Notice: This material is excerpted from Running A Perfect Internet Site with Linux, ISBN: 0-7897-0514-1. The electronic version of this material has not been through the final proof reading stage that the book goes through before being published in printed form. Some errors may exist here that are corrected before the book is published. This material is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind.
Copyright ©1996, Que Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Making copies of any part of this book for any purpose other than your own personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws. For information, address Que Corporation, 201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290 or at support@mcp .com.
As this book is being written, a new Internet site is "born" every 15 minutes somewhere in the world. Why?
Because the number of people on the Internet is skyrocketing, more and more people are able to make a living by providing Internet connections. Businesses find the Net useful for disseminating information about themselves; communicating with clients, potential clients, and co-workers; as well as networking with people who may be helpful to the company in the future. Even governments are staking claims in cyberspace: they make information about their country and people available online, and they use the Net to help their citizens track down information they otherwise might have to stand in line in a government office to get.
One of the first problems you run into when setting up a site is deciding which operating system to use. Many people choose Linux. After all, it's free version of UNIX, and constantly being updated; there is an amazing amount of support available for it on the Internet in forums used by other Linux users; and it's a stable operating system.
Linux is also, in a strange way, a more "social" operating system than most. Its primary designer reads and responds to the Linux newsgroups; anyone who develops the proper skills-and good ideas-can help Linux continue to evolve; and it's fully available online along with its documentation.
The true beauty of Linux for our purposes is that it's feasible
to set up an Internet site with it whether you're a hobbyist,
business user, or service provider! You can also make the operating
system as bare bones or feature-rich as you like.
What This Book Is
Running a Perfect Internet Site with Linux is a comprehensive guide to setting up, running, and maintaining an Internet site with Linux. All you have to do is follow the book, step by step, for the setup process. Later, when you need a refresher on site maintenance, you can pick it up off of your bookshelf and use it as a handy reference.
The following is a brief overview of each chapter:
This book is not an introduction to the Internet or to UNIX. You should have experience with the Internet and UNIX to use this book.
Further, this book is not a reference for writing programs for
your site. I will, however, point you to online references as
necessary.
The CD-ROM: Everything You'll Need to Get Things Going
You get all of the instructions you'll need in this book, and
you also get a CD-ROM with all of the software as well! I've also
tracked down all of the documentation I could find, so you won't
have to go digging around online too often to find what you need.
Conventions Used in This Book
This book uses various conventions that make it easier for you to get the most out of it. After all, I'm sure you want to get your site up and running as quickly and smoothly as possible!
Typeface Meaning
italics Variables inside commands; new terms
bold Internet addresses; words or letters you have to type
computer type Commands you type in; on-screen messages
Tips suggest easier or alternative ways to get things done.
Notes contain information that I thought would be helpful or interesting.
Cautions contain important warnings. Please read any that you encounter as you work through this book to prevent unwanted results, including system damage and loss of data.
