Learn linux.

[EDF]

I'm interested in learning linux. I really want to learn how it works, not just the GUI.
From what I've read slackware is the way to go if one truly want to learn linux.
Would studying for a certification such as LPIC or Linux+ be a good way to learn ?
Any books you guys would recommend ? How did you guys learn linux ?

[eddie]

Technically any distro would do,even one with a distro. <ctrl><alt><F1 will get you to a guiless environment. I usually do a net install without the gui. Amost getting to the point where the gui is just a hindrance. If you really want to learn. you might try lfs (linux from scratch),

[dann]

Linux From Scratch is definitely a great learning tool, but it might be too much of a jump into the deep end if you are just starting out.

Gentoo is great too and has fantastic documentation. The only issue I would take with using it as a learning process is that once you get to managing software and configuration there is a lot of gentoo specific stuff there. You are learning the Gentoo way.

I've always found Slackware to be the best option for learning Linux out of the gate with little or no experience. Once you get the basics of slackware down you'll have a better understanding of how all distros work even though there are some differences. Plus, you will be better prepared for something like Linux From Scratch.

There are a bunch of great books out there and web resources. Check out the Linux Documentation Project - http://tldp.org/ for some great resources.

LPCI is a great way to learn.

[EDF]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to get a few books and start messing around with slackware.

[Claudio]

One more for Slackware here. I've been tinkering with Linux back since the days of RedHat 4.2, and not until Slackware did I really learn how to use Linux and the GNU tools that came with it. The first time I dabbled with Slackware was at version 8. At the time, I was running Mandrake but grew tired of it, but I felt a bit overwhelmed by 8. Nevertheless, I stuck with it and finally made the move to Slackware as my main distro at version 9.

There's a saying that is very well-known when talking about Slackware: "If you want to learn Red Hat, use Red Hat. If you want to learn Debian, use Debian. But if you want to learn Linux, use Slackware."

[hellonorman]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to get a few books and start messing around with slackware.

You may as well get used to trying them all. You will eventually encounter a deal breaker in all of them and the never ending hunt for a distro will begin. You may convince yourself that you are just seeing what's out there, or that it's fun, or that the perfect distro is just around the corner. You can post 1 paragraph reviews of all the distros you try. Well all the distros that you install and play with for an hour. You can end your review with how they are all nice little distros. But in the end you are hunting for a distro that just works. And don't get me started about the hunt for high quality applications.

[NYbill]

EDF, don't be afraid to try some of the easier to use GUI linux's first. you don't have to go hardcore, all command line, all at once. i think that might be more discouraging then constructive.

try something like Ubuntu or Mint. they will let you ease into some of the linux specific ways of doing things. plus, they will pick up on a lot of the hardware configuration. it can only help to cushion the learning curve.

soon enough you'll start picking up the ins and outs. you'll figure out which things are helpful in a GUI, and which are easier to just drop to the command like for.

(oh, and i highly recommend attending a local LUG if there is one in your area! at our last meeting 2 new people showed up not knowing much about linux (apart from their interest). one left with a Ubuntu install, and the other Fedora. and whats even better, they left with a bunch of new, supportive, linux friends.)

[Claudio]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to get a few books and start messing around with slackware.

You may as well get used to trying them all. You will eventually encounter a deal breaker in all of them and the never ending hunt for a distro will begin. You may convince yourself that you are just seeing what's out there, or that it's fun, or that the perfect distro is just around the corner. You can post 1 paragraph reviews of all the distros you try. Well all the distros that you install and play with for an hour. You can end your review with how they are all nice little distros. But in the end you are hunting for a distro that just works. And don't get me started about the hunt for high quality applications.

I don't know....seems to have fit the bill for me that I use it over OS X or Windows, even for recording music. And many people seem to have a use for it (at least their own uses for it), otherwise there wouldn't be a following of users that support Linux on their desktops and laptops to begin with. If it doesn't work for you, then fine, but no need to knock it with blanket statements because it didn't work for you. It just seems that all of your posts lean in this direction. I don't see how that can be constructive in any fashion, to be honest. But I guess this world must need people who like to flamebait.

I guess you could say that certain users encountered a deal-breaker within the proprietary OSes available to them on the desktop/laptop, hence why they have all stuck with Linux (or even the BSDs) as their main OS.