<P>Of course, this isn&#146;t to say that you won&#146;t use the applications on the CD-ROMs with this book. For many, the use of Linux as an Internet tool will alone be worth the price of the book. Programmers who want to code for other UNIX and X Window platforms will also find this book and its CD-ROMs extremely useful.</P>

<H3><A NAME="Heading5"></A><FONT COLOR="#000077">Linux, Slackware, and This Book</FONT></H3>

<P>This book isn&#146;t a general primer on the Linux operating system. Instead, we&#146;ve decided to focus on the version of Linux included on the accompanying CD-ROMs. We made this decision because the world of Linux is very wide and varied, and despite what some people think, there <I>are</I> differences among Linux distributions.</P>

<P>If you own another Linux distribution, there will be things in this book that apply to your distribution (particularly in Chapter 4 and beyond). However, be warned that we&#146;re sticking to the Slackware distribution of Linux for the particulars in this book.</P>

<H4 ALIGN="LEFT"><A NAME="Heading6"></A><FONT COLOR="#000077">What is Slackware Compared to Linux?</FONT></H4>

<P>Linux, as distributed by the many good people who work on it, is actually quite a limited piece of software. Essentially, it&#146;s the three-disk set beginning with <I>a</I> that make up the true core of the operating system.</P>

<P>The Slackware distribution of Linux builds on this core with utilities, programming libraries, and ports of other UNIX and X Window programs, under a unified whole. Many of the setup utilities on the CD-ROMs, for example, are unique to the Slackware distribution of Linux. These things make the Slackware distribution unique.</P>

<H4 ALIGN="LEFT"><A NAME="Heading7"></A><FONT COLOR="#000077">Differences between This Book and the First Edition</FONT></H4>

<P>The first edition of this book sold phenomenally well&#151;much better, quite frankly, than we anticipated. It quickly spawned a group of Linux wannabes who really didn&#146;t know the operating system but could license Linux from another source and pawn it off as an authentic guide to Linux.

</P>

<P>But this sort of approach, quite honestly, isn&#146;t in the true spirit of Linux. As a whole, Linux owes a lot to the many volunteers who make it work and help others use it. We&#146;ve bought into this ethos; Slackware Linux is available at no charge via the Internet. And, as a bonus, we&#146;ve managed to keep the cost of this book affordable (less than other commercial implementations of Linux) while at the same time offering two CD-ROMs containing a slew of Linux software. The second CD-ROM contains the work of many other software programmers, and if you find their work to be useful in your work, we strongly recommend that you send along a contribution to reward their efforts.</P>

<P>So, what else distinguishes this book from the first and second editions? Well, Linux has changed, and so has the Slackware implementation. On a user level, you&#146;ll notice that the operating system is generally more stable, and the X Window implementation is easier to configure and much less cranky to tweak. More tools have been added to the core Slackware Linux distribution on the first CD-ROM. Programmers will appreciate the new data formats that cut down on the size of executable files and the new tools that allow Motif programs to be run without an actual OSF/Motif license from the Open Software Foundation. Several security tools have been added, as well as an updated version on XFree86.</P>

<P>In short, if you&#146;ve been a Linux user, you&#146;ll have reasons both to upgrade your version of Linux and to review the new information presented in this book. Linux is a dynamic, ever-changing operating system, and it&#146;s always fun to keep track of the latest and greatest.</P>

<H4 ALIGN="LEFT"><A NAME="Heading8"></A><FONT COLOR="#000077">The Free Software Foundation</FONT></H4>

<P>Many of the utilities and programs contained in this distribution of Linux (and most other Linux distributions) come from the Free Software Foundation (FSF) or are licensed under the general terms of the Free Software Foundation. Because so many of the utilities are connected with the FSF, we urge you to check out the group (via its many Usenet newsgroups) and to read through its general license, which is contained along with its programs (for example, <B>emacs</B> gives you an option to read through the general license). For more information about the Free Software Foundation, write:</P>

<DL>

<DD>Free Software Foundation

<DD>675 Massachusetts Avenue

<DD>Cambridge, MA 02139

<DD>(617) 876-3296 (voice)

<DD>(617) 492-9057 (fax)

</DL>

<DL>

<DD><I>gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu</I>

</DL>

<H3><A NAME="Heading9"></A><FONT COLOR="#000077">Resources on the CD-ROMs</FONT></H3>

<P>We&#146;ve included two CD-ROMs with this book. A full implementation of the Linux operating system can be found on the first CD-ROM. This includes a rather robust set of UNIX utilities and a complete implementation of the X Window System. In addition, we&#146;ve included a set of documents, called the <I>Linux HOW-TOS</I>, in the <B>docs</B> directory. These are text files that examine a portion of the Linux operating system in great detail. Occasionally, we will refer to these documents in the course of this book.</P>

<P>The second CD-ROM contains software, software, software. Most of the software contained on the second CD-ROM is already compiled for Slackware Linux, but when appropriate we&#146;ve included source code so you can compile the software for use on your own system. We present the software &#147;as is&#148; (that is, directly from the authors via the Internet), and there&#146;s no way we can support it. Almost all of the software has files that contain information about contacting the authors, and that&#146;s where you should turn if you have problems with the software. Also, some of the authors ask for a contribution if you find their software useful, and we <I>strongly</I> urge you to send one.</P>

<H3><A NAME="Heading10"></A><FONT COLOR="#000077">Conventions Used in the Book</FONT></H3>

<P>To make this book more usable, we&#146;ve incorporated a few formatting conventions that should make it easier for you to find what you need. These include the following icons:

</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

<P><FONT SIZE="-1"><HR><B>NOTE:&nbsp;&nbsp;</B>The Note icon indicates something that you should pay special attention to.<HR></FONT>

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

<P><FONT SIZE="-1"><HR><B>WARNING:&nbsp;&nbsp;</B>The Warning icon warns you about actions that could be hazardous to the health of your computer or your Linux installation.<HR></FONT>

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

<P><FONT SIZE="-1"><HR><B>ON THE CD-ROMS:&nbsp;&nbsp;</B>The CD-ROMs icon refers to items found on the accompanying CD-ROMs, such as the aforementioned <B>HOWTO</B> files.<HR></FONT>

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>In addition, we&#146;ve used some specific formatting commands in the text:

</P>

<DL>

<DD><B>&#149;</B>&nbsp;&nbsp;<B>Bold</B> type refers to a command

<DD><B>&#149;</B>&nbsp;&nbsp;<I>Italic</I> type refers to a new concept

<DD><B>&#149;</B>&nbsp;&nbsp;<B>Monospaced</B> type refers to a command line entered directly at a prompt and ending with the <B>Enter</B> key, as in the following:

<!-- CODE SNIP //-->

<PRE>

  gilbert:/ elvis

</PRE>

<!-- END CODE SNIP //-->

</DL>

<H3><A NAME="Heading11"></A><FONT COLOR="#000077">How to Reach the Authors</FONT></H3>

<P>You&#146;re free to drop us a line via electronic mail at: reichard@mr.net.

</P>

<P>However, we must warn you that we promise no further guidance to Linux than what&#146;s printed in this book. Among the three of us, we receive a lot of electronic mail, and at times it&#146;s impossible to keep up with it. Please don&#146;t assume that this electronic-mail address will bring you instant help.</P><P><BR></P>

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