-----Original Message----- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Automatic digest processor Sent: June 13, 2008 11:03 PM To: Recipients of CODE4LIB digests Subject: CODE4LIB Digest - 12 Jun 2008 to 13 Jun 2008 (#2008-131) There are 14 messages totalling 910 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Code4Lib Journal -- Deadline Extended for Call for Submissions 2. III SIP server 3. Unix training options? (10) 4. Updated documentation for harvesting materials from the Internet Archive (2) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:59:38 -0400 From: Ken Varnum <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Code4Lib Journal -- Deadline Extended for Call for Submissions ** Deadline Extended 1 Week -- Now June 20 ** The Code4Lib Journal [ http://journal.code4lib.org/ ] is accepting proposals for articles, book & software reviews, code snippets & algorithms, conference reports, opinion pieces, etc., for its September issue. The Code4Lib Journal strives to fill a communication niche above simple description of software implementations but below pure theoretical digital library investigation. The editorial committee is looking for content that is practical, demonstrates how to exploit technology to create digital library collections and services, or offers insight and forethought regarding the use of computers in any type of library setting. While articles in the journal should be of a high quality, they need not follow any formal structure or guidelines. Writers should aim for the middle ground between, on the one hand, blog or mailing-list posts, and, on the other hand, articles in traditional journals. We want publishing in the journal to be easy and painless, helping the community to share timely, relevant information that is currently shared all too rarely. The Journal welcomes submissions at any time on a rolling acceptance basis. We publish quarterly in March, June, September, and December. Proposals received by Friday, June 20, 2008, will receive consideration for publication in issue 4, late September 2008. Upon provisional acceptance, authors will be given an article deadline, typically 6-8 weeks before journal publication. Proposals are typically abstracts sent in the body of an email to [log in to unmask] Send in a submission. Your peers would like to hear what you are doing. Ken Varnum Coordinating Editor, Issue 4 Code4Lib Journal -- Ken Varnum Web Systems Manager University Library E: [log in to unmask] University of Michigan T: 734-615-3287 309 Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library F: 734-647-6897 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1205 http://www.lib.umich.edu/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:43:33 -0700 From: "Walker, David" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: III SIP server Brilliant. Thanks Mark! --Dave ------------------- David Walker Library Web Services Manager California State University http://xerxes.calstate.edu ________________________________ From: Code for Libraries on behalf of Mark Ellis Sent: Thu 6/12/2008 10:14 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] III SIP server All, I've attached two versions of a SIP client script that retrieves patron information--one for telnet based servers and the other for sockets based ones. All the functions excepting PatronInformation() are applicable to other SIP messages, so while this isn't the full client library you're dreaming about, it could still save you some head banging. (you may still want to bang my head after looking at it though) The 3M SIP2 SDK (http://www.yourlibrary.ca/mark/SIP2_SDK.ZIP) includes the protocol definition along with a Windows client and server you can use for testing. The client is particularly useful as you can use it interactively with your ILS. HTH, Mark -----Original Message----- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Walker, David Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 3:00 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] III SIP server I'd like to see the PHP code, Mark. Would you mind sending it to me, or perhaps posting it somewhere where we all might download it? Thanks! --Dave ------------------- David Walker Library Web Services Manager California State University http://xerxes.calstate.edu ________________________________ From: Code for Libraries on behalf of Mark Ellis Sent: Wed 6/11/2008 8:42 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] III SIP server Wayne, What are you using for a client? I have some PHP for getting patron information, but there's nothing III specific about it, so I don't know if it'd be helpful. Do you have the 3M SIP SDK? Mark Mark Ellis Manager, Information Technology Richmond Public Library Richmond, BC (604) 231-6410 www.yourlibrary.ca -----Original Message----- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Schneider, Wayne Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 4:29 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [CODE4LIB] III SIP server Has anyone out there attempted to code to III's SIP server? We're new to III, having just merged with another library system that is a III customer, and were hoping to be able to use SIP for some basic customer account information - nothing too fancy, just basically some of what is supported in version 2.00 of the protocol. Name and address would be nice (name we seem to get, but no address), items out, items on hold, fines and fees, etc. Our other ILS, SirsiDynix Horizon, has pretty good support for SIP 2.00 features, only somewhat idiosyncratic, with a few fairly well-documented extensions, and we were hoping to find the same level of support in III's server. Is this an entirely unreasonable expectation? wayne -- Wayne Schneider ILS System Administrator Hennepin County Library 952.847.8656 [log in to unmask] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:45:42 -0500 From: Cindee Phillips <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Unix training options? Hello all, =20 I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone = might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix training. =20 I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At the = time, we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, meaning I = only needed to do very basic things with the server (my job primarily = entailed running reports against our data and working with some other = locally developed Access applications.)