The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Red Hat Linux - For the bookshelf Major Keary |
When Linux first appeared (1991) the kernel size was 63 kilobytes and there were an estimated 100 users. Version 1.0 of the kernel was released in 1994 (user-base estimated at 100,000); when version 2 was released (1996) the user-base had gone to 1,500,000; and v.2.4 (2001) weighs in at 20 megabytes and has some ten million users. As you can see, the kernel is not beset with frequent version changes. Much of the increase in kernel size is to do with accommodating new hardware, peripherals, and other computer-related technologies.
The term, distribution, is frequently associated with Linux. Linux can be - and is - freely distributed, but can be included as part of a commercial package. Those packages are called 'distributions' and include Red Hat, SuSe, Mandrake, Debian, and Slackware.
Red Hat probably was the first usable, and the most widely installed, distribution of Linux and seems to have retained benchmark status. Apart from the Red Hat Package Management (RPM) and LILO boot loader, part of its popularity can be attributed to the availability of literature from a number of publishers. O'Reilly has always been a leader in the Unix/Linux field, but has taken a somewhat different path to other publishers in that O'Reilly breaks its texts down by topic, which results in more titles. Other publishers produce larger, comprehensive books. Each approach will satisfy a particular segment of the market and it is up to users to assess their own respective needs. The two titles reviewed here are excellent examples of the focused and comprehensive approach. Both have companion CDs with ready-to-run Red Hat installations.
Publisher's Edition
Red Hat provides a Publisher's Edition that can be bundled with books. It is usually a two CD set that is sufficient to get up-and-running with a graphical user interface (GUI). There is an official (commercial) boxed version of Red Hat that includes documentation and additional programs. If you want to try Linux, the publisher's edition is quite sufficient and, in any case, many of the extras can be downloaded as and when required. In my opinion it is better to work up from a basic system rather than jump into the deep end.
Linux versions
The real test of recency, regardless of distribution, is the kernel version. That is typically a number like, 2.4.18-14; Red Hat v.8 (RH8) is built on the 2.4.18 kernel, and Red Hat v.9 (RH9) uses the 2.4.20 kernel. The first two figures (2.4) are the important ones; in any case, upgrading to the latest release of the Linux kernel is free. Choosing solely on the basis of the very latest kernel is not a good idea. Another factor is whether the accompanying programs are recent versions. New users shouldn't worry too much about that until they have established a reasonable level of familiarity with Linux.
The real difference between RH8 and RH9 is the inclusion of the Native POSIX Thread Library (NPTL), if that means anything to you.
Learning Red Hat Linux
This is the third edition of O'Reilly's classic introduction, first published in 1999 when Linux was still more talked-about than used - although there were an estimated 7.5 million users. The author says, the "book focuses on the needs of new Linux users and on desktop Linux applications ... the details of ... topics [such as Networks and servers] are left for more advanced books". That is what Learning Red Hat Linux achieves: it confines itself to getting Linux installed and running, and showing novices how to use it.
This title, which comes with a two-disk Publisher's Edition of RH8, is a guide for users who are familiar with Microsoft Windows and who have dabbled in MS-DOS. There is no assumption of programming or other technical skills. In short, if you want to try out Linux with a stable, easy-to-install package, this is an excellent manual. Even though the title suggests it is Red Hat specific, most of the information is applicable to other distributions.
Following an introductory chapter the book begins with preparing to install Red Hat Linux: minimum hardware requirements, how to collect information about a Microsoft Windows system, choosing the type of installation, and preparing a hard disk. The next chapter walks the reader through the installation process (operating system and applications). This chapter is well illustrated with screen shots that will help new users to follow the various steps.
Having installed the system and application files, the user then learns how Linux works. Users of Microsoft's DOS-less versions of Windows - NT, 2000, XP - will find some of the concepts familiar (but UNIX did it first). Linux does things differently, but the author discusses, in a friendly manner, how it all works.
