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发信人: jjksam (while(1){printf("love u!hahahaha\n");}), 信区: Linux
标 题: Book Review: The Complete FreeBSD
发信站: 荔园晨风BBS站 (Sun Nov 4 21:19:40 2001), 转信
Book Review: The Complete FreeBSD
Review by Ralph Krause
Coming to FreeBSD from another OS can be a daunting experience for users not
familiar with Unix or Linux and a good reference book can go a long way in
getting them off to a good start. The Complete FreeBSD written by Greg Lehey
and published by Walnut Creek CDROM is such a book.
Mr. Lehey has been involved with computers for over 25 years and is a member
of the FreeBSD Core team. In addition to having worked on FreeBSD code, he has
also published several other books on Unix and FreeBSD topics.
Accompanied by FreeBSD 4.0 on four CDs, the book contains 773 pages and
discusses the following topics: running and installing FreeBSD, using FreeBSD,
and FreeBSD and the Internet. This review will focus on how the book
covered those areas.
Installation
FreeBSD installation is covered in chapters 2, and 4 through 7. Chapter 2
describes the contents of the FreeBSD CDs included with the book, lists
hardware supported by FreeBSD and how it is detected, and talks about hard
disk partitions and sharing a drive with Microsoft.
Chapters 4 and 5 describe the actual FreeBSD installation. Brief
instructions are given for installing FreeBSD alone or for a shared
FreeBSD/Microsoft configuration. Step-by-step instructions are for both
scenarios are then given along with instructions for creating FreeBSD boot
disks and partitioning a hard disk.
Then the book discusses using FIPS to partition a hard disk that already
contains a Microsoft operating system and troubleshooting installs.
Using FreeBSD
Chapters 11 through 15 are devoted to the general use of FreeBSD. Chapter 11
explains the differences between FreeBSD and Microsoft over such things as
case sensitivity, forward and backward slashes, and line break characters.
An explanation of users, groups, and shells is given along with instructions
on changing passwords. Plus it introduces processes and daemons.
Chapter 12 deals with starting, stopping and configuring a FreeBSD system.
It explains the boot messages and provides instructions for using the
UserConfig program to change the boot configuration. An explanation of the
/etc/rc.conf and network configuration files is also given.
File systems and disks are the topics of chapters 13 through 16. File groups
and permissions are covered and information on the chown, chgrp, and umask
commands are given. The concept of links is introduced but no examples are
provided. An overview of the FreeBSD directory structure is given along with a
discussion of mounting file systems and a quick look at an /etc/fstab file.
Virtual and pseudo terminals are also discussed.
Next, information on adding a hard disk to a FreeBSD system is given. Adding
an IDE drive is briefly discussed and then several pages are devoted to
installing a SCSI drive. Next, partitioning and labeling are covered. Then
concept of virtual disks is introduced and the Vinum volume manager is
discussed.
Finally, backing up data and using floppy disks are covered. Back up and
archiving programs such as tar, cpio, pax, dump, and amanda are introduced
with specific examples given for using tar. Instructions for formatting and
accessing floppy disks are also given.
Configuring X
Chapters 9, 10, and 17 discuss the installation and configuration XFree86
and the FreeBSD desktop. Instructions for installing XFree86 from .tgz files
are given along with in-depth explanations of how monitors work. The book also
walks the reader through the xf86config program and has descriptions of the
different sections that make up an XF86Config file with an explanation of mode
line. Starting and stopping X is also discussed along with a brief
introduction to window managers and Emacs.
Configuring Printing
Setting up printing is the topic of chapter 16. Instructions for modifying the
/etc/printcap file are given along with a brief discussion of print filters.
It ends by discussing the ghostscript and ghostview programs and provides
brief instructions on printing PostScript files using ghostscript.
Networking and the Internet
Since FreeBSD is very network aware, quite a bit of the book is dedicated to
networking and the Internet. Chapter 23 discusses connecting to the Internet
and explains ISDN lines. Establishing your own domain and choosing an Internet
service provider are also mentioned.
Chapters 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29 cover networking and the Internet. An
explanation of network layering and instructions for configuring FreeBSD for a
local network are provided. Information is also given on domains, BIND,
firewalls and IP aliasing, and network troubleshooting.
Chapters 30 and 31 discuss the network file system (NFS) and network access
programs such as telnet, ftp, rsh, rcp and ssh.
