ISBN:0130333514Amazon.com
The key difference between Microsoft Windows and UNIX is that Windows is meant to be easy to learn, while UNIX is meant to compensate for a steep learning curve by providing extraordinary flexibility to knowledgeable users. Linux: Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition is the best book on the market in terms of flattening that learning curve. The author, Paul Sheer, uses this book as the text for a class he teaches, and its instructional value is unquestionable. Rather than attempt to make analogies for the way things are done in Windows or in Mac OS, or try to satisfy readers' requirements with mere recipes, Sheer tries to inculcate his readers into the Linux way of thinking. The idea is that work gets done differently in Linux, and you have to get a few concepts clear in order to work effectively in the environment.
Take, for example, Sheer's discussion of the /etc/passwd file, which is at the core of user authentication. He provides a listing of a typical /etc/passwd file, then explains what each element on each line is for. This leads smoothly into a discussion of /etc/shadow, the shadow password file, and its capacity for hiding passwords behind a one-way hash algorithm. Sheer's prose is unfailingly clear and detailed, which is good because he's chosen to omit graphics altogether (which means, incidentally, that this book focuses on the command shell--bash, to be precise--and even the chapter on X Windows lacks screen shots). Aside from a few weird typographical choices (a tiny picture of a penguin invariably follows the word "Linux" in body text, for example), this is a faultless book. The CD-ROM contains a comprehensive HTML copy of the paper book--every last paragraph and table appears on the disc. --David Wall
Topics covered: How to be a competent Linux user, familiar with the command line, key utilities like "sed," and important related skills like C programming, shell scripting, and regular expression creation. There's coverage of server software--notably HTTPd, Sendmail, and Exim--and coverage of the PostgreSQL server./p>
Reviews From AMAZON.COM
The best book on the subject
The best Linux book, period.
Be careful -- some of this info is outdated
The only reason I gave this book three stars is that most of this info regards GNU/Linux systems that are running a 2.2 kernel. The book points out in its text that the 2.4 kernel is upcoming. As I write this, the 2.4 kernel has been around for years now, and the 2.6 kernel (non-testing) is on its way. Likewise, some non-kernel material is also *completely outdated* (sound card configuration and NFS spring to mind). This book doesn't even mention kudzu, which is the bread & butter of RedHat, Knoppix, Mandrake, etc. Another way to put this: if kudzu can't autoconfigure your ISA hardware, this book may help.
However, the material in this book which is still relevent is worthwhile. If the author releases an updated edition, I'd be very tempted to buy it.