GNU/Linux For Dummies: A Brief Survey

chromatic is back with a mini-compendium of introductory Linux texts -- and yes, they have the famously protected "Dummies" trademark. Don't scoff at the nature of these books, though; the skill of translating the arcana of any computer topic (and boy are they all arcane to the uninitiated!) into language that mom, kids and the guy down the street can understand is not a common one. If you don't know what a root prompt (or an editor) is, or why you might want one, it's hard to do much else with your system.

[SuSE, Corel Open-, Red Hat] Linux for Dummies author Jon Hall and [Jay Migliaccio, Nicholas Wells, himself] pages 384 publisher IDG Books rating 7.5 reviewer chromatic ISBN (see each) summary A collection of distribution-specific books aimed at beginning users, and which might make a good brush-up for advanced users.

You've decided to take the plunge -- there's an unused computer in the corner, you're looking for a way to fill that new 20 GB hard drive, or you've gone all out with a shiny new machine and Windows tax be darned! It's time to figure out this Linux thing. How do you start? If your local computer guru blanches at the thought of a command line, or if you have that stubborn "I'll figure it out if I have to stay up all night" streak that characterizes so many successful hackers, perhaps a book will come in handy.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at a handful of randomly selected texts from various publishers. Their scopes and intended audiences range from nascent beginner to somewhat experienced existing user. Some walk you through installation and some expect you already know what to do right after you log in. They all purport to be your guide to the sometimes confusing, occasionally maddening, and even often rewarding world of Linux. Which one, if any, is right for you? Hopefully we'll answer that question.

Linux ... for Dummies? This week, our books come from IDG's popular "Dummies" series (but we'll skip the obvious question begging). These three books are fundamentally the same, undoubtedly due to the venerable maddog's presence as common author. Generic Linux information appears almost verbatim, and some chapters differ only in phrasing. Some information is rearranged, and the chapter on using X is different among the three (two focus on KDE, one on GNOME). A description of one book will give you a general idea of the other two. Of course, there's distribution specific information, specifically relating to installation and certain administration tasks.

Why would you buy these books? They provide detailed installation instructions and supply recent CDs of the titular distributions. They also provide decent -- if basic -- introductions to simple commands and standard tasks. The installation chapters have sufficient detail to walk nearly anyone through the process, including dual-booting techniques, tips on discovering hardware information in Windows, selecting the desired packages, and creating sane partitions. (With 5 chapters devoted to navigating the shiny installers, the only thing preventing success is hardware failure or sunspots.) If you follow the directions, you'll have a decently-equipped workstation capable of accessing the Internet through a modem.

Once your new Linux system is installed, what can you do? There's a tutorial on command-line basics, discussing the Unix file system and basic file commands. You'll meet the bash shell, with pipes and job controls and even a little shell programming. The vi editor also gets a bit of explanation -- follow the instructions and you'll know enough to edit files. (Pull out the command reference card from the front of the book just in case you forget :wq.)

It's on to X, after that. Here the books diverge again. After explaning the basics of X and whichever Desktop Environment the distribution prefers, the authors describe a few common tasks and programs and leave you to explore. Some basic system administration tasks get the spotlight -- file maintenance, adding a new disk, or installing software. (Don't expect to pull down $90,000/year on an entry-level SysAdmin job after this section. The SuSE and Caldera books do discuss building a new kernel, though.)

Appendixes include hardware compatibility lists and a description of the Linux man page format.

title SuSE Linux for Dummies [ISBN: 0764506811] publisher IDG Books Included Stuff SuSE 6.2 CD-ROM Intended Audience Linux newcomers who aren't afraid to install it themselves. Little prior computing experience necessary. Scope Installation and basic introduction to Linux. Technical Correctness No glaring errors. Writing style Highly informal. May be too verbose for more technical readers. Other Focuses on KDE, where applicable. System administration tasks take place with YaST, SuSE's homebrew tool.

There's not a lot of space given to common applications beyond Netscape and vi. A quick tour of KDE will probably give users enough confidence to plumb the depths of the KDE menus themselves, but the "What Now?" feature might bite after closing the back cover.

title Caldera OpenLinux for Dummies [ISBN 076450679X] publisher IDG Books Included Stuff OpenLinux 2.3 CD-ROM Intended Audience same Scope same Technical Correctness same Writing style Highly informal, even a bit chatty. Other Focuses on KDE. System administration tasks use COAS (the Caldera Open Administration System).

This book has more information on exploring and customizing KDE, but also doesn't go into detail on user applications. (Even mentioning something like KOffice, AbiWord, or StarOffice would have been nice.)

title RedHat Linux for Dummies [ISBN 0764506633] publisher IDG Books Included Stuff RedHat Linux 6.1 and complete source on CD-ROMs. Intended Audience same Scope A bit more information than the other two books, mostly on Linux applications. Technical Correctness same Writing style Rather informal, though less so than the other two books. Other Focuses on GNOME. Uses Linuxconf to perform system administration.

It would appear that Paul Sery rewrote large portions of his book. While maddog's anecdotes in the other two are from the first person, the corresponding sections are in the third person perspective. Whatever the explanation, there's between 20 and 30 extra pages of information in here (including RPM and ipchains basics). There's more time spent exploring the shell and command line before diving into a tour of X applications, too, like Applixware and Wine. I preferred this book over the other two due to the extra information and the better organization of topics.

Conclusion:

Someone who's already used to the Dummies series, is comfortable with the idea of installing Linux for herself, and wants a hand to hold through the process would enjoy these books. The knowledge imparted by these books -- giving extremely detailed installation instructions (follow the screenshots) but leaving a user with basic shell knowledge and some idea of how to navigate KDE or GNOME menus -- probably needs a supplement. I'm not sure enough information is presented to allow nascent hackers to figure things out for themselves. Still, for the intended audience, you get an introduction and the CDs in a convenient package.

You can purchase these books at Fatbrain: Take your pick from [SuSE Linux, Caldera OpenLinux, Red Hat Linux] For Dummies.

Comments

"Don't expect..."

[Black Parrot]

> Don't expect to pull down $90,000/year on an entry-level SysAdmin job after this section.

For that, you need to buy System Administration For Greedy Mothers Who Don't Want To Pay Their Dues.

Chapter 1: Writing Your Resume
Chapter 2: Bluffing Your Way Through The Interview
Chapter 3: Which Books To Hide Under Your Desk
Chapter 4: When Disaster Strikes: How To Pass The Buck
Appendix A: Important Buzzwords To Memorize
Appendix B: Understanding The PHB
Appendix C: Who Can You Sue?
Appendix D: Learning To Get By On Less When You Go Back To Flipping Burgers
--