Introduction to The Linux Documentation Project

The Linux Documentation Project is an organisation of volunteers who author, manage and review documents about the Linux operating system. The number of topics discussed in these howtos and guide is phenominal, ranging from installing the Linux operating system to services, environments and devices that the Linux operating system provides or supports. The vast majority of these documents are written by volunteers who share their experiences with this very flexible and useful free operating system. The Linux Documentation Project is found at www.tldp.org.

The history of The Linux Documentation Project is a long one that dates back to 1992, before the World Wide Web as we all know it today even existed. In the beginnning most of the documentation for Linux was in one big file that was split into sections, called the Linux FAQ. The three main founders of TLDP, Matt Welsh, Lars Wirzenius and Michael K. Johnson created a printable version of the Linux FAQ. Linux's capabilities grew and it become impossible for even several people to handle the job of maintaining the documentation for this ever developing operating system and the HOWTOs as we know them today were born. Each HOWTO would describe a particular part of a feature or function of the Linux operating system, allowing each author to contribute in their area of speciality. This lead to the use of (Linuxdoc) SGML, which enabled the fast generation of all sorts of output formats, including HTML, from one source file or set of files.

The Linux Documentation Project of today is a fantastic repository of past and current Linux knowledge though at times HOWTO's on specific subjects can get a little dated and caution must be exercised when using these HOWTOs as they may not apply to the version of the software that you are using. Having said that, the quality of the documents on TLDP are generally excellent and in instances where the available documents dont directly cover the software version you use the document will often provide an excellent overview of the feature or function you wish to use. If you have knowledge of a particular subject please consider contributing to The Linux Documentation Project.

The LDP Howtos we have reproduced on Linux Server How To have been selected specifically to augment the Howto's we have created for this site. Often the Howtos on Linux Server How To are brief and written specifically to get the reader up and running in a short period of time, TLDP howtos are geneally longer, more specific and can enhance the readers knowledge of the subject in question substantially.

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