Learning Red Hat LINUX: Guide to Red Hat LINUX for New Users [Paperback]

Bill McCarty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 1999 | ISBN-10: 1565926277 | ISBN-13: 978-1565926271 | Edition: Pap/Cdr

New users are flocking to Linux literally by the millions. Yet most of these new users draw from Microsoft Windows as their primary computing experience; for them an operating system from the UNIX family is an unfamiliar experience. In Learning Red Hat Linux, Bill McCarty has written a book aimed specifically at this new audience.

Learning Red Hat Linux will guide any new user of Linux through the installing and use of the Red Hat® version of the free operating system that is shaking up the commercial world of software. It demystifies Linux in terms familiar to Windows users and gives readers only what they need to start being successful users of Linux.

Built around the popular Red Hat distribution of Linux, Learning Red Hat Linux takes the reader step by step through the process of installing and setting up a Red Hat Linux system, and provides a thorough but gentle introduction to the basics of using Red Hat Linux.

Because the book is written specifically for the enclosed CD, the reader needs nothing else to get started with this exciting new operating system.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Learning Red Hat Linux walks the reader through the process of installing, configuring, and using Red Hat Linux 6 and some of its most popular applications. Networking coverage includes essential local area network configuration, plus excellent coverage of Samba setup and the process of establishing a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection to the Internet. The book would be better with some information on setting up a local Domain Name Service (DNS) server to improve Internet connectivity, but what's here is commendable. The author includes basic coverage of the Apache Web server, plus sendmail and File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

Learning Red Hat Linux emphasizes the Linux command line for system management tasks, explaining all the vital low-level commands as well as configuration aids like linuxconf. Popular graphical applications are explored too, including ApplixWare, StarOffice, and the WordPerfect suite. Bill McCarty exhibits plenty of patience in his writing and organizational styles, assuming no knowledge of Unix on the part of his readers. This book includes lots of annotated tables that explain the features in various programs, and many sections have a procedural format that allows you to follow along on your own Linux machine. --David Wall

Topics covered: Red Hat Linux 6, preinstallation planning, essential command-line tools, X Windows, Gnome, the K Desktop Environment (KDE), and networking.

Review

"Learning Red Hat Linux is highly selective, focusing on just the right issues which impact on usability and understanding for the beginner." - Martin Howse, LinuxUser & Developer, Issue 30 "The book is exactly what you would expect from a guide to setting up a new box. This can be considered the standard reference in its field. Other authors aiming to write similar works should note that this will need something exceptional to surpass it." Linux Magazine, Jan 2004 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; Pap/Cdr edition (September 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565926277
• ISBN-13: 978-1565926271
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,873,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Heavy Handed But Better Than Redhdat Documentation, November 27, 1999

By 

Stephen Szyszkiewicz (Delran, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Red Hat LINUX: Guide to Red Hat LINUX for New Users (Paperback)

Unless you need Redhat tech support, buying this book to get you started with Linux isn't a bad idea. The author has titled the book "Learning" so if you are not experienced in Unix/Linux then this book will get you started. The fact that the author goes through the trouble of explaining a Redhat install from beginning to end was very useful. Unless you have some odd hardware (i.e. a 3d video card) you should have X runnng as well.

You will immediately want to know more however, and this book will leave you wanting more. That is you will have to purchase another book in the near future. The Unleashed (i.e. Redhat 6.0 Unleashed etc...) are typically pretty good, and they also include a Redhat distribution.

There are some mistakes/misprints however. Using the instructions as given you cannot get Quake2 running for example. Also there is nothing in the book about how to keep your installation up to date...a must for Linux users as the OS is constantly changing.

The one thing though that really irked me was the authors insistence that Gnome was "the most popular desktop environment in the US". Even after updating Gnome on my Linux box with the most recent stable releaes I find Gnome to be unstable and somewhat puzzling. The author spends alot of time talkng about the basics of getting around Gnome, but ignores the other popular desktop for Linux....KDE.Alot of this has to do with an almost religious war within the Linux community regarding what software qualifies as "free software" and what doesn't. The author is obviously a free software zealot and therefore leans towards Gnome. You as a user don't have to worry about this war ...you only have to be concerned about how to use the software on your pc. I think the book is lacking severely becuase it didn't cover KDE as it should have and worse yet, took a slap at KDE. Gnome is unstable. KDE is not. KDE is "free" as far as the user is concerned. In defense of the author though, Gnome is the preferred desktop at Redhat and the book is entitled Learning Redhat Linux, and thats is the desktop you get unless you take other steps on your own.

I am happy to report that I am typing this from KDE using Netscape as my browser. A testament to the fact that I got Linux working, and I used this book to get me started.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Introduction to Linux, November 1, 1999

By 

Tico J. Punk (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Red Hat LINUX: Guide to Red Hat LINUX for New Users (Paperback)

My only mistake about buying this book is it wasn't my first one. I really think it does an awesome job of taking you thru most of the questions you'd have as a new user of Red Hat Linux, and explains things fully enough for now. When you're finished with this, getting O'Reilly's Running Linux is definitely a good follow-up purchase. It seems every question i went crazy trying to figure out with all of my advanced books, was right here in Learning Red Hat Linux. If you're new to the game, get this book.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book if dont even know what "Linux" is!, December 27, 1999

By 

Faisal Sultan "faisal" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning Red Hat LINUX: Guide to Red Hat LINUX for New Users (Paperback)

Its great for a user that is new to the wonderful world of open-source operating systems. If until now your experience with operating eyetems has been limited to Windows, then get this book!

The author does a great job of explaining the often-tedious process of installation in plain easy-to-understand english!

This book will get you started and have you running Linux in your machine in no time. Although if you want details and want to go into more depth, a book like Running Linux by the same publication will come in handy.