Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 16:33:59 -0500 (EST) From: "Crist J. Clark" <cjc@cc942873-a.ewndsr1.nj.home.com> To: Gerhard.Sittig@gmx.net (Gerhard Sittig) Cc: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Preferred readings for newbees Message-ID: <199902212133.QAA17586@cc942873-a.ewndsr1.nj.home.com> In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.02.9902211432110.17721-100000@speedy.gsinet> from Gerhard Sittig at "Feb 21, 99 03:05:58 pm"
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Gerhard Sittig wrote,
> Hello to you!
And hello to _you._
> Is there too big a difference between 2.2.x and 3.x to take
> away much of the book's advantage for me as a newbee?
To be frank, if you are very familiar with a variety of UNIX flavors
and have been running Linux on your own for a while, there is not a
heck of a lot in Greg's (very fine) book that you would really
require. If you already have some books on UNIX, especially one
focused on BSD, you probably have all you need to get started.
I personally found Greg's book useful since I had never set up a UNIX
system from scratch before. I had done administration work on
operating systems doing regular maintenance, and minor changes and
additions, so once I got things running, I did not used the book
much... except it still comes out as a checklist for starting a new
box. :)
Greg has not discussed all of his changes; he more frequently makes
requests for ideas on what to add or change. I do not foresee many
changes being made for the 2.2.x to 3.x change. It's my guess that
more changes will be due to reader feedback on what needs to be added
and what can be dropped which has nothing to do with the version
change. Again, my opinion gathered from vague recollections of
statements made by Greg.
Now to your more specific questions,
> What else
> documents could I read waiting for the third edition (in case of
> online docs I prefer tarballs I can install locally due to the
> telcos' pricing sheme here in Germany :> ). Are there lists of
> user groups I can scan for a regional partner?
I'm not sure what you mean here. Are you looking for closer sources
for the documentation? There is a slew of mirror sites in Germany,
ftp://ftp.de.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD
ftp://ftp2.de.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD
ftp://ftp3.de.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD
ftp://ftp4.de.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD
ftp://ftp5.de.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD
ftp://ftp6.de.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD
ftp://ftp7.de.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD
> When only I knew
> what I was looking for, I could use the known methods to get
> some info ("want to setup DNS? -> do THIS ...").
Something like this is well presented in Greg's book, but then again,
this is _really_ easy to do. You would just have to find your way to
the /etc/namedb/ directory and follow instructions in the files
there.
> But I guess I
> need a todo list of typical jobs or opportunities of somebody
> being new to the system ("after installation you can ...").
> You see: I'm searching for an orientation ("looking for clues",
> "get a grip", ...).
If you have been running Linux, you should have a pretty good idea of
what a system can do. Most things will work exactly or at least in a
very similar way. For the few that don't (Linux uses a SysV-like
startup with all of the rc.0, rc.6, etc. directories, right?), the
handbook and FAQ usually are adequate, Greg's book might be better for
some things. And if all else fails, there is the freebsd-questions
mail list.
IIRC, Greg's book comes on the CD's if you purchase the 4 CD set from
Walnut Creek. I do not know about the CD's availablility (or hardcopy
of Greg's book for that matter) in Germany.
--
Crist J. Clark cjclark@home.com
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