The First Three Books Every Linux User Should Read

lessthan0 writes "Anyone proficient with Linux had to climb the steep learning curve. Part of getting over the top for me was reading a hundred different Linux and Unix related books. From that list, three books stand out as the most useful and influential. I can't promise easy sledding; it will take some work, but mastering this material will demystify Linux and make you appreciate it more."

Comments

but first, buy Kernighan/Pike

[yagu]

Disclaimer: I have no financial or other motive of profit in recommending this book.

The recommended books are good choices, but the underlying principles guiding Linux originate from Unix. The first sea change influential Unix book for me was The Unix Programming Environment by Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike.

This book is a must read, and a must have. Unix at my office was a mere curiousity, an available "time share" (not kidding, that's what people at my office called it) that noone used (we were mostly a COBOL/mainframe shop).

I tinkered with this new and interesting world and immediately saw something unique(s). And, Kernighan/Pike lit the fire under me. By page 50 or so they've described Unix philosophy dead-on (they should know), and I couldn't start creating in the Unix environment fast enough.

The first thing I did was create an on-line self updating corporate documentation system (the old one was paper and microfiche), and I never looked back.

Add this book to your collection, read it! You won't be sorry.

Keep Running Linux Free

[eldavojohn]

I agree with these book selections though I think that it's wrong to say "these are must-haves for the Linux/Unix user" if they cost money. That's because Linux should be free, you shouldn't 'need' to drop $200 to be proficient in it. You need to invest time but not money.

Perhaps there are free resources out there.

Re:Keep Running Linux Free

[Hacksaw]

Let's think about this, shall we?

Let's say I am a software author. I wrote some program to scratch my own itch. Now I need to write a manual for it.

How well am I going to do at this? It's going to be terse and assumptive, because I'm already an expert on my program.

So lets say a friend becomes and semi expert on the program, and expands the manual some. Hey, we're good, right?

No, because the manual still sucks, because neither of them are technical writers, and don't possess the skills.

And a good writer might be interested in writing a better manual for it, but what do they have to gain if they aren't passionate about the program, if they aren't allowed to publish it for money?

You can't buy groceries with accolades.

I mean, good on the author and his friend for realesing the code in to the wild, and helping out everyone, but they got the program they wanted. It's free because it costs them nothing to make it free.

The good writer has to spend time doing the writing, as opposed to earning money some other way.

This is why so much OSS has crappy manuals, and why companies like RedHat and Novell are so important: they pay the writers.

Re:Keep Running Linux Free

[Matt Perry]

I agree with these book selections though I think that it's wrong to say "these are must-haves for the Linux/Unix user" if they cost money.

The first one is available online for free for personal use. It only costs money if you want the dead trees version.

Those books are nice...

[goofyheadedpunk]

but there's really no substitute for learning a new operating system like being 16, being in a special school for gifted kids that completely stiffles any socializing after 8PM, being without a lady friend, having the drive to learn new things, and having the intense desire to show that really annoying kid two floors up that he's got shit for brains.

Everyone has their own method, I suppose.

My list

[SpaghettiPattern]

Rede these:

• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• The UNIX Programming Environment by Brian W. Kernighan and Rob Pike

and you'll never be lost on any Unix-like system. Trust me.

Re:Poor Grandma

[Otter]

My favorite was what the article refers to as "the somewhat contrived recursive title" of Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition. Yeah, that's definitely part of Unix that needs to be demystified -- the notion that godawful recursive names are hilarious and just keep getting hilariouser with each new atrocity.

Politics of the Movement

[shrapnull]

I understand that TFA is about learning Linux, but I would hesitate to encourage people to join up as a simple hobbyist without doing some homework about the free movement as well.

The Cathedral and the Bazaar

In the Beginning, There Was the Command Line

Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution

Once you understand what you've become a part of, you're more likely to contribute in some way.

While not every user has to be a zealot, and not everyone is willing or capable to participate, the opportunity to become a part of something that will last longer then yourself is something people should be aware of in using GNU/Linux and GPL'd software.

I don't think it's enough to just use it because it's free. You need to have some sort of understanding as to why it's important, how standards empower the consumer, and that free information is the only way to go to keep our technological advances moving forward instead of getting stuck in a freeze-frame induced by patent lawyers and litigation that explicitly deters education (DMCA).

Knowing the goals of Open Source has often made members more forgiving of its present-day shortcomings, because the notions of freedom to use, freedom to change, freedom to learn and freedom to share outweigh some little compatibility nuances that exist today, but continue to improve through the contribution of the community at large.

the only three electronic resources you need

[weierstrass]

man, google and irc.