Re: Linux Books

[Rich Puhek <rpuhek@etnsystems.com>]

Number one is to get what you find interesting. I'd find a Barnes and
Noble or similar bookstore to do some of your selection. I like to
wander through the computer books section and page through some of what
catches my eye. Often I find that a book that looked real interesting is
actually very shallow in its explanation. Other times I find that the
book dives much further into the subject than I really care about. By
loooking at the book itself, you'll see the scope of its coverage and
its applicability to your needs. 

As for some other suggestions... 

You might want "Programming PERL" from O'Reilly and Assoc. There are a
load of other books out there on PERL, but you'll probably find that the
"camel book" will get you up and running in PERL rather quickly
(assuming that's a desireable goal for you). 

If you're planning on administering your own machines at some point, and
need to provide web or email services, the Apache and Sendmail books
from O'Reilly are almost mandatory. Be forwarned that the Sendmail book
will likely require $400 worth of reinforcing to your bookshelf. It has
also been rumored to distort gravaty in the near vicinity, so you might
confuse some of your collegues in the Physics department.

By your current books and by your job, I assume you'll be doing some C++
programming. You might want a C++ programmer's reference to keep handy
in addition to the manuals you already have. The reference will be
easier to search through once you've got the basics down.

--Rich

"George M. Butler" wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I have been asking questions on this list and received lots of help.  I
> am new to
> Linux but have some
> limited experiece with Unix in the past. I have just
> discovered that my employer will let me have $400 to buy books related
> to my job.
> I am a member of a mathematics faculty so naturally Linux is job
> related.  I would
> be interested
> to hear from the contributors of this list what are their favorite
> Linux, Unix,
> Networking,  Programming Language,  or related books.
> 
> Titles I already own  are:
> 
> Unix,  System V, Release 4, Rosen et al, McGraw Hill, 1990,
> Common Lisp, Steele Jr, Digital Press, 1984,
> A Programmer's Guide to Common Lisp, Digital Press, 1987,
> Linux in a Nutshell, Siever, O'Rielly, 2nEd, 1999,
> Learning Debain/Gnu Linux, Mc Carty, O'Reilly, 1999,
> C++, How to Program, Dietel & Dietel, Prentice Hall, 2nd ed, 1998,
> Running Linux, Welsh et al, O'Reilly, 1999,
> C++ Primer, Lippman & Lajoie, Addison Wesley, 1998.
> The TeX Book, Knunth,  Addison-Wesley, 1984,
> 
> I have to spend the money by May 1.  I hope this message is not off
> topic but I
> feel lots would be interested
> to hear the responses of the readers of this list.  Thanks for your
> help.
> 
> George
> 
> --
-- 

_________________________________________________________
                         
Rich Puhek               
ETN Systems Inc.         
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