No Starch Releases "How Linux Works"

No Starch Press releases "How Linux Works"

For Immediate Release
For more information, or to request a review copy or schedule an
interview, contact Leigh Sacks at leigh@nostarch.com or 415-863-9900

HOW LINUX WORKS
What Every Superuser Should Know

San Francisco, CA - When you start up Windows, a scrolling bar in the GUI
indicates the progress of the boot sequence. When you load up most Linux
distributions, what you see is very different. As the information scrolls
by, many users wonder what the heck is going on. The newest book from
Brian Ward - author of the Linux kernel HOWTO, "The Linux Problem Solver,"
and "The Book of VMware" - uncovers the mystery of the boot sequence and
other Linux processes. "How Linux Works" (No Starch, May 04, $37.95 US)
takes the reader into the guts of a Linux machine to uncover how
everything really functions.

Many books on Linux present a series of common problems and explain how
to solve them. "How Linux Works" takes a different approach. "This book helps
you tame a Linux system by learning how it works," author Brian Ward
explains. "It is not a 50-ton brick that tries to describe every single system
service that you may find on the Internet," he elaborates. "Instead, after reading
this book, I feel that you will understand how Linux systems programs behave,
so you can pick up any system program and make sense of the documentation."

The book takes a methodical approach: it starts with a guided tour of a
typical Linux filesystem, explains exactly how the system boots, covers
the basics of managing the system after booting, and then proceeds into
more basic topics, such as networking and shell scripts. Topics covered
include:

* Detailed discussion of each stage of the boot process, invaluable to
fixing boot problems and understanding the system as a whole
* The important system files, and how to manipulate them
* How boot loaders and modules work so that readers can install a custom
kernel
* Controlling software installation by compiling from source using several
common configuration systems
* Connecting machines to a network, building a network from scratch, and
configuring a Samba server so that Linux and Windows machines on a network
can talk to each other
* Backing up data, including which data needs to be backed up, what backup
devices are available, what types of backups can be made, how to use the
most common archivers, and which media you can back up to
* The ins and outs of printing systems so that readers can effectively
configure networked print servers and solve problems when they arise

Like an advanced course in Linux, "How Linux Works" takes competent users
to the next level of understanding, so they can expertly configure,
customize, and troubleshoot their system.

HOW LINUX WORKS
What Every Superuser Should Know
By Brian Ward
ISBN 1593270356, May 2004, $37.95 US ($55.95 Cdn), 368 pp.
Available at fine bookstores everywhere
To order from the publisher: visit www.nostarch.com, email
orders@nostarch.com, or call 800-420-7240

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Table of contents: http://www.nostarch.com/howlinuxworks_toc.htm
Chapter 3, How Linux Boots (PDF):
http://www.nostarch.com/download/howlinuxworks_ch3.pdf
Chapter 10, Maintaining the Kernel (PDF):
http://www.nostarch.com/download/howlinuxworks_ch10.pdf
Cover image: http://www.nostarch.com/howlinuxworks_big.htm

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Ward has been working with Linux since 1993, when he scraped
together enough pennies for a secondhand 386. He has a Ph.D. in computer
science from The University of Chicago, and currently works in San
Francisco as a consultant and instructor. He is author of the Linux
Kernel-HOWTO, "The Book of VMware" (No Starch Press), and "The Linux Problem
Solver" (No Starch Press).

ABOUT NO STARCH PRESS
Since 1994, No Starch Press has published unique books on computing, with
a focus on Open Source, security, hacking, web development, programming,
gaming, and alternative operating systems. Our titles have personality,
our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care
about.

For more information, or to request a review copy or schedule an
interview, contact Leigh Sacks at leigh@nostarch.com or 415-863-9900