Mike Chirico on 5 Apr 2008 16:22:54 -0700 |
On Fri, Apr 04, 2008 at 08:38:20PM -0400, JP Vossen wrote: > > Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2008 19:44:09 -0400 > > From: "David A. Harding" <dave@dtrt.org> > > > > On Thu, Apr 03, 2008 at 02:23:56PM -0400, william antill wrote: > >> I run linux as my main machine, [and I'd] really like to [...] do more > >> with it. Any suggestions? > > > > I think books are the worst way to learn a totally new subject. They > > create no commitment. When the going gets tough, the book gets put down. > > I have to disagree with that, I think it depends on the person. I agree > that finding a project and committing to doing it will force you to > learn a heck of a lot. But rather than waste a lot of time at the Yeah, it's a hard question to answer. I'd recommend reading a lot, and definitely hands on. I get the unlimited version of O'Reilly Safari on line. There are a few good magazines. Below are the ones that I get. Linux Journal Linux Magazine (www.linux-magazine.com) Linux Magazine (www.linux-mag.com) Linux User & Developer Dr. Dobb's In my opinion, there are three general types of Linux users. 1. System Admins They know Perl, Bash, awk, sed, how to route with the ip command, setup email (Postfix/sendmail), configure DNS. Also how to configure GFS, NFS, work with Cfengine, Apache, Tomcat, MySQL, Snort, kickstart scripts using PXE boot). Plus how to format and mount disks. They'll know the trade offs of not using, or even using noatime, (PXE boot), fdisk with ext2,ext3, reiserFS, and maybe XFS, and how to configure grub. These are your Red Hat CE/CISSP types. And,they usually prefer vi to emacs. These also configure VMware plus their routers. Also, these people seem to be very vocal about supporting Linux and sometimes Sun. The good ones read a lot, and experiment. Books: "Programming Perl, 3rd Edition", "Higher Order Perl", "Bash Cook Book","Learning the bash Shell, 3rd Edition", "Cfengine" - the one through USENIX. Usually a member of Sage. "Apache Cookbook", "DNS and Bind 5th edition", "Essential SNMP, 2nd Edition", (A book on Firewalls: something off the redhat site, or "Linux Firewalls Attach Detection and Response with Iptable, psad, and fwsnort"). Also, there's a lot of info in news groups. 2. Developers They like working with Java, C++,C, PHP, Qt and SQL. Plus some Perl, Bash, awk, and sed. They read books like "Design Patterns", Algorithms in C++ (or Java), "Effective C++ Programming", "C++ Primer 4th Edition", "Effective C++: 55 ways to improve your program and designs, Third Edition", "Head First Java, 2nd Edition", "Head First Object-Oriented Analysis and Design", subscribe to Dr. Dobb's. You don't see many vi users - it's mostly emacs and a lot Eclipse. These guys sometimes have advanced degrees in computer science or math. I'd include advanced web designers and DBA's in this group too. Typically these people work with Microsoft Databases and Oracle. The good ones read a lot, and experiment. 3. Enthusiast These people come from 1 or 2 above. They build their own creations, like custom builds on soekris (www.soekris.com) boxes. Often they will compile their own kernel from source, trying out the new features like CONFIG_ROOT_NFS etc. Typically, they will look over processor data books and add new modules to push the capability of their creation. These people read everything. They'll have a hand in "Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment", "Unix Network programming (vol I and II)", "Essential Linux Device Drivers". Beyond their favorite distro, they'll typically leverage Busybox. They freely cross the the two camps (Developer and System Administration). If their project requires System Admin work, they fall into that role. Once they have the hardware built, they typically write application software on top it it -- sometimes in several programming languages to see what language works the best on the particular project. They are always reading, learning, building, taking apart, and finding out how things work. Well, that's my take, with probably a lot of books missing. Regards, Mike Chirico ___________________________________________________________________________ Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
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