While the
Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide
digs into more of the nuts and
bolts of your Red Hat Linux system, it is critical to make sure you have
documentation that is appropriate to your level of Linux expertise.
Regardless of your experience with Linux, it can be easy to feel
overwhelmed without the right documentation.
Let's take a look at three categories of people using Red Hat Linux, and try to
be more explicit in terms of the documentation you'll need. Let's start
by figuring out your experience level. Here are the three basic
categories:
-
New to Linux
-
Has never used any Linux (or Linux-like) operating system before,
or has had only limited exposure to Linux. May or may not have
experience using other operating systems (such as Windows). Is
this you? If so, please turn to
the section called
Documentation For First-Time Linux Users
.
-
Some Linux Experience
-
Has installed and successfully used Linux (but not Red Hat Linux) before.
Or, may have equivalent experience with other Linux-like operating
systems. Does this describe you? If so, please turn to
the section called
For the More Experienced
.
-
Old-Timer
-
Has installed and sucessfully used Red Hat Linux before. Are you an
old-timer? If so, please turn to
the section called
Documentation for Linux Gurus
.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." This old
saying can be applied to learning about your Red Hat Linux system. Learning
to use a Linux system effectively can be a long, rewarding journey, in
which you find that you can easily do things about which people with
other operating systems can only dream. But like all journeys, you've
got to start somewhere, and take that first step.
First, get yourself some documentation! This cannot be stressed
enough; without documentation you will only become frustrated at your
inability to get your Red Hat Linux system working the way you want.
Here's the sort of Linux documentation you should get your hands on:
-
A brief history of Linux -- Many aspects of Linux are the way they
are because of historical precedent. There is also a Linux
culture that, again, is based to a great deal on past history. A
bit of knowledge about the history of Linux will serve you well,
particularly as you interact with more experienced Linux users on
the Internet.
-
An explanation of how Linux works -- While it's not necessary to
delve into the most arcane aspects of the Linux kernel, it's a
good idea to know something about how Linux is put together. This
is particularly important if you've been working with other
operating systems; some of the assumptions you hold about how
computers work may not transfer from that operating system to
Linux. A few paragraphs that discuss how Linux works (and
particularly how it differs from the operating system you're used
to) can be invaluable in getting off to a good start with your
Red Hat Linux system.
-
An introductory command overview (with examples) -- This is
probably the most important thing to look for in Linux
documentation. The design philosophy behind Linux is that it's
better to use many small commands connected together in different
ways than it is to have a few large (and complex) commands that do
the whole job themselves. Without some examples that illustrate
the Linux approach to doing things, you will find yourself
intimidated by the sheer number of commands available on your
Red Hat Linux system.
Here is some additional direction that may help to match all of your
requirements:
-
Books --
Linux for Dummies
, by John
"maddog" Hall, published by IDG;
Using
Linux
, by William H. Ball, published by Que;
Running Linux
, by Matt Welsh and Lar
Kaufman, published by O'Reilly & Associates;
Red Hat
Linux Secrets
, by Naba Barkakati, published by IDG.
-
Red Hat's website -- At our very own website (
http://www.redhat.com
),
you'll find links to the Linux Documentation Project (LDP), the
Official Red Hat Linux Installation Guide
, the
Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide
FAQs (Frequently Asked
Questions), a database which can help you search for a Linux
Users Group near you, a knowledgebase of information and
more. In short, you'll find a wealth of information to help you
get started.
-
Newsgroups -- Linux users are second to none when it comes to
helping new users understand Linux. You can find dozens of
Linux-related newsgroups on the Usenet, but a quick search through
Deja.com (
http://www.deja.com
) shows:
Also, from the Deja.com website, you can frequently search for
specific information from Linux newsgroups.
Continue reading the next section to find out more about the kinds of
documentation that will help you at that point.
If you've used other Linux distributions, you probably already have a
basic grasp of the most frequently used commands. You may have
installed your own Linux system, and maybe you've even downloaded and
built software you found on the Internet. What sorts of information
will you need?
-
Task-oriented items -- Many times, you will find that you would
like to configure your Red Hat Linux system in a certain way, but you're
not sure where to begin. In this case, it's often a big help to
see what others in similar circumstances have done. This is where
the Linux Documentation Project (also known as the LDP) can come
in handy. Each of their HOWTOs document a particular aspect of
Linux, from low-level kernel esoterica, to using Linux for amateur
radio station work.
If you selected one of the various
HOWTO
packages when you installed Red Hat Linux, you'll find the HOWTOs on your
system in
/usr/doc/HOWTO
.
If you're a long-time Red Hat Linux user, you probably already know that the
following pretty much says it all when it comes to documentation:
Use the Force -- Read the source!
There are times when you'll just have to sit there and look at the
sources to understand things. Fortunately, because of the freely
available nature of Linux, it's easy to get the sources. Now if it
were only that easy to understand them…
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