This book is an excellent guide to Linux, providing the most complete understanding of this operating system. The book consists of three parts, each of which reveals one of the three main aspects of working with Linux: Linux for the user, Linux network technologies (and methods for setting up a Linux server), Linux programming. The book covers a very wide range of topics, starting with installing and using Linux “in everyday life” (office packages, games, video, Internet), and ending with a description of the internal processes of Linux, secrets and tricks of configuration, features of programming for Linux, creating network applications , kernel optimization, etc. The material is presented mainly on the basis of the Fedora Cora (Red Hat) and Mandriva (Mandrake) distributions. However, other distributions SuSe, Slackware, Gentoo, Alt Linux, Knoppix are not left without attention. A comparative description of them is given, and as the entire material is presented, their features are indicated. The book was written by well-known experts and consultants on the use of Linux, the authors of many articles and books on Linux, which have earned their recognition in the widest Linux circles. If you want to understand the features of Linux and understand its inner world, this book is your best choice.