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Old 11-22-2003, 05:05 PM   #1
mep]-[isto
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good books for slack or linux in general?


hi everyone, im really new to linux and slackware and was looking for a good book. doesnt have to be specific to slackware im presuming seeing as slackware seems to be so standard (good for it too!) so pretty much any linux book would help me, though if it does have a slackware twist that doesnt bother me.

im looking for a general overview of linux systems, just normal stuff like directory structuring, file system types, services on linux, how to configure certain aspects of a system like startup etc and how to get it done from command line mainly, if its some gui stuff thats fine but i dont want a book that relies on the gu ito do the hard work for me.

also, i dont want it to be TOO technical, id rather the book not assume i have a knowledge of linux, but then again i dont want it to be so slow it takes an age to read about simple things. might sound like hard criteria, its jsut that some books ive read either go far too fast and skip important detail or assume i know it (god knows why) or go so slow and labour over tiny things that really need only a brief explanation.

also id rather a real book and not an e-book, im not sure why i just like a proper book, specially if it goes wrong and i cant see the e-book! :P

i apologise if that sounds a bit direct and sharp, but id really like a good book that can really help me along and *understand* the linux system...not just know how to use it, as i intend (once i understand it enough) to install a nice, trim version of slack with just the command line on a slower p133 to do routing etc (network tasks basically)

thanks very much in advance for all your helpful advice (if i sound optimistic, i am..this forum seems tog et me answers whenever ive needed them before!)
 
Old 11-22-2003, 05:16 PM   #2
Peacedog
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hi mep]-[isto as to slack specific the slack book has been very helpful for me. it's here

http://www.slackware.com/book/

as far as a book proper, the sparkcharts unix addition isbn 1-58663-902-1
has been very helpful as well. it's not really a book, more of a reference chart.

i have to admit, the forums here have been by and far the most useful resource that i have found.
hope that helps, good luck.
 
Old 11-22-2003, 05:40 PM   #3
fancypiper
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# Good Linux books
Running Linux
Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition
 
Old 11-22-2003, 05:48 PM   #4
mep]-[isto
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cheers fella's, the slack book online does look pretty fancy..ill give it a try, shame they dont do it on paper :S ill give that o'reilly book a shot, is it newbie friendly would you say? or more in depth?
 
Old 11-22-2003, 05:52 PM   #5
Peacedog
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the sparkchart i refered to above is very user friendly. mainly just "cuts to the chase", so to speak. it's kinda like cliff's notes for unix/linux.
good luck.
 
Old 11-22-2003, 11:10 PM   #6
ringwraith
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I would second the recommendation of O'Reilly's Running Linux (4th ed). It starts you out from the basics. It is pretty easy to understand.
 
Old 11-23-2003, 02:20 PM   #7
Tinkster
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Neal Stephenson
"in the beginning ... was the command line"

More about philosophy on computing,
but very well written, :} insightful and
entertaining

Cheers,
Tink
 
Old 11-23-2003, 04:41 PM   #8
friendly_guy
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A book I found really helpful was "Rebel Code- Linux & the Open Source Revolution" by Glyn Moody published by Penguin Books. It is a general history of Linux & GNU & shows where all the parts of this wonderful jigsaw came from & how they fit together, something very bewildering at first.
It also helps to understand the philosophy of open source software & what the 'free' part of free software really means. It really is a must for any user of any distro.
 
Old 11-23-2003, 06:21 PM   #9
Scruff
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Linux System Administration- Marcel Gagne.

Excellent book. A great cover to cover read. Easy enough for the complete noob, but informative enough for an experienced user. You can read some of it at amazon.com to get an idea.

Also, to answer your question: the Slack book is very noob friendly. A must read for a new linux slack user. It will answer most of the first basic questions you would otherwise ask here

Last edited by Scruff; 11-23-2003 at 06:25 PM.
 
Old 11-23-2003, 09:37 PM   #10
php
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http://slackbook.yoshiwara.org.uk/
 
Old 11-24-2003, 05:26 AM   #11
DStar
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Quote:
Originally posted by mep]-[isto
cheers fella's, the slack book online does look pretty fancy..ill give it a try, shame they dont do it on paper :S ill give that o'reilly book a shot, is it newbie friendly would you say? or more in depth?
The Slackware Essentials book is a good book for basic stuff. It's fairly well written though the authors sometimes babble on about unimportant stuff. It's only the basics though, so ecpect to hit the Google pretty quickly, but it's a good introduction to Linux.

You can buy it on paper. I know because I did You can buy it from store.slackware.com and others.

Last edited by DStar; 11-24-2003 at 01:04 PM.
 
Old 11-24-2003, 08:06 AM   #12
mep]-[isto
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really o right i might jus do that :P

thanks all! think ill go for the slackware book on paper and the o'reilly running linux. hopefully give me some nice insight on it all, might go for the background on open source aswell...open source seems very interesting especially the history behind it all, should be an interesting read
 
Old 11-25-2003, 12:46 PM   #13
slaken
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I almost bought the Slackware Essentials book today, but as I started browsing I absolutely nothing interesting or "essential" in it. I wonder how long it would have taken to write it? As I'm not a Linux guru in and way (yet) I think I could be a potential buyer of that book, but as I said it contains nothing useful at all. Just a brief intro good for minor interested persons wanting to have something to read..
 
  


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