Review of Learning GNU/Debian Linux

ISBN 1-56592-705-2 Price £23.50 UK
Bill McCarty
13 Chapters, 6 Appendices, Glossary and Index in 323 pages

     1    Why Run Linux ?
     2    Preparing to Install Linux
     3    Installing Linux
     4    Issuing Linux Commands
     5    Installing and Configuring the X Window System
     6    Using the X Window System
     7    Configuring and Administering Linux
     8    Using Linux Applications
     9    Playing Linux Games
     10 Setting up a Linux-Based LAN
     11 Getting Connected to the Internet
     12 Setting up a Linux-Based WAN
     13 Conquering the Bash Shell

          Appendix A
            Linux Directory Tree
          Appendix B
            Principal Linux Files
          Appendix C
            The Debian Linux Files
            Alpha Systems
          Appendix D
             The Debian Package Management Utilities
          Appendix E
            Linux Command Quick Reference
            68000-series Systems
          Appendix F
            Open Publication Licence

Learning GNU/Debian Linux is about all of the awkward parts of the Debian system. The other books that have been written about the Debian distribution are not quite as helpful or comprehensive as this publication is.

You might well be the person in charge of a large network with just one Linux box which acts as a server ? You might never have even seen it ? You might also a be a home user ? There might be a day when you are asked to run downstairs to "sort out that damn machine" ? Then this book is for you. Although I don't know of anyone who has seen any Debian software which malfunctions. Only the hardware that it's on. In any case, there aren't many books about Debian which are much better :-)

The first chapter starts with the question "Why run Linux". This is a good place to start ? There is a short introduction to Linux at home and at work and an intro to what Linux is. Reasons to choose Linux or not choose Linux are discussed here as well. There is also an explanation of Linux resources on the internet.

Chapters two to seven give useful advice about installing Debian Linux and other help with initial and final configuration. The chapters on X-windows are particularly useful. Things lighten up a bit at chapter nine with a few pages about Linux games. There are many of them out there and quite a few are much better than anything anyone else can produce. Now that Loki games are producing stuff for Linux the entire world has changed around us. Civilisation Call to Power and Quake 3 are just the beginning.

Chapter ten starts with networking Linux across a Local Area Network, it gives some excellent examples. Getting connected to the internet by modem and network are next and in chapter twelve the Linux based WAN is discussed. Al of this is the sort of info that just isn't seen outside of an FAQ or Howto on the internet. Finally at chapter thirteen the configuration of the BASH shell is shown and discussed. The various appendices add to the quality and depth of the book. Without them some things could have been missed ?

The way that Bill McCarty writes his books is very helpful and the many diagrams and other graphical information that are available though out the book make for a style of technical writing which is only seen in O'Reilly books. There is a Debian CD in the back of the book so if your are just starting out his could be a good way to do it ?