You can rely on the fully updated second edition of Linux System Administration for answers to all your questions about installing, configuring, and administering Linux. Written by two Linux experts, this book teaches you, step-by-step, all the standard and advanced techniques you need to know to set up and maintain a secure, effective Linux environment. Scores of clear, consistent examples illustrate these techniques in detail—so you stay on track and accomplish all your goals.

Although it may seem, at first glance, that working with Linux requires years of hands-on experience, tons of trial and error, advanced computer science training, and intense dedication, take heart! It’s not true! If you can tell somebody how to find your office, you can certainly build a Linux system that does what you want. The purpose of this book isn’t to turn you into a fullblown
Linux geek (that’s the ultimate state of Linux enlightenment, of course); it’s to show you the ins and outs that you need to master in order to build a smoothly functioning Linux system and to give you the know-how and confidence to use it.

The author provides information on how to program 3D graphics in X-Windows rather than the OpenGL/GLUT standard. The end result tends to be over-achiever code, which can be hard to follow due to the lower level coding nature of X11.In X11, its just too much code to do some stupid task like draw a few polygons in a window. You could cut the code almost in half by using OpenGL/GLUT, which is a much higher language style of coding than X11 is. Not to mention that the author goes overkill with the OOP implementation and more advanced C++ programming (the author makes an emphasis on C++, yet all his code contains no real definitive C++ architecture, its all regular C based, ex: scanf/printf instead of cout/cin).
Also, readability is an aspect definately not visible in the author's code. Lack of appropriate commenting & lack of appropriate simplicity in coding style makes the author's code somewhat ordane and hard to follow. Unless you have a good background in OOP then this book will simply confuse you to no end. Not that OOP is that hard or a bad thing, but it gets pretty complex fairly quickly, ESPECAILLY when your working with a GUI.
However, the author does provide a good array of the mathematics involved in the creation of 3D graphics, which is vital to be able to understand what your doing. As a prior VRML programmer, I could immediately tell that the author was going on a good track to explain some of the mathematics involved.

* Detailed installation instructions and step-by-step descriptions of key desktop and server components help new users get up and running immediately
* Descriptions of the various distributions from people in the Linux community help users zero in on the best Linux for their needs
* The perfect migration guide for Windows and Macintosh desktop users who want to switch to Linux, as well as for systems administrators who want to set up secure, fully functioning server systems
* Covers Linux embedded systems, firewalls, and routers plus desktops and servers
* Includes Fedora Core 3, Debian Linux, SUSE Linux, Knoppix, Gentoo Linux, Slackware Linux, Mandrake Linux, Damn Small Linux, and a Linux firewall and router on DVD

The first comprehensive, expert guide for end-to-end Linux application optimization Learn to choose the right tools—and use them together to solve real problems in real production environments Superior application performance is more crucial than ever—and in today's complex production environments, it's tougher to ensure, too. If you use Linux, you have extraordinary advantages- complete source code access, plus an exceptional array of optimization tools. But the tools are scattered across the Internet. Many are poorly documented. And few experts know how to use them together to solve real problems. Now, one of those experts has written the definitive Linux tuning primer for every professional- Optimizing Linux Performance. Renowned Linux benchmarking specialist Phillip Ezolt introduces each of today's most important Linux optimization tools, showing how they fit into a proven methodology for perfecting overall application performance. Using realistic examples, Ezolt shows developers how to pinpoint exact lines of source code that are impacting performance. He teaches sysadmins and application developers how to rapidly drill down to specific bottlenecks, so they can implement solutions more quickly. You'll discover how to-Identify bottlenecks even if you're not familiar with the underlying system Find and choose the right performance tools for any problem Recognize the meaning of the events you're measuringOptimize system CPU, user CPU, memory, network I/O, and disk I/O—and understand their interrelationshipsFix CPU-bound, latency-sensitive, and I/O-bound applications, through case studies you can easily adapt to your own environmentInstall and use oprofile, the advanced systemwide profiler for Linux systemsIf you're new to tuning, Ezolt gives you a clear and practical introduction to all the principles and strategies you'll need. If you're migrating to Linux, you'll quickly master Linux equivalents to the tools and techniques you already know. Whatever your background or environment, this book can help you improve the performance of all your Linux applications—increasingbusiness value and user satisfaction at the same time.