| Red Hat Fedora 4 Unleashed is organized into seven parts, covering installation and configuration, Fedora on the desktop, system administration, Fedora as a server, programming and housekeeping, and a reference section. A two-CD set of the Fedora Core CD-ROMs is included, as is a DVD, so you will have everything you need to get started. This book starts by covering the initial and essential tasks required to get Fedora installed and running on a target system. If you're new to Linux, and more specifically, Fedora, first read the chapters in Part I, "Installation and Configuration." You'll get valuable information on An overview of Fedora and Linux and their roles in various computing environments Planning for an installation by examining hardware requirements and the need for organizing how the system is installed Detailed steps that take you by the hand through various types of installations Critical advice on key configuration steps to fully install and configure Linux to work with your system's subsystems or peripherals, such as pointers, keyboards, modems, USB devices, power management, and for laptop users PCMCIA devices Initial steps needed by new users transitioning from other computing environments Configuration and use of the X Window System, the graphical interface for Linux
Part II, "Fedora Desktop," is aimed at users who want to get productive with Fedora and covers the following: Becoming familiar with the X Window system and looking at GNOME and KDE Discovering the many productivity applications that come with Fedora Surfing the Internet and working with email and newsgroups Using Fedora to listen to music and watch video Setting up local printers for Fedora A look at the current state of gaming for Linux
Moving beyond the productivity and desktop areas of Fedora, Part III, "System Administration," covers Managing users and groups Automating tasks and using shell scripts Monitoring system resources and availability Backup strategies and software Network connectivity, including sharing folders and securing the network Internet connectivity via dial-up and broadband connections
Part IV, "Fedora As a Server," looks at the opportunities provided by every Fedora system by covering Building and deploying web servers Database creation, management, and manipulation File and print servers Using FTP for serving files across the Internet and local networks Building and deploying email servers using Postfix as well as managing mailing lists Creating remote access gateways and services Configuring DNS for your network Using LDAP for storing information on users and security Configuring a local news server
Part V, "Programming Linux," provides a great introduction into ways in which you can extend Fedora's capabilities even further using the development tools supplied with it. This part covers Programming in Perl, using variables and scripting An introduction to the Python language Writing PHP scripts and linking them to databases C and C++ programming tools available with Fedora, and how to use the GNU C Compiler (gcc)
Part VI, "Fedora Housekeeping," looks at some of the more advanced skills you need to keep your system running in perfect condition, including There is also an extensive reference in Part VII, "Appendix," which gives you scope to explore in even more depth some of the topics covered in this book. |
