Top page of Prof. Partha's CDROM titled -- "Linux in a
teaspoon"
What you should not expect from this
CDROM
|
GNU/Linux in a (golden) teaspoon
(Ver. 6)
April 2004
(This is the GOLD version of the popular "Linux in a
teaspoon" CDROMs)
(GNU/Linux is often referred to as Linux)
|
|
78 Sancharpuri Colony
Bowenpally
Secunderabad 500 011 -- INDIA
Phone: (040) 775 1650
FAX: (040) 775 1135
email:
hyd1_algolog@sancharnet.in
THIS CDROM IS FOR PERSONAL, ACADEMIC USAGE ONLY.
NOT FOR ANY
COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION.
An important social message
Meet the author
Table of contents
Jump this Preamble. Come to the point
|
by
is your
introduction to the magic of GNU/Linux. The title is inspired from
the famous books titled "xxx in a nutshell". This title exploits the
metaphor of "spoon-feeding" (have you ever heard about nutshell-
feeding ?).
This CDROM contains plenty of material about Linux. The material has
been extracted from different sources. It is made accessible to you
without any warranties or guarantees regarding its functioning,
usefulness, or correctness. So, use it at your own risk and peril.
Why is this a "golden" teaspoon ?
This CDROM is NOT a substitute for regular Linux distributions. It
does NOT contain any installable (on disk) Linux system. It is only a
collection of some (tutorial) material and pointers to resources which
you may find useful.
This CD does not install or run any software by itself. It does not
modify automatically, any of your existing files or directories.
However when you install any software from this CD, or copy any files
from this CD, you must take your precautions and backups.
This is a bootable CDROM. Which means that you can make your PC
into a Linux machine just by booting it using this CDROM. The Linux
works off the disk. Nothing is installed, deleted or altered on your
disk.
Some of the material shown here will need a plug-in for reading PDF
files. The PDF reader (Linux version) is also included in this
CDROM
(/acrobat/acroread.rpm). Please install a PDF reader (to suit your
host operating system), if you do not have one already on your
computer.
This CDROM also contains some useful software which is not always
bundled with many Linux distributions. Remember -- these software will
work only under Linux. The about.me file gives a short description of
the software available on this CDROM.
You should NOT hide or delete or modify the names
and affiliations of the authors of this CDROM, or the names and
affiliations of any of the authors whose work is included in this
CDROM
You should also NOT bypass or omit or delete this top page. It must be
retained without any modifications.
Enjoy !
|
True to the spirit of Linux, all material in this CD is available
to you under
the Linux GPL
license, except of course those portions which are already covered
under any other licensing mechanisms. The copyrights of the various
materials still belong to the respective authors and owners. You
should contact these authors directly for any clarifications (or
confirmations) regarding usage of their material.
|
To use this CDROM
- Linux guru from India puts
together, a
teaspoon of GNU/Linux training : Read an independent review of
this CDROM (Ver. 3), which appeared in the Pakistani press (DAWN of 25 Jan. 2002, Karachi, Pakistan) ! This will give you an idea of what to expect from the
CDROM.
The last sentence shows how Linux may bring
together two traditional rivals: "Taking
this kind of initiative can be a good start for IT generation in
Pakistan, too."
- You can get the best out of this CDROM, if a Linux system is
installed already on your machine. However, you can enjoy the HTML
pages and PDF pages using other operating systems too.
- To be able to enjoy this CDROM fully, you must be connected to the
Internet at the time of browsing this CDROM. However, even if you are
not connected, you will still have many of the (local) links working,
giving you lots of things to read and learn !
- You may be able to read a lot of material directly from the CDROM.
But, if you wish to install some software from the CDROM, or if you
want to copy the contents of the CDROM on to your disk, or if you want
to uncompress some material, you will need adequate disk space (How
much ? -- depends on what you want to do).
- You must also know some simple operations like: extracting files
from tar archives, running a browser to view a local HTML file,
unzipping (gunzip), reading pdf files, installing RPM
packages.
- You can make a simple search in this
CDROM, to locate any specific file.
- When you are ready, start with the
Table
of
contents.
|
Do not read the following material if you believe that .....
- Linux is a character in "Asterix and Obelix" comic books
- Linux is no fun
- Linux is difficult to install
- Linux is tough to learn
- Linux has no documentation
- Linux is not manageable
- There are no application software for Linux
- Linux is a black box
- I do not get any tools for applications
development in Linux
- Linux is no good for embedded systems and real
time systems
- The other OS is great !
So, you really want to explore Linux ?
Table of contents
1. Linux is a character in "Asterix and Obelix" comic books
Table of contents
2. Linux is no fun
- Say that again, after you read
this
- Some
common myths
Many a doubting Tom has missed out on this
exciting development in Computer Science, just because of a few myths
like these. This presentation will show you how wrong you were (if you
believed any of these myths).
- This is
Not Linux
These are some Helpful tips for those who do not use Linux
- Do you know that Google: the
world's largest www search
engine, uses an impressive
cluster of over 4000 computers (yes, an orchestra of more than
four thousand computers)
running Linux ?
- If you have enjoyed watching movies like
THE TITANIC, you have tasted the power of Linux. Here is an article to
show how much Hollywood uses Linux
for its special effects.
- The ultimate in ubiquitous computing
: The Linux watch from IBM ! Read the story here. Admire the beauty here. Look at the impressive
hardware features here.
- If you think open source software or free
software (OSS/FS) is not serious work, look at this impressive list of references for
OSS/FS and just look at their growing numbers.
