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发信人: netiscpu (说不如做), 信区: Linux
标  题: [B] Red Hat Linux Unleashed (15)
发信站: 紫丁香 (Sat Jul 25 03:10:27 1998), 转信

   Using the Linux Documentation
     _________________________________________________________________

               o The Linux Documentation Project
               o CD-ROM Documentation
               o HOWTO Documents
               o Usenet Newsgroups
               o World Wide Web Sites
               o Linux Journal
               o Summary

     _________________________________________________________________

   15


   Using the Linux Documentation


   This chapter will take a brief look at the documentation that is
   available to you from the Linux CD-ROM, as well as alternative
   sources. You will see:
     * What documentation is available on the CD-ROM

     * Where to go on the Internet for more information

     * Linux newsgroups you should check for help

   Hopefully, this book will provide most of the information you need to
   get going with Linux, but you may need to investigate other sources of
   information for a number of reasons (such as hardware support,
   troubleshooting, and so on).

   The Linux Documentation Project


   The first exposure most people get to Linux is a book like the one you
   are now reading or the Linux INFO-SHEET, a relatively short ASCII
   document that is available from Usenet, BBSes (bulletin board
   systems), and many user groups. The INFO-SHEET is a quick summary of
   Linux posted at regular intervals to the Linux newsgroups on Usenet.

   As Linux was developed, several programmers started writing brief
   guides to their contributions, as well as wider areas of the operating
   system. These documents, while usually terse and awkward to read, did
   provide others with enough information to continue their own use of
   Linux. Over a short span, the documentation for Linux began growing
   rapidly, and a central organizing body became necessary to help keep
   it on track and avoid unnecessary duplication.

   The Linux Documentation Project was created to provide a complete set
   of public domain documentation for Linux. From a few rough
   installation notes a couple of years ago, the documentation has
   expanded to include almost a thousand pages, some very good, some not.
   The following primary documents are currently available or soon to be
   released:
     * Linux Installation explains how to install and configure Linux.

     * The Linux User's Guide is a guide for first-time users.

     * The Linux System Administrator's Guide is a guide to various
       aspects of system adminis-tration.

     * The Linux Network Administration Guide explains how to set up and
       use networks.

     * The Linux Kernel Hacker's Guide is a guide to modifying the Linux
       kernel.

   In addition to these primary documents, there are about a dozen
   smaller guides to specific or esoteric aspects of Linux. These smaller
   guides are called How To documents. Together they form a growing
   document suite that covers practically every aspect of Linux. These
   documents are available with most distributions of the software. Not
   all the documents are up to date, as changes to the operating system
   have occurred since they were first written. Several different people
   wrote the Linux documents, so the styles and layout are not
   consistent. A perfect-bound printed copy of the Linux Documentation
   Project is available from Linux Systems Labs and some bookstores.

       ______________________________________________________________


     NOTE: You can contact the Linux Systems Labs at 49884 Miller Court,
     Chesterfield, MI 48047. Their telephone number is (810) 716-1700,
     and their fax machine is at (810) 716-1703. You can get information
     about LSL from their e-mail address:
     [begmailto:info@lsl.com">info@lsl.com

     .
       ______________________________________________________________


   CD-ROM Documentation


   The Red Hat CD-ROM that accompanies this book has a lot of
   documentation supplied. The primary location of information is the
   /doc directory of the CD-ROM, which contains several types of files. A
   directory listing of the /doc/HOWTO directory shows the following
   contents:

bash# ls /cdrom/doc/HOWTO/
BootPrompt-HOWTO IPX-HOWTO Printing-HOWTO
Bootdisk-HOWTO Installation-HOWTO Printing-Usage-HOWTO
Busmouse-HOWTO Italian-HOWTO SCSI-HOWTO
CDROM-HOWTO JE-HOWTO SCSI-Programming-HOWTO
Commercial-HOWTO Java-HOWTO Serial-HOWTO
Cyrillic-HOWTO Kernel-HOWTO Shadow-Password-HOWTO
DOSEMU-HOWTO Keyboard-HOWTO Sound-HOWTO
Danish-HOWTO Keystroke-HOWTO Sound-Playing-HOWTO
Distribution-HOWTO MGR-HOWTO TRANS.TBL
ELF-HOWTO Mail-HOWTO Term-HOWTO
Ethernet-HOWTO NET-2-HOWTO Tips-HOWTO
Firewall-HOWTO NIS-HOWTO UMSDOS-HOWTO
Ftape-HOWTO News-HOWTO UPS-HOWTO
German-HOWTO PCI-HOWTO UUCP-HOWTO
HAM-HOWTO PCMCIA-HOWTO XFree86-HOWTO
Hardware-HOWTO PPP-HOWTO
Hebrew-HOWTO Portuguese-HOWTO

   Most of these files are extracted to your Linux hard drive if you
   select the documentation options when installing Linux through setup.
   The setup routine lets you choose which types of documentation will be
   moved from the installation CD-ROM to your hard drive, but you can't
   select individual entries in the sets. If you are limited in disk
   space, you should consider leaving most of the document on the CD-ROM
   and viewing it only on an as-needed basis.

