u tell them dont do this ... they do it :D ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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