Venkateswarlu N.B. (ed.) Introduction to Linux: Installation and Programming

BS Publications, 2008, -607 p.Since early 1970, Unix operating system has gone through many a metamorphosis. As of now, a number of Unix variants are in vogue. While some of them are commercial, others are available freely. In recent years, Linux, a public domain, freely available Unix variant has attracted the attention of the software community. So far, Unix was believed to be the bread and butter of Computer Science interns. However, because of this freely available Unix variant, many people are becoming Unix/Linux enthusiasts, especially in India.
Hundreds of books had been written in the past, exploring various facets of Unix such as user commands, shell programming, system administration, network management, Unix internals, device drivers, and kernel development. In this book, we attempt to bring into focus, the Linux features and other topics in the open-source arena so as to enable the user to start working under the Free/Open-source regime. This book assumes that the reader has hands on exposure to an operating system such as Windows (as a user) and C programming.
This book attempts to expose the reader to both Linux installations and programming, and should be useful to a novice Linux enthusiast. In a step by step fashion, it describes how to install Linux, make and swap partitions, and configure network, proxy server as well as web server. In addition, network installation along with SLIP, PPP connections are explained. Detailed explanations are given how to run web servers, email servers and print servers on a machine. Besides elementary Linux/Unix commands, emphasize is also on shell and awk programming which are vital for system administration.
Those who are new to networks, are advised to go through the separate chapter on this topic before actually trying to install the network. A chapter on System Logging is included to provide necessary details for the administrators who monitor the activities/processes in their system.
Chapter on X windows deals with the architecture of X windows system. How GUI is developed under Linux is explained with Qt and Gtk libraries using live examples. Python language is explained with concept-oriented examples, with emphasis on Web enabled applications.Introduction to Linux Operating System
Basic Unix commands
File Filters
Processes in Linux
Shell Programming
Debian Linux Installation Guidelines
Redhat Fedora Core 4 Installation Guidelines
Installing Apache: The Web server
Samba Installation and Configuration
Installing SMTP Mail Server
Installing Common Unix Printing System (CUPS)
Installing Squid Proxy and Firewalls
Users and Account Management
A Brief Introduction to Unix Devices and File System
Linux System Startup and Shutdown
System Logging
Networks: A Brief Introduction
Compiling C and C++ Programs under Linux
GNU Debugger
Make
Revision Control System
Lex and Yacc
A Brief Tour of Python
Introduction to Perl
A Peep into Ruby
X Windows Architecture and GUI Programming