Sebastopol, CA--There's no shortage of information to assimilate when moving to a new operating system. Fortunately, there is also no shortage of documentation in the form of good reference books for anyone doing so. And yet, it's very seldom that you have the opportunity to sit down and read an entire manual before plunging into a working relationship with your new OS. In the more likely scenario, you read enough to get by, set the book aside to study later, and dive on in. As for all the details you haven't covered, you'll dig back through the manual for those later or somehow learn to do without.
The new Linux Pocket Guide by Daniel Barrett (O'Reilly, US $9.95) provides a useful alternative for new and experienced Linux users who need a quick and handy means to look up Linux commands. This convenient book clearly explains how to get up to speed quickly on day-to-day Linux use. Once you're up and running, Linux Pocket Guide serves as an easy-to-use reference that you can keep by your keyboard for those times when you want a fast, useful answer--not hours in the manpages.
"This book is a short guide, not a comprehensive reference," says Barrett. "We cover important, useful aspects of Linux so you can work productively. We do not, however, present every single command and every last option (our apologies if your favorite was omitted), nor delve into detail about operating system internals. Short, sweet, and essential, that's our motto."
The Linux Pocket Guide is organized the way you use Linux: by function, not just alphabetically. It's doesn't aim to be the "bible" of Linux, rather, it's a practical and concise guide to the options and commands users need most. It starts with general concepts like files and directories, the shell, and X windows, and then presents detailed overviews of the most essential commands, with clear examples. Readers will learn each command's purpose, usage, options, location on disk, and even the RPM package that installed it.
The Linux Pocket Guide is tailored to Fedora Linux--the latest spin-off of Red Hat Linux--but most of the information applies to any Linux system.
Featuring a friendly and accessible style, peppered with valuable power user tips, this practical, to-the-point book is a small but mighty resource for Linux users.
Additional Resources:
- Sample excerpts from the book
- More information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bio, and samples
- A cover graphic in JPEG format
Linux Pocket Guide
Daniel Barrett
ISBN 0-596-00628-4, 191 pages, $9.95 US, $14.95 CA
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
About O’Reilly
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