   A directory listing of this area shows a wealth of files:

bash# ls /usr/doc
ElectricFence-2.0.5-2 libc-5.2.18-1 sh-utils-1.12-4
FAQ libelf-0.5.2-2 slang-devel-0.99.24-2
HOWTO lilo-0.17-3 sliplogin-2.0.2-2
HTML linuxdoc-sgml-1.4 svgalib-1.2.9-3
SysVinit-2.58-2 m4-1.4-4 sysklogd-1.3-1
XFree86-3.1.1-1 make-3.74-5 taper-6.0-2
bash-1.14.6-2 maplay-1.2-2 tcp_wrappers-7.3-1
bm2font-3.0-3 mawk-1.2.2-3 tcsh-6.06-7
bootpc-045-2 mb-5.0-5 tetex-0.3.3
cpio-2.4.1-3 mh-6.8.3-5 textutils-1.14-1
diffutils-2.7-3 multimedia-2.0-3 time-1.6-3
dosemu-0.60.4-3 mxp-1.0-2 tin-1.22-4
emacs-19.30-2 ncurses-1.9.6-6 tksysv-0.9-1
exmh-1.6.4-3 nfs-server-2.2beta4-6 umsdos_progs-0.8-4
fileutils-3.12-3 nslookup.help uucp-1.06.1-4
findutils-4.1-5 nvi-1.49-4 words-2-2
fwhois-1.00-4 patch-2.1-3 wu-ftpd-2.4.2b9-1
gawk-2.15.6-3 pcmcia-cs-2.8.8-1 xfm-1.3.2-2
gcc-2.7.2-2 pdksh-5.2.3-2 xmailbox-2.2-2
getty_ps-2.0.7h-1 pidentd-2.5.1-4 xsysinfo-1.2-3
grep-2.0-3 playmidi-2.3-2 xv-3.10a-3
gzip-1.2.4-3 ppp-2.1.2d-4 yp-clients-2.2-2
inn-1.4unoff3-5 rcs-5.7-3 ypserv-0.15-2
ipfwadm-1.1-2 rdist-1.0-2 zoneinfo-95e-3
ispell-3.1.18-2 samba-1.9.15p8-2
less.hlp sed-2.05-4

   Each subdirectory in the preceding list contains more specific
   information about each tool. For example, if you want more specific
   information about the tape tool, look in the /usr/doc/mt-st directory
   for a README file for a listing of the contents.

   HOWTO Documents


   Let's face it. This one chapter (or text for that matter) cannot
   possibly hope to cover all the scenarios that you will encounter as
   you work with Linux. The number of combinations of hardware devices,
   software interfaces, and versions of Linux make it impossible to list
   them all here. That one specific CD-ROM or Ethernet card in your PC
   may not be listed here in this book, but may very well be supported
   under Linux. To get more specific information about specific topics,
   you have to read the HOWTO files for that topic.

