Linux tutorial / recommendation for php developers?

Question

We work with a client that uses symfony / smarty, and we are more used to using CI, which does not require "installation" before using it.

I think we just need to make some progress on learning unix, because "make" "make install" and even collecting Apache is enough to get nervous, because if it breaks, we can't fix it. We can connect to the terminal, do small things (edit host files and virtual host files), but more on that.

If anyone knows a good book or tutorial that plunges into Linux learning, but from the point of view of someone who might already be a decent PHP programmer, but used to interact with unix from FTP compared to the command line? Perhaps the book "intermediate Linux for web developers"? I have searched around for some, but there are so many books, and it’s hard to assess which one will work at our level.

Answer 1

You really need to spend a lot of time learning Linux before you can successfully (and reliably) install something. You won't find the fast and dirty Linux for PHP mannequins.

However, installing files is usually extremely simple. Do not compile material from source (using make / make install). Use yum or apt-get instead. Which one you can use depends on your Linux distribution.

eg:.

 yum install httpd 

This will do all the work for you.

Answer 2

First of all, let me say that this book will do what you ask, to bring you to speed on * nix and pretty quickly. He called "Linux and the Unix Philosophy" by Mike Gankarts. You can read it pretty quickly; it doesn't take so long. This is in my top 5 of all my favorite * nix books.

If you know enough to get around the system, then you are in better shape than you know. Apache training is different from * nix learning. I have several Apache books, but I honestly never use them. The Apache Foundation website has excellent documentation and there are tons of forums where you can ask a question. Apache can be tough at first, but doable if you have technical skill.

So your real question is a good book for learning Linux. 12 years ago I was handed the Red Hat Linux Unleashed book, and in just a few days I knew enough to be dangerous, and enough in a week to get Linux working for me. Between Red Hat Linux Unleashed and another book called "Unix Power Tools", I was able to move from scripting to the junior Linux SysAdmin after 3 months. Books + hands are what worked for me. At a minimum, check out Linux and the Unix Philosophy.