Learning Debian GNU/Linux

Learning Debian GNU/Linux

by Bill McCarty
Released October 1999
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781565927056

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Book description

Linux and Open Source are attracting unprecedented attention in the high tech world. Debian GNU/Linux is a remarkable demonstration of what the Open Source model can produce: Debian is an all volunteer organization, and their distribution contains only open-source software. This exciting new world can be intimidating for those whose primary computing experience is Microsoft Windows. In Learning Debian/GNU Linux, Bill McCarty has written a book for this new audience, aimed at introducing them to a Unix style operating system. Learning Debian GNU/Linux will guide any new user of Linux through the installing and use of Debian GNU/Linux, the entirely Open Source version of the Linux operating system. It demystifies Linux in terms familiar to Windows users and gives readers only what they need to start being successful users of Linux. Learning Debian GNU/Linux takes the reader step by step through the process of installing and setting up a Debian system, and provides a thorough but gentle introduction to the basics of using Debian GNU/Linux. Because the book is written specifically for the included CD, the reader needs nothing else to get started with this exciting new operating system.

Table of contents

  1. Learning Debian GNU/Linux
    1. Preface
      1. Organization of This Book
      2. Conventions Used in This Book
        1. Path Notation
        2. Keyboard Accelerators
      3. We’d Like to Hear from You
      4. Acknowledgments
    2. 1. Why Run Linux?
      1. Linux at Home and at Work
      2. What is Linux?
        1. PC Operating Systems
        2. How Linux is Different
          1. The origins of Linux
          2. Free software
          3. Copyleft
          4. The Linux kernel
          5. The X Window System
          6. Linux distributions
        3. Linux Features and Performance
      3. Reasons to Choose or Not Choose Linux
      4. Linux Resources on the Internet
        1. Web Pages
        2. Newsgroups
    3. 2. Preparing to Install Linux
      1. Minimum Hardware Requirements
        1. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
        2. Motherboard
        3. Drives
      2. Collecting Information About Your System
        1. Information You Need
        2. Collecting Configuration Information by Using Windows
      3. Preparing Your Hard Disk
        1. How Hard Disks are Organized
        2. Viewing Partition Information
        3. Obtaining Sufficient Disk Space
          1. Installing a new disk drive
          2. Identifying an unused partition
          3. Shrinking a partition
          4. Using the fips utility
    4. 3. Installing Linux
      1. Installing the Operating System and Applications
        1. The Installation Program User Interface
          1. User-interface controls
          2. Common keystrokes
          3. Using virtual consoles
        2. Installing the Kernel and Base System
          1. Booting from MS-DOS or Windows 9x
          2. Booting from floppy diskettes
          3. Starting the installation procedure
          4. Choosing color versus monochrome
          5. Release notes
          6. The Installation Main Menu
          7. Selecting a keyboard
          8. Selecting the hard drive
          9. Partitioning a hard drive
          10. Initializing and activating a swap partition
          11. Initializing a Linux partition
          12. Installing the Operating System Kernel and Modules
          13. Configuring device driver modules
          14. Configuring the network
          15. Installing the base system
          16. Configuring the base system
          17. Making a boot floppy
        3. Configuring the New System
          1. Establising a root password
          2. Establishing a normal user account
          3. Configuring shadow passwords
          4. Removing PCMCIA support
          5. Connecting via PPP
          6. Choosing Packages
        4. Installing the Applications
          1. Accessing the packages
          2. Mounting the CD-ROM
          3. Updating the list of available packages
          4. Installing the selected packages
          5. Exiting dselect
      2. Getting Help
        1. The Debian Web Site
        2. FAQs
        3. HOWTOs
        4. The Debian Mailing Lists
        5. USENET Newsgroups
        6. Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
    5. 4. Issuing Linux Commands
      1. The System Use Cycle
        1. Booting the System
        2. Logging In
        3. Issuing Commands
        4. Correcting Commands
        5. Using Virtual Consoles
        6. Logging Out
        7. Shutting Down the System
      2. Working with the Linux Command Prompt
        1. Command Structure
        2. Getting Help
          1. Using man
          2. Using apropos
      3. How Linux Organizes Data
        1. Devices
        2. Filesystems
        3. Directories
          1. Home and working directories
