The process of installing Red Hat Linux is straightforward, although there are lots of little problems scattered throughout the process that can cause hassles. Red Hat Linux is much easier to install than many other versions of Linux, so you will find the installation goes quite easily. Common errors that you might make are handled nicely by the Red Hat installation program, and the system is versatile enough to handle most configuration requirements.

The essential steps for installing Red Hat Linux are as follows:

1. Create boot and root disks.
   
   
2. Boot Linux from floppies.
   
   
3. Partition the hard disk.
   
   
4. Create a swap file.
   
   
5. Create a Linux file system.
   
   
6. Install the Linux software.
   
   
7. Configure the kernel.
   
   
8. Set the boot process.
   
   
9. Reboot into Linux from your hard disk.
   
   

The process is similar whether you are installing from a CD-ROM or from a diskette (which may have come from an FTP site, for example). Because the CD-ROM is the most common form of installation (and the one included with this book), it is used as the example in this chapter.

USENET Newsgroups

USENET is a collection of discussion groups (called newsgroups) available to Internet users. The over 13,000 newsgroups generate over 100M of traffic every day. Of all these newsgroups (which cover every conceivable topic), several are dedicated to Linux. These newsgroups are a useful forum for information and answers to questions about Linux.

You can read USENET newsgroups through newsreader software that accesses either the Internet or a local site that offers USENET service (called a newsfeed). Many on-line services, such as CompuServe and Delphi, provide access to the newsgroups (sometimes at an additional cost), and some have their own forums for Linux users. BBSs dedicated to Linux in whole or in part are also appearing, and many excerpt the USENET conversations for the BBS users who do not have access to USENET.

Linux Copyrights

Just because Linux is distributed for free, it doesn’t mean the software is not copyrighted. Linux has been registered as copyrighted under the GNU General Public License (GPL), which is known in the programming community as a copyleft instead of copyright because of its nature. The GPL allows you to redistribute the Linux software, along with the complete source code, to anyone who wants it. However, the original owner of the components retains the copyrights to the software.

Linux doesn’t have any kind of warranty. Even if you buy the Linux software from someone and pay them for maintenance, you cannot ever pursue the Linux programmers. They make no statement of functionality. If Linux destroys all your accounting or database data, it’s tough luck. You assume the risk. That having been said, Linux has proven itself very stable and no incidents of serious data damage have occurred as a result of its programming. However, if the chance that something may go wrong is too great a risk for your business, you may be better off buying a commercial UNIX system that does have a warranty.

According to the GNU GPL, you can even sell Linux. You can modify any of the code, and repackage it as you want. You do not own the software and cannot claim copyright, however, even if you have modified the source code. The GNU GPL also imposes one condition on the sale of Linux—you must provide all source code with the system if you sell it for profit so that others can further modify and sell it, too.

The authors and developers of Linux don’t receive any royalties or shareware fees. For the most part, they provide the software to end users for the true love of programming and sharing their code with other programmers who appreciate it.

Linux’s History

Linux was developed as a freely distributable version of UNIX. UNIX is the most widely used operating system in the world and has long been the standard for high-performance workstations and larger servers. UNIX, first developed in 1969, has a strong programmer-oriented user group that supports the operating system.

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How did UNIX get its name? It was based on an operating systems called MULTICS (MULTiplexed Information and Computing System). Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Brian Kernighan were involved the design of a new operating system based on MULTICS that would be much simpler. They called the new operating system UNICS (Uniplexed Information and Computing System), which was quickly changed to UNIX.

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Because UNIX is a commercial product, it must be bought for each platform it runs on. Licensing fees for UNIX versions for PC machines range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. In an attempt to make UNIX widely available for no cost to those who want to experiment with it, a number of public domain UNIX systems have been developed over the years.

The Linux operating system has become immensely popular. USENET newsgroups dedicated to the Linux operating system have hundreds of messages a day, CD-ROMs of Linux archives are sold by the thousands, and even more DOS users are wandering around trying to figure out UNIX syntax and Linux installation problems. In many ways, the interest in Linux brings back the heady hacker days and the excitement of CP/M and early DOS machines.

Linux does have its problems though. One problem is the wide variety of Linux versions available, some of which are not very stable. The quality of the installation and configuration utilities also varies widely from Linux version to Linux version. Another problem is supporting documentation. Although this problem is decreasing as more people get involved, most available Linux documentation can be intimidating for first-time users (and some veterans). Commercial books dedicated to beginning Linux users are helping by offering a smoother explanation, but most books are simply rehashed Linux documents.