- Linux is free, but at what cost ?
Enigmatic question, from a desperate, disheartened cynic. The total cost of ownership is still
far below that of WI?DOWS (pun intentional).
Table of contents
3. Linux is hard to install
- Is bigamy a crime ? Not always, at least
for those who need
two operating
systems on the same machine.
- It is easier than you think ! Just read this
installation manual (PDF)
from an experienced Professor.
- Pre-installation checklist
This document will help you to plan and prepare for installing
Linux on you machine. It will help you to avoid fumbling midway during
the installation process. This document is part of the official
documentation maintained by the Linux Documentation Project (LDP).
It is distributed along with many standard Linux distributions, world-
wide. It is an extremely popular (and useful) document, and has been
translated into various languages too.
- Well begun is half done. You must complete
a few essential steps after
you install
Linux.
Table of contents
4. Linux is tough to learn
The easy way : Participate in the
Linux in a teaspoon course
.
The adventurous way : Try exploring any of the following
--
Table of contents
5. Linux has no supporting documentation
Table of contents
6. Linux is not manageable (by me)
-
Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst Explains the
steps you must take, as soon as you install a Linux system. This
document also provides a special shell script to help in your task
of creating a snapshot of your system.
- When a mishap strikes, you need all the tools
possible, to avoid a disaster. Keep this
Crash
rescue HOWTO handy.
- Crash recovery without pain or
fear Disaster management comes in a
single- floppy Linux system. But, first, you must read the FAQ about this tiny Linux
system.
- Linux System Administrator's
Guide
If you want to take full control of your Linux installation,
you must read this document. this is the official Linux sysadmin
Bible.
- Burn your own CDROMs, under Linux
-
Don't give LAME excuses. Read all about LAME in:
Linux admin made easy
All of us can always do with some help.
Here is help for administering your Linux installation.
- Network Administrator's Guide
This is THE guide for creating and managing Linux based networks
- Networking with
Linux
- Make your own Linux
gateway to the Internet
- HOWTO ensure secure
programming under Linux Learn about : secure programming, lint,
make CVS , flawfinder ....
- Read this excellent book on system security:
Linux Security
Admin. Guide
Table of contents
7. There are no applications software for Linux
Table of contents
8. Linux is a black box
Table of contents
9. Linux offers no tools for applications development
- The GNU General Public Lincense (GPL) is
a major reason for the popularity of GNU/Linux. If you intened
developing software using GNU/Linux, you must know everything about
the GNU General Public Lincense (GPL)
. Read this FAQ and get
answers for all your usual questions about GPL.
- Need a Swiss army knife ? Just
learn emacs, the one tool that
does so many things (and more).
- Here is a painless way to
learn shell script.
- Want to be a shell scripts guru ? Use this
book on Bash shell scripts.
- Want to be a snake charmer ? Or, want to become a scripting guru ?
In both cases you need Python.
Just
take a deep breath, and dive into
Python.
- You can become a master of server-side programming with PHP
- If you need a good GUI, start
application programming under GNOME today.
- Get a head-start over your colleagues and competitors. Here is a
bunch of useful scripts
(some of them are Perl scripts). Use them as they are, or hack them to
your taste and fancy. You need to be connected to the Internet, to
download the scripts.
- Linux programmer's guide
So, now you can also start building serious applications for yourself.
The directory lpgexamples
contains code for the examples used.
- Linux devices
Reference material for Linux devices. If you want to write device
drivers for Linux, start from here.
- Programming Linux Device
Drivers.
- Useful stuff for developers. There
is a lot of useful stuff, in this directory.
- Here is some more stuff on
programming
Table of contents
10. Linux is no good for real time systems and embedded systems
Table of contents
Need more (free) information ?
Do anything, ask anybody except Algologic.
We are
actually overwhelmed by general enquiries about Linux. This CDROM
should hopefully answer all your questions, or point to resources
where you can find answers. In any case, do not send us any general
enquiry about Linux. We DO NOT answer such mail and enquiries.
If you want to explore and discover Linux on your own, you can
start from some of the links given below:
- GNU homepage -- the force behind
the Linux movement (and a lot of other nice things).
-
If all the above stuff is not enough for you, start exploring here:
Linux resources
- The "official" source for Linux documentation: The Linux Documentation Project. For
starters, we have downloaded and kept some HOWTOs
here.
Remember, this list keeps growing all the time. Your
best bet is to visit the LDP site on the
web just now
-
For the techies:
The Linux Gazette
This CDROM (GOLD version) contains all the first 100 issues of Linux
Gazette. This is a gold mine. You really won't need anything more than
this, to understand Linux fully.
Start here, and explore the magic of Linux.
...and if you need (paid) help
Contact Algologic only
if
you are interested in professional (PAID)
help for your Linux installation.
We can also conduct a (paid) training program for you, at your
premises. Just ask us.
Your opinions please
Tell us what you feel about the CDROM. Tell us
how we can improve the CDROM and make it more useful to more
people.
Give us your
suggestions and opinions please.
Thank you.
|
This CDROM has hyperlinks to a very large number of external sites.
We have no control over the owners of these web sites. When we
included these links, we visited every one of these sites. We also
keep visiting these sites randomly. This CDROM is continuously updated
on the basis of our experiences. Yet, some flaws may persist. If you
find dead links, factual errors, or inappropriate contents, please
exhibit some social responsibility please inform the author immediately,
so that the next version of this CDROM does not carry forward these
flaws.
|
At Algologic, we care for standards
