The first exposure most people get to Linux is the Linux INFO-SHEET, a relatively short ASCII document that is available from USENET, BBSs (bulletin board systems), and many user groups. The INFO-SHEET is a quick summary of Linux. It is posted at regular intervals to the Linux newsgroups on USENET.

As Linux was developed, several programmers started writing brief guides to their contributions as well as wider areas of the operating system. Although these documents were usually terse and awkward to read, they did provide others with enough information to continue using Linux. Over a short span of time, the documentation for Linux grew rapidly and a central organizing body was needed to help keep it on track and avoid duplication.

The Linux Documentation Project was created to provide a complete set of public domain documentation for Linux. From a few rough installation notes a couple of years ago, the documentation has expanded to include almost a thousand pages, some very good, some not. The following primary documents are currently available or soon to be released:

• Linux Installation explains how to install and configure Linux.
• The Linux User’s Guide is a guide for first-time users.
• The Linux System Administrator’s Guide is a guide to various aspects of system administration.
• The Linux Network Administration Guide explains how to set up and use networks.
• The Linux Kernel Hacker’s Guide is a guide to modifying the Linux kernel.

In addition to these primary documents, there are about a dozen smaller guides to specific or esoteric aspects of Linux. These smaller guides are called How To documents. Together they form a growing document suite that covers practically every aspect of Linux. These documents are available with most distributions of the software. Not all the documents are up to date, as changes to the operating system have occurred since they were first written. Several different people wrote the Linux documents, so the styles and layout are not consistent. A perfect-bound printed copy of the Linux Documentation Project is available from Linux Systems Labs and some bookstores.