Book review: Lining Up Your Linux Library

One given in the world of IT is that to succeed, you must never stop learning. With that in mind, four recent books on Linux are definitely worth your time. These four titles will help provide the guidance you might need to the open-source operating system.

Building Applications With the Linux Standard Base

By Theodore Ts'o and the Linux Standard Base Team (IBM Press; 246 pages, US$44.99). Now that the Free Standards Group has adopted its Linux Standard Base 2.0 specifications, Linux advocates hope to see more developers writing applications that will run on any LSB-compliant Linux. That's where this book comes in. Written by key developers of the LSB team, it's a step-by-step guide to making applications LSB-friendly. The book covers development issues in detail, including binary compatibility, application packaging and installation protocols, porting applications from Unix, working with runtime libraries and application troubleshooting and testing.

If you weren't sure how to start writing useful programs for Linux, here's a good place to begin.

Linux Troubleshooting Bible

By Christopher Negus and Thomas Weeks (Wiley Publishing; 598 pages, US$29.99). For users of Red Hat's Fedora Linux or Enterprise Linux, this is a valuable nuts-and-bolts guidebook to the intricacies of the open-source operating system. Information about every kind of technical snafu can be found in this book, which covers installation problems, backup and migration issues, printer glitches, intrusion and security concerns and more. The sections are well thought out, with background theory on key subjects as well as detailed instructions on how to approach, diagnose and repair problems. The book largely focuses on the free Fedora operating system, with the idea that by gaining the skills needed for Fedora, technicians will be better able to relate to Red Hat's enterprise product lines. The book also touches on software from SUSE Linux AG and the Debian Project.

Moving to the Linux Business Desktop

By Marcel Gagne (Addison-Wesley Pearson Education; 665 pages, US$44.99). This book tackles almost every conceivable question about moving a corporate desktop system from Windows to Linux. All of the unique nuances of Linux are covered, from configuring printers to file sharing, Web services, user and systems management hierarchies, the Linux command-line and shell environments, as well as dual booting and installation strategies. Also highlighted in an often humorous style are topics such as office productivity applications, Internet browsing with Linux and more. This book will help you put a feature-rich, reliable and flexible operating system on your users' PCs.

Linux for Non-Geeks

By Rickford Grant (No Starch Press; 308 pages, US$34.95). After you've followed the steps suggested in Moving to the Linux Business Desktop, consider giving a copy of Linux for Non-Geeks to all employees in your company to help them get acclimated to their new Linux world. This easy-to-read handbook isn't for the Linux gurus on your staff. It's for the folks who need to know how to use Linux from the most elemental level. This will teach newbies how to feel confident and comfortable as they explore Linux, and it will open their minds to new possibilities in the workplace, making your Linux deployment a success from the start.