Linux documentation can be found in books, online communities, official websites, and man pages. Official and unofficial sources are available, and books provide comprehensive information and installation CDs/DVDs. Online communities offer tips and solutions for various issues. The Linux Documentation Project is a good source for up-to-date information.
You can find Linux documentation in many books that have been written on the various distributions, or “flavors,” of the Linux operating system. Some of these books have been chosen to serve as textbooks for lectures taught by professors who provide additional documentation in the form of supplements to the textbooks they have chosen. Online Linux communities and official websites dedicated to specific distributions provide Linux documentation, and most distributions offer documentation in electronic form by including it on installation compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs). Manual pages, more commonly known as “man” pages, provide extremely important documentation about programs and tools, and are included in nearly every release of every distribution.
There is a difference between official and unofficial Linux documentation. Unofficial releases, however, are not necessarily inferior or less complete than the official releases that ship with nearly every supported or paid-for production system. You could also say that Linux documentation is provided when working within a shell, also known as console-based work, because help is almost always available by simply typing a help command for particular Linux commands. One of the best sources of up-to-date information on the progress of documentation written for distributions in various languages is the Linux Documentation Project (LDD).
Books written about a specific distribution are generally considered the best non-electronic offline sources for Linux documentation for various reasons. These books, while comprehensive, not only provide information about what programs and tools are available, but also provide information about the Linux operating system in general. Many of these books also provide an installation CD or DVD that offers documentation in an electronic format. This is especially useful for new users who need to understand the very different concepts of Unix-based systems. Written instructions and explanations usually accompany screenshot photographs so you can follow the instructions step by step.
Official websites and online technical help communities for specific distributions are excellent sources for Linux documentation because the websites reflect important information released by the developer of the distribution. This information is critical to writing accurate documentation. Online tech help communities are made up of computer programmers, distro power users, inexperienced users, and people who have encountered strange problems and found a solution for them. Such a variety of users means that you can likely find documentation not only for each version of the distribution, but also tips and tricks for solving hardware compatibility, network connection, security, and software installation issues.
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