Linux bible 2005 edition

843 Pages·2005·14.586 MB·English

by  Christopher Negus

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Linux® Bible
2005 Edition
Christopher Negus
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Linux® Bible
2005 Edition
Christopher Negus
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Linux® Bible 2005 Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 0-7645-7949-5
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1O/RZ/QR/QV/IN
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Negus, Chris, 1957–
Linux bible 2005 edition/Christopher Negus.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-7645-7949-5 (paper/dvd)
1. Linux. 2. Operating systems (Computers) I. Title.
QA76.76.063N422 2005
005.4'32- - dc22
2004028132
Trademarks:Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written
permission. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
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About the Author
Chris Negushas authored or co-authored dozens of books on Linux and UNIX,
including the Red Hat Linux Bible(all editions), Linux Troubleshooting Bible,
and Linux Toys. He worked with the organization at AT&T that developed UNIX
for eight years before moving to Utah to help contribute to Novell’s short-lived
UnixWare project in the early 1990s. When not writing about Linux, Chris rides the
400 trail with his wife Sheree, builds things with his son Seth, and plays soccer when
he can.
Contributing Authors
David Dalanis foremost a husband and a father. Although formally trained as a geol-
ogist, he now spends the bulk of his professional time writing books, making and
teaching music, and earning his keep as a professional geek. David has worked on
books ranging in topic from Cisco certification to Apache server administration.
Wayne Tuckeris a Linux enthusiast and has been a professional system administra-
tor for six years. He is currently a technical manager, systems administrator, and net-
work engineer at an Internet company in Washington state. He lives in Bellingham,
Washington, with his beloved wife Danielle, whom he would like to thank for her
patience while he was working on this project. His future projects include continu-
ing his education and working on the things that have recently accumulated on his
“honey-do” list.
Kurt Wallis a professional technical writer by trade and a historian by training.
These days, Kurt works for TimeSys Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His
primary responsibility is managing TimeSys’ Content Group. In addition to oversee-
ing production of the technical and end-user documentation of TimeSys’ embedded
Linux operating system and development tools, he writes most of the documenta-
tion for TimeSys’s embedded Linux products and all of the content available on the
TimeSys Network. Kurt has written all or parts of 15 books on Linux system admin-
istration and programming topics and contributes the occasional product review to
LinuxPlanet. In his spare time, he has no spare time.
Kurt, who dislikes writing about himself in the third person, receives entirely too
much e-mail at [email protected].
Paul Love, CISSP, CISA, CISM, Security+ has been in the IT field for 15 years. Paul
holds a Master’s of Science degree in Network Security and a Bachelor’s in Information
Systems. He has co-authored one Linux security book, contributed to another secu-
rity book, and has been the technical editor for more than 10 best-selling Linux and
UNIX books. Paul also ran a successful Linux portal site during the dot-com era and
has been an avid UNIX/Linux user and administrator for many years. Paul is currently
a security manager at a large financial services company.
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Credits
Acquisitions Editor Project Coordinator
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Development Editor Graphics and Layout Technicians
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Gabrielle Nabi Shelly Lea
Barry Offringa
Technical Editor Heather Pope
Dilip Thomas Heather Ryan
Copy Editors Quality Control Technicians
Kim Cofer Laura Albert
Howard Jones Amanda Briggs
John Greenough
Editorial Manager Jessica Kramer
Mary Beth Wakefield Susan Moritz
Carl Pierce
Vice President & Executive Brian Walls
Group Publisher
Richard Swadley Media Development Specialist
Travis Silvers
Vice President and Publisher
Joseph B. Wikert Proofreading and Indexing
TECHBOOKS Production Services
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As always, I dedicate this book to my wife Sheree.
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Preface
I
nsert the DVD or CD that comes with this book into your PC. Within five min-
utes, you’ll be able to try out Linux with a full range of desktop applications.
Within an hour, you can have a full-blown Linux desktop or server system installed
on your computer. If you are like most of us who have been bitten by the Linux bug,
you won’t ever look back.
The Linux Bible 2005 Editionis here to open your eyes to what Linux is, where it
came from, and where it’s going. But, most of all, the book is here to hand you Linux
and help you get started. Because Linux is the operating system of free speech and
free choice, the Linux Biblegives you choices in selecting the Linux that is right for
you.
On the DVD and CD that come with this book are 10 different Linux distributions
that you are free to install and try out. You learn how those distributions are alike
or different, and the book leads you through the basics of installing and setting up
your Linux system as:
✦ A desktop computer.You have a full range of office, music, gaming, graphics,
and other applications to use.
✦ A server computer.Using some of the world’s best server software, you can
set up your computer to be a Web server, file server, mail server, or print
server.
✦ A workstation.You can draw on thousands of open source programming tools
to develop your own software applications.
Unlike other books on Linux, this book doesn’t tie you to one Linux distribution.
The book teaches you the essentials of Linux graphical interfaces, shell commands,
and basic system administration. Separate chapters break down most of the major
Linux distributions available today. Then descriptions of the major software pro-
jects in most Linux distributions (KDE and GNOME desktops, Apache Web servers,
Samba file and printer sharing, and so on) guide you in setting up and using those
features, regardless of which Linux you choose.
Understanding the Linux Mystique
To calm your fears that “free” software can’t be that good, this book guides you
through the strange and circuitous path of open source software development that
led to the Linux phenomenon. It also details the major companies and organizations
that are behind Linux and the open source movement today.