I think that a good book such as "Linux Administration Handbook" (Prentice Hall) will help a lot.
For other good books look at http://www.oreilly.com :-) cheers, Mihalis. On Sun, 13 Oct 2002, Josh Rehman wrote: > Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2002 11:50:18 -0700 > From: Josh Rehman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: 'debian-user' <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Linux: a gentle, growing approach > Resent-Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2002 13:41:29 -0500 (CDT) > Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > I want to master Linux. I figure there are two ways to learn Linux > system administration and usage. The first is to install a distribution > and then explore it's nooks and crannies. The second is to begin with a > seed and *grow* the nooks and crannies as needed. The former method is > overwhelmingly used; I'd like to see more of the latter, because it's > the more effective approach for advanced studies. > > I believe that the second approach is superior because complexity is > best understood when the student understands why the complexity was > introduced in the first place. And the best way to accomplish *that* is > to present the student with the problems that the complexity was > originally introduced to solve. Then when they are stumped, you can give > them the answer and they can say, "ah". > > WRT GNU/Linux in general and the Debian distribution in particular, > there are several aspects of the OS that still baffle me, and frankly > intimidate me with their complexity. The boot process is one of these, > as is the nature of the filesystem, dev and proc in particular. Logging > is opaque to me. There are many aspects of the system where it is not > clear where the responsibilities of one program ends and the other > begins. I find the blurred distinction between shell scripts and > compiled programs to be confusing. Not to mention the dizzying array of > configuration files and their baroque syntax! > > I am looking to understand and manipulate a Linux system with the > minimum number of tools to accomplish certain simple goals. The goals > increase in complexity. Tools should be introduced only as needed to > accomplish a goal that is simply impossible (or would require an > inordinate amount of shell or c work) with a current toolset. > > Is there some resource that takes this approach to learning Linux? Would > others find this approach useful? Are there any Linux gurus and/or > students interested in trying this approach? > > (It seems impossible for a student to teach themselves in this way, as > laying out the goals and meting out the tools requires an expert level > of understanding. In particular, setting up a system that is either > actually devoid of tools are has many aspects 'turned off' is a rather > daunting task.) > > What do ya think? > > Thanks, > Josh Rehman, LGW -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
