[收藏]Entering the Linux Community（官方linux參考資源）

/*

這是《John.Wiley.and.Sons.Linux.Bible.2005.Edition》中的附錄B部分，詳細介紹了一個想要瞭解Linux.的新人通過什麼途徑可以加入Linux community。總共4種途徑，本文都有詳細介紹，並且列舉了其中的重要資源。相信對於一個像我這樣的初學者來說，如何共用別人的學習資源和體會時非常重要的。一般初學者在剛剛接觸一個陌生領域時，總是苦於沒有進入新領域的大門。相信有了一本合適的參考資料（book or others）和這裡所提到的這些資源，大家就可以更加輕鬆的入門Linux。

                                                                                                                                                                    ----coofucoo

*/

     Using and playing with Linux is great fun. Connecting up with others who share your joy in Linux can make the whole Linux experience that much better. Some of the ways you can connect to the Linux community include:
     ✦ Joining a Linux User Group (LUG)
     ✦ Contributing to an open source project
     ✦ Asking or answering questions at online Linux forums
     ✦ Connecting to a Linux IRC chat room
     Activity in the Linux and the open source communities has grown so dramatically in recent years that there are many diverse outlets for learning and getting to know other Linux enthusiasts. This appendix contains a variety of resources that you can use to help you expand your knowledge and activity in Linux and its growing communities.

General Linux Sites

     While Slashdot.org is probably the news site that most Linux enthusiasts keep track of and participate in, there are many other places to look for Linux and open source news as well.

     ✦ Slashdot (www.slashdot.org)—Probably the top news site for open source devotees. People submit links to news articles, book reviews, and interviews related to technology, science, politics, or other “news for nerds.”Then everyone piles on with their own commentaries. Having your book or project “slashdotted” means you have made the big time—although you are as likely to get crushed as you are to get praised.

     ✦ Groklaw (www.groklaw.net)—The place to look for information regarding legal issues surrounding open source software.
     ✦ Linux Today (www.linuxtoday.com)—This site gathers news that is of particular interest to software developers and IT managers.
     ✦ LWN.net (www.lwn.net)—Produces a weekly newsletter covering a range of Linux topics.
     ✦ Newsforge (www.newsforge.com)—Bills itself as the “Online Newspaper for Linux and Open Source.” Contains many original articles, as well as links to up-to-the-minute open source stories from other locations on the Web.
     ✦ LinuxInsider (www.linuxinsider.com)—Covers news articles relating to Linux issues around the world.

     If you need help or have questions about Linux, here are a few sites to try:

     ✦ Linux Questions (www.linuxquestions.org)—In addition to offering forums on different Linux distributions, this is a great place to ask questions relating to hardware compatibility, security, and networking. The site also has some good tutorials, as well as reviews of books and Linux distributions.
     ✦ Google Linux (www.google.com/linux)—Search for Linux-specific information from this part of the Google search site.
     ✦ Linux Forums (www.linuxforums.org)—Contains active forums on your favorite distributions and has active IRC channels as well.
     ✦ The Linux Documentation Project (www.tldp.org)—Offers a wide range of HOWTOs, guides, FAQs, man pages, and other documentation related to Linux.
     ✦ Linux Help (www.linuxhelp.net)—Offers forums, news, and current information about the Linux kernel. Also contains information about finding Linux mailing lists, newsgroups, and user groups.
     ✦ Linux Online (www.linux.org)—Provides a central source of information relating to Linux distributions, documentation, books, and people.
     ✦ Linux Kernel Archives (www.kernel.org)—The primary site for Linux kernel development. You can get the latest stable or testing versions of the Linux kernel. Not the first place to start with Linux, but I thought you’d want to know it was there.

Linux Distributions

     Every major Linux distribution has a Web site that provides information about how to get it and use it. If you haven’t chosen a distribution yet, here are some sites that can help you evaluate, find, and get a Linux distribution that interests you:

     ✦ Distrowatch (www.distrowatch.com)—Contains information about a few hundred different Linux distributions. The site provides an easy way to find out about different distributions, and then simply connect to the distribution’s home page, download site, or related forums.
     ✦ LinuxISO.org (www.linuxiso.org)—Provides information about Linux distributions and how to get them. Also tells you about downloading, verifying, and burning your own CDs from ISO images.
     ✦ LWN.net Linux Distributions (lwn.net/Distributions)—If you want to read succinct descriptions of more than 400 Linux distributions on one page, this is the place to go.

