Welcome, and thank you for using Mandrake Linux! This manual is aimed at people wishing to dive into the depths of their GNU/Linux system, and who wish to exploit its huge capabilities. It is made up of three parts:
In The Linux System, we introduce you to the command line and its various uses. We also discuss text-editing basics, which are essential under GNU/Linux.
Chapter 1, Basic UNIX System Concepts presents the UNIX and, more specifically, GNU/Linux worlds. It introduces the standard file-manipulation utilities as well as some useful features provided by the shell. It is very important that you fully understand the concepts discussed in this chapter before going on to Chapter 3, Introduction to the Command Line. There is then a complementary chapter, Chapter 2, Disks and Partitions, discussing the way hard disks are managed under GNU/Linux, as well as the concepts of partitioning.
Next, we cover Chapter 4, Text Editing: Emacs and VI. As most UNIX configuration files are text files, you will eventually want or need to edit them in a text editor. You will learn how to use two of the most famous text editors in the UNIX and GNU/Linux worlds: the mighty Emacs and the modern (!) Vi.
You should then be able to perform basic maintenance on your system. The following two chapters present practical uses of the command line (Chapter 5, Command-Line Utilities), and process control (Chapter 6, Process Control) in general.
In Linux in Depth, we touch upon the Linux kernel and the filesystem architecture.
Chapter 7, File Tree Organization explores the organization of the file tree. UNIX systems tend to grow very large, but every file has its place in a specific directory. After reading this chapter, you will know where to look for files depending on their role in the system.
Then, we cover the topics of filesystems and mount points (Chapter 8, Filesystems and Mount Points). We define both these terms as well as explain them with practical examples.
Chapter 9, The Linux Filesystem is dedicated to GNU/Linux filesystems. After presenting the available filesystems, we discuss file types and some additional concepts and utilities such as inodes and pipes. Chapter 10, The /proc Filesystem will introduce /proc, a special GNU/Linux filesystem.
Chapter 11, The Start-Up Files: init sysv presents the Mandrake Linux boot-up procedure, and how to use it efficiently.
In Advanced Uses, we finish up with topics which only the brave or very skilled users will want to put to practice. Chapter 12, Building and Installing Free Software will guide you through the necessary steps to build and install free software from sources. Reading through this chapter should encourage you to try it out, even though it might look intimidating at first. Finally, Chapter 13, Compiling And Installing New Kernels is one of the last steps towards total GNU/Linux autonomy. After reading and applying the theory explained in this chapter, start converting Windows users to GNU/Linux (if you haven't started yet!).
We close this book with the two licenses generally used respectively for GNU/Linux software and documentation: Appendix A, The GNU General Public License and Appendix B, GNU Free Documentation License. A Appendix C, Glossary and the index concludes your Mandrake Linux –– PowerPack ProSuite Edition™ documentation.
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