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Linux Textbooks?

Posted by Cliff on from the pioneering-a-new-market dept.

whymw asks: "I am a computer science instructor at our local community college where I teach an introductory level Linux course. Due to worries about Microsoft licensing, my director is interested in moving other courses such as office packages to the Linux environment. However this question keeps poping up - 'What would we use for textbooks?' There is little to pick from and I see this as a major barrier to widespread adoption of Linux in the classroom. Do we need to create a linuxtexts.org? Should openoffice.org fork off a textbook project? By the way, I said TEXTbook, complete with labs, assignments, and hopefully a testbank." Linux has to make it into the education market at some point. If there are no Linux textbooks out right now, what recommendations would you have from the current crop of off-the-shelf books?

3 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. Suggestions by dasunt · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well none of these are "traditional" textbooks, they are all usefull sources of information.

    • Running Linux
    • Learning the Vi Editor (Rather simple, but you should know how to use at least one of the more common editors).
    • Linux Cookbook (Free PDF download, btw)
    • Linux Problem Solver (btw, did I mention that no-starch press rocks?)
    • Learning Perl (Since Perl is a wonderful tool under Linux)
    • groups.google.com (great place to find answers)
    • The Blender Book (Since blender is fun)

    Throw in a book about the GNU philosophy & history of linux, add another about linux security, and you're set.

    1. Re:Suggestions by Trayde · · Score: 2, Informative
      A few more:
  2. Linux: The Textbook by edgarde · · Score: 2, Informative
    Linux: The Textbook

    Publisher: Addison Wesley
    Copyright: 2002
    Format: Paper, 678 pp
    ISBN: 0-201-72595-9
    Status: Published 07/02/2001
    Retail Price: $52.00 US

    I know nothing about this publication, but the table of contents suggests it covers the areas you want.