Chapters 24 through 26 deal with modems and modem protocols. An explanation of
how modems work, serial ports, and modem commands is given. Explanations of
the PPP, UUCP, and SLIP protocols are given along with instructions for
using them.
Electronic mail and the world wide web are discussed in chapters 32 and 33
respectively. Screen shots and instructions for using mutt are provided
along with some email etiquette, an introduction to sendmail, and brief
instructions on downloading mail from an ISP. Using Netscape and configuring
Apache are also briefly discussed.
Adding Software
Chapter 8 covers the installation of pre-compiled software (packages) and
compiling software from source code (ports). Instructions on how to obtain
ports, how to deal with software dependencies, and using the pkg_ commands are
given. It ends with a brief explanation of how to submit a port.
Chapter 19 deals with keeping up to date with the FreeBSD sources. The
differences between the RELEASE, CURRENT, and STABLE software branches are
explained along with instructions on getting software updates using programs
such as CVSup and CTM.
Chapter 20 deals with FreeBSD's ability to run applications written for
other operating systems such as Linux.
Chapters 34 and 35 deal with HylaFax and SAMBA respectively. In addition to
installation instructions, instructions for configuring and using these
programs are provided.
The Rest of the Book
There are quite a few parts of the book that weren't mentioned above so I'll
briefly describe them here. Chapter 1 contains the history of FreeBSD,
information on how FreeBSD compares to Linux, sources of documentation, and
a history of the Berkeley daemon character. And chapter 3 covers FreeBSD
version 3.
Another chapter focuses on kernel configuration and steps the reader through
compiling a kernel. It also contains a detailed list of the various kernel
options and their settings.
The text of selected man pages is provided followed by the appendices.
Appendix A defines some of the terminology used throughout the book.
Appendix B provides some command equivalents between Unix and MS-DOS. Appendix
C contains a bibliography of sources of information on Unix and FreeBSD.
Appendix D contains the text of both the Berkeley License and the GNU Public
License.
Conclusion
The Complete FreeBSD discusses the installation and configuration of FreeBSD,
but it is not a Unix tutorial. Someone not familiar with Unix should get a
book explaining Unix commands to use as a companion to this book. There were a
few minor typos in the text. The author maintains a list of errata at: ftp:
//ftp.lemis.com/pub/cfbsd/errata-2.
The installation material is informative and the writing is clear and
straightforward. The book contains a many illustrations, sample command
outputs, and screen shots.
I would also like to compliment Walnut Creek CDROM. I was missing a CD from
the package and when I notified them they promptly shipped me the latest
complete set.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
comments:
Applicability to FreeBSD 4.x? - Richard Bejtlich
Re: Applicability to FreeBSD 4.x - Ralph Krause
Five stars book!!! - Mark Wong
Thanks a lot. - ENDA CHEN
Applicability to FreeBSD 4.x?
Richard Bejtlich - November 13, 2000 14:01:01
Hello,
How applicable is the latest edition of The Complete FreeBSD to FreeBSD 4.x?
Are plans in motion to publish a new edition of The Complete FreeBSD?
Thank you,
Richard
Re: Applicability to FreeBSD 4.x
Ralph Krause - November 13, 2000 19:03:36
The book is still pretty useful for the 4.0 release. The information on
installation, the UserConfiguration program, getting to know FreeBSD, ports,
etc. is still good. The information on XFree86 3.3.3.1 and FreeBSD 3 will have
to be adjusted to the current release.
I took a look at the Walnut Creek CDROM site for announcements of a new
version of the book and all that I found was that they are planning to release
the book with FreeBSD 4.2 in the future.
Ralph
Five stars book!!!
Mark Wong - February 18, 2001 03:56:47
Clear explaination and provide all information i want on freebsd. (well, i was
a newbie too =) Highly recommend this book for people who wanna live in
FreeBSD planet.
Thanks a lot.
ENDA CHEN - September 01, 2001 17:00:09
Thank to the author who wrote the data about The Complete FreeBSD cause I'm
a new user of FreeBSD, and I'm disiring to know which book could make me
know more aboue FreeBSD. And you did it! Now I have known more FreeBSD. I'll
go to buy The Complete FreeBSD. Thank you to let me know more about this book.
Thanks..:)
--
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※ 修改:·jjksam 於 Nov 4 21:22:32 修改本文·[FROM: 192.168.0.146]
※ 来源:·荔园晨风BBS站 bbs.szu.edu.cn·[FROM: 192.168.0.146]
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