The Linux Bibliography
By Jim Haynes <
[email protected]>
The following is not meant to be a comprehensive Unix
bibliography. For that, see the Unix book list posted periodically
to misc.books.technical and to several comp.unix newsgroups. This
list is meant to be supplemental, containing items of special interest
and importance for Linux workers (or 386BSD people - whatever turns you on).
Comments not in quotes below are mine. Comments sent in by others are
in quotes, and have the name of the commentor in square brackets.
[except when they don't. Some comments in quotes are from the publisher's
catalog.]
Please send additions, corrections, and comments to
[email protected].
Jim Haynes, Computer Center, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
I. Hardware
Upgrading and Repairing PCs; Mueller, Scott; Que Corp.; ISBN 0-88022-856-3;
1298pp; 1992; $34.95 (USA). This is a book I bought when I was struggling
with an AT-clone. It is best on XTs and ATs and IBM PS/2s. Still, there
is a wealth of information common to all models. EISA and VESA are
mentioned only in the glossary.
80386 Hardware Reference Manual; Intel Corp.; ISBN 1-55512-024-5; ?pp.;
1986; $?. Pin connections, timing, waveforms, block diagrams, voltages,
all that kind of stuff.
The Indispensable PC Hardware Book; Messmer, Hans-Peter; Addison-
Wesley; ISBN 0-201-62424-9; 1000 pp; 1993. Covers the more recent
stuff like EIDE and PCI.
II. Processor architecture and programming
80386 Programmer's Reference Manual; Intel Corp.; ISBN 1-55512-022-9;
?pp.; 1986; $?. Part I. Applications Programming, data types, memory
model, instruction set. Part II. Systems Programming, architecture,
memory management, protection, multitasking, I/O, exceptions and
interrupts, initialization, coprocessing and multiprocessing. Part III.
Compatibility (with earlier x86 machines). Part IV. Instruction Set.
80386 System Software Writer's Guide; Intel Corp.; ISBN 1-55512-023-7;
?pp.; 1987; $?. This explains the 386 features for operating system
writers. It includes a chapter on Unix implementation. A lot of the
80386 architecture seems to have been designed with Multics in mind;
the features are not used by DOS or by Unix.
Programming the 80386; Crawford, John H., and Gelsinger, Patrick P.;
Sybex; ISBN 0-89588-381-3; 774pp.; $26.95 (USA). This is the book the
Jolitzes used when they ported BSD to the 386 architecture.
Pentium Processor User's Manual: Volume 3, Architecture and Programming
Manual; Intel Corp.; ISBN 1-55512-195-0; ?pp.; 1993; $?. Pretty much
the Pentium version of the 80386 Programmer's manual listed above.
III. Unix Kernel Implementation
The Design of the Unix Operating System; Bach, Maurice J.; Prentice-
Hall; ISBN 0-13-201799-7; 470pp.; $60 (USA). The book that got Linus
started.
The Design and Implementation of the 4.3BSD Unix Operating System;
Leffler, Samuel J., McKusick, Marshall Kirk, Karels, Michael J., and
Quarterman, John S.; Addison-Wesley; ISBN 0-201-06196-1; 471 pp.;
1989, 1990; $44.95 (USA). So, it's not about Linux, but can you
afford to ignore it?
Linux Kernel Hacker's Guide; Johnson, Michael K.; Linux Documentation
Project; FTP sites (see end of document); 1993.
Linux kernel programming; about six authors; Addison-Wesley.
Operating Systems, Design and Implementation; Tanenbaum, Andrew S.;
Prentice-Hall; 1987. [sugg. by Alan Cox]
Porting Unix to the 386; Jolitz, William F., and Jolitz, Lynne G.;
Dr. Dobb's Journal; Jan 1991-July 1992.
