Linux Unleashed (4th Edition) (Paperback)

by Bill Ball (Author), David Pitts (Author), Billy Ball (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The authors of Linux Unleashed, Fourth Edition, know that their operating system is best at lurking in the background, reliably plugging away as a server platform. They cover a few graphical user interfaces (GUIs) just for the sake of comprehensiveness, but this book focuses on the Linux 2.2.5 kernel and the most popular server software you can run on it.

For the most part, this book treats Linux generically, though the hand-holding installation section uses Red Hat Linux 6 as its primary example. (Less explicit sections cover installation of Caldera OpenLinux and Debian GNU/Linux.) The authors have also done great work in highlighting differences among the distributions as they crop up during the tutorials. For example, they're careful to explain the (significant) differences among the three distributions' implementations of DNS service. Attention to variations among them is one way this book distinguishes itself from its (many) competitors. Prose sometimes is accidentally poetic--"Samba won't work without a working network"--and generally clear, accurate, and easy to follow.

Like all books in the Unleashed series, this one includes some programming coverage. While it adequately introduces the reader to the Linux development environments for several languages and will probably make some readers aware of languages they might not have known before coming to Linux (like gawk and Motif), the programming material doesn't get into any real problem solving. The authors just show how each language works, detailing loops, arrays, and basic syntax--it's introductory or refresher material, depending on your perspective. Regardless, the excellent coverage of Linux and its server software makes this book a worthwhile buy, particularly if you want to try out several distributions. --David Wall

Topics covered: Linux 2.2.x and three of the most popular distributions of it (Red Hat, Debian, and Caldera). Installation, TCP/IP network configuration, and the basics of system administration are all here, but most readers will appreciate coverage of server software the most. The authors cover Web, FTP, mail, and print servers, plus implementations of the Domain Name System (DNS). File-sharing resources, including Samba and the Network File System (NFS), receive plenty of attention too. Rudimentary programming coverage includes Perl, Motif, gawk, Tcl/Tk, C/C++, and Java.

Product Description
Linux Unleashed, Fourth Edition, is for the professional who has experience with operating systems but is new to Linux or has limited Unix/Linux experience. The book focuses on the needs of administrators, power users, and programmers--covering everything from managing users and groups to using the programming tools that come with Linux. The book will show the reader how to install, configure, and manage Linux. The book will show the reader how the operating system works from the inside out. The book contains extensive coverage of the programming tools and utilities that help the administrator and programmer perform their tasks more efficiently.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1468 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 4th edition (October 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672316889
• ISBN-13: 978-0672316883
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,493,965 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary amount of topics covered, April 1, 2000

By	James Carvajal (USA) - See all my reviews

I am an intermediate Linux user, and firmly believe that if you had to buy only one Linux book, this would make a great choice. I was very happy to see the variations between the Red Hat, Cladera, and Debian distributions being discussed. This book really covers an amazing amount of topics. For example, the basics of the languages C, C++, Perl, gawk. Tcl, Python, and Java are mentioned. Of course, the material would never cover any of them in depth, but the author's attempt at including so many was surprising. I believe that if I had a year to sit down and understand all of the contents in this book (almost 1500 pages) I would truly understand how to use Linux.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too many topics (good), but little detail (bad), May 4, 2000

By	Fernan Aguero (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was searching for an updated reference Linux book, to consult now and then. I bought Linux Unleashed with this idea in mind. However, i have found that trying to cover so many topics had resulted in covering them superficially. For instance I have found myself trying to add a new hard drive after using linux for more than a year and all the instructions for partitioning and adding drives were referred to the initial installation of the OS, and i wouldn't like to reinstall linux just to add a drive. I still have an old book on Linux by Tim Parker that although outdated explains everything more clearly and with more detail.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have Red Hat, Caldera, or Debian...., June 14, 2001

By A Customer

....this is the book for you. It provides the locations of files and important documents. Overall coverage of just about everything you could ever want in a book. If you don't use Red Hat, Caldera, or Debian then this isn't the book for you; but if you do, it's the ultimate reference.