> I did a few searches in user's archives and came up with the book > "Beginning Linux Programming.' I read a review and it said it was for > people who already have programming experience. I have none. I look > at files and understand very little. I would like to be able to > understand the phrases in the files. I'm very new to Linux, I have a > few "how to use linux books" but am looking for something with a > different slant. I'm sorry if I am being a little vague here but I > don't have the words. I'm learning commands, I'm learning how to edit > files but at some point I would like to be able to read files like I > read books and maybe make a windows manager. What books do I need to > read? What computer languages do I need to learn? In general if > someone could point the direction. > Thanks, > Kent >
I gather you want to read files like those a Linux system administrator would read. If you understand those files, you have learned a lot [compared to the average world citizen, not to these Debian users] You might consider "A Practical Guide to Linux", by Sobell [Linus himself grew up on Sobell's A Practical Guide to Unix]. Consider also the "Bash" book about the bash shell by O'Reilly publishers. There is also a book of just Linux commands, with brief descriptions, also by O'Reilly publishers, "Linux in a Nutshell" as I recall. Unless you are programming full time, rather that learning C, consider nothing. Or, consider the scripting language perl, which does much of what C does, handling words well [C handles characters well], though as a scripting language Perl won't be a speed demon. You can get your hands fully around the Bash shell, but unless you program full time, rather than try understanding every nook of C or Perl, just lookup in a good book those commands you need for your programs only. -- Jim Burt, NJ9L, Fairfax, Virginia, USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.mnsinc.com/jameson [EMAIL PROTECTED] (703) 235-5213 ext. 132 (work) "A poor man associating with a rich man will soon be too poor to buy even a pair of breeches." --Chinese Proverb
