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<H1></H1>



<UL>

	<LI><A HREF="#Heading1">- 2 -</A>

	<UL>

		<LI><A HREF="#Heading2">Types of Linux</A>

		<UL>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading3">Linux Releases</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading4">Whats a Linux Release?</A>

			<UL>

				<LI><A HREF="#Heading5">Other Linux Information Sources</A>

			</UL>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading6">Finding Linux Updates on the Internet</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading7">Getting Slackware from the Internet</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading8">CAUTION</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading9">NOTE</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading10">More on the Slackware Distribution</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading11">NOTE</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading12">Common Extensions for Filenames</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading13">The Location of Disk Sets on the CD-ROM</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading14">Listing 2.1. The distribution on the CD-ROM in this book.</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading15">NOTE</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading16">NOTE</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading17">Whats in a Package in a Disk Set?</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading18">Listing 2.2. Checking the contents of a Linux package.</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading19">Listing 2.3. Looking at the contents of a package.</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading20">TIP</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading21">Obtaining Linux from BBSs</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading22">NOTE</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading23">Accessing DOS Files from Linux</A>

			<LI><A HREF="#Heading24">Summary</A>

		</UL>

	</UL>

</UL>



<P>

<HR SIZE="4">



<H2 ALIGN="CENTER"><A NAME="Heading1<FONT COLOR="#000077">- 2 -</FONT></H2>

<H2 ALIGN="CENTER"><A NAME="Heading2<FONT COLOR="#000077">Types of Linux</FONT></H2>

<P><I>by Kamran Husain</I></P>



<P>IN THIS CHAPTER</P>



<UL>

	<LI>Linux Releases 

	<P>

	<LI>What's a Linux Release? 

	<P>

	<LI>Finding Linux Updates on the Internet

	<P>

	<LI>Getting Slackware from the Internet 

	<P>

	<LI>More on the Slackware Distribution 

	<P>

	<LI>Common Extensions for Filenames 

	<P>

	<LI>The Location of Disk Sets on the CD-ROM 

	<P>

	<LI>What's in a Package in a Disk Set? 

	<P>

	<LI>Obtaining Linux from BBSs 

	<P>

	<LI>Accessing DOS Files from Linux 

</UL>



<P><BR>

This chapter covers the many types of Linux systems and distributions available.

I strongly recommend that you read this chapter at least once before starting the

installation process. This chapter covers the following topics:



<UL>

	<LI>The various distribution types in Linux

	<P>

	<LI>The types of disk sets for each distribution

	<P>

	<LI>Which distribution sets are important for you

	<P>

	<LI>How to look for files on the CD-ROM

	<P>

	<LI>How to get Linux from FTP sites

	<P>

	<LI>How to get Linux from BBS sites

	<P>

	<LI>How to find FTP sites where you can get Linux updates

</UL>



<H3 ALIGN="CENTER"><A NAME="Heading3<FONT COLOR="#000077">Linux Releases</FONT></H3>

<P>Many independent releases of Linux with their own lists of unique features are

available. Some of these releases are free of charge if you have access to the Internet.

Some releases are available for a nominal fee ($20 to $90) for distribution on CD-ROM

or disks. Typically, the CD-ROM versions are cheaper and are easier to use than the

floppy disk distributions because the cost of one CD-ROM is less than the cost of

30 or more floppy disks. Another plus for the CD-ROM is the convenience of having

everything on one source media. It beats swapping disks!

<H3 ALIGN="CENTER"><A NAME="Heading4<FONT COLOR="#000077">Whats a Linux Release?</FONT></H3>

<P>A Linux release is a set of files for a complete Linux system. Various changes

made by the Linux community are incorporated into each release.</P>

<P>Linux releases are usually identified by numbers. These numbers are of the form

X.YY.ZZ, where X is a single digit, and YY and ZZ are numbers between 0 and 99. At

the time of this writing, the release number was 2.0.20. Generally, the higher the

number, the newer the release.</P>

<P>A release consists of several components called a series of disks, or a collection

of disks. For example, the X Windows series of disks comes on 10 disks. Each series

is referred to by its name. A name generally tells you who put the software together

and what its date is.</P>

<P>Different releases from different vendors can vary in price significantly. You

can always get Linux from the Internet, so what are you paying for? Basically, you

are paying for time and features. The more time spent by the package developers to

get the right features together, the higher the cost of the package.</P>

<P>Some of the releases of Linux are listed here:



<UL>

	<LI>Slackware 96

</UL>





<DL>

	<DD>Slackware 96 is the Linux release on the CD-ROM included with this book. I will

	cover this distribution in great detail in the section &quot;More on the Slackware

	Distribution,&quot; later in this chapter. You can get future versions of this release

	on CD-ROM from various vendors for about $25. Only one CD-ROM is included at the

	back of this book. The Slackware distribution normally, however, consists of four

