Linux from Scratch: The best ever project to get to know your system
By Armando Caussade, http://armandocaussade.org/
Version 1.  December 31, 2019.  Reprinted from the PRLUG newsletter, December 2019.

Copyright © 2019 Armando Caussade.  Some rights reserved.
Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 4.0.

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During the recent PRLUG meeting held on early December some of us got into an insightful conversation of the role of packages on GNU / Linux systems (henceforth "Linux").  Coincidentally, on those days I had just begun to read the "Linux from Scratch" e-book, which can be downloaded for free from their website (see link below), and brought this topic to the discussion.  I had found the introductory section on essential packages to be extremely informative, and shared this with colleagues.  Yes, as you read, extremely informative.  I was already familiar with many of those packages and their purpose, but my review of this section allowed me to delve further on the purpose those packages that I already knew, and also to learn about a few other ones.  If those ten pages I read were so insightful, I can only wonder what valuable knowledge the remaining 300 pages will hold for me.

Linux from Scratch v9.0 Official E-book (for systems using the "systemd")
http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/downloads/stable-systemd/LFS-BOOK-9.0-systemd.pdf

On a 2004 review of LFS 5.1, Ladislav Bodnar explained the educational value of the LFS project, perhaps better than anyone else: "The process is possibly the most practical way to learn about every detail regarding file structures, processor optimizations, configuration files, security matters and thousands of other issues.  How much would you pay for a commercial Linux training course?  Linux From Scratch is a great resource which will not only teach you the very basics of Linux, it will do so in a most entertaining way, all for free."  Bodnar further adds: "It should become a compulsory reading material for all Linux training courses, and something that every Linux enthusiast should complete at least once."  The original review can be read at: http://lwn.net/Articles/85865/

I will go on with this LFS project, and plan to write a detailed review once I finish it.  In the meantime, I can suggest that Linux enthusiasts read the first couple of chapters, as I have done, and start reaping the benefits.

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