The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Fedora Bible - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
Red Hat passed the development and distribution of its desktop Linux distro to the Open Source Fedora Project. Red Hat now focuses on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), for which Fedora is the test bed; for that reason it is common for books about Fedora to cover the Enterprise version as well.
Red Hat Fedora and Enterprise Linux 4 Bible is a comprehensive and detailed reference for the current version of Fedora, Core 4 and its RHEL counterpart. It has the complete — with source code — Fedora Core 4 installation package on a companion DVD as well as a two-CD set that "installs a full-featured desktop system plus several key server features". The DVD also contains Knoppix 3.8 for use as a tool to prepare a computer for a Fedora install.
Readers are expected to be computer literate and proficient in the use of some other operating system, such as MS Windows; knowledge of Linux or Unix is not assumed, and readers don't have to have programming experience. The Fedora Bible is especially suited to those who want to migrate from Windows, or develop hands-on experience of Linux. It is also an excellent introduction for system administrators who need to familiarise themselves with RHEL.
This is a book for those who have a serious interest in learning and using Fedora; it is detailed and much of the instruction is command-line oriented.
There is a chapter, Using Linux Commands, but if you are not familiar with the command line, which requires text entry such as cp /usr/ src/linux2.6.11-5/arch/i386/boot/bzImage / boot/bz-2.6.11-5 I suggest you read some of the novice-level books where it is fully explained. David Brickner: Test Driving Linux, and the several Linux titles in the Dummies series have good introductions to the command line. Then return to Using Linux Commands and all will be clear. Ordinary desktop users don't need to memorise lots of arcane commands, but they should recognise Linux commands in texts or man pages and know how to enter them. In short, the author does not expect ordinary users to wear a command-line hair shirt, swearing total GUI abstinence.
The book is in four main parts: Getting Started (installation, getting to know the desktop, and an introduction to the Linux shell); Using Fedora and RHEL (using the common applications, games, obtaining and installing new software, and using/configuring sound cards, CD/DVD burners, and so on); Administration (system maintenance, user accounts, automating system tasks, shell scripts, backups, and security); and Network and Server Setup (connecting to the Internet; setting up a LAN; setting up print, file, mail, FTP, web, and database servers).
An appendix contains an alphabetical list of all the Fedora Core 4 RPMs with a concise description; for example, mkisofs is shown as "a tool for creating IS09660 (CD-ROM) file systems", and doxygen "creates documents from C or C++ source code". A second list shows RPMs that were in Core 3 but are not included in Core 4 (many of them are in 'Fedora Extras' on the DVD). Another appendix contains useful information about running network services.
If you want a complete coverage of Fedora/RHEL that is written in plain language, the Red Hat Fedora and Enterprise Linux 4 Bible is recommended. It is especially suited to anyone who wants to introduce Linux to a small or medium-sized business, either to replace Windows or to integrate with an existing Windows setup. The breadth of coverage is very good and includes troubleshooting advice. Good value.
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Christopher Negus: Red Hat Fedora and Enterprise Linux 4 Bible ISBN 0-7645-9576-8 Published by Wiley, 1118 pp. + DVD and 2-CD set, RRP $77.95 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the Jan / Feb 2006 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne
PC User Group, Australia
