This book, now in its third edition, has been widely recognized for years in the Linux community as the getting-started book people need. It goes into depth about configuration issues that often trip up users but are glossed over by other books.

A complete, UNIX-compatible operating system developed by volunteers on the Internet, Linux is distributed freely in electronic form and at a low cost from many vendors. Developed first on the PC, it has been ported to many other architectures and can now support such heavy-duty features as multiprocessing, RAID, and clustering.

Software packages on Linux include the Samba file server and Apache Web server; the X Window System (X11R6); TCP/IP networking (including PPP, SSH, and NFS support); popular software tools such as Emacs and TeX; a complete software development environment including C, C++, Java, Perl, Tcl/Tk, and Python; libraries, debuggers, multimedia support, scientific and database applications, and much more. Commercial applications that run on Linux range from end-user tools like word processors and spreadsheets to mission-criticalsoftware like the Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and IBM DB/2 database managementsystems.

Running Linux explains everything you need to understand, install, and startusing the Linux operating system. This includes a comprehensive installation tutorial, complete information on system maintenance, tools for document development and programming, and guidelines for network, file, printer, and Web site administration.

New topics in the third edition include:

• KDE, a desktop that brings the friendliness and ease-of-use of Windows or the Macintosh to Linux
• Samba, which turns Linux into a office hub that serves files and printers to Microsoft systems
• PPP, the most popular software for logging into remote systems over phone lines
• Revised instructions for installation and configuration, particularly covering the Red Hat and SuSE distributions

Amazon.com review
Earlier editions of O'Reilly's Running Linux served as central guides on installing, configuring, and using the OS. The third edition of this guide covers the kernel through version 2.2.1 and will prove especially useful to those with high technical aptitudes and a well-tested willingness to experimentwith their computing environments.

The explanation of how to rebuild the kernel--a particularly daunting task for many--deserves special praise, as do the sections on configuring network links and servers. Users will find that the informative, prose-heavy style packs maximum information into this book's pages. For example, the purpose of a Linux element is described and then the reader is shown various ways of using it, complete with explicit statements of what you type and what you get in response. Back this book up with a good command reference (Linux in a Nutshell is solid), and you'll be well on your way to Linux mastery. --David Wall

Topics covered: KDE and Gnome windowing systems; Samba, file, and system management; shells; windowing systems and networking; installation on Alpha, PowerPC, Motorola 680x0, and Sparc boxes.

Description is from the publisher's web site and/or Amazon.com.