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Old 03-15-2019, 11:01 AM   #1
AnneRanch
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Linux for dummies?


I am discovering that Linux "open source" philosophy is NOT very helpful.
I seems that Internet is plastered with copies of long forgotten original source.

It really does not help if the original is "properly" referenced.

I like to have a solid , reputable printed resource about Linux OS.
Something similar to classic "K@R C programming language" book.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

PS
I do own "Linux device drivers" and found it very helpful.
 
Old 03-15-2019, 11:10 AM   #2
jsbjsb001
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnneRanch View Post
I am discovering that Linux "open source" philosophy is NOT very helpful.
I seems that Internet is plastered with copies of long forgotten original source.

It really does not help if the original is "properly" referenced.
Personally, I have little to no idea what you mean here, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm far from alone. You may want to give a better description. Perhaps some examples of exactly what you're talking about would help.

Quote:
I like to have a solid , reputable printed resource about Linux OS.
Something similar to classic "K@R C programming language" book.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.
Sure, buy a printer.

Quote:
PS
I do own "Linux device drivers" and found it very helpful.
Glad to hear it. Personally I've found the "Programming in C" by Stephen Kochan to be very helpful.
 
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Old 03-15-2019, 11:32 AM   #3
rtmistler
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The classic is "Linux in a Nutshell", by O'Reilly
"Linux Pocket Guide: Essential Commands", by Daniel J. Barrett
"The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction", by William E Shotts Jr
"Wicked Cool Shell Scripts", by David Taylor
"The Linux Bible", by Christopher Negus
"Linux Kernel Development", by Robert Love ***** One of my best books
"Embedded Linux Primer", by Christopher Hallinan ***** Another best book and probably my actual first Linux book
 
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Old 03-15-2019, 11:34 AM   #4
DavidMcCann
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You could search Amazon for "Linux", specify 4 stars average review, and look at the 900+ titles. Or you could just buy
UNIX and Linux system administration handbook / Evi Nemeth… 5th ed. Addison-Wesley, 2017.
 
Old 03-15-2019, 11:40 AM   #5
pan64
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the printed resources (books) will become obsolete exactly the same way as the mentioned "copies of long forgotten original source".
 
Old 03-15-2019, 11:55 AM   #6
scasey
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pan64 View Post
the printed resources (books) will become obsolete exactly the same way as the mentioned "copies of long forgotten original source".
Ish. I still use O'Reilly's "UNIX in a Nutshell" 2nd edition (1992) on occasion, but it's not at all helpful re: systemd, of course.
Still, I find the regexp, sed, and awk sections still work for me.

IMO one can't go wrong with O'Reilly books. I have "obsolete" copies of HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Perl and Bind, tho I almost never reference them any more. On-line resources and man pages have sufficed for me for several years now. w3schools.com is a great resource.
 
Old 03-15-2019, 12:32 PM   #7
pan64
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Oh yes, and you can still use even 20 years old source code sometimes. exactly the same way.
 
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Old 03-15-2019, 01:20 PM   #8
273
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pan64 View Post
the printed resources (books) will become obsolete exactly the same way as the mentioned "copies of long forgotten original source".
I still asert that any printed "manual" for any OS will, likely, be out of date once you find it. I did have (but, sadly, gave away) a "dictionary of C99 and C++" which, at the time I gave it to a colleague I di,kt realise was about to leave the company, actually worked quite well and was valid for a few years. Anything I tried to buy after that wasn't worth it.
 
Old 03-15-2019, 02:15 PM   #9
1nuxg33k
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All of the comments above are great suggestions. I often look for books on eBay or amazon although they might be dated they are still somewhat relevant. Man or info pages are useful. Various magazines for staying up to date with the changing tech.
Quote:
I like to have a solid , reputable printed resource about Linux OS.
website for said OS (Debian.com for example) is generally a good place for documentation.
 
Old 03-15-2019, 02:42 PM   #10
jefro
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Wow! Outstanding work there. "I do own "Linux device drivers" and found it very helpful."

Maybe we need to know more about what you want to know. Linux has kind of a lot of parts. Writing a driver may require a lot of knowledge about devices where as building a kernel may not for example.

Code does seem to stay online for a while. Helps to look at if you need it but many current projects have repo's that store any number of versions and code and notes.

Last edited by jefro; 03-15-2019 at 02:45 PM.
 
Old 03-16-2019, 09:59 AM   #11
fatmac
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Linux in a Nutshell

How Linux Works

The Debian Handbook - (also available as a free online pdf)

Learning the Vi Editor

Sed & Awk

These are the ones that I kept, after having acquired a sizable 'library'.

I also have kept some scripting books.

Classic Shell Scripting
Wicked Cool Shell Scripts
Learning Shell Scripting with Bash

I was going to learn Perl, but never got around to it.

Perl in a Nutshell
Learning Perl
Programming Perl
Perl Cookbook

Last edited by fatmac; 03-16-2019 at 10:02 AM.
 
Old 03-16-2019, 11:40 AM   #12
AnneRanch
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rtmistler View Post
The classic is "Linux in a Nutshell", by O'Reilly
"Linux Pocket Guide: Essential Commands", by Daniel J. Barrett
"The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction", by William E Shotts Jr
"Wicked Cool Shell Scripts", by David Taylor
"The Linux Bible", by Christopher Negus
"Linux Kernel Development", by Robert Love ***** One of my best books
"Embedded Linux Primer", by Christopher Hallinan ***** Another best book and probably my actual first Linux book
Thanks
how refreshing to actaully get an answer instead of a sermon.
I'll take "Linux in a Nutshell" and may report back after few weeks.
I think I have commands pocket book somewhere, but it may be lost...

Cheers
 
Old 03-16-2019, 12:10 PM   #13
cwizardone
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"Running Linux" was indispensable in my early days with Linux.
The authors were Matthias Kalle Dalheimer and Matt Welsh and it was published by O'Reilly. I don't know if it is still in print.
 
Old 03-18-2019, 10:57 AM   #14
ceantuco
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rtmistler View Post
The classic is "Linux in a Nutshell", by O'Reilly
"Linux Pocket Guide: Essential Commands", by Daniel J. Barrett
"The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction", by William E Shotts Jr
"Wicked Cool Shell Scripts", by David Taylor
"The Linux Bible", by Christopher Negus
"Linux Kernel Development", by Robert Love ***** One of my best books
"Embedded Linux Primer", by Christopher Hallinan ***** Another best book and probably my actual first Linux book
I must agree with rtmistler. I found Linux in a Nutshell and Linux Pocket Guide very helpful. Back then I used to take the pocket guide every where! Then I picked a Distro (Opensuse) and purchased the OpenSuse bible.

Good luck to you!
 
  


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