   Basically, a HOWTO file is compiled by someone who has tracked
   problems related to a specific issue. Topics include booting,
   printing, tape support, and so on. There are a number of HOWTO files
   included with the CD-ROM (and installed to the hard drive with most
   installations of Linux). If your mount point is /cdrom, the HOWTO
   files are found in /cdrom/doc. The files are in text format in that
   directory, so you can use any text editor to view them. A partial
   description of the files in the /cdrom/doc/HOWTO directory is shown
   here to help you get an idea of where to look for more information:
   Bootdisk-HOWTO This is the file you would read to get more information
   about creating boot and root disks for your machine.
   Busmouse-HOWTO This file contains information on installing and using
   a bus mouse with your Linux system.
   CDROM-HOWTO Linux supports a variety of CD-ROM drives. Unfortunately,
   not all the CD-ROM drives on the market are supported. Look in this
   file for more information about CD-ROM drive devices and Linux
   drivers.
   COPYRIGHT This file contains the copyright restrictions and
   information about Linux.
   Commercial-HOWTO Looking for commercial software available for Linux?
   Check out this file, which contains lists of companies and products
   for Linux.
   DOSEMU-HOWTO Linux has a DOS emulator called DOSemu. This HOWTO
   contains information about the Linux MS-DOS emulator.
   Danish-HOWTO How to configure Linux for use with the Danish character
   set.
   Distribution-HOWTO A general list of mail order distributions and
   other commercial services.
   ELF-HOWTO In the future, Linux binaries will be distributed in the
   Information on ELF binaries for Linux.
   Ethernet-HOWTO Information on Ethernet hardware compatibility for
   Linux.
   Firewall-HOWTO How to set up a firewall using Linux.
   Ftape-HOWTO Information on ftape drive compatibility with Linux.
   German-HOWTO Information on using Linux with German-specific features.
   HAM-HOWTO How to configure amateur radio software for Linux.
   HOWTO-INDEX Index of HOWTO documents about Linux.
   Hardware-HOWTO A list of hardware known to work with Linux.
   INFO-SHEET Generic introduction to the Linux operating system.
   Installation-HOWTO How to obtain and install the Linux software.
   JE-HOWTO Information on JE, a set of Japanese language extensions for
   Linux.
   Kernel-HOWTO Upgrading and compiling the Linux kernel.
   META-FAQ A listing of Linux sources of information.
   MGR-HOWTO Information on the MGR graphics interface for Linux.
   Mail-HOWTO Information on Linux-based mail servers and clients.
   NET-2-HOWTO How to configure TCP/IP networking, SLIP, PLIP, and PPP
   under Linux.
   NIS-HOWTO Linux NIS (Network Information Service) and YP (Yellow
   Pages).
   News-HOWTO Information on Usenet news server and client software for
   Linux.
   PCI-HOWTO Information on PCI-architecture compatibility with Linux.
   PCMCIA-HOWTO How to install and use PCMCIA Card Services.
   PPP-HOWTO Information on using PPP networking with Linux.
   Printing-HOWTO Information on how to set up printing under Linux.
   Printing-Usage-HOWTO How to use the printing system for a variety of
   file types and options.
   SCSI-HOWTO Linux SCSI drive tape CD-ROM HOWTO.
   SCSI-Programming-HOWTO Information on programming the generic Linux
   SCSI interface.
   Serial-HOWTO Information on use of serial devices and communications
   software.
   Sound-HOWTO Sound hardware and software for the Linux operating
   system.
   Term-HOWTO How to use the term communications package on Linux
   systems.
   Tips-HOWTO HOWTO on miscellaneous tips and tricks for Linux.
   UMSDOS-HOWTO How to install and use the UMSDOS file system.
   UPS-HOWTO Using Linux on a PC without a UPS will leave you vulnerable
   to the mercy of your electrical power company. Killing the power on a
   running Linux system can ruin your Linux box.
   UUCP-HOWTO Information on how to install and use the Taylor UUCP
   software for Linux.
   WRITING Check this file out if you are interested in writing your own
   HOWTO file.
   XFree86-HOWTO How to obtain, install, and configure XFree86 3.1.2
   (X11R6).
   mini/ Directory containing informal mini-HOWTOs.
   other-formats/ Directory containing other formats of the HOWTOs.

   Look at the preceding list carefully. If you see the topic of your
   interest here, you are in luck. The HOWTO file will be the best source
   for you to get more specific information. If you want to confirm that
   you have the latest HOWTO files, you can check the official repository
   of documents in the tsx-11.mit.edu site in the /pub/linux/docs/HOWTO
   directory for any updates.

   Usenet Newsgroups


   Usenet is a collection of discussion groups (called newsgroups)
   available to Internet users. The more than 13,000 newsgroups generate
   over 100MB of traffic every day. Of all these newsgroups (which cover
   every conceivable topic), several are dedicated to Linux. These
   newsgroups are a useful forum for information and answers to questions
   about Linux.

   You can read Usenet newsgroups through newsreader software that
   accesses either the Internet or a local site that offers Usenet
   service (called a newsfeed). Many online services, such as CompuServe
   and Delphi, provide access to the newsgroups (sometimes at an
   additional cost), and some have their own forums for Linux users.
   BBSes dedicated to Linux in whole or in part are also appearing, and
   many excerpt the Usenet conversations for the BBS users who do not
   have access to Usenet.

   Usenet newsgroups are divided into three categories: primary
   newsgroups that are readily available to all users, local newsgroups
   with a limited distribution (usually based on geography), and
   alternate newsgroups that may not be handled by all news servers due
   to the relaxed rules of etiquette on them. The primary newsgroups of
   interest to Linux users when this book was written are the following:
     * Proponents of the Linux system sound off in
       comp.os.linux.advocacy.

     * The comp.os.linux.announce newsgroup contains announcements
       important to the Linux community. This is a moderated newsgroup,
       which means someone approves the postings before you get to see
       them.

     * The comp.os.linux.answers newsgroup contains questions and answers
       to problems about Linux.

