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 how
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19 | 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
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21 | on each other. One of the best things that this learning experience can
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22 | provide you with is the ability to customize a Linux system to suit your
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23 | own unique needs.</para>
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24 |
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25 | <para>A key benefit of LFS is that it allows you to have more control over the
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26 | system without relying on someone else's Linux implementation. With LFS,
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27 | you are in the driver's seat and dictate every aspect of the 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 not entirely benefit from the information in this
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49 | book. If you only want to know what happens while the computer boots, we
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50 | recommend the <quote>From Power Up To Bash Prompt</quote> HOWTO located at
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51 | <ulink url="http://axiom.anu.edu.au/~okeefe/p2b/"/> or on The Linux
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52 | Documentation Project's (TLDP) website at <ulink
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53 | url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/From-PowerUp-To-Bash-Prompt-HOWTO.html"/>.
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54 | The HOWTO builds a system which is similar to that of this book, but it
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55 | focuses strictly on creating a system capable of booting to a BASH prompt.
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56 | Consider your objective. If you wish to build a Linux system while learning
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57 | along the way, then this book is your best choice.</para>
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58 |
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59 | <para>There are too many good reasons to build your own LFS system to list them
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60 | all here. In the end, education is by far the most powerful of reasons. As
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61 | you continue in your LFS experience, you will discover the power that
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62 | information and knowledge truly bring.</para>
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63 |
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64 | </sect1>
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65 |
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