Linux Books - Debian/Ubuntu

Discussion in 'Linux / Unix Discussion' started by JohnBradbury, Jun 25, 2008.

  1. JohnBradbury

    JohnBradbury Kilobyte Poster

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    Hi Guys,
    I've switched over my main laptop to Linux this past week or so and so far I'm not experiencing any problems. Initially I had planned to use Debian (due to it's strong adherence to GNU principles). However I'm clearly a technical lightweight as I couldn’t get it to work :oops:

    Opting for the easier option I went with Gobuntu (a true GNU version of Ubuntu).

    Anyway I want to pickup a book for Linux which works in logical order. Are the Linux+ books worth anything or are there any other Linux certs????
     
  2. dales

    dales Terabyte Poster

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    Would this do LINKY I'm, thinking about getting this kind of book as well, as IM playing with opensuse 11 at work seeing as we have so many linux servers that im supposed to know about :biggrin
     
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  3. zimbo
    Honorary Member

    zimbo Petabyte Poster

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    There so many books out there for Debian/Ubuntu variants now that ubuntu is making big strides, i personally own these two books fro debian:

    Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible

    Debian System: Concepts and Techniques

    The 2nd book is VERY in depth and goes into great detail about the dpkg and what you can do with it so i suggest if you looking for a good debian book that first one is your better option. Like i said Ubuntu books are more popular and Ubuntu Linux Toolbox: 1000+ Commands for Ubuntu and Debian Power Users looks like a good book although i havent looked at it much nor opened it im guessing it looks good!

    and a very good website to use for debian is http://www.debianhelp.co.uk/ lots of help! Plus we have a debian guru here on the boards so you can always post your questions and im sure we will all try and help! Good luck! 8)
     
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  4. JohnBradbury

    JohnBradbury Kilobyte Poster

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    Thanks guys, very helpful suggestions. I'm learning a little more each day :-)
     
  5. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    I noticed no one answered your question about Linux certifications. While Linux certs don't mean quite the same thing to employers as Microsoft certs (there's an entirely different philosophy involved), there are several Linux certification programs available. A list can be found at Go Certify (yes, I checked with certguard, and they're completely on the up-and-up).
     
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  6. JohnBradbury

    JohnBradbury Kilobyte Poster

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    Thanks Trip, the LPI looks like a good one.
     
  7. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    John,

    Sorry I haven't answered your questions. The last two weeks at work have been crazy after being away for a week, and things don't look to be slowing down anytime soon.

    I'd recommend the book Zimbo linked to by Martin Krafft. It's a very good explanation of what makes Debian, Debian, and about the package management system Debian, and its descendants, use. Any books about versions earlier than Etch I'd forget about about though such as the Debian Bible book. It's just too outdated. The only reason the Martin Krafft book is still good is because there have been no major changes to the Apt system since Sarge (Debian v3.1). The rest of Debian has changed drastically since then.

    As to books about Ubuntu, I don't know of any. I'd be really leery of any books more than a year or two old as there are major changes in how things are done since then. If you can find something on Hardy that would be great.

    If you will search for documentation using Synaptic or "apt-cache search documentation" you'll find documentation on just about anything you need as Debian, and by extension Ubuntu, is very good about including -doc packages in their repositories. If you do the search using apt-cache, pipe the results through "less" so you can scroll up and down through the results with the up and down arrows as there will be so many returns from that search you won't be able to just scroll the bash screen back and forth and see all the packages.
     
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  8. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    John,

    With your basic skills I'd also recommend that you make use of man pages too. It's easy to access them. For example, to access the documentation for the "less" command just enter "man less" from a bash prompt. "info" is another tool for documentation too. You access documentation with it just like you do with man pages. Sometimes the documentation in info pages is much more complete so if you find a man page too terse try the info page. Also, Google for almost all open source projects as most of them will have either documentation, forums, or wiki sites associated with them.
     
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  9. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    Personally I find the 'info' pages a real nightmare to use, chiefly because of the use of a *completely* different set of keyboard commands from anything else I've ever seen!

    I suspect that it may be a emacs thing, another piece of software I've never got to grips with.

    Is there any way to get a different set of keyboard commands to drive 'info'?

    Harry.
     
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  10. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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  11. Steve.L

    Steve.L Byte Poster

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    Thanks for links those Trip

    Having taken and failed :( my RHCT a month ago, gonna be back on the study path again for retake in Sept. Only use Linux now and again so will defo have to install Redhat fedora as my base OS and work from there.

    Steve.L
     
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  12. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    They are only like that if you go into the "info" interface and then search for commands and the info pages. I find that confusing too. However, entering "info command" from a bash prompt works just like a man page. It just pops up the info page you're looking for.
     
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  13. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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  14. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    I wrote a review for the Official Ubuntu Book for the Linux Tutorial site. This is the 3rd edition, so it's updated for 8.04. Pretty good if you're brand new to Ubuntu, but if you're an old hand who just wants info on upgrade paths and tips and tricks about the features in the new release, it sadly disappoints.
     
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