IV. System Calls
The Posix.1 Standard: A Programmer's Guide; Zlotnick, Fred; Benjamin/
Cummings; ISBN 0-8053-9605-5; 379pp.; 1991; $35.95 (USA). When I
complained about the lack of Section 2 man pages in Linux, somebody
told me just to get a POSIX book, because that's what Linux does.
I like this book because I'm not a professional programmer and the
author gives copious explanations and examples.
V. Networking
Unix Network Programming; Stevens, W. Richard; PTR Prentice Hall;
ISBN 0-13-949876-1; 772 pp.; $54 (USA). Everything you might want to
know about the subject, and some things you probably don't want to
know (really, XNS!?).
Linux Networking Guide; Kirch, Olaf; Linux Documentation Project; FTP
sites (see end of this document); 1993.
TCP/IP Network Adminstration; Hunt, Craig; O'Reilly Associates;
ISBN 0-937175-82-X; 1992. [sugg. by Kurt M. Hockenbury]
Internetworking With TCP/IP: Volume 1, Principles, Protocols, and
Architecture; Comer, E. Douglas; Prentice-Hall; ISBN 0-13-474321-0;
2nd ed. [sugg. by Phil Packer] [Alan Cox suggests all 3 volumes
in this series] [Somebody else thought the Stevens book was better.]
Computer Networks (2nd Edition); Tanenbaum, Andrew S.; Prentice Hall;
1988. [sugg. by Alan Cox]
Sendmail; Costales, Bryan, with Allman, Eric & Rickert, Neil; O'Reilly;
ISBN 1-56592-056-2; 1993; 830 pp; $32.95
DNS and BIND; Albitz, Paul, and Liu, Cricket; O'Reilly; ISBN 1-56592-010-4;
1992; 418 pp; $29.95. But note that the BIND Operations Guide included
in the latest release of BIND obsoletes some of this material.
Firewalls & Internet Security; Cheswick, William R. & Bellovin, Steven M.;
Addison-Wesley; ISBN 0-201-63357-4.
TCP/IP Illustrated. Vol. 1; Stevens, W. Richard.
VI.a General Unix (or hard-to-classify)
Unix in a Nutshell; Gilly, Daniel et al.; O'Reilly Assoc.; 2nd Ed. 1992;
ISBN 1-56592-001-5; 444 pp. $9.95. "...a complete reference containing
all commands and options, along with generous descriptions and examples..."
Bell System Technical Journal, July-August 1978, Vol. 57, No. 6, part 2;
AT&T; 416 pp. Many papers on Unix, including Ritchie & Thompson,
"The UNIX Time Sharing System"; Thompson, "UNIX Implementation";
Ritchie, "A Retrospective"; Bourne, "The UNIX Shell"...
The UNIX-haters Handbook, complete with barf bag. I was going to omit this,
but since Olaf Kirch suggested it, ...
Linux from PC to Workstation; Springer Verlag. [said to be available in
German and English]
Linux, Unleashing the Workstation in Your PC; Strobel, Stefan, & Uhl,
Thomas; Springer-Verlag; 1994. [might be the same book as the above]
Linux Users Handbook; Mueller, Martin & Hetze, Sebastian; ftp sites.
The Linux Primer - the Latest UNIX Environment for PCs; Hiroshi, Koyama,
Yasushi, Saito, Hiroshi, Sasaka, and Tomoyuki, Nakagome; Addison Wesley
Japan; ISBN 4-7952-9652-9; 1995; 415 pp; Y4,800. With CD-ROM.
UNIX for the Impatient; Abrahams & Larson.
UNIX System V Release 4, An Introduction - For New and Experienced Users;
Osborne; Mc-Graw Hill; ISBN 0-07-881552-5.
Running Linux; Welsh, Matt, & Kaufman, Lar; O'Reilly; ISBN 1-56592-100-3;
1995; 600pp; $24.95. "Everything you need in order to understand, install,
and use the Linux operating system."
