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Red Hat Linux 8 Bible
This book is a great example of that. It comes complete with three CDs containing Red Hat Linux (which, I assume, are the same as or very similar to the three that come with Red Hat's own shrink-wrapped product) and it therefore starts with installing Red Hat Linux. However, some thousand or so pages later, the same book is talking about some really quite advanced systems administration tasks. I'm really not sure that the same audience will need both of those ends of the spectrum.
Let's take a look at the contents in more detail:
Chapter 1 gives a useful review of Red Hat Linux. It pretty much assumes that the reader knows nothing about Linux and goes into some detail about what Linux is and where it comes from. It even takes time out at one point to explain what an operating system is. The book does score a few early points for knowing the difference between "hackers" and "crackers" and using the terms correctly. This chapter ends with a more detailed look at Red Hat Linux and some of the changes that were introduced with version 8.0. Chapter 2 covers the installation of Red Hat Linux. It does a good job of explaining this in a way that would be clear to someone with no previous knowledge of how to do this.
Chapter 3 is the start of the second major section of the book which introduces the day-to-day use of Red Hat Linux. In chapter 3 we look at logging into the system and get an introduction to using Unix from the command line. Chapter 4 goes into a similar level of detail on using the two dominant GUI environments -- Gnome and KDE. For a beginner, it may have made more sense to have these chapters the other way round as most Red Hat installations will boot straight into a GUI environment and one of Red Hat's changes for version 8.0 was to make it far harder to work out how to get a shell window open.
Chapter 5 starts to look at at Linux applications. It begins with a table of common Windows applications and their Linux counterparts. It then goes on to discuss finding, downloading and installing new applications where, to my mind, it would have been more sensible to first look at using some of the pre-installed applications. The chapter also includes details on using the Red Hat Packager Manager (rpm) and running Windows applications using WINE.
Chapters 6 to 9 each look at a separate application area and present a very brief overview of the applications available in that area. Chapter 6 is about producing documents, chapter 7 about games, chapter 8 about multimedia and chapter 9 about the Internet. In all of these chapters the overviews are necessarily very short and it's hard to see how anyone could get much useful work done after reading them. It would be better if the chapters contained references to further reading, but they don't even mention the man pages.
Chapter 10 starts the next section of the book, which is about system administration. It contains a useful overview of a number of the most common administrative tasks like mounting disk drives, monitoring system usage or setting the date and time. Chapter 11 is about administering users. Chapter 12 looks at automating system tasks. It includes an introduction to shell scripting and a useful description of the start-up and shutdown cycle. Chapter 13 covers backing up and restoring files. Chapter 14 is possibly the most useful chapter in the book for the complete Linux beginner as it contains an overview of security issues. This is particularly important with the increase in the number of people who leave their computers permanently attached to their broadband connections.
The forth and final section looks at networking, with chapters on setting up a LAN, a print server, a file server, a mail server and many other shared resources. This section also includes a chapter on getting your network connected to the internet. As with much of the rest of the book, space constraints prevent these chapters from going into great depth, and there are very few references to other material.
So what did I think overall? Well, as I said, it's too big. But on the other hand it's too small. It's too big in that it covers such a wide range of topics that very few people are likely to be interested in all of it. It's too small in that it just doesn't have the space to go into great depth about most of the topics is covers. I think that it would be far more useful if was three books: Red Hat 8 Linux Users Bible, Red Hat 8 Linux Admin Bible and Red Hat 8 Networking Bible. Each of them could be smaller than this volume, but still cover the material in more detail.
Having said that, the material all seems accurate. The few times I noticed something that I thought was wrong, on checking I found that I was mistaken. So if want you really want is a broad (but in places shallow) overview of Red Hat Linux then this could well be the book for you.
And it's also cheaper than the "official" Red Hat Linux products.
You can purchase Red Hat Linux 8 Bible from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
My thorax aches, but I must say it: Theres needs to be a "Learn Linux" for a generic distro for new users, instead of "Red Hat 8.0 Bible". Too imposing and specific.
I'm sure I'll enjoy 8.2 but until then 7.3 will have to do.
I mean really... bible? Is /. going fundie on us?
