The Debian System: Concepts and Techniques
Title: The Debian System: Concepts and Techniques
Author: Martin F. Krafft
Publisher: No Starch Press, 2005, 605 pages, $44.95.
Some may think Linux documentation is a rather modest improvement on UNIX documentation, as described in the UNIX-HATERS Handbook:
| "The best documentation is the UNIX source. After all, this is what the system uses for documentation when it decides what to do next! The manuals paraphrase the source code, often having been written at different times and by different people than who wrote the code. Think of them as guidelines. Sometimes they are more like wishes...." |
This book is not like that. It is comprehensive and well written by someone who clearly knows what they are talking about. But is it for you? Probably not if you don't use Debian, unless you want to make Debian packages, or are very curious. It is meant to be a reference to the Debian system for the Linux administrator and the Debian user. The Linux apprentice could also find it useful, along with an introductory Linux reference. My own feeling is, if your interest level is reasonably high, get the book and plan to grow into it. Krafft says a bit about the target audience in his introduction, which you can download as a PDF. Go here and page down. The introducton will also introduce the author, who is a Ph.D. student and Debian developer.
Well, fine, but isn't the book going to go rapidly out of date while I grow into it? Krafft argues this is not as big an issue as you might think. First, he says “the usage pradigms of almost all the tools mentioned in this book were established a while back and are unlikely to change. As Debian fixes bugs and adds new features, this book will continue to hold true (pg. 24).” Second, he is posting changes and errata at the book's web site, to keep you up to date.
The coverage is broad. There are chapters on the Debian project, installation, releases and archives, the package management system, system administration, security, creating packages, and documentation. You can get the detailed table of contents as a PDF near the bottom of this page. The coverage is also deep, but it was surprising how often, even with 600 pages, there was not room to cover everything. Still he is very good about pointing to additional documentation if you need to go deeper, and generally this is online material that will not be an extra expense.
The book does not start at a pure beginner level, but I don't know of a book on Debian that does. A certain amount of mental bootstrapping is probably required wherever you start. You are likely to get a lot from it, even if your mind glazes over here and there. Again, the website can help you judge the level and the clarity. There is a complete copy of Chapter 4, Debian Releases and Archives, and a sample excerpt that contains a few pages from chapters on the Debian project, package management, and security.
The only thing I found to complain about was the copy editing. The number of errors is surprising. Not spelling errors—the text was surely put through a spell checker—but things like subject/verb agreement, tense, extra small words, a closing parens in the wrong place. And yet, the general quality is high, and the physical/typographical design is pleasing, so they didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the book.
OK, you got this far, you want the book and the only issue left is the price. Amazon is selling it for $29.67, and at that price it will ship free. The book is published by No Starch Press, but O'Reilly distributes it, and they give a 30% discount when you buy through them. The sllug mailing list gets an update from Marsee at O'Reilly every month, which includes the discount code. Their shipping is free when the order is at least 29.95.
Added: March 3rd 2006
Reviewer: John Havey
Score:  
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