     Here are key sites associated with Linux distributions covered in this book:

     ✦ Fedora (fedora.redhat.com)—Community-driven Linux, supported by Red Hat. Check the Fedora Legacy Project (http://fedoralegacy.org) for longterm support issues. Look to Fedora Extras (www.fedora.us) and Livna.org (rpm.livna.org) for downloads of extra Fedora software.
     ✦ Red Hat Enterprise Linux (www.redhat.com)—Check the main Red Hat Web site for information on commercial Linux products.
     ✦ Debian GNU/Linux (www.debian.org)—Get news, documentation, support, and download information about Debian. To learn about packages, try the Debian Package a Day site (www.livejournal.com/users/debaday), which adds new descriptions of packages in the Sarge Debian distribution each day. (This site lists the 20 most recent journal entries.)
     ✦ SUSE (www.suse.com)—Get product and support information from this project’s site. Also try the Novell site (www.novell.com), which owns SUSE.
     ✦ Knoppix (www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html)—The official KNOPPIX page on its creator’s (Klaus Knopper’s) Web site. An English forum is at www.knoppix.net, and a German forum at www.linuxtag.org/forum.
     ✦ Yellow Dog (www.yellowdoglinux.com)—From this site, sponsored by Terra Soft Solutions, you can purchase Yellow Dog Linux on CDs or get it preinstalled on Mac hardware. The YDL.net site offers some extra services for Yellow Dog Linux users, such as personal e-mail accounts and Web space.
     ✦ Gentoo (www.gentoo.org)—The center for the very active Gentoo community. The site contains a wealth of information about Gentoo and plenty of forums and IRC channels in which to participate. You’ll find a solid and growing documentation set to back up the distribution, and tons of software packages to try (in the thousands).
     ✦ Slackware (www.slackware.org)—Check the changelogs at this site to get a feel for the latest Slackware developments. Try LinuxPackages (www.linuxpackages.net) for a broader range of information about Slackware.

     ✦ Linspire (www.linspire.com)—Purchase a computer running Linspire from this site, or just buy the boxed set. No demo copies are available, but you can get a 15-day free trial of Linspire.
     ✦ Mandrake (www.mandrakelinux.com)—Developers of this distribution ask that you join the Mandrake Club to help support the project.

Companies and Groups Supporting Linux

     Some companies and organizations make important contributions to Linux and open source software without producing their own Linux distribution. Here are some of the most prominent ones:
     ✦ VA Software (www.vasoftware.com)—With its Open Source Technology Group (OSDG), VA Software manages many of the premier open source sites on the Web. It maintains open source development sites Freshmeat (www.freshmeat.net) and SourceForge (www.sourceforge.net). It also maintains information
technology sites, such as Slashdot (www.slashdot.org), NewsForge (www.newsforge.com), Linux.com (www.linux.com), and IT Manager’s Journal(www.itmanagersjournal.com).
     ✦ IBM (www.ibm.com/linux)—Because IBM has taken on the lion’s share of lawsuits against Linux and done a lot to further Linux, especially in the enterprise area, it deserves a mention here. There are many good resources for Linux at IBM’s Web site, including some excellent white papers covering Linux in business.
     ✦ Ibiblio (www.ibiblio.org)—Contains a massive archive of Linux software and documentation(www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux).

Major Linux Projects

     As you know by now, the name Linux comes from the Linux kernel created by Linus Torvalds. The desktop, application, server, and other software needed to create a full Linux system are added from other open source projects. The following is a list of some of the major open source software organizations that usually have software included with Linux:
     ✦ Free Software Foundation (www.fsf.org)—Supports the GNU project, which produces much of the software outside the kernel that is associated with Linux. In particular, open source versions of nearly every early UNIX command has been implemented by the GNU project.

     ✦ Apache Software Foundation (www.apache.org)—Produces the Apache (HTTP) Web server. It also manages related projects, such as SpamAssassin (spam filtering software) and a variety of modules for serving special Web content (perl, SSL, PHP, and so on).
     ✦ K Desktop Environment (www.kde.org)—Develops KDE, one of the two leading desktop environments used with Linux.
     ✦ GNOME (www.gnome.org)—Develops the other leading Linux desktop environment (used as the default desktop for Red Hat Linux systems).
     ✦ X.org (www.x.org) and XFree86 (www.xfree86.org)—These two organizations provide different implementations of the X Window System graphical desktop framework software.
     ✦ Internet Systems Consortium (www.isc.org)—Develops several major open source software projects related to the Internet. These include Bind (domain name system server), INN (InterNetNews news server), and DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol).

Linux User Groups

     A good way to learn more about Linux and become more a part of the Linux community is to hook up with a Linux User Group (LUG). LUGs tend to come and go, so you might have to do some work to track one down in your area. Here are some places
to start your search:
     ✦ Google (www.google.com/linux)—I found both of the LUGs I’ve been associated with by using Google to search for the word “Linux” and the city closest to where I was living.
     ✦ Linux Meetup Groups (linux.meetup.com)—Enter your ZIP Code to search for the nearest LUG in your area.
     ✦ Linux Online (www.linux.org/groups)—Offers a large, international list of Linux User Groups. Select your country to see a list of available groups.
     ✦ LinuxGazette GLUE (glue.linuxgazette.com)—The Groups of Linux Users Everywhere (GLUE) site contains lists of known LUGs. If there is no Linux User Group in your area, you might consider starting one.
To get information on what LUGs are all about and some suggestions about starting one, refer to the Linux User Group HOWTO (www.tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO.html).