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Introduction to Linux: A Beginner's Guide
Whether you're just starting out with Linux or looking to hone your existing skills, this book will provide you with the knowledge you need. For new users, it is an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter. Advanced trainees can consider it a desktop reference, a collection of the base knowledge needed to tackle system and network administration. To help you work more effectively with Linux, this book contains hundreds of real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. These examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and feel encouraged to try out things on your own.
- GenresNonfiction
251 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2004
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37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 20, 2021
Quite outdated but still informative for a novice.
August 2, 2024
TL;DR: A great book to acquire your first linux concepts.
This is not for people that are not interested into the details of their OS. For everyone else, the book teaches some concepts and, most importantly, the "open source philosophy". I will expand my thoughts concerning the latter point, but, for a moment, let's be real: the book has some outdated part outdated. Plus, the general formatting and writing might not be as polished as commercial books. (I read the HTML file with lynx on a arch liveusb, the reading was great though) Hence, the book might not be the taste of everyone; fair take.
Although, this book brings much more than learning linux concepts. I have been a linux daily user since 3 years now. I come from a signal processing background so the computer usage in my professional life, academic btw, is "in the middle" of intermediate power user and Matlab on Windows, huge gap. I only had one courses on linux, 10h, I did not attend ... Also, I have an important interest to computer on my freetime. Notably, I develop often some crappy stuffs, fix "apt remove python" for a colleague (I'm looking at you Bob), host a seedbox on a VPS, use vim-motion, advanced level in docker for dev env etc.. In short, I know some stuffs but I am nowhere close of a system programmer or admin. Most of my knowledge is poorly structured. I search on the internet, or, worse, with ChatGPT when a man page is too technical. My understanding is foggy and lacunar.
This book teaches me how to read a manual page, how to stop relying on a web browser to get some help. The book's content, references and writing is in the "open source philosophy". The reader is invited and set in such position that they should open a terminal while reading this book. The author explain enough that we can have the tools to search further. Most of my pending linux questions got an answer. Now I feel like that I can dig the archwiki pages, for instance.
By extension, I think it's an invaluable document for the linux community. I might be wrong but a high quality book would not teach the same thing. The very nature of a self contained book would not teach how to get the information by yourself.
This is not for people that are not interested into the details of their OS. For everyone else, the book teaches some concepts and, most importantly, the "open source philosophy". I will expand my thoughts concerning the latter point, but, for a moment, let's be real: the book has some outdated part outdated. Plus, the general formatting and writing might not be as polished as commercial books. (I read the HTML file with lynx on a arch liveusb, the reading was great though) Hence, the book might not be the taste of everyone; fair take.
Although, this book brings much more than learning linux concepts. I have been a linux daily user since 3 years now. I come from a signal processing background so the computer usage in my professional life, academic btw, is "in the middle" of intermediate power user and Matlab on Windows, huge gap. I only had one courses on linux, 10h, I did not attend ... Also, I have an important interest to computer on my freetime. Notably, I develop often some crappy stuffs, fix "apt remove python" for a colleague (I'm looking at you Bob), host a seedbox on a VPS, use vim-motion, advanced level in docker for dev env etc.. In short, I know some stuffs but I am nowhere close of a system programmer or admin. Most of my knowledge is poorly structured. I search on the internet, or, worse, with ChatGPT when a man page is too technical. My understanding is foggy and lacunar.
This book teaches me how to read a manual page, how to stop relying on a web browser to get some help. The book's content, references and writing is in the "open source philosophy". The reader is invited and set in such position that they should open a terminal while reading this book. The author explain enough that we can have the tools to search further. Most of my pending linux questions got an answer. Now I feel like that I can dig the archwiki pages, for instance.
By extension, I think it's an invaluable document for the linux community. I might be wrong but a high quality book would not teach the same thing. The very nature of a self contained book would not teach how to get the information by yourself.
January 21, 2008
This is THE best book for novice Linux users. Forget "Linux for Dummies", and get this one.
August 18, 2012
Good introduction to page through.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews