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Michael Vondung

External


Since: Sep 07, 2003
Posts: 2



(Msg. 1) Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2003 12:55 pm
Post subject: Which book for a beginner?
Archived from groups: comp>unix>bsd>freebsd>misc (more info?)
Before I ask your opinion on two books, please let me give you a bit
of background.

After years of exclusively using Windows, I've started to look into
alternatives. The are various reasons, most of them related to
Microsoft's licensing/marketing strategies and my desire to be closer
to the machine (and gain a better understanding of it) rather than to
the performance the actual OS. I tried out various Linux distributions
and FreeBSD, and found the latter to be the most attractive.

I know that these really shouldn't be deciding factors, however, the
atmosphere in this newsgroup and the general "feel" of the FreeBSD
community did play a role. I think I left my "revoluzzer" years behind
me around the time I got my second Atari machine back in the eighties
and am now primarily interested in efficiency, stability and, yes,
"freedom". My one problem with Linux, though, is the "fragmentation".
There are some advantages to it, but the "distro wars" remind me of
the "Amiga vs Atari" feuds of old, and no matter how entertaining this
is, it's neither productive nor does it make it easier to get help and
gain knowledge.

I'm not looking for an OS for just one particular purpose, but rather
for something that can be used for "most everything", ranging from
every day desktop applications over scripting to more server-oriented
usage. The focus will be on desktop/workstation however, and yes, I
realise that FreeBSD might not be the "best" choice. I have no
intension to replace XP any time soon (I really can't, for job-related
reasons), but I'll be "dualing" and slowly shift to the alternative
OS.

Yes, I'll get to my actual question in just a moment Smile.

Despite having lived with computers for quite a few yeras, I'm still
pretty much a user. Now, then why FreeBSD? "Because I want to learn
how to not be a user", answers this somwhat accurately. Something to
sink my teeth into, something that'll benefit me down the road and
increase my productivity some time down the road. At the point of
writing this, I'm somewhat clueless about Unix (hey, I do know CP/M!)
and I guess I'm your typical GUI person. However, I'm not afraid of a
CLI (quite the opposite, actually) or diving into the depth of the
system.

The FreeBSD handbook looks good, but I'd like something in printed
form that covers a wide area of topics. The trick is to find a book
that is suitable for beginners, but also introduces advanced topics --
a book that accompanies me through the newbie to intermediate stages,
enabling me to better understand advanced or expert topics down the
road. I've found two printed books that seem to meet this criterion:

"FreeBSD Unleashed", published by Sams
"The Complete FreeBSD", 4th edition, published by O'Reilly

The FreeBSD I'm going to use for now is 4.8, by the way. Which of
these two books would you recommend to me, if any? If they're both
unsuited, I'm open for suggestions.

Thanks!

-M.

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Ben Crowell

External


Since: Jun 24, 2003
Posts: 2



(Msg. 2) Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2003 4:02 pm
Post subject: Re: Which book for a beginner? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
> "FreeBSD Unleashed", published by Sams
> "The Complete FreeBSD", 4th edition, published by O'Reilly
There's a review (by me) of FreeBSD Unleashed on theassayer.org. The
Complete FreeBSD is excellent, probably the best I've found. Note that the
FreeBSD Handbook /is/ available in print -- I've also reviewed it on
theassayer.org. IMO, FreeBSD Unleashed is the worst of the three.

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bob prohaska

External


Since: Nov 25, 2003
Posts: 4



(Msg. 3) Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 4:18 am
Post subject: Re: Which book for a beginner? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Michael Vondung wrote:
> that is suitable for beginners, but also introduces advanced topics --
> a book that accompanies me through the newbie to intermediate stages,
> enabling me to better understand advanced or expert topics down the
> road. I've found two printed books that seem to meet this criterion:
>
> "FreeBSD Unleashed", published by Sams
> "The Complete FreeBSD", 4th edition, published by O'Reilly
>
> The FreeBSD I'm going to use for now is 4.8, by the way. Which of
> these two books would you recommend to me, if any? If they're both
> unsuited, I'm open for suggestions.

While you're in the bookstore pick up a copy of "Unix System Adminstration"
by Nemeth, Snyder and Seebass. It's written with a combination of knowledge,
wisdom and wit that served me well. It's not OS-specific, and offers an
enlightened look at how Unix works in language that a non-programmer can
often understand. Sometimes even enjoy.

bob
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jpd

External


Since: Jun 25, 2003
Posts: 2



(Msg. 4) Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 8:56 am
Post subject: Re: Which book for a beginner? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
On Tue, 24 Jun 2003 12:55:15 +0200, Michael Vondung wrote:
[snip]
> My one problem with Linux, though, is the "fragmentation".
> There are some advantages to it, but the "distro wars" remind me of
> the "Amiga vs Atari" feuds of old, and no matter how entertaining this
> is, it's neither productive nor does it make it easier to get help and
> gain knowledge.

If you're k-rad leet you build your own linux distro then tell everybody
else yours is best. The point? You Can Do So, Too!

>
> I'm not looking for an OS for just one particular purpose, but rather
> for something that can be used for "most everything", ranging from
> every day desktop applications over scripting to more server-oriented
> usage. The focus will be on desktop/workstation however, and yes, I
> realise that FreeBSD might not be the "best" choice.

``Best'' is a taste issue, mostly. FreeBSD can probably do or host programs
that do most of what you want.

> I have no
> intension to replace XP any time soon (I really can't, for job-related
> reasons), but I'll be "dualing" and slowly shift to the alternative
> OS.

You might be able to do more than you think. But as you say, all in due time.

[snip: which book?]
> The FreeBSD handbook looks good, but I'd like something in printed
> form that covers a wide area of topics. The trick is to find a book
> that is suitable for beginners, but also introduces advanced topics --
> a book that accompanies me through the newbie to intermediate stages,
> enabling me to better understand advanced or expert topics down the
> road. I've found two printed books that seem to meet this criterion:
>
> "FreeBSD Unleashed", published by Sams
> "The Complete FreeBSD", 4th edition, published by O'Reilly
>
> The FreeBSD I'm going to use for now is 4.8, by the way. Which of
> these two books would you recommend to me, if any? If they're both
> unsuited, I'm open for suggestions.

I generally do not recommend any books featuring `unleashed', `teach
yourself $topic in N hours/days/weeks', `for dummies', `professional
edition', et cetera. But that may be just me.


My advice has been to get two books: One about unix in general, which
covers the standard utilities and explains about the BSD and AT&T schools.
Thus scetching life `as a unix user'. If you know that, you are pretty
much able to hop from one unix to another in relatively short time,
given a proper manual and maybe the rosetta stone of unix[0].

I have heard good stories about _Learning the Unix Operating System_,
5th edition[1], even tho I've never learned `unix from the book'.

After that, the second book is for diving into FreeBSD specifics, and
while a number of books give you lots of information, the definitive
guide would still be _The FreeBSD Handbook_.[2] The only catch is that
you'll have to print it yourself. But see [3]. Another book of interest
may be _The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide_[4]. Also, I should not
fail to mention _FreeBSD: An Open-Source OS for your PC_[6], even if it
may be a bit dated here and there, especially regarding FreeBSD 5.

Getting down to the bare metal, there's ofcourse ``the daemon book'' mk2,
_The Design and Implementation of the 4.4 BSD Operating System_[7], and
a number of articles, see again [3], and [5] (or just /usr/share/doc).

Hope that gives you some pointers. If there is any advice, apart from the
above and the pretty bland-sounding ``better do your homework: read the
handbook and the FAQ'', it would be the also bland-sounding ``learn to
read and appreciate the _online reference manual_'' which is found on most
any unix. While it won't tell you how to achieve things, and it also does
not do a very good job of explaining why, it at least documents the knobs
and switches that the utilities on your machine have. The manpages are even
stored in `settable' form so making a book out of that isn't hard.


[0] http://bhami.com/rosetta.html
[1] http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lunix5/
[2] http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/index.html [8]
[3] http://www.freebsd.org/docproj/doc-set.html [8]
[4] http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com/ [8]
[5] http://www.freebsd.org/docs.html#other [8]
[6] http://www.bsdmall.com/freebosforyo.html
[7] http://www.aw-bc.com/catalog/academic/product/0,4096,0201549794,00.html
or http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/design-44bsd/ [8]
[8] See ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/doc/ for html, pdb, pdf, ps, rtf
and plain text versions of _a lot_ of freebsd documentation.
 >> Stay informed about: Which book for a beginner? 
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jpd

External


Since: Jun 25, 2003
Posts: 2



(Msg. 5) Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 9:01 am
Post subject: Re: Which book for a beginner? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
On Tue, 24 Jun 2003 12:55:15 +0200, Michael Vondung wrote:
[snip]
> My one problem with Linux, though, is the "fragmentation".
> There are some advantages to it, but the "distro wars" remind me of
> the "Amiga vs Atari" feuds of old, and no matter how entertaining this
> is, it's neither productive nor does it make it easier to get help and
> gain knowledge.

If you're k-rad leet you build your own linux distro then tell everybody
else yours is best. The point? You Can Do So, Too!

>
> I'm not looking for an OS for just one particular purpose, but rather
> for something that can be used for "most everything", ranging from
> every day desktop applications over scripting to more server-oriented
> usage. The focus will be on desktop/workstation however, and yes, I
> realise that FreeBSD might not be the "best" choice.

``Best'' is a taste issue, mostly. FreeBSD can probably do or host programs
that do most of what you want.

> I have no
> intension to replace XP any time soon (I really can't, for job-related
> reasons), but I'll be "dualing" and slowly shift to the alternative
> OS.

You might be able to do more than you think. But as you say, all in due time.

[snip: which book?]
> The FreeBSD handbook looks good, but I'd like something in printed
> form that covers a wide area of topics. The trick is to find a book
> that is suitable for beginners, but also introduces advanced topics --
> a book that accompanies me through the newbie to intermediate stages,
> enabling me to better understand advanced or expert topics down the
> road. I've found two printed books that seem to meet this criterion:
>
> "FreeBSD Unleashed", published by Sams
> "The Complete FreeBSD", 4th edition, published by O'Reilly
>
> The FreeBSD I'm going to use for now is 4.8, by the way. Which of
> these two books would you recommend to me, if any? If they're both
> unsuited, I'm open for suggestions.

I generally do not recommend any books featuring `unleashed', `teach
yourself $topic in N hours/days/weeks', `for dummies', `professional
edition', et cetera. But that may be just me.


My advice has been to get two books: One about unix in general, which
covers the standard utilities and explains about the BSD and AT&T schools.
Thus scetching life `as a unix user'. If you know that, you are pretty
much able to hop from one unix to another in relatively short time,
given a proper manual and maybe the rosetta stone of unix[0].

I have heard good stories about _Learning the Unix Operating System_,
5th edition[1], even tho I've never learned `unix from the book'.

After that, the second book is for diving into FreeBSD specifics, and
while a number of books give you lots of information, the definitive
guide would still be _The FreeBSD Handbook_.[2] The only catch is that
you'll have to print it yourself. But see [3]. Another book of interest
may be _The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide_[4]. Also, I should not
fail to mention _FreeBSD: An Open-Source OS for your PC_[6], even if it
may be a bit dated here and there, especially regarding FreeBSD 5.

Getting down to the bare metal, there's ofcourse ``the daemon book'' mk2,
_The Design and Implementation of the 4.4 BSD Operating System_[7], and
a number of articles, see again [3], and [5] (or just /usr/share/doc).

Hope that gives you some pointers. If there is any advice, apart from the
above and the pretty bland-sounding ``better do your homework: read the
handbook and the FAQ'', it would be the also bland-sounding ``learn to
read and appreciate the _online reference manual_'' which is found on most
any unix. While it won't tell you how to achieve things, and it also does
not do a very good job of explaining why, it at least documents the knobs
and switches that the utilities on your machine have. The manpages are even
stored in `settable' form so making a book out of that isn't hard.


[0] http://bhami.com/rosetta.html
[1] http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lunix5/
[2] http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/index.html [8]
[3] http://www.freebsd.org/docproj/doc-set.html [8]
[4] http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com/ [8]
[5] http://www.freebsd.org/docs.html#other [8]
[6] http://www.bsdmall.com/freebosforyo.html
[7] http://www.aw-bc.com/catalog/academic/product/0,4096,0201549794,00.html
or http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/design-44bsd/ [8]
[8] See ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/doc/ for html, pdb, pdf, ps, rtf
and plain text versions of _a lot_ of freebsd documentation.

--
j p d (at) d s b (dot) t u d e l f t (dot) n l .
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llewelly

External


Since: Jun 30, 2003
Posts: 1



(Msg. 6) Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2003 12:56 pm
Post subject: Re: Which book for a beginner? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
read_the_sig RemoveThis @do.not.spam.it (jpd) writes:
[snip]
> I generally do not recommend any books featuring `unleashed', `teach
> yourself $topic in N hours/days/weeks', `for dummies', `professional
> edition', et cetera. But that may be just me.

It's not just you. I've read a lot of books featuring `unleashed',
`teach yourself $topic in N hours/days/weeks', etc - and I think
they usually teach a perverse combination of misconceptions and
bad habits. There may be a few good mixed in with the bad but I
haven't come across any.

> My advice has been to get two books: One about unix in general, which
> covers the standard utilities and explains about the BSD and AT&T schools.
> Thus scetching life `as a unix user'. If you know that, you are pretty
> much able to hop from one unix to another in relatively short time,
> given a proper manual and maybe the rosetta stone of unix[0].

I think O'Reilly's unix in a nutshell is a good pick for this kind of
book.

[snip lots of good book reccomendations]
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