The Linux operating system has become immensely popular. USENET newsgroups dedicated to the Linux operating system have hundreds of messages a day, CD-ROMs of Linux archives are sold by the thousands, and even more DOS users are wandering around trying to figure out UNIX syntax and Linux installation problems. In many ways, the interest in Linux brings back the heady hacker days and the excitement of CP/M and early DOS machines.

Linux does have its problems though. One problem is the wide variety of Linux versions available, some of which are not very stable. The quality of the installation and configuration utilities also varies widely from Linux version to Linux version. Another problem is supporting documentation. Although this problem is decreasing as more people get involved, most available Linux documentation can be intimidating for first-time users (and some veterans). Commercial books dedicated to beginning Linux users are helping by offering a smoother explanation, but most books are simply rehashed Linux documents.

Although this book also uses the Linux documentation as a basis, it also uses almost two decades of UNIX system administration experience, years of working with Linux, and a lot of advice from other users. This book is not designed for a new Linux user who can’t find their way around a filesystem, although readers with any knowledge of UNIX will feel quite at home. Instead, this book is for Linux users who want to expand their systems, optimize them, and learn more about system administration.

 Two schools of thought exist on pronouncing Linux. Because Linux is similar to UNIX and was originally developed by a programmer with the first name Linus, many assume the long i, as in line-ucks, is correct. On the other hand, Linux was developed to replace a UNIX workalike called Minix (with a short i), so the rest of the Linux community calls the operating system lih-nicks. Which is correct? The original developers used the latter pronunciation, while most North Americans prefer the former. Choose whichever you wish.