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CUPS - Common Unix Printing System
Background Information CUPS is developed and maintained by Easy Software Products, which is co-owned by the author of the book, Mike Sweet.
The complete table of contents for CUPS - Common Unix Printing System, aka "The Octopus Book" can be found here. The CUPS web site also contains errata lists and example code. In addition, Easy Software Products sells a companion CD for the book, only available on their web site.
Who should read it? If you do not use a printer with Unix or Linux, or if you do and you are perfectly happy with the results (maybe because the distro came with all the right stuff pre-installed), this book is not for you.
However, if you are serious about printing, if you are considering replacing the outdated legacy printing system that came with your Unix or Linux or if you are a developer even remotely interested in Linux/Unix printing, this book is for you.
Did I mention that the Octopus Book is also very helpful when it comes to understanding IPP, the Internet Printing Protocol? If you tried to read through all the RFCs on IPP out there and managed to understand IPP afterwards -- congratulations! I tried that, failed, bought the Octopus Book and finally understood.
How will it help users and admins? This book will show you how to install, administer and use CUPS. While the documentation that comes with CUPS is very good already, having everything in one handy package has its advantages, especially as the book goes into more detail than the on-line documentation. In addition, this book will explain to you in great detail how to extend CUPS. If you've ever wanted to be able to directly print some rather unusual file type -- or need a mechanism to create PDF files and email a copy of each PDF whenever you print them to a certain printer, this book will tell you how to do that.Anything for developers? Sure. Complete API documentation with loads of example code. Everything from "How can I add good printing support to my application" to "How do I write a printer driver?" is in there. Likes and dislikes Of course, no book is perfect. This book comes close, but you should know that a lot of it is already available for free on the CUPS web site. It also lacks details on how to rip the old printing system out of your legacy Unix -- but if you've got root, this is something you should know anyhow.
Another thing - it is not as funny as Terry Pratchett. But I can live with that.
As you might have noticed, I really like this book. It definitely made my work much easier -- I work for a manufacturer of (among other things) large printers and this (by now well-worn) book has been granted dedicated space on a very crowded desktop.
You can purchase CUPS - Common Unix Printing System from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
you sir, are an idiot!
Well, at least you're polite when you abuse people.
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I know you're being funny, and your comment did make me laugh, but a few clarifications you might find interesting / informative...
1 and 2 Chronicles were accepted as holy scripture by the Jewish community relatively soon after their writing in the 5th century B.C. As such, it's part of the Old Testament of the "real Bible" that was subsequently accepted by Christianity.
I agree that Chronicles is pretty dry and boring. It is important however, as it presents specific lineages. Since much of Judaism and Christianity rely on prophecy (i.e. the Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah), it is paramount to show proof that a specific individual is in fact descended from that tribe!
Regarding the Apocrypha, that is a collection of writings that the Roman Catholic Church added to the "real Bible" in 1545 A.D. This was in direct retaliation to Martin Luther bringing the Vatican to task for its many abuses and doctrines that were directly contrary to the teachings of Christ and those who had apostolic authority (such as Paul). To counter this, the Vatican "blessed" additional predominantly secular writings that gave their practices an air of legitimacy.
In regards to Leviticus, that entire book (which I just finished re-studying this morning actually) is a list of rules and regulations, delivered by Moses, for the priests of Israel. The title derives itself from the tribe of Levi, which you had to be a member of in order to be a Jewish priest.
In regards to Christianity, the vast majority of Leviticus has been superseded by the new priesthood of Christ. For example, instead of sacrificing livestock on a regular basis to atone for our sin, we are able to offer the divine "Lamb of God" on our behalf. Additionaly, access to God is granted directly to those who petition on behalf of Christ, as opposed to those who must use a human intermediary (i.e. the Jewish priest).
In regards to the "Latin version," I do believe that it's important to use as early a translation as possible for serious study. However, most people (myself included) don't know Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic, and as such use a recent English translation. Differences in versions (such as between the NIV and the KJV) usually come about due to whether the translators tried to convey a word-for-word translation or a thought-for-thought translation. That needs to be taken into account when trying to understand extremely difficult passages.
This post is meant to be informative and hopefully a little interesting, as well as replying to a specific post. If it sparks intelligent debate and discussion, great. Those who choose to descend to name-calling and flames will be ignored.
- Neil Wehneman
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