This guide's aim is to be the foundation for all other materials available from The Linux Documentation Project. As such, it provides the fundamental knowledge needed by anyone wanting to start working with a Linux system, while trying to consciously avoid re-inventing hot water. Thus, you can expect this book to be incomplete and full of links to sources of additional information on your system, on the Internet and in your system documentation.

The first chapter is an introduction to the subject of Linux; the next two discuss basic commands. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss some more advanced but still basic topics. Chapter 6 discusses editing files, an ability you need to continue with this text and pass from Linux newbie to Linux user. The remaining chapters discuss somewhat more advanced topics that you will have to deal with in everyday Linux use.

All chapters come with exercises that will test your preparedness for the next chapter.

• Chapter 1: What is Linux, how did it come into existence, advantages and disadvantages, what does the future hold for Linux, who should use it, installing on your computer.
• Chapter 2: Getting started, connecting to the system, basic commands, where to find help.
• Chapter 3: The filesystem, important files and directories, managing files and directories, protecting your data.
• Chapter 4: Understanding and managing processes, boot and shutdown procedures, postponing tasks, repetitive tasks.
• Chapter 5: What are standard input, output and error and how are these features used from the command line.
• Chapter 6: Why you should learn to work with an editor, discussion of the most common editors.
• Chapter 7: Configuring your graphical, text and audio environment, settings for the non-native English speaking Linux user, tips for adding extra software.
• Chapter 8: Converting files to a printable format, getting them out of the printer, hints for solving print problems.
• Chapter 9: Preparing data to be backed up, discussion of various tools, remote backup.
• Chapter 10: Overview of Linux networking tools and user applications, with a short discussion of the underlying service daemon programs and secure networking.
• Chapter 11: Sound and video, including Voice over IP and sound recording.
• Appendix A: Which books to read and sites to visit when you have finished reading this one.
• Appendix B: A comparison of DOS and Linux commands.
• Appendix C: Standard features and major differences between the standard shell (sh), Bourne Again SHell (bash), Korn shell (ksh) and the C shell (csh).
• Appendix D: What you can do with this guide, from the legal perspective.

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