Contents

• List of Figures
• List of Tables
  • Acknowledgments
  • Preface
  
  
• Guide
  • Introduction
    • What Is Debian?
      • Who Creates Debian?
    • A Multiuser, Multitasking Operating System
    • What Is Free Software?
    • About This Book
      • How to Read This Book
      • Conventions
  • Getting Started
    • Supported Hardware
      • Memory and Disk Space Requirements
    • Before You Start
      • Information You Will Need
    • Partitioning Your Hard Drive
      • Background
      • Planning Use of the System
      • PC Disk Limitations
      • Device Names in Linux
      • Recommended Partitioning Scheme
      • Partitioning Prior to Installation
      • Debian Installation Steps
    • Choosing Your Installation Media
      • Installing from a CD-ROM
      • Booting from Floppies
    • Booting the Installation System
  • Step-by-Step Installation
    • Select Color or Monochrome Display
    • Debian GNU/Linux Installation Main Menu
    • Configure the Keyboard
    • Last Chance to Back Up!
    • Partition a Hard Disk
    • Initialize and Activate a Swap Partition
    • Initialize a Linux Partition
      • Mount a Previously-Initialized Partition
    • Install Operating System Kernel and Modules
    • Configure PCMCIA Support
    • Configure Device Driver Modules
    • Configure the Network
    • Install the Base System
      • Configure the Base System
      • Make Linux Bootable Directly from the Hard Disk
    • Make a Boot Floppy
    • The Moment of Truth
    • Set the Root Password
    • Create an Ordinary User
    • Shadow Password Support
    • Remove PCMCIA
    • Select and Install Profiles
    • Package Installation with dselect
      • Introduction
      • Once dselect Is Launched
      • A Few Hints in Conclusion
    • Glossary
  • Logging In
    • First Steps
    • Command History and Editing the
      Command Line
    • Working as Root
    • Virtual Consoles
    • Shutting Down
  • The Basics
    • The Command Line and Man Pages
      • Describing the Command Line
    • Files and Directories
      • Using Files: A Tutorial
      • Dot Files and ls -a
    • Processes
    • The Shell
    • Managing Processes with bash
    • A Few bash Features
      • Tab Completion
    • Managing Your Identity
  • Using the Shell
    • Environment Variables
    • Where Commands Reside: The PATH Variable
    • Configuration Files
      • System-Wide Versus User-Specific
        Configuration
    • Aliases
    • Controlling Input and Output
      • stdin, stdout, Pipelines, and Redirection
    • Filename Expansion
  • More on Files
    • Permissions
      • File Ownership
      • Mode
      • Permissions in Practice
    • Files Present and Their Locations
    • File Compression with gzip
    • Finding Files
    • Determining a File's Contents
    • Using a File Manager
  • Working with Text Files
    • Viewing Text Files
    • Text Editors
    • Using ae
  • The X Window System
    • Introduction to X
    • Starting the X Environment
    • Basic X Operations
      • The Mouse
      • X Clients
      • Troubleshooting
      • Leaving the X Environment
    • Customizing Your X Startup
  • Filesystems
    • Concepts
    • mount and /etc/fstab
      • Mounting a Filesystem
      • Example: Mounting a CD-ROM
      • /etc/fstab: Automating the Mount Process
      • Removable Disks (Floppies, Zip Disks, Etc.)
    • Backup Tools
      • tar
  • Networking
    • PPP
      • Introduction
      • Preparation
      • The Easy Way: wvdial
    • Ethernet
  • Removing and Installing Software
    • What a Package Maintenance Utility Does
    • dpkg
    • dselect
    • Compiling Software
  • Advanced Topics
    • Regular Expressions
    • Advanced Files
      • The Real Nature of Files: Hard Links and Inodes
      • Types of Files
      • The proc Filesystem
      • Large-Scale Copying
    • Security
    • Software Development with Debian
  
  
• Reference
  • Reading Documentation and Getting Help
    • Kinds of Documentation
      • Using info
      • HOWTOs
      • Personal Help
      • Getting Information from the System
  • Troubleshooting
    • Common Difficulties
      • Working with Strangely-Named Files
      • Printing
      • X Problems
    • Troubleshooting the Boot Process
  • Booting the System
  • The GNU General Public License
  
  
• Index
• About this document ...