** 0.5 page review / 401 words **

** LINUXNUT.GIF here **

If you have a Falcon or TT, you might have been tempted at some time or other to experiment with Linux, Frank Charlton was...

Linux is a freeware operating system which is based on UNIX and available for most platforms, including our own. Linux is a full multi-user pre-emptive multitasking environment - it's very powerful, but difficult to set up and maintain unless you have prior UNIX knowledge.

Linux in a Nutshell doesn't provide an installation guide, but offers a "desktop reference" to almost every command the average Linux user will encounter. As well as explaining the commands used for basic tasks like file management, the book delves into the more esoteric stuff which might cause problems without some sort of reference. The standard UNIX editors vi and emacs are very well documented too, so you're unlikely to get stuck editing a file in vi without knowing how to actually save and quit.

As well as the common commands, the book also documents the three common UNIX/Linux shells - bash, tcsh and sh. Never again will you get stuck trying to change the default prompt, and advanced shell programming is covered very well, too. If you're installing Linux to take advantage of its excellent networking properties, like on an Internet connection, Linux in a Nutshell won't help set up the system itself - but it will provide a superb reference source for when you do have it connected and running.

If you're using a full multi-user MiNT setup involving MiNTNet and MiNTOS, the book applies equally well. With a half-decent MiNT distribution you'll get almost everything that is covered here, and the information provided is applicable to MiNT and a shell like tcsh about 90% of the time.

It's not a book for the beginner who has no idea how to get Linux or MiNT installed - but it is a great volume to keep next to the computer as you learn to explore this alien method of working, and it's much cheaper than the average Linux book - and without the useless PC CD-ROMs provided by most, too. Well worth a look although you may prefer to wait for the 2nd edition scheduled for release this February.

** product box **
Linux in a Nutshell

Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates
Contact: http://www.ora.com/
RRP: œ15
Pros: Excellent reference, comprehensive, well indexed
Cons: Not for beginners, no installation help
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