Welcome to Ubuntu Unleashed, 2008 Edition! This book covers the free Linux distribution named Ubuntu and includes a fully functional and complete operating system produced by the Ubuntu Community, sponsored by Canonical Software. This book covers Ubuntu version 8.04 LTS, commonly known as the Hardy Heron. Ubuntu directly descends from one of the oldest and most revered Linux distributions ever: Debian. Those of you who know nothing about Linux will likely not have heard of Debian; it is enough to know that it is considered to be one of the most stable and secure Linux distributions currently available. Ubuntu benefits directly from many contributions from free software developers across the world.



Table Of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I Installation and Configuration

1 Installing Ubuntu 11

2 Post-Installation Configuration 25

3 Working with Gnome 51

4 Command Line Quickstart 79



Part II Desktop Ubuntu

5 On the Internet 113

6 Productivity Applications 133

7 Multimedia Applications 153

8 Printing with Ubuntu 185

9 Games 197



Part III System Administration

10 Managing Users 209

11 Automating Tasks 233

12 System-Monitoring Tools 289

13 Backing Up 301

14 Networking 325

15 Remote Access with SSH and Telnet 371

Part IV Ubuntu as a Server

16 File and Print 381

17 Apache Web Server Management 407

18 Remote File Serving with FTP 439

19 Handling Electronic Mail 471

20 Proxying and Reverse Proxying 489

21 Administering Database Services 499

22 LDA 525



Part V Programming Linux

23 Using Perl 537

24 Working with Python 561

25 Writing PHP Scripts 579

26 C/C++ Programming Tools for Ubuntu 613

27 Mono 625



Part VI Ubuntu Housekeeping

28 Securing Your Machines 639

29 Performance Tuning 651

30 Command Line Masterclass 663

31 Managing Software 689

32 Kernel and Module Management 701



Part VII Appendixes

A Ubuntu Under the Hood 727

B Installation Resources 737

C Ubuntu and Linux Internet Resources 759