| 1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
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| 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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| 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 | <sect1 id="pre-audience">
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| 9 | <?dbhtml filename="audience.html"?>
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| 10 |
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| 11 | <title>Audience</title>
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| 12 |
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| 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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| 17 |
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| 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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| 21 | each other. One of the best things that this learning experience can provide is
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| 22 | the ability to customize a Linux system to suit your own unique needs.</para>
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| 23 |
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| 24 | <para>Another key benefit of LFS is that it allows you to have more control
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| 25 | over the system without relying on someone else's Linux implementation. With
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| 26 | LFS, you are in the driver's seat and dictate every aspect of the
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| 27 | system.</para>
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| 28 |
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| 29 | <para>LFS allows you to create very compact Linux systems. When installing
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| 30 | regular distributions, you are often forced to install a great many
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| 31 | programs which are probably never used or understood. These programs waste
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| 32 | resources. You may argue that with today's hard drive and CPUs, such
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| 33 | resources are no longer a consideration. Sometimes, however, you are still
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| 34 | constrained by size considerations if nothing else. Think about bootable
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| 35 | CDs, USB sticks, and embedded systems. Those are areas where LFS can be
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| 36 | beneficial.</para>
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| 37 |
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| 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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| 40 | and apply all the security patches desired. It is no longer necessary to
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| 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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| 45 |
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| 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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| 48 | from scratch, you may nevertheless benefit from the information in this
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| 49 | book.</para>
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| 50 |
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| 51 | <para>There are too many other 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 powerful of
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| 53 | reasons. As you continue in your LFS experience, you will discover the power
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| 54 | that information and knowledge truly bring.</para>
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| 55 |
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| 56 | </sect1>
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| 57 |
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