1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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2 | <!DOCTYPE preface PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
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3 | "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd" [
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4 | <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
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5 | %general-entities;
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6 | ]>
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7 |
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8 | <preface id="preface" xreflabel="Preface">
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9 | <?dbhtml filename="preface.html" dir="preface"?>
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10 |
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11 | <title>Preface</title>
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12 |
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13 | <para>
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14 | Having helped out with Linux From Scratch for a short time, I
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15 | noticed that we were getting many queries as to how to do things beyond
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16 | the base LFS system. At the time, the only assistance specifically offered
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17 | relating to LFS were the LFS hints (<ulink url="&hints-root;"/>).
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18 | Most of the LFS hints are extremely good and well written
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19 | but I (and others) could still see a need for more comprehensive help to
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20 | go Beyond LFS — hence BLFS.
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21 | </para>
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22 |
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23 | <para>
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24 | BLFS aims to be more than the LFS-hints converted to XML although
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25 | much of our work is based around the hints and indeed some authors write
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26 | both hints and the relevant BLFS sections. We hope that we can provide
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27 | you with enough information to not only manage to build your system up to
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28 | what you want, whether it be a web server or a multimedia desktop system,
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29 | but also that you will learn a lot about system configuration as you go.
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30 | </para>
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31 |
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32 | <para>
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33 | Thanks as ever go to everyone in the LFS/BLFS
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34 | community; especially those who have contributed instructions, written text,
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35 | answered questions and generally shouted when things were wrong!
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36 | </para>
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37 |
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38 | <para>
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39 | Finally, we encourage you to become involved in the community; ask
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40 | questions on the mailing list or news gateway and join in the fun on #lfs
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41 | and #lfs-support at Libera. You can find more details about all of these
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42 | in the <xref linkend="introduction"/> section of the book.
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43 | </para>
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44 |
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45 | <para>
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46 | Enjoy using BLFS.
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47 | </para>
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48 |
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49 | <blockquote>
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50 | <literallayout>Mark Hymers
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51 | markh <at> &lfs-domainname;
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52 | BLFS Editor (July 2001–March 2003)</literallayout>
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53 | </blockquote>
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54 |
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55 | <para>
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56 | I still remember how I found the BLFS project
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57 | and started using the instructions that were completed at the time. I could
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58 | not believe how wonderful it was to get an application up and running very
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59 | quickly, with explanations as to why things were done a certain way.
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60 | Unfortunately, for me, it wasn't long before I was opening applications that
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61 | had nothing more than "To be done" on the page. I did what most would do,
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62 | I waited for someone else to do it. It wasn't too long before I am looking
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63 | through <application>Bugzilla</application> for something easy to do.
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64 | As with any learning experience, the definition of what was easy kept
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65 | changing.
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66 | </para>
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67 |
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68 | <para>
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69 | We still encourage you to become involved as BLFS is
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70 | never really finished. Contributing or just using, we hope you enjoy
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71 | your BLFS experience.
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72 | </para>
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73 |
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74 | <blockquote>
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75 | <literallayout>Larry Lawrence
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76 | larry <at> &lfs-domainname;
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77 | BLFS Editor (March 2003–June 2004)</literallayout>
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78 | </blockquote>
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79 |
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80 | <para>
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81 | The BLFS project is a natural progression of
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82 | LFS. Together, these projects provide a unique resource for
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83 | the Open Source Community. They take the mystery out of the process of
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84 | building a complete, functional software system from the source code
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85 | contributed by many talented individuals throughout the world. They truly
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86 | allow users to implement the slogan
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87 | <quote><emphasis>Your distro, your rules</emphasis>.</quote>
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88 | </para>
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89 |
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90 | <para>
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91 | Our goal is to continue to provide the best resource available that shows
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92 | you how to integrate many significant Open Source applications. Since these
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93 | applications are constantly updated and new applications are developed, this
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94 | book will never be complete. Additionally, there is always room for
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95 | improvement in explaining the nuances of how to install the different
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96 | packages. To make these improvements, we need your feedback. I encourage
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97 | you to participate on the different mailing lists, news groups, and
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98 | IRC channels to help meet these goals.
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99 | </para>
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100 |
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101 | <blockquote>
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102 | <literallayout>Bruce Dubbs
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103 | bdubbs <at> &lfs-domainname;
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104 | BLFS Editor (June 2004–December 2006 and February 2011–now)</literallayout>
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105 | </blockquote>
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106 |
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107 | <para>
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108 | My introduction to the [B]LFS project was actually by accident. I
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109 | was trying to build a <application>GNOME</application> environment using
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110 | some how-tos and other information I found on the web. A couple of times
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111 | I ran into some build issues and Googling pulled up some old BLFS mailing
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112 | list messages. Out for curiosity, I visited the Linux From Scratch web site
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113 | and shortly thereafter was hooked. I've not used any other Linux
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114 | distribution for personal use since.
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115 | </para>
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116 |
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117 | <para>
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118 | I can't promise anyone will feel the sense of satisfaction I felt
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119 | after building my first few systems using [B]LFS instructions, but I
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120 | sincerely hope that your BLFS experience is as rewarding for you as it has
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121 | been for me.
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122 | </para>
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123 |
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124 | <para>
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125 | The BLFS project has grown significantly the last couple of years.
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126 | There are more package instructions and related dependencies than ever
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127 | before. The project requires your input for continued success. If you
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128 | discover that you enjoy building BLFS, please consider helping out in any
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129 | way you can. BLFS requires hundreds of hours of maintenance to keep it
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130 | even semi-current. If you feel confident enough in your editing skills,
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131 | please consider joining the BLFS team. Simply contributing to the mailing
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132 | list discussions with sound advice and/or providing patches to the book's
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133 | XML will probably result in you receiving an invitation to join the
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134 | team.
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135 | </para>
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136 |
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137 | <blockquote>
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138 | <literallayout>Randy McMurchy
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139 | randy <at> &lfs-domainname;
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140 | BLFS Editor (December 2006–January 2011)</literallayout>
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141 | </blockquote>
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142 |
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143 | <xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" href="foreword.xml"/>
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144 | <xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" href="whoread.xml"/>
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145 | <xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" href="organization.xml"/>
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146 | <!-- <xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" href="errata.xml"/> -->
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147 |
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148 | </preface>
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