     * Ongoing work on Linux applications is discussed in
       comp.os.linux.development.apps.

     * Ongoing work on the Linux operating system is discussed in
       comp.os.linux.development.system.

     * The comp.os.linux.hardware newsgroup deals with issues concerning
       Linux and hardware support.

     * Linux-specific (not just UNIX-specific) topics not covered by
       other groups are covered in comp.os.linux.misc.

     * Linux-specific topics concerned primarily with X Window are
       covered in comp.os.linux.x.

     * Linux networking issues are discussed in comp.os.linux.networking.


     * The comp.os.linux.setup deals with Linux setup and installation
       problems.

   These primary newsgroups should be available at all Usenet sites,
   unless the system administrator filters them out for some reason. The
   other Linux newsgroups tend to change frequently, primarily because
   they are either regional or populated with highly opinionated users.
   The alt. (alternate) newsgroups are the ones most likely to contain
   such users. One alt. newsgroup in operation when this book was written
   is

alt.uu.comp.os.linux.questions

   To find the several different newsgroups about Linux, use your
   newsreader software to search for all newsgroups with the word linux
   in the title. If you have access to Usenet, regularly scan the
   newsgroup additions and deletions to check for new Linux newsgroups or
   existing groups that have folded. Notices about newsgroup changes are
   usually posted to all existing groups, but every now and again one
   gets through without fanfare. Online services that provide access to
   Usenet usually maintain lists of all active newsgroups that can be
   searched quickly.

   The traffic on most of these Linux newsgroups deals with problems and
   issues people have when installing, configuring, administering, or
   using the operating system. A lot of valuable information passes
   through the newsgroups quickly, so check them regularly. The most
   interesting messages that deal with a specific subject (called a
   thread) are often collected and stored as an archive for access
   through an FTP site.

   World Wide Web Sites


   Not surprisingly, Linux has a good presence on the World Wide Web.
   There are several sites that have Linux information, and a few home
   pages are specifically dedicated for Linux business. Two of the more
   popular Linux Web sites are http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/mdw.html and
   http://www.ssc.com/linux/linux.html.

   From the Linux home page at www.ssc.com you can link to other Linux
   sites, including those of commercial vendors of Linux products. These
   links are updated frequently, so they are a good place to start when
   navigating through the Web. One of the key utilities the www.ssc.com
   home page offers is access to the Linux Software Map (LSM), as
   complete an index to Linux software as you will find anywhere. The
   Linux Software Map includes all the software packages that were
   developed specifically for Linux, as well as utilities and
   applications that have been ported to Linux. The Linux Software Map
   window lets you search for keywords in online documents and indexes,
   and then displays the results to provide a fast, easy method of
   finding software and documents.

   Another way to look for infomation about Linux is to use the
   WebCrawler through the Web site at http:://www.webcrawler.com and
   search for the word Linux. You will be rewarded with a list of names
   which contain information about Linux. (WebCrawler is a trademark
   owned by America Online, Inc.)

   Also don't forget to check the Web site www.yahoo.com in the directory
   Computers/Operating_Systems/Unix/Linux.

   Linux Journal


   The Linux Journal is a commercial publication dedicated to Linux. It
   covers the entire gamut of Linux topics, ranging from material
   suitable for newcomers to the operating system to very complex
   programming. The Linux Journal has a home page, accessible through
   www.ssc.com. Some previously printed articles in electronic form are
   also found on the Web site.

       ______________________________________________________________


     NOTE: If you want more information about the Linux Journal, send
     e-mail to subs@ssc.com. You can also write to the publisher at P.O.
     Box 85867, Seattle, WA 98145, or telephone them at (206) 782-7733.
     Subscriptions cost $22 per year in the United States.


       ______________________________________________________________

       ______________________________________________________________


     NOTE: Another online publication for more Linux information is the
     Linux Gazette at http://www.redhat.com/lg. It's a personal magazine
     in its infancy, but contains very good information for newbies and
     experts alike.


       ______________________________________________________________


   Summary


   Because of the popularity of Linux, you are not left alone with a
   strange operating system and no support. If the files on the CD-ROM
   don't give you the answers you need, a visit to a Web site, Usenet
   newsgroup, or other Linux support vehicle should help get you
   straightened out. Every time you upgrade Linux or get a new CD-ROM,
   you should check the documentation files included to see if there have
   been any new additions that may interest you.


--

                              Enjoy Linux!
                          -----It's FREE!-----

※ 修改:．netiscpu 于 Jul 25 03:47:39 修改本文．[FROM: mtlab.hit.edu.cn]
※ 来源:．紫丁香 bbs.hit.edu.cn．[FROM: mtlab.hit.edu.cn]

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