=20 =20 Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to their = servers, and would like to do something else now with the server we were = previously using for our ILS, probably along the lines of archiving = locally produced media on it. =20 But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle 9, and = I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom training = (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http://www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've = also been considering online coursework, either by Sun (http://www.sun.com/= training/) or, perhaps O'Reilly http://www.oreillyschool.com/. =20 =20 I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic = Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, = working with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to = have an instructor to ask questions of. =20 Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be = willing to share? =20 I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 Cindee Phillips [log in to unmask] Library Systems Administrator Rolfing Library/Trinity International University Deerfield, IL, 60015 / (847)317-4021 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:14:01 -0400 From: Joe Hourcle <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? On Fri, 13 Jun 2008, Cindee Phillips wrote: > Hello all, > > I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone > might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix > training. [trimmed] > I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic > Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, > working with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for > to have an instructor to ask questions of. If you like book learning, I'd suggest Unix System Administration Handbook (ISBN 978-0130206015). If nothing else, it's a great reference manual as you're starting out. > Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be > willing to share? Sorry, can't help -- I've never been to a formal sysadmin class for OS stuff. (services, yes, but not OS) My learning was mostly from the 2nd edition of the Unix System Administration Handbook, and people to ask questions of in the department where I worked. As I'm guessing you're the only systems librarian, you might try to network, and see if there are any folks in computer support roles elsewhere that might be willing to do some mentoring or at least answer the occassional question. Sometimes, they'll charge for their trouble in beer, but it's still good to have the contacts for emergency use. -Joe ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:19:08 -0400 From: Ethan Gruber <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? Hi, I've been running Unix-based systems for quite some time. Unix-based systems are growing in market share, and as a result, a larger help base has developed. There weren't nearly as many places to turn for answers and help, especially with respect to particular distributions, 5+ years ago as compared to now. I find the Linux/Unix community to be extremely friendly and helpful. Aside from the common handbooks on Unix commands (e. g. O'Reilly's Linux in a Nutshell), I would recommend checking out Solaris forums. That is to say, I assume you are using Solaris since you say it's a Sun box. Unfortunately, Solaris is a shadow of its former self these days, and the support community isn't nearly as robust as you might find with Linux distributions from Redhat or Ubuntu. It would be more helpful to me to know more specifically what you planned on using it for so that I could give better recommendations. By archive for local media, do you just mean as a fileserver? Do you have a backup system in place? What do you mean by media? Digital images, video, etc.? Do you plan on provided public web access to these materials? Ethan Gruber University of Virginia Library On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 4:45 PM, Cindee Phillips <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hello all, > > I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix training. > > I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At the time, we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, meaning I only needed to do very basic things with the server (my job primarily entailed running reports against our data and working with some other locally developed Access applications.) > > Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to their servers, and would like to do something else now with the server we were previously using for our ILS, probably along the lines of archiving locally produced media on it. > > But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle 9, and I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom training (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http://www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've also been considering online coursework, either by Sun (http://www.sun.com/training/) or, perhaps O'Reilly http://www.oreillyschool.com/. > > I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, working with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to have an instructor to ask questions of. > > Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be willing to share? > > I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. > > > > > > > > Cindee Phillips > [log in to unmask] > Library Systems Administrator > Rolfing Library/Trinity International University > Deerfield, IL, 60015 / (847)317-4021 > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:19:48 -0500 From: Chris Freeland <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Updated documentation for harvesting materials from the Internet Archive All - The Internet Archive query interface has stablized a bit, so we (Biodiversity Heritage Library) have updated the documentation we wrote outlining the processes by which we harvest content from IA: http://biodiversitylibrary.blogspot.com/2008/06/updated-harvesting-proce ss-from.html I hope this helps any & all. Chris Freeland Director, Bioinformatics, Missouri Botanical Garden Technical Director, Biodiversity Heritage Library ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:32:01 -0700 From: Kyle Banerjee <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? > If you like book learning, I'd suggest Unix System Administration > Handbook (ISBN 978-0130206015). I highly recommend this book. Read it. Learn it. Hold it close to your heart during times of despair... >> Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be >> willing to