          2. The directory tree
          3. Absolute and relative pathnames
        4. Commands That Work with Directories
          1. Displaying the working directory
          2. Changing the working directory
          3. Displaying directory contents
          4. Creating a directory
          5. Removing a directory
        5. Working with Files
          1. Displaying the contents of a file
          2. Removing a file
          3. Copying a file
          4. Renaming or moving a file
          5. Finding a file
          6. Printing a file
          7. Working with compressed files
          8. Working with links
          9. Working with file permissions
          10. Running programs
      4. Working with Devices
        1. Mounting and Unmounting Drives
        2. Formatting Floppy Diskettes
      5. Useful Linux Programs
        1. Viewing System Information
        2. Using the ae Editor
    6. 5. Installing and Configuring the X Window System
      1. What is X?
      2. Installing X
      3. Configuring X
      4. Starting and Stopping X
    7. 6. Using the X Window System
      1. Keyboard Operations
        1. Switching Video Modes
        2. Using Virtual Consoles with X
        3. Terminating X
        4. Terminal Windows
        5. Pop-Up Menus
      2. Mouse Operations
        1. Copying and Pasting Text
        2. Using Scrollbars
        3. Virtual Desktop
      3. Window Managers
        1. FVWM
        2. Enlightenment
      4. Desktops
        1. KDE
        2. GNOME
      5. Using GNOME
        1. Launching GNOME and Enlightenment
        2. Logging Out
        3. Parts of the Display
          1. Home directory icon
          2. Desktop
          3. Drive icon
          4. Panel
          5. Date & time applet
          6. Main menu
          7. Pager
          8. Hide button
          9. Help viewer
          10. File Manager
        4. Using the File Manager
      6. Using GNOME Applets and Applications
        1. GNOME Terminal
        2. GNOME CD Player
      7. Configuring GNOME
        1. The GNOME Panel
        2. The GNOME Main Menu
        3. The GNOME Control Center
    8. 7. Configuring and Administering Linux
      1. User and Group Administration
        1. Creating a User Account
        2. Changing a User’s Name
        3. Changing a User Account Password
        4. Configuring Group Definitions
          1. Creating a group
          2. Deleting a group
          3. Adding a member to a group
          4. Removing a member from a group
        5. Deleting a User Account
        6. Configuring Access to Shells
      2. Filesystem Administration
        1. Configuring Local Drives
        2. Configuring Swap Partitions
      3. Starting and Stopping the System and Services
        1. Starting and Stopping the System
        2. Starting and Stopping Services
      4. Viewing System Messages and Logs
      5. Setting the System Time and Time Zone
        1. Setting the Current System Date and Time
        2. Setting the Time Zone
    9. 8. Using Linux Applications and Clients
      1. Linux Desktop Applications
        1. Applix Applixware
          1. Running Applixware
        2. StarOffice
          1. Installing StarOffice
          2. Running StarOffice
        3. Corel WordPerfect for Linux
          1. Installing WordPerfect for Linux
          2. Running WordPerfect for Linux
        4. Other Desktop Applications
      2. Other Approaches to Desktop Computing
        1. The VMware Virtual Platform
        2. WINE
          1. Getting and installing WINE
          2. Running WINE
    10. 9. Playing Linux Games
      1. A Survey of Linux Games
      2. Closeups of Some Popular Games
        1. DOOM
        2. Quake II
        3. Starcraft
          1. Installing Starcraft
          2. Playing Starcraft
          3. Ending a Starcraft session
    11. 10. Setting Up a Linux-Based LAN
      1. Introduction
      2. Network Administration
        1. Network Hardware Configuration
        2. Basic Host Information
        3. Name Server Specification
        4. Routing and Gateways
        5. Hostname Search Path
        6. Miscellaneous Network Configuration Options
      3. Samba
        1. Samba Server Installation
        2. Configuring Samba
          1. Configuring global variables
          2. Configuring file share parameters
          3. Configuring printer share parameters
        3. Viewing Samba Server Status
        4. Viewing Samba Server Configuration
        5. Managing Users and Passwords
        6. Troubleshooting Samba
      4. Samba Client Configuration and Use
        1. Microsoft Windows Client
        2. Other Clients
        3. Linux Client
        4. Using the Linux Samba Client for File Backup and Recovery
    12. 11. Getting Connected to the Internet
      1. Connecting to the Internet
      2. Configuring Your Modem
      3. Using wvdial
      4. PPP Client
        1. Specifying PPP Options
        2. Establishing a PPP Connection
      5. Web Browser
      6. gFTP FTP client
      7. Using minicom and seyon
        1. Using seyon
        2. Using minicom
