The Debian System: Concepts and Techniques

The Linux Cookbook, Second Edition

Linux Bible, 2005 Edition

Distributions

Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible (Bible)

Format: Paperback
Author: Benjamin Mako Hill
ReleaseDate: 12 August, 2005
Publisher: Wiley
Rating:

Good "bible" for beginners and those who wish to solve most common problems easily
Of course this book can't solve every possible problem or show you everything. This book is definitly not intended for professionals, and definition of "bible" is questionable when book deals with big things such as Debian. In order to achieve that, it should have few thousands pages :) However, it will serve you well if you wish a complete guidance in installing debian on common pc platforms and configuring it. It will give you good practical understanding of all linux and debian specific things needed for fast start and will cover most of things you might want to do. Some things You can no expect from this book: this book won't teach you for instance how to build stealth internet server and cover detailed configuration of every aspect of it, it won't teach you how to become supreme administrator etc.

But it will give you ability to set up system(desktop, internet server, intranet server), set up desktop, set up samba and connect your server with windows machines, set up dhcp the way most of people need, set up mail system and tell you most things you need to know about it, set up apache and lot more. . . If you prefer theory, it can also be found in the book.

To summarize, it will cover almost every aspect of system that normal beginner/intermediate user will need to set up whether you need to set up desktop system or server. And most of all, it will give you a solid base for solving any additional problem by consulting other resources such as internet, newsgroups etc. It is written in plain, understandable English so anyone could read it and start using this fabulous os.

For the beginners
I thought I would learn a great deal from this book. I have been a Debian user for two years, and have used GNU/Linux for the past three/four years.

The book is on ~600 pages. I read approx. 100 of them.

A bit of wasted money, but at least they went to the OSS community.

A good book for those new to Linux
1 Bible (DGL3B) is a good book if your expectations match its content. Debian GNU/Linux 3. This can be difficult when the cover bears this somewhat misleading quote by Debian founder Ian Murdock: "This book contains everything you need to know to get the most out of Debian, from installing it to tapping into its vast repositories of software. " That quote should have been applied to Martin Krafft's book "The Debian System," which I read right after DGL3B. Those new to Linux will like DGL3B, but those experienced in Linux but new to Debian should read Krafft's book instead.

Why is DGL3B a Linux beginner's book? Consider the installation recommendation given on p 25 that says "all files in one partition is the best choice. " This is really not the "best choice" for anyone in my opinion. If you're new to Linux and you just want to get an operational system, then following this recommendation is acceptable. I found the installation instructions in chapter 2 to be weak. It spent far too little time on the peculiarities of Debian installation, which is very different from the slicker GUIs seen in Red Hat or other distributions.

Beyond the installation chapter, DGL3B covers all of the topics one would expect to see in a book for new Linux or Unix users. Ch 3 describes using a command line shell and the Linux filesystem. Ch 4 covers software management. Ch 5 discusses basic system administration while ch 6 gives advice on performing backups. I thought the explanation of std in, std out, and std err on p 67 was helpful. The backup section introduced me to rdiff-backup, which I now use on FreeBSD. With the conclusion of Part I, readers will not see truly Debian-centric material again until Part V.

Ch 7 begins Part II, with 6 chapters on Linux as a desktop. Topics include graphics, sound, desktop environments, Web browsers, mail clients, publishing software, multimedia apps, and games. Almost all of this material could have appeared in any Linux or Unix book. Since I don't run Linux or fancy desktops, I learned of a few apps that had passed under my radar like Epiphany, Boa, and Vsftpd.

Ch 13 begins Part III, with 6 chapters in Linux as a server. Topics include security, email/Web/FTP/DNS servers, and remote access. The discussion of SSH forwarding taught me a trick about reverse tunnels.

Ch 19 started Part IV, with 6 chapters on Intranet services. Again, these could be applied to any Linux environment. DHCP, NFS, Samba, OpenLDAP, IMAP, POP, CUPS, PostgreSQL, and MySQL make appearances.

Part V finishes the book, with 3 chapters on the Debian community, building packages, and the Debian archives. I welcomed this material as it was more Debian-centric than the previous 18 chapters.

Your opinion of DGL3B depends heavily on what you want to learn from reading the book. If you're new to Linux and want more of an overview of doing common tasks on a non-Windows platform like Debian, then DGL3B is for you. If you're an experienced Linux or Unix user who wants to learn deeper insights into Debian, I recommend Krafft's book.