Introduction to Linux

The standard installation process allows users to choose between different basic setups, such as a workstation,
where all packages needed for everyday use and development are installed, or a server installation, where
different network services can be selected. Expert users can install every combination of packages they want
during the initial installation process.

The goal of this guide is to apply to all Linux distributions. For your own convenience, however, it is strongly
advised that beginners stick to a mainstream distribution, supporting all common hardware and applications
by default. The following are very good choices for novices:

• Fedora Core
• Debian
• SuSE Linux
• Mandriva (former MandrakeSoft)
• Knoppix: an operating system that runs from your CD-ROM, you don't need to install anything.

Downloadable ISO-images can be obtained from LinuxISO.org. The main distributions can be purchased in
any decent computer shop.

1.6. Summary
In this chapter, we learned that:

• Linux is an implementation of UNIX.

• The Linux operating system is written in the C programming language.
• "De gustibus et coloribus non disputandum est": there's a Linux for everyone.
• Linux uses GNU tools, a set of freely available standard tools for handling the operating system.

1.7. Exercises
A practical exercise for starters: install Linux on your PC. Read the installation manual for your distribution
and/or the Installation HOWTO and do it.

Read the docs!

Most errors stem from not reading the information provided during the install. Reading the
installation messages carefully is the first step on the road to success.
Things you must know BEFORE starting a Linux installation:

• Will this distribution run on my hardware?

Check with http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO/index.html when in doubt about

compatibility of your hardware.
• What kind of keyboard do I have (number of keys, layout)? What kind of mouse (serial/parallel,
number of buttons)? How many MB of RAM?
• Will I install a basic workstation or a server, or will I need to select specific packages myself?
• Will I install from my hard disk, from a CD-ROM, or using the network? Should I adapt the BIOS for
any of this? Does the installation method require a boot disk?
• Will Linux be the only system on this computer, or will it be a dual boot installation? Should I make a
large partition in order to install virtual systems later on, or is this a virtual installation itself?

Chapter 1. What is Linux? 16