          1. Configuring filenames and paths
          2. Configuring file transfer protocols
          3. Configuring the serial port
          4. Configuring modem and dialing options
          5. Configuring screen and keyboard options
          6. Saving your changes
          7. Running minicom
      8. Making a PPP Connection Manually
    13. 12. Setting Up a Linux-Based WAN
      1. An FTP Server
        1. Testing the FTP Server
      2. Installing and Configuring a Web Server
        1. Configuration
          1. The access.conf file
          2. The srm.conf File
          3. The httpd.conf File
        2. Startup and Use
      3. Using a Mail Server
      4. Configuring a Secure Shell Server
        1. Using a Secure Shell Client
        2. Using a Secure Server from a Remote System
      5. Configuring a Dial-In Shell Server
        1. Configuration
        2. Using the Dial-In Server
    14. 13. Conquering the BASH Shell
      1. The Linux Shell
        1. A Variety of Shells
        2. Why Learn to Use the Shell?
      2. Using the Shell
        1. Typing Shell Commands
        2. Commands and Arguments
        3. Filename Globbing
        4. Shell Aliases
        5. Shell Scripts
        6. Input/Output Redirection and Piping
        7. Shell Variables
        8. The Search Path
        9. Quoted Strings
        10. The Power of the Linux Shell
      3. Understanding Shell Scripts
        1. Processing Arguments
        2. Exit Codes
        3. Conditional Logic
          1. The test command
          2. The if command
          3. The case command
          4. The while command
          5. The until command
          6. The for command
          7. The break and continue commands
        4. Periscope: A Useful Networking Script
        5. Using periscope
        6. Continuing Onward
    15. A. Linux Directory Tree
    16. B. Principal Linux Files
    17. C. The Debian Package Management Utilities
      1. Packages
      2. The Package Management Tools
      3. Using dpkg
        1. Installing a Package
        2. Removing a Package
        3. Querying the Package Database
          1. Printing the description of a package
          2. List packages by name
          3. Report status of a package
          4. List files installed from a package
      4. Using dselect
        1. Choosing the Access Method
        2. Updating Information on Available Packages
        3. Choosing Packages for Installation or Removal
        4. Exiting the Select Function
        5. Installing Packages
        6. Configuring Packages
        7. Removing Packages
        8. Exiting dselect
      5. Using apt-get
        1. Configuring the sources.list File
        2. Using apt-get
          1. Updating Information on Available Packages
          2. Installing a Package
          3. Upgrading Installed Packages
      6. Package Contents and Installation Commands
        1. Chapter 5
        2. Chapter 6
        3. Chapter 8
          1. Installing Star Office
          2. Installing Applix
          3. Installing WordPerfect for Linux
          4. Installing the Mesa and WINE packages
        4. Chapter 9
          1. Installing Doom
          2. Installing the quake2 package
          3. Installing game data from the Quake II CD-ROM
          4. Installing Game Data from the Quake II Demo
        5. Chapter 10
          1. Installing the lynx package
          2. Installing the samba package
        6. Chapter 11
          1. Installing the wvdial package
          2. Installing Netscape Navigator
          3. Installing the seyon package
          4. Installing the minicom package
        7. Chapter 12
          1. Installing the apache package
          2. Installing the ssh client and server package
    18. D. Managing the Boot Process
      1. Booting Linux
      2. Boot Disks
        1. Creating a Boot Disk
        2. Using a Boot Disk
      3. The lilo Loader
      4. The loadlin Loader
        1. Installing loadlin
        2. Using loadlin
        3. Configuring loadlin
      5. Boot Parameters
        1. General Boot Arguments
        2. RAM Disk Boot Arguments
        3. SCSI Host Adapter Boot Arguments
        4. IDE Hard Drive and CD-ROM Boot Arguments
        5. Non-IDE CD-ROM Drive Boot Arguments
        6. Floppy Drive Boot Arguments
        7. Bus Mouse Boot Arguments
        8. Parallel Port Printer Boot Arguments
      6. Using Loadable Ethernet Drivers
        1. Dynamically Loading a Modular Driver
        2. Loading Modular Drivers at Boot Time
        3. Administering Modular Drivers
    19. E. Linux Command Quick Reference
    20. F. Open Publication License
      1. I. REQUIREMENTS ON BOTH UNMODIFIED AND MODIFIED VERSIONS
      2. II. COPYRIGHT
      3. III. SCOPE OF LICENSE
      4. IV. REQUIREMENTS ON MODIFIED WORKS
      5. V. GOOD-PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS
      6. VI. LICENSE OPTIONS
    21. Glossary
    22. Index
    23. Colophon

Product information

  • Title: Learning Debian GNU/Linux
  • Author(s): Bill McCarty
  • Release date: October 1999
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781565927056