Is this truly the only Earth I can live on?
These are generally the most-rushed, least useful books published on any topic.
The web rendered these books obselete circa 1995.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
... Guess what Davorg got for Christmas!
Running Linux?
Best Slashdot Co
It's the same people that buy the "teach yourself x in y units of time" books. Or the Wrox books. Or pretty much any non-O'Reilly book. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?
Teach yourself to be a dummy in 24 hours!
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
Also, It's a book that you read time and time again for various reasons. So this books title might be fitting based on the reviewers opinion.
That being said, I don't think any book written within the past 50 years should have "bible" in the title.
That's a good point about a book with too much breadth. Have a beginner's book and advanced book (probably multiple of the latter).
It seems they're trying to make a book where you can "grow into". By the time you grow into some of the advanced concepts, you'll probably need a new book anyway..
"Truth is not decided by majority vote" consensus gentium -- Norman Geisler
This type of book is good if you don't read it. Instead of reading it cover to cover, it should be used as a reference. Read the sections you need when you need them. No one should read about NIS if they are using a single computer at home to try out linux.
1) It has apache 2.0 ... threads are great for large apps ... keeps server load down on RH 8.0 web servers
... which is good
:)
:)
2) Wine w/ OpenGL allows you to play WarCraft III on RH 8.0 work stations
3) Still has journal file system
4) Grub still sucks
Buy a discounted book on RH 7.x for the rest (not much else is worth reading on IMHO) and send me an email thanking me for saving you some $$$$, especially if ou live in Soviet Russia where $$$$ owns you
HallmarkOrnaments.Com
Earlier RedHats used to have nice README files in many places. Today, RH 8.0 usually has only a reference to the paper manual. This is really annoying. I hate paper and wish I could obtain the information directly on cd. To me it is obvious that RH is protecting their business (not for the benefit of the customer) by trying to sell the full set with the manual rather than having people to just copy their cd. This behavior is creating market for other unnecessary books, too.
-- Imperial units must die --
I want a book for someone that is a Mac/Windows user that shows how to setup a small office server. I use Mac OS X exclusively at home and want to turn an old (P2/450) Dell into a Linux server. I want it to run DNS, DHCP, File sharing (NFS?), email, MP3 streaming, and web. All of this I want to control from my Mac, so I would rather do it all from the command-line. Is there a book that can help me?
"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." -- John Ashcroft
>> I've never been much of a fan of large computer books and, to be honest, this one hasn't done much to change my opinion.
Large books should be used as a reference tool and not a novel. I rarely read an *entire* 1000 page book... Skip the newbie chapters. Read the important ones and reference the odds and ends when necessary.
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Whenever I jump into something completely new -- like Linux several years ago -- I tend to go out and buy several books on the subject. Contrary to two perennial /. comments about books of this nature, their readers are not idiots, nor do they find that the web offers a convenient, coherent and error-free substitute.
/. book reviews would be more useful if they'd concentrate on the book itself, rather than trying to prove their assertion that the book doesn't need to exist. Leave that for the self-inflated /. posters who castigate the "idiots" who might actually buy the book.
So-called "bible" volumes are intended to package enough information to allow a completely new user to move from installation and configuration to moderately sophisticated use. One of their most useful attributes is that they help the neophyte begin to understand all the capabilities available in Linux (and how to exploit them via the inevitable distribution-specific foibles).
On a second note,
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
These large books often seem a little confused about their target audience. They often cover everything from very basic concepts to very complex ones, and I don't really believe that anyone really needs that breadth of coverage.
Well, not all of the book may be useful to you in your application of RH8. But, if they wrote this book specifically to your needs, then this book would not have broad appeal. Its all about the audience. You use a small portion of the book, other people use other portions. But in its entirety, it should appeal to a broad range of RH8 users.
Even if you don't use a lot of what is covered in the book, its still beneficial to read up on the more complex topics. At least be informed -- then less will be mysterious to you in the future should you need to apply more diverse skills.
Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
Be kind to the"Tech yourself XXX in 24 Hours" books. They are not presented as authoritative or deep textbooks, just as a quick introduction for people new to a subject. I find that one of the best ways to learn about a topic is to read the related "24 Hours" book, and use the basic knowledge presented there as a foundation for deeper knowledge.
