source: introduction/welcome/which.xml@ cf4aab7

<sect1 id="intro-welcome-whichsections" xreflabel="Which sections of the book?">
<?dbhtml filename="which.html" dir="introduction"?>
<title>Which sections of the book do I want?</title>

<para>Unlike the LinuxFromScratch book, BLFS isn't designed to be
followed in a linear manner.  This is because LFS provides instructions
on how to create a base system which is capable of turning into anything 
from a web server to a multimedia desktop system.  BLFS is where we try
to guide you through going from the base system to your intended
destination and so choice is very much involved.</para>

<para>Everyone who reads the book will want to read certain sections.  The
<xref linkend="introduction"/> part - which you are currently
reading - contains generic information.  Especially take note of the 
information in Important Information (<xref linkend="intro-important"/>), as 
this contains comments about how to unpack software and various other aspects 
which apply throughout the book.</para>

<para>The part on <xref linkend="postlfs"/> is where most people will want
to turn next.  This deals with not just configuration but also Security
(<xref linkend="postlfs-security"/>), Filesystems (<xref
linkend="postlfs-filesystems"/>), Editors (<xref
linkend="postlfs-editors"/>) and Shells (<xref linkend="postlfs-shells"/>).
Indeed, you may wish to reference certain parts of this chapter (especially
the sections on Editors and Filesystems) while building your LFS system.</para>

<para>Following these basic items, most people will want to at least browse 
through the <xref linkend="general"/> part of the book.  This part contains
information on many items which are prerequisites for other sections of the
book as well as some items (such as Programming (<xref
linkend="general-prog"/>) which are useful in their own right.  Note 
that you don't have to install all of these libraries and packages found in
this part to start with, each BLFS install procedure tells you which packages 
it depends upon so you can choose the program you want to install and see 
what it needs.</para>

<para>Likewise, most people will probably want to look at the <xref 
linkend="connect"/> and <xref linkend="basicnet"/> parts.  The first of
these deals with connecting to the Internet or your local LAN using a variety 
of methods such as DHCP (<xref linkend="connect-dhcp"/>) and Dial-Up
Connections (<xref linkend="connect-dialup"/>).  The second of these parts
deals with items such as Networking Libraries (<xref
linkend="basicnet-netlibs"/>) and various basic networking programs and
utilities.</para>

<para>Once you have dealt with these basics, you may wish to configure
more advanced network services.  These are dealt with in the <xref 
linkend="server"/> and <xref linkend="content"/> parts of the book.  
Those wanting to build servers should find enough information to give 
them a good starting point here.  Note that <xref linkend="content"/> also
contains information on various database packages.</para>

<para>The next parts of the book principally deal with desktop systems.
We start with a part talking about <xref linkend="x"/>.  This part also
deals with some generic X-based libraries (<xref linkend="x-lib"/>).  After 
this, <xref linkend="kde"/> and <xref linkend="gnome"/> are given their 
own parts which are followed by one on <xref linkend="xsoft"/>.</para>

<para>We then move on to deal with <xref linkend="multimedia"/> packages.
Note that many people may want to use the <xref linkend="alsa"/>
instructions from this chapter quite near the start of their BLFS journey;
they are placed here simply because it is the most logical place for
them.</para>

<para>The final part of the main BLFS book deals with <xref 
linkend="pst"/>.  This is useful for most people with desktop systems and 
even those who are creating mainly server systems will find it useful.</para>

<para>Finally, the <xref linkend="appendices"/> contain various pieces of
useful information which you may need to use as a reference.</para> 

<para>We hope you enjoy using BLFS and find it useful.</para>

</sect1>