The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group The Debian System - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
The sub-title of this text, Concepts and Techniques, indicates the author's aim: to show how the Debian GNU/Linux operating system works, and to provide: a reference for Linux and Unix administrators, a manual for Debian users, and a guide for Debian "apprentices". A companion DVD contains Debian Gnu/Linux 3.1 rOa "Sarge", which is described as the "Official Binary-1 DVD for i386".
This is a definitive resource for users who know how to use the command line and who appreciate the Debian philosophy. Unlike most operating systems Debian does not "try to do a lot and automate whatever needs to be done in between", but "does very little and leaves only the bare essentials to automation algorithms.... The result is ... a strong foundation with robust tools that let the administrator keep control over the system". Sarge has a new installer that is described in a chapter on installation. A notable feature is that " ... the installer has been translated into 40 languages at the time of writing (and 10 more are under active development). In addition to the language, it also supports the associated character sets. Thus, more than two thirds of the world population can use the installer in their native language".
The author has taken into account the dynamic nature of Debian by setting up a Web site, http://debiansystem.info/changes and making good any errors at http://debiansystem.info/errata.
There is a lot of literature and documentation about Linux at large, some of which deals with particular aspects of Debian, or one or other of the many Debian-based distros. The focus here is on Debian as a text-based operating system; any real work in Linux is performed at command-line level and The Debian System is where users will find discussions that drill down to detail not easily found elsewhere — if at all — in a single document or text.
The first part of the book contains an account of the Debian project; anyone interested in the open source and free software movements — especially the fine legal points — should read that chapter.
Chapters then progress through Installing Debian the right way; Debian releases and archives; The Debian package management system (145 pages of detailed information that includes dpkg, APT, alien, and Debian kernels; system administration; security; advanced concepts; creating Debian packages; and documentation and resources.
The chapter on advanced concepts discusses "how to build packages for customised and possibly patched kernels, create kernel module packages, mix different APT repositories in a sensible way, and install a Debian system by using alternatives to the Debian installer".
A tour de force. This is surely the most encyclopaedic coverage of Debian presently in print and an important resource for anyone with a serious interest in Debian.
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Martin Krafft: The Debian System ISBN 1-59327-069-0 Published by No Starch Press. 605 pp. + DVD, RRP $79.95 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the June 2006 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
