The Linux Documentation Project

The Linux Documentation Project, or LDP, is a loose team of writers, proofreaders, and editors who are working together to provide complete documentation for the Linux operating system. The overall coordinator of the project is Greg Hankins.

This manual is one in a set of several being distributed by the LDP, including a Linux Users' Guide, System Administrators' Guide, Network Administrators' Guide, and Kernel Hackers' Guide. These manuals are all available in LaTeX source format, .dvi format, and postscript output by anonymous FTP from sunsite.unc.edu, in the directory /pub/Linux/docs/LDP.

We encourage anyone with a penchant for writing or editing to join us in improving Linux documentation. If you have Internet e-mail access, you can contact Greg Hankins at gregh@sunsite.unc.edu.

The LDP Rhyme

A wondrous thing,
and beautiful,
'tis to write,
a book.

I'd like to sing,
of the sweat,
the blood and tear,
which it also took.

It started back in,
nineteen-ninety-two,
when users whined,
"we can nothing do!"

They wanted to know,
what their problem was,
and how to fix it
(by yesterday).

We put the answers in,
a Linux f-a-q,
hoped to get away,
from any more writin'.

"That's too long,
it's hard to search,
and we don't read it,
any-which-way!"

Then a few of us,
joined together
(virtually, you know),
to start the LDP.

We started to write,
or plan, at least,
several books,
one for every need.

The start was fun,
a lot of talk,
an outline,
then a slew.

Then silence came,
the work began,
some wrote less,
others more.

A blank screen,
oh its horrible,
it sits there,
laughs in the face.

We still await,
the final day,
when everything,
will be done.

Until then,
all we have,
is a draft,
for you to comment on.