share?... >> I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic Unix >> stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, working with the >> crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to have an instructor to >> ask questions of. You do not need to sign up for a course to ask an expert a question. I think you're far better off on your own and appealing the internet or anyone handy for help when you need it. The problem is that there are so many aspects to systems that well organized and well structured classes might not exist for what you need. In most classes, you'll spend loads of time on things you don't need, and you might not even get to discuss things that are very important for your situation. Don't discount Google and online support from people you've never met. My experience is that the support in online communities totally blows away anything vendors can come up with. And why wouldn't it? A handful of support staff are no match for an army of people with direct experience in what you're trying to do. kyle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:37:33 -0700 From: "Cloutman, David" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? Hi Cindee, Having a good understanding of Unix-like systems is a great skill to have. I don't think that it is the sort of thing that you develop overnight, or really pick up an a week or two of training. Fundamentally, this class of operating systems has a pretty steep learning curve, and there is a lot to know. Note that I said operating systems. There is such a thing a Unix, but mostly what we call Unix isn't the real thing, which was developed by Bell Labs and is sold by SCO. In your case, you're probably running Solaris, which is Sun's Un*x. There are also the BSD, Linux, OS X, operating systems, which also fall into the same class. All of these operating systems fall into the same family, and have similar design concepts. However, they all have their own eccentricities. Solaris is probably one of the hardest to work with. If you are wanting to lean Oracle administration as well, that's a whole separate topic. Probably the best thing to do is get a book and play with the system yourself. I like the Sams "Teach Yourself Unix Administration in 24 Hours" as a primer. The book is intentionally operating system neutral, and focuses on teaching the basics. I think O'Reilly books are great, but usually I read the O'Reilly book after I understand the basics. You may be better off setting up a Linux machine and playing with that first. I find the operating system a little more organized, and if you mess up, you haven't destroyed a production machine at work. You'll find that many things you learn working with Linux transfer over to Solaris, though usually they are more difficult. You may also find that your local community college offers courses on the topic. Community colleges can be great places to pick up technical skills if you get a good instructor, and a bargain in terms of training costs. - David --- David Cloutman <[log in to unmask]> Electronic Services Librarian Marin County Free Library -----Original Message----- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Cindee Phillips Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:46 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [CODE4LIB] Unix training options? Hello all, I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix training. I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At the time, we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, meaning I only needed to do very basic things with the server (my job primarily entailed running reports against our data and working with some other locally developed Access applications.) Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to their servers, and would like to do something else now with the server we were previously using for our ILS, probably along the lines of archiving locally produced media on it. But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle 9, and I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom training (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http://www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've also been considering online coursework, either by Sun (http://www.sun.com/training/) or, perhaps O'Reilly http://www.oreillyschool.com/. I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, working with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to have an instructor to ask questions of. Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be willing to share? I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. Cindee Phillips [log in to unmask] Library Systems Administrator Rolfing Library/Trinity International University Deerfield, IL, 60015 / (847)317-4021 Email Disclaimer: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/nav/misc/EmailDisclaimer.cfm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:16:52 -0400 From: "Edward M. Corrado" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? Hi Cindee, I would look at your local community colleges to see if they have any classes if yu haven't already done so. I know not all of them have a good practical course in UNIX, but many of them do. Edward On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 4:45 PM, Cindee Phillips <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hello all, > > I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone > might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix training. > > I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At the time, > we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, meaning I only needed > to do very basic things with the server (my job primarily entailed running > reports against our data and working with some other locally developed > Access applications.) > > Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to their > servers, and would like to do something else now with the server we were > previously using for our ILS, probably along the lines of archiving locally > produced media on it. > > But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle 9, and > I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom training > (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http://www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've > also been considering online coursework, either by Sun ( > http://www.sun.com/training/) or, perhaps O'Reilly > http://www.oreillyschool.com/. > > I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic > Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, working > with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to have an > instructor to ask questions of. > > Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be > willing to share? > > I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. > > > > > > > > Cindee Phillips > [log in to unmask] > Library Systems Administrator > Rolfing Library/Trinity International University > Deerfield, IL, 60015 / (847)317-4021 > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:49:19 -0700 From: Laura Smart <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? Believe it or not, webjunction.org offers a stellar intro to Unix course which provides emulations for hands-on practice exercises. I'm using it for training people in my department here at Caltech and they like it. Laura On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 3:16 PM, Edward M. Corrado <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi Cindee, > > I would look at your local community colleges to see if they have any > classes if yu haven't already done so. I know not all of them have a good > practical course in UNIX, but many of them do. > > Edward > > On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 4:45 PM, Cindee Phillips <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> Hello all, >> >> I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone >> might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix training. >> >> I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At the time, >> we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, meaning I only needed >> to do very basic things with the server (my job primarily entailed running >> reports against our data and working with some other locally developed >> Access applications.) >> >> Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to their >> servers, and would like to do something else now with the server we were >> previously using for our ILS, probably along the lines of archiving locally >> produced media on it. >> >> But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle 9, and >> I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom training >> (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http://www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've >> also been considering online coursework, either by Sun ( >> http://www.sun.com/training/) or, perhaps O'Reilly >> http://www.oreillyschool.com/. >> >> I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic >> Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, working >> with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to have an >> instructor to ask questions of. >> >> Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be >> willing to share? >> >> I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Cindee Phillips >> [log in to unmask] >> Library Systems Administrator >> Rolfing Library/Trinity International University >> Deerfield, IL, 60015 / (847)317-4021 >> > -- Laura J. Smart, Metadata Services Manager Caltech Library [log in to unmask]@gmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:13:47 -0400 From: Jason Ronallo <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Updated documentation for harvesting materials from the Internet Archive Thank you for documenting this. You can, though, use the "bookmark/save this search" link unattended. Just change the xmlsearch param to Search. If you create a few queries through the form you should see how they're constructed. http://www.archive.org/advancedsearch.php?q=Frankenstein&fl[]=identifier&sort[]=&sort[]=&sort[]=&rows=50&indent=yes&fmt=json&xmlsearch=Search This is what we're doing in the IA service adaptor for the Umlaut. Hopefully by doing it this way it won't break if the location of their Solr changes. http://umlaut.rubyforge.org/svn/U2/lib/service_adaptors/internet_archive.rb Jason On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 5:19 PM, Chris Freeland <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > All - The Internet Archive query interface has stablized a bit, so we > (Biodiversity Heritage Library) have updated the documentation we wrote > outlining the processes by which we harvest content from IA: > http://biodiversitylibrary.blogspot.com/2008/06/updated-harvesting-proce > ss-from.html > > I hope this helps any & all. > > Chris Freeland > Director, Bioinformatics, Missouri Botanical Garden > Technical Director, Biodiversity Heritage Library > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:06:31 -0400 From: Ethan Gruber <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? I agree with David about setting up a Linux machine for you to play around with and learn from. You'll find you'll learn much more about how it works from diving head first into it than you will from most classes. You can get a trial of vmware for free to install on your computer and then install any flavor of Unix you want. On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 6:16 PM, Edward M. Corrado <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi Cindee, > > I would look at your local community colleges to see if they have any > classes if yu haven't already done so. I know not all of them have a good > practical course in UNIX, but many of them do. > > Edward > > On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 4:45 PM, Cindee Phillips <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> Hello all, >> >> I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone >> might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix training. >> >> I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At the time, >> we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, meaning I only needed >> to do very basic things with the server (my job primarily entailed running >> reports against our data and working with some other locally developed >> Access applications.) >> >> Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to their >> servers, and would like to do something else now with the server we were >> previously using for our ILS, probably along the lines of archiving locally >> produced media on it. >> >> But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle 9, and >> I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom training >> (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http://www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've >> also been considering online coursework, either by Sun ( >> http://www.sun.com/training/) or, perhaps