Slackware Linux Essentials
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Preface

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Intended -Audience

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The Slackware Linux operating system is a powerful platform for Intel-based computers. -It is designed to be stable, secure, and functional as both a high-end server and -powerful workstation.

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This book is designed to get you started with the Slackware Linux operating system. -It's not meant to cover every single aspect of the distribution, but rather to show what -it is capable of and give you a basic working knowledge of the system.

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As you gain experience with Slackware Linux, we hope you find this book to be a handy -reference. We also hope you'll lend it to all of your friends when they come asking about -that cool Slackware Linux operating system you're running.

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While this book may not an edge-of-your-seat novel, we certainly tried to make it as -entertaining as possible. With any luck, we'll get a movie deal. Of course, we also hope -you are able to learn from it and find it useful.

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And now, on with the show.

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Changes from -the First Edition

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This second edition is the culmination of years of hard work by the dedicated members -of the Slackware Documentation Project. The following are the major changes in this new -edition:

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Chapter 3, Installation, has been modified with new -screenshots of the installer, and reflects changes in disk-sets, and CD installation.
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Chapter 4, System Configuration, has been -updated with new information about Linux 2.6.x kernels.
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Chapter 5, Network Configuration, has been -expanded with further explanation of Samba, NFS, and DHCP. A section on wireless -networking has also been added. This chapter now reflects major changes in how Slackware -handles network setup.
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Chapter 6, X Window System, has been substantially -rewritten for Xorg based systems. This chapter now also covers the xdm graphical login -manager.
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Chapter 13, Basic Network Commands, has been -enhanced with information about additional network utilities.
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Chapter 14, Security, is a new chapter with this edition. -It explains how to keep a Slackware Linux system secure.
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Chapter 17, Emacs, is a new chapter with this edition. It -describes how to use Emacs, a powerful editor for Unix.
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Chapter 18, Package Management, has been updated -with information about SlackBuild scripts.
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There are many other changes, both minor and major, to reflect changes in Slackware as -it has matured.
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Organization of this Book

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Chapter 1, Introduction: -
Provides introductory material on Linux, Slackware, and the Open Source and Free -Software Movements.
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Chapter 2, Help: -
Describes the help resources available on a Slackware Linux system and online.
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Chapter 3, Installation: -
Describes the installation process step-by-step with screenshots to provide an -illustrative walk-through.
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Chapter 4, System Configuration: -
Describes the important configuration files and covers kernel recompilation.
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Chapter 5, Network Configuration: -
Describes how to connect a Slackware Linux machine to a network. Covers TCP/IP, -PPP/dial-up, wireless networking, and more.
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Chapter 6, The X Window System: -
Describes how to setup and use the graphical X Window System in Slackware.
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Chapter 7, Booting: -
Describes the process by which a computer boots into Slackware Linux. Also covers -dual-booting with Microsoft Windows operating systems.
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Chapter 8, The Shell: -
Describes the powerful command line interface for Linux.
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Chapter 9, Filesystem Structure: -
Describes the filesystem structure, including file ownership, permission, and -linking.
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Chapter 10, Handling Files and Directories: -
Describes the commands used to manipulate files and directories from the command line -interface.
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Chapter 11, Process Control: -
Describes the powerful Linux process management commands used to manage multiple -running applications.
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Chapter 12, Essential System -Administration: -
Describes basic system administration tasks such as adding and removing users, -shutting down the system properly, and more.
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Chapter 13, Basic Network Commands: -
Describes the collection of network clients included with Slackware.
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Chapter 14, Security: -
Describes many different tools available to help keep your Slackware system secure, -including iptables and tcpwrappers.
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Chapter 15, Archive Files: -
Describes the different compression and archive utilities available for Linux.
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Chapter 16, vi: -
Describes the powerful vi text editor.
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Chapter 17, Emacs: -
Describes the powerful Emacs text editor.
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Chapter 18, Slackware Package Management: -
Describes the Slackware package utilities and the process used to create custom -packages and tagfiles.
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Chapter 19, ZipSlack: -
Describes the ZipSlack version of Linux that can be used from Windows without -requiring an installation.
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Appendix A, The GNU General Public License: -
Describes the license terms under which Slackware Linux and this book can be copied -and distributed.
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Conventions used in -this book

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To provide a consistent and easy to read text, several conventions are followed -throughout the book.

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Typographic Conventions

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Italic: -
An italic font is used for -commands, emphasized text, and the first usage of technical terms.
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Monospace: -
A monospaced font is used for error messages, commands, -environment variables, names of ports, hostnames, user names, group names, device names, -variables, and code fragments.
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Bold: -
A bold font is used for user input in examples.
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User Input

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Keys are shown in bold to stand out from other text. Key -combinations that are meant to be typed simultaneously are shown with `+' between the keys, such as:

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Ctrl+Alt+Del

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Meaning the user should type the Ctrl, Alt, and Del keys at the same time.

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Keys that are meant to be typed in sequence will be separated with commas, for -example:

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Ctrl+X, Ctrl+S

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Would mean that the user is expected to type the Ctrl and X keys simultaneously and then to type the Ctrl -and S keys simultaneously.

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Examples

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Examples starting with E:\> indicate a MS-DOS® command. Unless otherwise noted, these commands may -be executed from a “Command Prompt” window in a modern Microsoft® Windows® -environment.

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-D:\> rawrite a: bare.i
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Examples starting with # indicate a command that must be -invoked as the superuser in Slackware. You can login as root to -type the command, or login as your normal account and use su(1) to gain superuser -privileges.

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-# dd if=bare.i of=/dev/fd0
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Examples starting with % indicate a command that should be -invoked from a normal user account. Unless otherwise noted, C-shell syntax is used for -setting environment variables and other shell commands.

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-% top
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Acknowledgments

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This project is the accumulation of months of work by many dedicated individuals. It -would not have been possible for me to produce this work in a vacuum. Many people deserve -our thanks for their selfless acts: Keith Keller for his work on wireless networking, -Joost Kremers for his great work in single-handedly writing the emacs section, Simon -Williams for the security chapter, Jurgen Phillippaerts for basic networking commands, -Cibao Cu Ali G Colibri for the inspiration and a good kick in the pants. Countless others -have sent in suggestions and fixes. An incomplete list includes: Jacob Anhoej, John Yast, -Sally Welch, Morgan Landry, and Charlie Law. I'd also like to thank Keith Keller for -hosting the mailing list for this project, as well as Carl Inglis for the initial web -hosting. Last but not least, I'd like to thank Patrick J. Volkerding for Slackware Linux, -and David Cantrell, Logan Johnson, and Chris Lumens for Slackware Linux Essentials 1st -Edition. Without their initial framework, none of this would have ever happened. Many -others have contributed in small and large ways to this project and have not been listed. -I hope they will forgive me for a poor memory.

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Alan Hicks, May 2005

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