LINUX, Second Edition: Installation, Configuration, and Use
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Spotlight Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 4.29Customer Rating: 5
Summary: Solid introduction for serious user
Comment: I think anybody who wants to install and use linux from scratch (ie, not just a distro) will get a lot from this book. It starts with info about theory, disk geometry and partitioning, then launches into installation. By the time you've gotten through the first few chapters and have actually installed linux, you'll have a good working knowledge of running linux (including compiling kernels and configuring X manually; and also knowing typical "newbie" FAQs, like how to find "missing" libraries when trying to install a new program).
One gripe: the PPP and internet setup stuff doesn't happen until near the end of the book, for no apparent reason (ie, it could have been in the first part of the book). I think a lot of people would benefit having internet access as soon as linux is installed!
Emacs gets a whole configuration and usage chapter (and there's a good "auto config" file on the cd for those who want to get to work with emacs immediately).
Another chapter is devoted to LISP; and yet another to Tck/Tl. Keeping in mind that whole books have been written on these topics alone, these chapters can prove useful to a linux beginner.
(I recommend Beginning Linux Programming for a better grounding in these topics.)
You won't get much info on X apps, though (Kofler tends to concentrate on outdated and/or console tools: even the emacs info doesn't assume XEmacs), or windows managers (some info there, but I don't think he's a big X Windows fan!).
However, most of what's in this book is stuff you *really* need to know, and you'll appreciate it the first time you trash X and can't get to your spiffy X tools.
Customer Rating: 5
Summary: This book will enable you to function with Linux!
Comment: The title says it. Here is 772 pages that will give you control over Linux installation, configuration, and use. It's loaded with insightful tips, useful guidance, and the fruit of years of competent use.
Some computer books and manuals actually are penned by tech writers under the aegis of an alleged expert. Many of these are near useless. Some others are hard to understand not because the subject inherently is so, but because of lack of thorough understanding on the part of the author, or poor writing. Kofler's book is among the few that rise way above this. He genuinely knows this subject, extremely well and with depth, and he knows how to communicate that knowledge in writing. After looking over many Linux texts on the commercial shelf, my picks would be this one by Kofler, and for more detail, the 2000 page Complete Reference by Purcell. Lots of valuable info also on the internet, but this book is a must on my shelf!
Customer Rating: 5
Summary: Great Book...!
Comment: I bought this book along with O'Reilly's Running Linux. Between this book and the O'Reilly book, there really isn't any info I can't find. Between these two books, I've got a really good handle on the Linux operating system. I'm running SuSE Linux 7.1 and these two books are more than compatible for this distribution of Linux.