Linux for Beginners type books, any suggestions?

Superjoe

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I'm not totally ignorant of Linux and the command line, but I need to finally become proficient in it. Have any of you used any instructional books that you could recommend? My goal is to knock out the CompTIA Linux+ exam before the end of the year but hopefully much sooner.
 
Nope, only books I've used are various linux focused wikis (arch and gentoo especially) and stackoverflow/forums.

That said, there are some available, some published by redhat or other companies, which may be useful. Or you can dive in with something like linux from scratch, or you can run archlinux or gentoo and follow the install guide. Read up on the relevant wiki and man pages about commands used during the install process.
 
Linux changes almost hourly, books are notoriously out of date unfortunately. Best methods are to designate an old box your linux machine (or dual boot, or even use a VM) and install and crash through the mud till you get a handle.
 
As mentioned, hands-on is the best. Start out with a VM and don't be afraid to break it (I like VMware Player best on Windows). A Google/Bing//DDG search will usually get you the info you need.

If you really prefer the book route, there is occasionally a relevant Humble Bundle for a good deal (though not currently).
 
I haven't used this myself but check and see if it's what you might be looking for. Linux Foundation seems to have many free courses you can take online that may be up your ally. They also have more advanced paid courses and certifications.

Here is a free Intro self paced class:
https://training.linuxfoundation.org/training/introduction-to-linux/

Browse more courses here:
https://training.linuxfoundation.or..._type=training&_sft_difficulty_level=beginner

https://training.linuxfoundation.org/resources/lfca-free-resources/
 
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Youtube video tutorials are often the most effective way to learn (specific) things. Then things like bash cheat sheet etc. can help.
 
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I'm not totally ignorant of Linux and the command line, but I need to finally become proficient in it. Have any of you used any instructional books that you could recommend? My goal is to knock out the CompTIA Linux+ exam before the end of the year but hopefully much sooner.
I re-read the post, and realized you are aiming to go for Linux+ cert. I would recommend then you get books specifically for Linux+ certification, and not anything else. The reason is that there are so many varieties of Linux desktop, and the knowledge and terminology that Comptia requires may be different than what another "learn Linux" source may use. For other certs, I've had good luck with this line of books.
 
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I recommend the Slackbook. It's mainly about using Slackware, but it's a pretty generic distro without the higher-level package management such as apt or yum.

It's a very approachable read and deals with all fundamental Linux basics, such as the filesystem structure, basic shell navigation and commands, networking commands... I really liked it.
I'd say you don't need the Vi and Emacs chapters, Zipslack, glossary... Without that it's seriously a smooth and engaging read.
 
Lots of good suggestions here, thanks everyone. I’ve got the Linux + book coming and will be fine over everything linked here. Thanks again
 
I'm in the learning phase as well, and still struggling to pick a distro. The beauty of Linux is that it's very easy (and free) to run a bunch of them as virtual machines to compare and learn. I back up my VMs, so when I make a mistake or can't solve an issue, I can quickly restore and keep going.
 
I'm in the learning phase as well, and still struggling to pick a distro. The beauty of Linux is that it's very easy (and free) to run a bunch of them as virtual machines to compare and learn. I back up my VMs, so when I make a mistake or can't solve an issue, I can quickly restore and keep going.
When i was learning linux 20 years ago, i decided to pick Gentoo. Talk about jumping in the deep end. Found ubuntu and was like, oh so this is how things just work....(most of the time).

The down side to VM's is that the hardware compatibility is 100%, and that isnt true on real hardware. First VM everything worked, Migrate to HW and all of a sudden you spend weeks troubleshooting hardware and software bugs that didnt exist in your VM.

For a first distro Ubuntu (or any of the main derivatives, KUbuntu, XUbuntu, etc..) is the gold standard. But if you dont care if it works, and are in for the learning just pick something.
 
When i was learning linux 20 years ago, i decided to pick Gentoo. Talk about jumping in the deep end. Found ubuntu and was like, oh so this is how things just work....(most of the time).

The down side to VM's is that the hardware compatibility is 100%, and that isnt true on real hardware. First VM everything worked, Migrate to HW and all of a sudden you spend weeks troubleshooting hardware and software bugs that didnt exist in your VM.

For a first distro Ubuntu (or any of the main derivatives, KUbuntu, XUbuntu, etc..) is the gold standard. But if you dont care if it works, and are in for the learning just pick something.
It can work the other way also. I have run into several distros that wouldn't run on Virtualbox but booted nicely from USB to same hardware.
 
Get some cheap 4 gig flash drives and run it from each one to decide. I went the other route - put it on an older laptop. I use it on a Thinkpad T-60. Currently using Linux Mint 20. I started with version 17 and have upgraded. I have looked at Ubuntu and Zorin, but decided to stay with Mint.
 
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