VI.b General (or hard-to-classify) (non-Unix)
The Mythical Man Month, Essays on Software Engineering; Brooks, Frederick
P.; Addison Wesley; 1975. "This I'd recommend not for its technical
value but for its application of common sense and reality to computing
projects." [Alan Cox] (Ah, yes. What if Linus had been given 200
programmers and had been told to produce Linux in 3 months!)
VII. System Installation
Linux Installation and Getting Started; Welsh, Matt; Linux Documentation
Project; FTP sites (see end of this document); 175 pp.; 1994.
Using Linux; QUE; ISBN 0-7897-0100-6; 1995
VIII. System Administration
Linux System Administrator's Guide; Wirzenius, Lars; Linux
Documentation Project; FTP sites (see end of document); 1993.
Essential System Administration; Frisch, Aileen; O'Reilly Associates;
ISBN 0-937175-80-3; 2nd ed, 1995; 788 pp; $32.95.
Unix System Administration Handbook; Nemeth et al; Prentice-Hall
Linux Anwender Handbuch; Hetze, S. et al; Lunetix. [German language]
IX. Security
Practical Unix Security; Garfinkel, Simpson, and Spafford, Gene;
O'Reilly Associates; ISBN 0-937175-72-2; 1991. [sugg. by Kurt M.
Hockenbury and Ronald P. Miller] "Some overlap with Essential System
Admin., but all in all a solid book on security, especially for those
aspiring to allow multiple-user, dial-up/net access to their Linux boxes."
[Miller]
X. Programming and Programming Languages
The Unix Programming Environment; Kernighan, Brian, and Pike, Rob;
Prentice-Hall; ISBN 0-13-937681-X; 1984. [sugg. by Kurt M.
Hockenbury]
The C Programming Language; Kernighan, Brian, and Ritchie, Dennis;
Prentice-Hall; ISBN 0-13-110362-8; 2nd ed. 1988. [sugg. by Kurt M.
Hockenbury]
sed & awk; Doughterty, Dale; O'Reilly; ISBN 0-937175-59; 1990; 414pp.;
$27.95.
lex & yacc; Levine, John, Mason, Tony, & Brown, Doug; O'Reilly;
ISBN 1-56592-000-7; 2nd ed 1992; 366 pp; $29.95 [This edition also
covers bison and flex.]
Programming Perl; Wall, Larry, & Schwartz, Randal L.; O'Reilly;
ISBN 0-937175-64-1; 1991; 482 pp; $29.95.
Learning Perl; Schwartz, Randal L.; O'Reilly; ISBN 1-56592-042-2;
1993; 274 pp; $24.95
Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment; Stevens, W. Richard;
Addison-Wesley;
POSIX Programmer's Guide; Lewine, Donald; O'Reilly; ISBN 0-937175-73-0;
640 pp; $34.95
C++ Primer; Lippman; Addison-Wesley
Effective C++; Myers, Scott; Addison-Wesley
Deep C Secrets [or something like that]; Libes, Don
Object-Oriented Programming, An Evolutionary Approach; Cox, Brad J., &
Novobilski, Andrew J.; Addison-Wesley; ISBN 0-201-54834-8. [The standard
book for Objective-C.]
Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment.
The C Companion; Holub, Allan.
XI. Text Formatting and Typesetting
The TeXbook, Volume A of Computers and Typesetting; Knuth, Donald A.;
Addison-Wesley; 1986. "The definitive user's guide and complete
reference manual for TeX. Probably not needed for casual LaTeX use,
but a fascinating book nonetheless." [Bruce Thompson]
The METAFONT book, Volume C of Computers and Typesetting; Knuth, Donald
A.; Addison-Wesley; 1986. "The definitive user's guide and reference
manual for METAFONT, the companion program to TeX for designing fonts.
