Slackbook - New release mid 2009
 

Hopefully it will be ready, when it's ready,.

But still: I'm willing to buy some linux/slackware stuff on paper, since the PDF-printout isn't that comfy,.. and kinda older ( not to say outdated ) and I'd like to contribute/donate to the development of slackware.

Currently at 12.2 with 13 on it's way (in 32 and 64 bit ), I wonder..




PS:
I Know, I could buy some T-'s, but I'm not into T-'s. And, 'Aufkleber/Decals/Stickers' aren't at avail or to the benefit of Slack'

There is considerable debate as to the usefulness and long-term manageability of a project like the Slackbook. Many people, myself included, think the community would be much better served adopting a modular system like a Wiki as the official source of documentation, rather than a monolithic document that goes 5+ years without an update.

That aside...was there a question being posed here, or were you just commenting on the fact that there is apparently efforts being made to revise the document?

I think you mean this forum ;)

Yes, it was announced on alt.os.linux.slackware about a year ago.

I would also be happy to see a new edition. The current one is already an excellent primer for using Slackware from the command line.

I say you make an official wiki and see which one comes out better.

I first read the slack book before I installed slackware 12.0. It taught me a lot; and I thought it was very informative and relevant to slackware at the time. Even though the slack book has apparently not been updated in some time, I can tell you that it is still very useful. I still refer to it from time to time.

I would very much like to see a new version of the slack book.

Of course, an official wiki would be very nice also.
These are not mutually exclusive, however. Having both would be ideal imo.

Though wikis are a great tool, what worries me about them is that being 'online' resources, if the site ever goes away (for whatever reason) all that knowledge is lost). Using a wiki to help facilitate the writing of the slackbook probably makes sense, but there's no replacement for a book/pdf to consolidate all that knowledge which you can keep to hand.

Nothing beats printing the pdf... If you lift it 50 times a day you can even make some muscles =]

Keep the book, please.

SlackBasics is a very worthy competitor to the Slack Book. It's very well-written, it assumes no knowledge whatsoever, it covers a lot of material, and it's almost as short. It's also up to date (it mentions slackpkg, for example).

and it's also been translated to some languages
http://code.google.com/p/slackbasics-i18n/

@dugan on slackbasics

While it is more update than slackbook, it seems to be lacking in strait to the point slackware specific information. In fact it seems like just a good source of core linux foundations, the command line and system admin information. It's order is also completely useless for a first time slackware user (note first time slackware user not first time linux user).

More in particular try searching slackbasics for "startup" or "configuration". The only way to find out where start up files are located is if you happen to know that 'init' starts this stuff and that's not until chapter 19. In the slack book, this is all located in chapter 4. You can also find this out in slack book by searching for all 3 key words "startup" "configuration" and "initialization"

I don't doubt that slackbasics has a ton of useful information, but presentation of information is just as important. I just hope the new version of the slackbook will have a lot more information. There were a few times that I found all the right sections pertaining to my questions but never got an answer.

Thanks for the link though, it does look like a good source of information.

Hi,

I think Slackware® Basics and Slackware® Linux Essentials service a genre. Each contributes to the use of the OS. Sure one's order seems to service the needs of Slackware® but the other overall provides useful information to everyone.

It would be beneficial to everyone if the documentation was up to date. The problem is that everything is volunteer based and the distribution is a moving target. A wiki would be nice but that too would require attention from participants. I know that individual load on a wiki is large and the maintenance of the wiki can be very over powering. Take my word for that. :)

I think a wiki would be nice for immediate access if it was maintained to a '-current' and 'stable' mode of operation/information. It could have sub-categories or a layout that aligned to the functionality of the OS. Beginner, Intermediate and Guru levels of information would be best but to address would be very difficult to a world community. If you place definition links within the wiki then that will be distracting to users. Sure to annotate the words/reference(s) would be another means but that too can cause a lot of distractions.

I have given this a lot of thought about a 'Slackware®-wiki' and not along the lines of the current 'SlackWiki'. Which is a good resource. :) But a wiki that provides information in a manner to allow everyone utility for the OS.

The nice thing about having hard copy is that you have the information on hand. You would not have the problem as noted;

Sure a WikiMaster or WebMaster could grandfather copies so as to alleviate this type of problem. But some lose would still happen.

I am looking forward to the revised release of the book. :)

FWIW, I too would like to see the paper version of the Slackbook continue and be revised.
It is/was my hope that when Slackware-13 is released, the Slackbook would have been updated and available for purchase at that time too, facilitating purchase of a 'SlackPackage' box-set or whatever it's called, which includes the CD/DVD of your choice, plus the new book.

If this doesn't happen, I'll still be buying the DVD box release of Slackware-13, but will wait and buy the book separately if/when it's released in a revised format. (And if that is condemned to not happening, I'll eventually purchase the older Slackbook anyway; I like reading paper items.)

Sasha

Alan Hicks is interviewed on "Hacker Public Radio" #390.
The next Slackbook should be out "soon".

If anyone's interested in listening to the interview:
http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=0390

Thanks, wadsworth. That was a very interesting listen. Especially the part where he said he was waiting for the release of Slackware 13 before writing some sections.

And BTW, I'd been wondering what happened to MadPenguin's Slackers Bible. Turns out it'd been reborn as a wiki book:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Slackersbible

It's extremely incomplete. Being a wiki, of course, it is what we choose to make it. So the people who want a wiki Slackware book have (the beginning of) one.

Yes, I think that a pdf book is irreplaceable. I think it will take a lot of efforts to organize the random pages in wiki although it's good for online searching and editing.

Any word on when the printed book will be ready?

Nope.

The "beta" should be online here in a few more months. :)

Where there was 'mid 2009', it changed to a few months, which changed to the beta will be online in a few months. I guess; we'll have to wait a few months :)

Nothin new on alt.os.linux.slackware either.

I agree that the book is definitely easier for people new to Slackware to dive in on rather than a long page of links or a wiki. I just hope the updates can be more frequent in the future.

Perhaps the wiki could have a complementing purpose. Rather than trying to teach a new user all of the basics, perhaps the wiki could just be a concise executive summary of new things/issues going on with Slackware. There are a lot of good SW threads on LQ, but a regularly updated executive summary of the WIG (what is going on) in Slackware would be nice. And no, I don't just mean the Changelog. Concise and organized and simple, simple, simple.

Hi,

There have been several attempts at this very thing. Look at the Slackware FAQ as one example. Nothing saying you couldn't contribute or create something. Look at Linux Wiki here on LQ. Loads of information that is waiting for correction or appending.

It's always easy to suggest something. Jump in and help, I'm sure it would be appreciated by everyone.
:hattip:

EDIT: You might want to look at 'Linux Wiki > Slackware'. You could create or modify something that is linked on Slackware to point to your help or contribution(s).

Actually there also is the slightly more up-to-date http://slackwiki.org/. Which already has a bunch of Slackware related articles. I think the lqwiki has mostly links, which is nice, but I personally check slackwiki when I need a push.

The LQWiki Slackware FAQ is up to date. I've been maintaining it.

Hi,
I know! I used the FAQ as an example. 'shadowsnipes' idea could be incorporated in a wiki or linked list of some sort.
:hattip:

Publication Status
 

Any update on mid-2009 publication date?

I have been planning on it to see if Linux might provide an alternative for Win 98.

Member Response
 

Hi,
Look at the new: Slackware Doc Project

Plus Slackware Book(beta): http://slackbook.org/beta/#id342781

Printed copy is probably a long way off.
HTH!