Documentation

Linux documentation has also been developed over the Internet. Much of the documentation currently available for Linux can be downloaded from Internet FTP sites. A special Linux project called the Linux Documentation Project (LDP), headed by Matt Welsh, has developed a complete set of Linux manuals. The documentation is available at the LDP home site at www.tldp.org. Linux documents provided by the LDP are listed in Table 1-8, along with their Internet sites.

Table 1-8: Linux Documentation Project

Sites	Web Sites
www.tldp.org	LDP Web site
Guides	Document Format
Linux Installation and Getting Started Guide	DVI, PostScript, LaTeX, PDF, and HTML
Linux User's Guide	DVI, PostScript, HTML, LaTeX, and PDF
Linux System Administrator's Guide	PostScript, PDF, LaTeX, and HTML
Linux Network Administrator's Guide	DVI, PostScript, PDF, and HTML
Linux Programmer's Guide	DVI, PostScript, PDF, LaTeX, and HTML
The Linux Kernel	HTML, LaTeX, DVI, and PostScript
Linux Kernel Hacker's Guide	DVI, PostScript, and HTML
Linux HOWTOs	HTML, PostScript, SGML, and DVI
Linux FAQs	HTML, PostScript, and DVI
Linux Man Pages	Man page format

Most of the standard Linux software and documentation currently available is already included on your Red Hat DVD-ROM. HOW-TO documents are all accessible in HTML format, so you can view them easily with your Web browser. In the future, though, you may need to access Linux Internet sites directly for current information and software.

An extensive number of mirrors are maintained for the Linux Documentation Project. You can link to any of them through a variety of sources, such as the LDP home site, www.tldp.org, and www.linuxjournal.org. The documentation includes a user's guide, an introduction, and administration guides. These are available in text, PostScript, or Web page format. Table 1-8 lists these guides. You can also find briefer explanations, in what are referred to as HOW-TO documents.

In addition to Web sites, Linux Usenet newsgroups are also available. Through your Internet connection, you can access Linux newsgroups to read the comments of other Linux users and to post messages of your own. Several Linux newsgroups exist, each beginning with comp.os.linux. One of particular interest to the beginner is comp.os.linux.help, where you can post questions. Table 1-9 lists some of the Usenet Linux newsgroups you can check out, particularly for posting questions.

Table 1-9: Usenet Newsgroups

Newsgroup	Title
comp.os.linux.announce	Announcements of Linux developments
comp.os.linux.development.apps	For programmers developing Linux applications
comp.os.linux.development.system	For programmers working on the Linux operating system
comp.os.linux.hardware	Linux hardware specifications
comp.os.linux.admin	System administration questions
comp.os.linux.misc	Special questions and issues
comp.os.linux.setup	Installation problems
comp.os.linux.answers	Answers to command problems
comp.os.linux.help	Questions and answers for particular problems
comp.os.linux.networking	Linux network questions and issues
linux.dev.group	Numerous development newsgroups beginning with linux.dev, such as linux.dev.admin and linux.dev.doc