Running Linux, by Matthias Kalle Dalheimer & Matt Welsh (Fifth Edition)

One of the main problems for new Linux users is that there's so many different kinds of books on Linux. Walk into a bookstore and ask the first person with a name tag where the Penguin People go - and they'll point you in the right direction, as well they should. And when you get there, your choices are the book covers with bearded men on them (not something you may wish to fall asleep with in bed) and hopefully not too many books for Dummies. And then, as you run your fingers across an empty space, you realize that there is something that should be there. Something that is obviously missing, something that will be a distribution neutral guide for both servers and laptops. Maybe, for some reason, it has a man riding a horse on it. You can sense that something large is not on the bookshelf, and the way the other books look away furtively when you question them with your eyes, you know it must be good. It is good. It's called Running Linux, and I have been reading it over the last few days. With 906 pages of information, and a respectable weight, you can not only impress that geek you always wanted to ask out - when you've been rejected, you have something to do with your inner geek. Maybe some candlelight. Some mood music. Some caffeine in liquid form, and a place that you can read... near your keyboard, so you can try stuff out as you read it. Or, if your inner geek has died, it's a handy reference. Within, there are 4 Parts to the book, and below we'll delve into each particular section: Enjoying and Being Productive on Linux System Administration Programming Network Services

Part I: Enjoying and Being Productive On Linux

If you're new to Linux, the first part of the book which spans 9 chapters and 335 pages - more than 1/3 of the book is about having fun and being productive with the Linux operating system.

From the start, talking about the copyright of Linux and a summary of Free Software licensing. These are important aspects to understand, especially for people new to Linux. For the person concerned about the legal ramifications, such as related to SCO Group, there's a section on that which is factual and unpretentious. If your inner philosopher is with you, there's a section on Open Source and the Philosophy of Linux which is worth a read.

Unix folks, from Novices to the Gurus, are given a special welcome and introduction as well. Reading those sections is pretty good for anyone, I think, since it highlights some of the parallels of Unix and Linux ('*nix') as well as differences in the way some things work.

Preinstallation and Installation

If you're like me, you avoid these sections at all costs. 'Never read the instructions, it takes the fun out of it...' But after using Linux for about 7 years, I finally read the instructions.

It probably would have saved me some time.

Still, most new versions of Linux are pretty self-explanatory, with a flashy GUI that comes up and basically tells you what to do and what decisions you have to make. In advertising, they say that it 'walks you through', but the truth is that at least the first time (and more likely the first few times) it's a 'stumble-through'. The book makes it work as advertised (if read and understood in advance).

Resizing partitions on a machine with Microsoft Windows sets off alarms in almost every Windows user, as it should, but reading this section of the book will run some of those cold, prickly feelings off. The authors are even kind enough to give brief and accurate descriptions of disk partitions themselves, and the key differences between Windows and Linux in this regard. A spoiler: If you want both Windows and Linux on the same computer so you can switch back and forth, install Windows first. Windows has a greedy way of taking over a hard drive which doesn't leave Linux installations alone - something I have experienced in the past.

Oh, and if you're new to Linux - this even explains the choices you have for 'desktop environments'. If you're used to Windows, the fact that you have choices with Linux can be a big surprise.

Productivity and Games

The rest of this section is dedicated to productivity, games, and the basic Unix commands. Email, Internet Access, Multimedia, and my personal favorite: Games.

The productivity sections are pretty straightforward, giving the specifics on how to check your email and use office suites such as OpenOffice.org and KOffice. This includes synching to PDAs, and groupware, and managing your personal finances.

The game section is something I've been waiting for in a book; not that it has one but rather that it's pretty in depth - including both the games that run in Linux as is (natively) and the emulators which allow you to run games in Linux. The MAME section of the gaming chapter is worthwhile to anyone even semi-serious about running games on Linux.

The multimedia section chapter is really good, and goes not just into explanations but also gives some 'HOWTO' information that I have to go back and fiddle with if I ever get time.

If you're a novice, don't let the next two words in bold scare you off. You don't have to be a specialist to handle Linux...

Part II: System Administration

Once your system is running, you're OK. But if you do upgrade your computer, or you share your computer with someone else (yes, I have read that people do that...), or if your power supply goes and Linux has it's brain disconnected in the middle of a thought. Understanding the basics is good to know in advance, but even if you don't understand the basics when something bad happens, this section provides good reference. I do have to say, for clarity to new Linux users, that my non-beta Linux installations have rarely had problems, and when they did the problems were hardware related (I'm knocking on wood).

Mounting of drives is important to understand; everything under Linux is basically like a hard drive; it's treated basically the same. The book will help you understand this simple but different way of doing things.

Managing Users, Groups and Permissions is good to at least skim even if you're the only user of your system. Most new Linux users log in as 'root' all the time, which is generally a bad practice since 'root' allows you to do some serious damage unless you know what you're doing. Windows users are infamous for this, though I don't think it's a matter of Windows so much as the fact that most people aren't used to networked environments yet - they think that they are, but they aren't. This chapter explains a lot in not only the way to keep your new friend Linux happy and secure, but also explains how to keep your data happy and secure. At 336 pages, this section is very informative and a great reference.

Part III: Programming

OK. I admit it. This was my favorite section because a lot of the things I learned the hard way with Linux programming were explained easily so that a person knew to Linux wouldn't have the same troubles. In a proprietary software world, I would tell you not to read this chapter because you're potential competition. However, since this is Free Software/Open Source, I'm telling you to read it quickly and catch up so that you can collaborate with the rest of the community.

All the mainstream programming tools for C, Perl, Java and Python are covered, as well as some pointers to other languages, OpenGL programming, and integrated development environments. I *wish* I had read a section on 'Running A Web Server' before I fumbled through it like an adolescent at a movie, not to mention the email and FTP sections.

Only 119 pages are dedicated to programming, which is actually good. Programming isn't about reading, it's about doing, and this section should get a novice Linux programmer up and running quickly. For the programming-curious, it's a good section to look at as well.

Part IV: Network Services

The last 98 pages of the book are deceptive. A lot of the basic Network Services are actually covered earlier in the book under the guise of administration and even a smattering in the programming - but the core covers the Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP server well. Securing your system on a network (and the internet) is well written and perhaps an educational read even for the more experienced network folk.

The important backup and recovery section is a must read for anyone. Must. The networking and running of Windows applications is useful, especially as more and more Windows systems are getting replaced with Linux. The replacement with Linux isn't made possible just with good software - a large part of it is the documentation, and this book forms a respectable addition to the list of 'things to read' as well as 'books that should stay on the bookshelf for reference'. Conclusion If you use Linux, this is a book worth having for reference. At $31.47 right now, it's worth the investment for an operating system you can download at no cost. One of the failures of Linux has been that when the computer is crashed or your installation has a severe form of the hiccoughs or measles, you can't get online to check documentation (unless you have another computer!). This book is especially useful for new users of Linux, and as someone that considers himself an intermediate user, I can see that this book will be a good reference for myself in the future. The binding was something I was worried about, since the book will often be next to a keyboard - yet the weight of the book itself seems to help with keeping the pages open and on the right page (It may require some breaking in toward the front). The soft cover binding works on the book, and does not make the book an unwelcome distraction at the keyboard as many other books do. That's a big plus. And as a reference book written with the ease of reading of a novel, this book deserves the good review it got. My one complaint is that it doesn't come equipped with Lojack. I've had three people stop by and eye it suspiciously... So I may have to hide it. And when it comes to a book related to technology, that's something I look for. Get your own.