Another nice feature of the "24 Hours" books is the authors. Sams has brought in some really great authors over the last few years, and most of the new books are written by accepted experts, not just some guy with a certification.
Any book that has "complete reference", "BIBLE", or "Everything" in the title is just cliff notes.
You can be a neophyte to all, or a master of one. Pretty much goes for books on large subjects as well.
Neck_of_the_Woods
#/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
I still check these books out in my search for the Holy Grail of Linux books, a good, well written book that I can recommend to people who are familar with computers but, unfamiliar with Linux.
This book sadly, is not it. The reviewer is actually quite generous in his review. I found the book to be convoluted in its arrangement with repeated early referrence to commands that were not explained until after the tenth chapter. It did not flow well which made it all the more difficult to read its copious 1000 pages.
As the reviewer stated it tries to cover the full breadth of a subject from very basic to very advanced but in both cases it simply touches on each topic without any real depth. For instance, after adequately explaining the installation steps, it describes recompiling the kernel in less than two pages with no real explanation or what or why. Hardly something necessary for new users or people who may never have compiled a program before, and really no information on the ins and outs of the kernel for advanced users.
Basically, the book is adequate for a referrence if someone needs to get a new service up and running quickly. If you've never setup MySQL or Sendmail the book will walk you through installation and basic configuration, beyond that, you're on your own. Read the Man page and check the news groups, as the book says repeatedly.
I'd rate this book as a 5 out of 10.
...Even after reading this review.
I'm getting it for Christmas (My Mom ordered it for me from Amaz[ingly slow to deliver]on.com) and this review assures me that it's just what I want.
I've been using Red Hat exclusively since 7.1 and have learned plenty of tidbits here and there, but I still lack a full understanding of certain topics. It appears that those topics are the ones covered toward the back of this book.
The other thing that I'm excited about is that this book sounds like something my wife can read and get something out of. She is mildly technical and might like to know more about the OS she uses (Yes, she prefers Linux to Windows, but still has to reboot once a week to run some proprietary business software).
Hey, I think I'll even ask Chris to autograph it! He's a member of my LUG and a really nice guy. ;-P
I'm happy to support him with my Mom's money.
This user account is inactive account replaced by the PDA
this review of Wiley's new Red Hat Linux 8 Bible, writing "I've never been much of a fan of large computer books and, to be honest, this one hasn't done much to change my opinion. These large books often seem a little confused about their target audience.
My question is Why did You bother doing a review of it? Why did you even buy it? It must have appealed to you on some level? I myself enjoy a GOOD big book, as it makes me feel like I am getting my money's worth in the purchase, especially if it goes into the detail and expanse that your review later stated it did.I would have to also ask if there was any coverage of SAMBA and the "new" method it uses to set itself up? That alone to me would be worth the price of admission, especially because it applies to Red Hat 8.0. The "MAN" pages and all of the help online were useless when I was setting this up. I was able to get it to work, but in no way/shape/form as to how it was instructed by the outdated information. If this book covers those specific topics that directly apply to the Version of software I am running, as opposed to the older versions, then it is definitely well received regardless of the breadth of the book itself.
In fact, I will now have to look for this little gem on my next outing to Powells or Borders.....
You keep going until you die..."Me".
With Man and HowTo pages all over these books are not that necessary. While I have always felt HowTo and Man pages sometimes being too thorough and making me search for info these "bibles" seem to be too brief, they touch on a topic and move on with the reader wanting more, ironically it also points to websites for more info that are not created by the author of the book, but developers or people that have done a good job creating a How To page.
I will admit I used to own a Mac bible during the OS 7 days and it was fun just because it didnt teach you anything but listed easter eggs and tidbits of trivia on Apple. But when the internet hit with specialized sites it turned those books into a monitor stand.
First background: I have been using linux since the mid 90's, but would not call myself an expert. I have found the bibles to be a good "manual" akin to the good old days when every software package came with 3 ring bound 1000+ page manuals.
