What You'll Learn in This Book As a set of lessons that build on one another sequentially, this book is written to be studied one chapter at a time, in order, from beginning to end. Early lessons ground you in Linux basics, and later lessons build on the foundations laid by those earlier lessons. Taken together, all of these lessons represent a general introduction to Linux use and to the nuances of the Fedora Core desktop in particular. Again, the information in this book is targeted at readers with no prior experience with Linux or other Unix-like operating systems. There are five major topic areas to discuss when learning to use a Unix-like operating system; an attempt has been made to present them in logical order in this book's five parts: Chapters 13 cover basic Fedora Core 4 installation and configuration. This topic is important because so few PCs and only a relatively small number of low-end servers come bundled with Linux as a turnkey product, meaning that you'll likely be installing and configuring Linux yourself. Chapters 47 cover the basics of the Fedora Core 4 desktop environment, such as working with icons and menus on your desktop and with application windows. You'll also learn how to find and manage files and folders on your Linux system, first by using your mouse and then by using the Linux command line. Chapters 817 take you more deeply into the world of Fedora Core desktop applications, covering a number of business-oriented and network-oriented applications similar to those found in the Windows and Mac OS worlds. You'll use the Fedora Core 4 desktop environment to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations; to edit your photos; to browse the Web; and to read and respond to electronic mail, among other tasks. Chapters 1825 introduce the powerful, programmable Linux command line and a number of applications that don't require a desktop environment or a mouse to be able to operate. For all the polish you'll find on the Linux desktop, the command line still lies at the center of the Linux universe and provides one of the most flexible rapid application development and scripting environments anywhere in computing. Chapters 2635 take you under the hood, to cover system administration and other advanced topics in Linux. The term system administration refers loosely to the set of skills necessary to tailor a Linux system to your needs and then to keep it operating securely and robustlyoften while providing varied network services to multiple users. Although understanding Linux system administration isn't always necessary to be able to perform everyday tasks such as word processing or Web browsing, system administration remains an essential skill for users hoping to deploy Linux for anything other than purely personal computing. Even casual Linux users are likely to need some system administration skillsfor example, the ability to install software or to back up important data to removable storage media.
Users with some Linux experience already might find that they want to study only particular chapters, or to study the chapters in this book in a different order. Each of these chapters should be self-contained enough to make this type of study possible. For those with no previous Linux experience, however, I prefer to repeat the sage advice of Lewis Carroll: "Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."
Enjoy teaching yourself how to use Fedora Core 4! |
