[7152faa] | 1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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[b06ca36] | 2 | <!DOCTYPE sect1 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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[287ea55] | 4 | <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
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| 5 | %general-entities;
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| 6 | ]>
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[b330f4a] | 7 |
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[dc931cb] | 8 | <sect1 id="pre-audience">
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[b330f4a] | 9 | <?dbhtml filename="audience.html"?>
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[287ea55] | 10 |
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[b330f4a] | 11 | <title>Audience</title>
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[81fd230] | 12 |
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[77355e7b] | 13 | <para>There are many reasons why you would want to read this book. One of the
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| 14 | questions many people raise is, <quote>why go through all the hassle of manually
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| 15 | building a Linux system from scratch when you can just download and install
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| 16 | an existing one?</quote></para>
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[81fd230] | 17 |
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[9ee226e] | 18 | <para>One important reason for this project's existence is to help you learn
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| 19 | how a Linux system works from the inside out. Building an LFS system helps
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| 20 | demonstrate what makes Linux tick, and how things work together and depend on
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[e0ae8cb] | 21 | each other. One of the best things this learning experience can provide is
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[9ee226e] | 22 | the ability to customize a Linux system to suit your own unique needs.</para>
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[81fd230] | 23 |
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[e0ae8cb] | 24 | <para>Another key benefit of LFS is that it gives you control
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| 25 | of the system without relying on someone else's Linux implementation. With
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| 26 | LFS, you are in the driver's seat. <emphasis>You</emphasis> dictate every aspect of your
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[9ee226e] | 27 | system.</para>
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[81fd230] | 28 |
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[e0ae8cb] | 29 | <para>LFS allows you to create very compact Linux systems. With
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| 30 | other distributions you are often forced to install a great many
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| 31 | programs you neither use nor understand. These programs waste
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| 32 | resources. You may argue that with today's hard drives and CPUs, wasted
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[77355e7b] | 33 | resources are no longer a consideration. Sometimes, however, you are still
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[e0ae8cb] | 34 | constrained by the system's size, if nothing else. Think about bootable
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[9ee226e] | 35 | CDs, USB sticks, and embedded systems. Those are areas where LFS can be
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[77355e7b] | 36 | beneficial.</para>
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[81fd230] | 37 |
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[77355e7b] | 38 | <para>Another advantage of a custom built Linux system is security. By compiling
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| 39 | the entire system from source code, you are empowered to audit everything
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[e0ae8cb] | 40 | and apply all the security patches you want. You don't have to
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[77355e7b] | 41 | wait for somebody else to compile binary packages that fix a security hole.
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| 42 | Unless you examine the patch and implement it yourself, you have no
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| 43 | guarantee that the new binary package was built correctly and adequately
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| 44 | fixes the problem.</para>
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[81fd230] | 45 |
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[77355e7b] | 46 | <para>The goal of Linux From Scratch is to build a complete and usable
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| 47 | foundation-level system. If you do not wish to build your own Linux system
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[0d84af1] | 48 | from scratch, you may nevertheless benefit from the information in this
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[613bd38] | 49 | book.</para>
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[81fd230] | 50 |
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[e0ae8cb] | 51 | <para>There are too many good reasons to build your own LFS system to
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| 52 | list them all here. In the end, education is by far the most important
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| 53 | reason. As you continue your LFS experience, you will discover the power
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| 54 | that information and knowledge can bring.</para>
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[81fd230] | 55 |
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[b330f4a] | 56 | </sect1>
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[77355e7b] | 57 |
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