Most users will want to have a graphical user interface, which is provided by X Windows, and a desktop. Two desktops are offered in RH8, Gnome and KDE. A chapter is given to how each of them is used.
The Linux command-line interface is called the shell, a reasonable knowledge of which is essential for serious Linux users. There are a number of shells supported by Linux, but the one described in this title - and most other Red Hat literature - is bash. For those who want to extend their knowledge of bash there is a separate title, Learning the bash Shell, but the information presented here is sufficient for general needs.
Some software (OpenOffice.org, an e-mail client, and a CD writer) is installed as part of the Red Hat package. Other programs are installed with RPM, the use of which is described in depth. RPM also handles unin-stallation and upgrades.
Other chapters deal with configuration and administration of Linux; connecting to the Internet and configuration issues; setting up a Networked workstation (including the use of Samba); setting up Internet services; the secure shell (SSH) and firewalls; and advanced shell usage and scripts. Appendices contain useful information including how to set up a computer to boot to any of several operating systems. The original utility, LILO, has been replaced by GRUB (the Grand Unified Bootloader, which is described here.
A well-written manual for new users. It covers the essentials, showing how to install, configure, and use Linux. Recommended to those people who want to try out Linux and who would like to run RH8 alongside MS Windows. A compact, easy-to-handle guide that will sit neatly on a (real-world) desktop as a ready reference to Red Hat Linux.
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Bill McCarty: Learning Red Hat Linux 3/e ISBN 0-596-00469-9 Published by O'Reilly, 319 pp. + 2-CD set, RRP $95.00 incl. GST |
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Red Hat Linux 9 Bible
This is a big book - 1000+ pages - with a companion 3-CD set that "is the same
set of CDs that Red Hat tests and distributes"; in fact the companion disks are
CDs 1-3 of the full Red Hat 6-CD set. Disks 4-6 contain source code that many
users - especially Linux novices - won't need, but they can be ordered from the
publisher. Apart from that option, readers can use the Red Hat Network up2date
facility to get software updates.
It is particularly suited to the needs of anyone who wants to set up a Network
or an Internet server. Novices whose primary interest is in exploring, or
experimenting with, Linux may be daunted by the book's sheer size, but the parts
that deal with hardware requirements and installation are presented in tutorial
style using clear language. Readers are not expected to have any knowledge of
programming, but should have a reasonable level of computer-literacy. If you
know your way around MS Windows to the extent of being able to resolve problems
such as crashes, damaged files, and driver difficulties you should have no
trouble in learning to use Linux from this book. If your experience includes
using DOS, then you're well ahead.
The book's approach is task-oriented and its content is organised in a logical
progression. The first part deals with installation and how to install Red Hat
Packages; the RPM feature saves a lot of time, and hassles.
The next part is about using Red Hat. It begins with using the two desktops
(GNOME and KDE), their respective merits, and information that will help the
user decide which to use. A chapter deals with the command-line interface and
how it is used. The following chapters cover installing and running
applications, publishing tools, games, multimedia, and
Internet/Web tools.
Even for a single user installation it is necessary to know something about
Linux administration. The third part of the book takes the reader through the
admin processes, which include the automation of system tasks and security
issues.
The fourth part of the book is about Networking and setting up a server. Linux
is used extensively for Networking and to run various kinds of server, and can
be used with Mac OS X. It can also be used for wireless LAN. About forty per
cent of the book is given to Networking topics. There is plenty of technical
depth, but the language is kept at a level - without glossing over necessary
information - that shouldn't overwhelm ordinary users. This part of the book is
a good tutorial for anyone interested in learning about Networking.
For anyone with a serious interest in learning Linux this remarkably
comprehensive book/CD package is good value. Apart from getting a new user
going, or an existing user into advanced applications (such as constructing a
public Internet server), it will serve as an ongoing reference.
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Christopher Negus: Red Hat Linux 9 Bible ISBN 0-7645-3938-8 Published by Wiley, 1074 pp. + 3-CD set, RRP $93.95 incl. GST. |
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Reprinted from the August 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