An excellent work if you're planning to design your own fonts for use
in TeX and LaTeX. METAFONT is included with the normal TeX/LaTeX
distribution." [Bruce Thompson]
LaTeX, A Document Preparation System, User's Guide and Reference
Manual; Lamport, Leslie; Addison-Wesley; 1985. "The ultimate
reference on LaTeX 2.09 by its author. A new edition covering
LaTeX2e (the version included in the current TeX/LaTeX distribution)
is in preparation. LaTeX 2.09 is fully supported by LaTeX2e. A
must for anyone wanting to use LaTeX. Provides a gentle introduction
to document preparation and the various tools that LaTeX provides
for producing professional quality documents. Lots of examples."
[Bruce Thompson]
The LaTeX Companion; Goossens, Michael, Mittlebach, Frank, and Samarin,
Alexander; Addison-Wesley; ISBN 0-201-54199-8; 530pp.; 1994. "'If you
are one of those users who would like to know how LaTeX can be
extended to create the nicest documents possible without becoming a
(La)TeX guru, then this book is for you' --- from the Preface. A
very nice book providing a lot of information about the new
extensions to LaTeX, provides a large number of examples showing
precisely how your document's layout can be manipulated" [Bruce
Thompson]
XII. Graphics
Tck/Tk; Ousterhout, John K.
The X Window System in a Nutshell; Cutler, Ellie, Gilly, Daniel, & O'Reilly,
Tim, eds.; O'Reilly; ISBN 1-56592-017-1; 2nd ed. 1992; 424 pp; $19.95.
[but X changes rapidly, so this may be fairly out of date]
O'Reilly series on X, esp. the Motif volumes.
XIII. Inclusions
Note: most if not all of the files mentioned here can be obtained from
host rtfm.mit.edu.
Linux HOWTO files, posted periodically to comp.os.linux.*
Unix FAQ files.
Concise Guide to Unix Books, posted periodically to misc.books.technical
and various comp.unix groups.
XIV. Periodicals
Linux Journal is a monthly publication covering the Linux
Community. The first issue was sent out in February, 1994.
Subscriptions:
Introductory subscription rates are $19/year. Payment can be
made using VISA, MasterCard or American Express (make sure you
include the credit card number, expiration date and signature).
We can also accept checks in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank.
If you have a question concerning appropriate method of payment,
phone or FAX our subscription numbers or send e-mail to
[email protected]
Send subscriptions orders to:
Linux Journal
P.O. Box 85867
Seattle, WA 98145-1867
or FAX them to (206) 526-0803.
[Phil Hughes E-mail:
[email protected] Phone: +1 206 524 8338]
(The above is not meant as an advertisement or endorsement of a
particular publication; it's just that I think it's pretty exciting
that Linux has reached a level of popularity and maturity such that
someone believes the market can support a magazine devoted to it.)
i'x [a German magazine, focusing on multi-user, multi-tasking system,
usually containing some artciles on Linux]
For a while there was a LinuxNews electronically-published newsletter,
but it seems to have ceased publication.
Finding Stuff On-Line:
For people with ftp access to the Internet, the main Linux archive sites
in the U.S. are sunsite.unc.edu and tsx-11.mit.edu. The Linux
Documentation Project work-in-progress is to be found in
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/LDP The file LDP-Manifesto describes
the project. Matt Welsh,
[email protected] is the contact person
for LDP.
The site appropriately named rtfm.mit.edu holds archives of FAQ
(Frequently-Asked-Questions) and HOWTO files from just about every
Usenet news group in existence. From here you can obtain copies of
the various Linux HOWTO files that are posted from time to time in
newsgroups of the comp.os.linux hierarchy.
For those without ftp access there are a number of BBSes containing
information about Linux. A list of these is posted from time to time
on comp.os.linux.announce.
Off-Line:
A number of software publishers are issuing Linux on CD-ROM. Somebody
tell me which if any of these are including documentation such as the
LDP manuals on the CD.
And then you can always buy one of the commercially-published books
above and take it with you to the beach. The idea for this list really
originated with, "what can you buy at the local software emporium
or book store when you need to learn something that you can't get
from the on-line manual pages or from the net?"
