lfs-book/prologue/prerequisites.xml

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<sect1 id="pre-prerequisites">
  <?dbhtml filename="prerequisites.html"?>

  <title>Prerequisites</title>

  <para>Building an LFS system is not a simple task. It requires a certain
  level of existing knowledge of Unix system administration in order to resolve
  problems and correctly execute the commands listed. In particular, as an
  absolute minimum, you should already have the ability to use the
  command line (shell) to copy or move files and directories, list directory
  and file contents, and change the current directory. It is also expected that
  you have a reasonable knowledge of using and installing Linux
  software.</para>

  <para>Because the LFS book assumes <emphasis>at least</emphasis> this basic
  level of skill, the various LFS support forums are unlikely to be able to
  provide you with much assistance in these areas. You will find that your
  questions regarding such basic knowledge will likely go unanswered or you
  will simply be referred to the LFS essential pre-reading list.</para>

  <para>Before building an LFS system, we recommend reading the following
  HOWTOs:</para>

  <itemizedlist>
    <listitem>
      <para>Software-Building-HOWTO
      <ulink url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-Building-HOWTO.html"/></para>

      <para>This is a comprehensive guide to building and installing
      <quote>generic</quote> Unix software packages under Linux. Although it
      was written some time ago, it still provides a good summary of the
      basic techniques needed to build and install software.</para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
      <para>The Linux Users' Guide
      <ulink url="http://tldp.org/pub/Linux/docs/ldp-archived/users-guide/"/></para>

      <para>This guide covers the usage of assorted Linux software. This
      reference is also fairly old, but still valid.</para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
      <para>The Essential Pre-Reading Hint
      <ulink url="&hints-root;essential_prereading.txt"/></para>

      <para>This is an LFS Hint written specifically for users new to Linux.
      It includes a list of links to excellent sources of information on a
      wide range of topics. Anyone attempting to install LFS should have an
      understanding of many of the topics in this hint.</para>
    </listitem>

  </itemizedlist>

</sect1>