The "bible" does a good job introducing new features of RH distro, (like the alternates system) that are not "standard" or in wide use yet. They also have a nice charty of all the applications and where the config files live. While a lot of them are obvisous, it helps when setting up something for the first time, or trying to tracking down security settings etc in unfamiliar apps.
They have helped me immensely while getting started with current information. The one area where a book has an advantage over the Internet for me is the specific target. It is frustrating to wade through newsgroups, and websites, when there is so many variations and versions of software in use. I like the book as a starting point because it is a references how to complete a task w/ RH and you can use that to start, then if you do need to advance beyond what the book offers, you have a lot better background to refine your google search to save a lot of time.
While the review says its too big and simultaneously too small, I disagree. If you take the book more as a manual, it is a good size (considering the monstrocity that RH is growing into). It touches on virtually everything that RH includes in the distro, and explains what it does. This makes it a lot easier to tune and trim your RH system.
Overall, for $50 bucks, these books have saved me a lot of time, and are worth the price to me even if they only serve as a starting point for further investigation. The book is like any other tool, it is only as useful as the person using it makes it.
-MS2k
In the case of the Christian doctrine it is *The* Book. In it's original usage a generic meaning to apply to the *particular* book was probably intentional. Early Christians could talk about "the book" in public without an outsider knowing what they were specifically talking about.
You'll find the word used genercially even today in such words as bibliography and variations of the word are still the generic for book and library in many Latinate languages.
Let me repeat. Bible is not a religious word, any more than, say, genesis is.
You're right about the apple of course. There is no Biblical source for assuming this.
Me, I rather guess that the actual fruit was a banana.
KFG
And it's also cheaper than the "official" Red Hat Linux products.
If the book includes a CD-ROM, buying the book is a great way for the bandwidth-challenged to get the RH distro, as well as a great big steaming heap of documentation. It would be nice though if the CD also included a large collection of HOWTOs.
If you are planning on picking up a boxed linux
distribution anyway, you can do a lot worse than
picking up a big, gereral purpose linux reference
that includes the CDs. Chris Negus does a great
job with every incarnation of this book... as
good as can be expected with such a broad subject
matter. It is not a book to sit down and read
from cover to cover and expect to learn Linux,
but it does make a wonderful reference.
DISCLAIMER: I might be a little biased; I was a
contributing author for the initial version of
the Redhat Linux Bible.
Thad
The Bolachek Journals
The biggest complaint about Linux books is usually from novice who are looking for information that just isn't in the book. For obvious reasons the writers of these books will make books that will sell.
All those of you who bitch about these books aren't going to buy them anyway so you are irrelevant.
As in everything, if you don't like it you don't buy it and you stop bitching. This book is likely or sell like hotcakes and increase the use of Linux.
As an experienced Linux user I still like those books as a reference. Memory is a faculty made to forget and it is nice to have a reference books that can browse thru to refresh your memory.
It's like a dictionnary, why would anyone put in the dictionnary just the words that you don`t know about?
Quote: They often cover everything from very basic concepts to very complex ones, and I don't really believe that anyone really needs that breadth of coverage. Or, at least, not all at the same time and from the same book.
Wrong.
I have a Slackware Unleashed book from '96 that still helps me to this day. The advanced stuff may not be for now but eventually you'll get what you need. Plus, it allows you to look at advanced things you might not otherwise know existed.
I'm a newbie to Linux in general, and Red Hat specifically.
So far I have found that the book has got me up and running quickly, with good explanations and examples.
I'm coming from the windows arena, and it gives great comparisons for people like me (read: people Linux supporters seem to want to switch over).
I consider myself quite computer literate (in Windows/DOS) - and this sort of book is perfect. It starts out with the basics, but then also gets into the tougher stuff like configuring sendmail and squid.
As someone who is very interested in moving from Windows to Linux, I am finding the Bible to be a great resource.
I went to the The Linux Documentation Project, got to the HOW-TOs, and grabbed the tar.gz file of all the HOW-TO pages (multiple archive formats and document formats available, NO, Word isn't one of them). Then I grabbed the same in mini-how-to. Found other things to do while I waited for the files to download via dialup. It links to the collected man pages in html, I may grab it, there seem to be man pages missing from my RH-8.0 installation.
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