This book will change your life.
That’s a strange thing to say about a computer book but, as sure as you are reading this
introduction, your life will be different by the time you fi nish the book. You will think
differently and you will approach problems differently.
You see, your computer is not a lifeless piece of machinery. It is a dynamic tool that
interacts with your very thought processes. Whenever you use a computer it becomes,
for better or for worse, an extension of your mind. This means that, over an extended
period of time, the computer system you use changes how you think. Indeed, we might
classify systems as mentally “good” or “bad” depending on how they affect the minds of
their users. In this sense, Unix is, without a doubt, the very best computer system ever
invented (and Linux is a type of Unix).
When you use Unix, you are not working with a machine. You are working with the
people who designed Unix. Every line and every picture you see on your monitor was put
there by a person. Every tool you use was invented by a person. Every technical term and
every concept you learn was created by a person. When you use Unix, you are interacting
with these people, just as surely as you are interacting with me as you read this page.
Unix and Linux are wonderful because they were developed by bright, creative people
who delighted in thinking well. These people were not only very, very smart; they knew
what they were doing and they loved their work. This means that, whenever you use a
Unix or Linux system, you are forging a mental relationship with some of the smartest,
most accomplished (and satisfi ed) programmers and computer scientists who ever lived.
Such a partnership can’t help but have a positive effect on you.
The fact is it really doesn’t matter why you want to learn Unix or Linux, or why you
picked up this book. Perhaps you love computers and you have a burning desire to learn.
Perhaps you are taking a class and this will be your textbook. Perhaps you have a job and
you are required to use Unix or Linux. It doesn’t matter.
A PERSONAL NOTE
FROM HARLEY HAHN
83977_fm_i_xxxiv.indd i83977_fm_i_xxxiv.indd i 1/9/2008 12:51:58 PM1/9/2008 12:51:58 PM
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