	CD-ROMS: one with the Linux distribution, one live file system, and two disks with

	complete archives from <TT>sunsite.unc.edu</TT> and <TT>tsx-11.mit.edu</TT>.<BR>

	You can get the latest Slackware 96 release from Walnut Creek CDROM at the following

	address:

</DL>



<P><I>Walnut Creek CDROM</I></P>

<P><I>4041 Pike Lane, Suite D 467</I></P>

<P><I>Concord, CA 94520</I></P>

<P><I>[phone]</I></P>

<P><I><TT>[e-mail]</TT></I>





<BLOCKQUOTE>

	<P><I><TT>http://www.cdrom.com</TT></I><TT></TT>



</BLOCKQUOTE>





<UL>

	<LI>The Red Hat Software Inc. Release

</UL>





<DL>

	<DD>This is a commercial release of Linux from Red Hat Software Inc. Its latest version,

	4.0, can be downloaded from the Internet free from Red Hat's Web site. What you are

	paying for with the &quot;commercial&quot; part is the full-service support you get

	from Red Hat Software for its software. The installation package has a very snappy

	installation program complete with 3-D buttons, scrolling lists, icons, and so on.<BR>

	The highlight of the installation package is the Red Hat Packet Manager (RPM). Using

	the RPM enables you to safely install and uninstall packages. By far, the uninstall

	capability of the package is the best feature because most upgrades to critical packages

	require a complete Linux installation. RPM can even let you install packages straight

	from an FTP site (such as <TT>$ rpm -iv</TT> <TT>ftp://ftp.site.com/foobar.rpm</TT>).<BR>

	One more feature is that the RPM recognizes configuration files you might have modified.

	If the new file and the installed file are the same, RPM copies the new file over

	the installed file. If they are not the same, the installed file is saved as filename<TT>.rpmsave</TT>

	for you to compare with the new file. This way, you do not have to remember what

	files you modified. Neat.<BR>

	After it's installed, the Red Hat version offers a Control Panel for system parameter

	configurations for users, network connections, and X Window. The Control Panel is

	the preferred way of editing configuration files in Red Hat and is a welcome addition

	to Linux because of its ease of use.<BR>

	Finally, the Glint package enables you to build and debug packages and their contents.

	With a graphical interface, it's easy to view, install, and uninstall packages.<BR>

	Contact Red Hat at:

</DL>



<P><I>Red Hat Software Inc.</I></P>

<P><I>3203 Yorktown Ave., Suite 123</I></P>

<P><I>Durham, NC 27713</I></P>

<P><I>[phone]</I></P>

<P><I><TT>[e-mail]</TT></I>





<BLOCKQUOTE>

	<P><I><TT>http://www.redhat.com</TT></I><TT></TT>



</BLOCKQUOTE>





<UL>

	<LI>WGS Linux Pro

</UL>





<DL>

	<DD>This release, from WorkGroup Solutions, is called WGS Linux Pro 4.0 and is referred

	to as the &quot;Linux Encyclopedia.&quot; The cost for the distribution with the

	thick manual is about $99. It includes four CD-ROMs with Linux and related material,

	mirrors of Internet sites, FAQs, and <TT>HOWTO</TT> documents.<BR>

	Contact:

</DL>



<P><I>WorkGroup Solutions Inc.</I></P>

<P><I>P.O. Box 460190</I></P>

<P><I>Aurora, CO 80046</I></P>

<P><I>[phone]</I></P>

<P><I><TT>[e-mail]</TT></I>





<BLOCKQUOTE>

	<P><I><TT>http://www.wgs.com</TT></I><TT></TT>



</BLOCKQUOTE>





<UL>

	<LI>Trans-Ameritech

</UL>





<DL>

	<DD>Trans-Ameritech is the most comprehensive release in terms of the software it

	offers. It is available only on CD-ROM. The CD-ROM is quite helpful because it offers

	a complete, uncompressed, bootable Linux file system. This feature has two distinct

	advantages: You have instant access to the file of your choice without having to

	uncompress or unzip any archives, and it saves the disk space you would use uncompressing

	these archives.<BR>

	The CD-ROM is based on the Slackware distribution of Linux with all the source code,

	an uncompressed file system, and NetBSD source and binary distribution. You can run

	programs directly from CD-ROM, including the man pages.<BR>

	For a hacker's reference, an uncompressed FreeBSD source tree is provided. You can

	order by e-mail at <TT>[e-mail]</TT>.<BR>

	Contact:

</DL>



<P><I>Trans-Ameritech System, Inc.</I></P>

<P><I>2342A Walsh Ave.</I></P>

<P><I>Santa Clara, CA 95051</I></P>

<P><I>[phone]</I>





<BLOCKQUOTE>

	<P><I><TT>[e-mail]</TT></I><TT></TT>



</BLOCKQUOTE>





<UL>

	<LI>The Linux Universe

</UL>





<DL>

	<DD>This release and its accompanying book are in English, but it looks as though

	the software documentation was translated from German. Most of the menus, manuals,

	and installation instructions are in German. You can get this release by purchasing