O'Reilly >> http://www.oreillyschool.com/. >> >> I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic >> Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, working >> with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to have an >> instructor to ask questions of. >> >> Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be >> willing to share? >> >> I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Cindee Phillips >> [log in to unmask] >> Library Systems Administrator >> Rolfing Library/Trinity International University >> Deerfield, IL, 60015 / (847)317-4021 >> > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:21:50 -0500 From: Francis Kayiwa <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? On Jun 13, 2008, at 3:45 PM, Cindee Phillips wrote: > Hello all, > > I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping > someone might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning > Unix training. > > I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At > the time, we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, > meaning I only needed to do very basic things with the server (my > job primarily entailed running reports against our data and working > with some other locally developed Access applications.) > > Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to > their servers, and would like to do something else now with the > server we were previously using for our ILS, probably along the > lines of archiving locally produced media on it. > > But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle > 9, and I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom > training (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http:// > www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've also been considering online > coursework, either by Sun (http://www.sun.com/training/) or, perhaps > O'Reilly http://www.oreillyschool.com/. > > I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the > basic Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working > with vi, working with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I > sign up for to have an instructor to ask questions of. > > Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be > willing to share? > > I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. Some of the most valuable lessons I've learned with any tool is when actually using them. You say that you learn pretty well which is half of the battle. Get familiar with Sun's "man pages" assuming your have Sun Hardware/Software and you will be okay. The lessons learned from just using it will beat any class you sign up for. I do recommend Essential System Administration which is general and specific enough to be useful in the fundamental tasks in Sys. Admining. ISBN=1565921275 I also keep the UNIX System Adminstration Handbook close to me. I cannot say enough good things about it. ISBN=0130206016 ./fxk ===== Francis Kayiwa Library Systems http://www.uic.edu/~kayiwa ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:56:40 -0500 From: Peter Keane <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Unix training options? I would second the previous suggestions to install Linux. I wouldn't do it as a dual-boot or virtual server (a la vmware), but rather get a used pc -- we have a Discount Computer store here in Austin that has stacks of old Dell desktops in the $50-$75 dollar range which would be fine as a Linux machine -- colleges/universities commonly surplus such computers. Choose a distribution (some are so easy to install nowadays that you might not learn much!) -- perhaps Debian would be a good choice. There are a couple books that I especially like: Michael Stutz's "Linux Cookbook" on No Starch press, for instance. No Starch also has a book called the "Debian System" that I'll bet is good. If you are really brave and have some time on your hands, you might try a distribution like Gentoo, which forces you to compile all of the software. They happen to have superb documentation as well. Just the process of installing the operating system is a useful execise. Other highly regarded distributions are Ubuntu, Fedora (both easy to instal), Arch Linux (a real hacker's distribution), and others. One of the nice things about a dedicated machine is that you can *really* mess up (and you will ;-)) and always have the opportunity to erase the hard drive and start over. My all-time favorite resource/road-map for getting more unix saavy is Eric Raymond's "How To Become a Hacker" available at http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html. --peter keane > Hello all, > > I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone > might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix training. > > I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At the time, > we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, meaning I only needed > to do very basic things with the server (my job primarily entailed running > reports against our data and working with some other locally developed > Access applications.) > > Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to their > servers, and would like to do something else now with the server we were > previously using for our ILS, probably along the lines of archiving locally > produced media on it. > > But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle 9, and > I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom training > (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http://www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've > also been considering online coursework, either by Sun ( > http://www.sun.com/training/) or, perhaps O'Reilly > http://www.oreillyschool.com/. > > I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic > Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, working > with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to have an > instructor to ask questions of. > > Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be > willing to share? > > I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. > > > > > > > > Cindee Phillips > [log in to unmask] > Library Systems Administrator > Rolfing Library/Trinity International University > Deerfield, IL, 60015 / (847)317-4021 > ------------------------------ End of CODE4LIB Digest - 12 Jun 2008 to 13 Jun 2008 (#2008-131) *************************************************************** This e-mail originates from the City of Ottawa e-mail system. 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