I have been using Linux as my daily driver for quite some time (around 5-6 years) and usually manage to get whatever needs to be done. However, I now wish to learn it in a more structured manner, which includes understanding utilities and the workings of Linux. What resources should I look out for?
Recommending the library when someone is asking for information on a specific topic is almost as helpful as pointing them to a search engine. “Just google it and use whichever result you like”.
What? No.
At least in all the libraries I’ve been to in my life there is a dedicated section for operating systems, which contains a subsection with just Linux books. You can ask the receptionist “Where is the Linux section?”, walk up to it and there it is. And you can grab a book and skim through it to see whether it suits you.
How is that not information on exactly that specific topic?
Genuine question:
Have you ever been to a library when looking for something specific? Was your experience vastly different from mine?
Publishing a physical book is expensive, publishing a website is dirt cheap. For the publisher and author of a book it’s much more imperative to release good content that people will want to read, cover to cover. You can find more extensive, in-depth, and up-to-date content on the Internet but where exactly and is the info all in one place? Websites are also often made with the assumption you’ll jump around or that you know what you’re looking for. If you’re learning something new it’s often best to have a linear, paved path and not be your own guide.
Edit: Someone else said it first but I was trying to say library books are “curated” in a roundabout way.
You can also go to google, ask “How linux works” and skim through the results.
I’m not saying libraries are bad, they’re obviously amazing (and yes, I’ve been to libraries lol). However, in these sort of questions OP is usually looking for personal recommendations, something that you already read, heard about or found interesting to share. Yes library has books, but which book would you personally recommend OP to read? Which one do you like the best and why?
I’ve read whats in libraries, it is usually way better than what you find on google and my personal recommendation is to look at the available selection and pick one that personally suits yourself instead of getting recommendations which suit other people. Thats what I personally like best and why.
Usually a library is curated, while the internet isn’t. Idk I usually have a good time there. It’s an amount of books on the shelf I can still manage. If it’s multiple, I grab the 5-10 or so books, walk to a table and skim the table of content and a few pages, see which one has the info I was looking for and has a style of writing I like. (And isn’t outdated.) I regularly find Linux or programming books that way. And they all have some minimum standard in the library so I’ll find something within 5-10minutes.