Synopses & Reviews
This book introduces Microsoft® Windows® administrators to the world of Open Source applications in order to save time and money. It provides readers with information and techniques for using the appropriate Open Source applications in a variety of situations, such as anti-spam, databases, E-mail, Web content, file sharing, word processing, spreadsheets, and more. By using a component approach in which readers can pick and choose their technologies, the book, for example, enables a Windows administrator to use Apache as a Web server, while still electing Microsoft SQL Server as a database. The focus of the product coverage is to help the administrator to perform more efficiently. The discussion of each option includes: quality of documentation available, how to package for installation in a business setting, and solving common tasks using various techniques. Although it offers an Open Source equivalent to many Microsoft applications, it does not attempt to offer replacements for Windows applications but complements the Windows operational routines.
Synopsis
Open Source for Windows Administrators is geared towards Windows administrators interested in utilizing open source applications to help them do a more efficient job, whether they're designing a desktop or managing an FTP server. The book does not seek to replace Windows tasks with open source methods; rather, it shows how open source projects such as CYGWIN, BASH, Python, Java, Ruby, MySQL, Apache, and Tomcat can be used to solve common problems. It bypasses the theory, programming, and philosophy behind a particular open source project and focuses directly on how each project can be installed, packaged, used to solve common tasks, and integrated with other business and server applications. All of the available documentation, versions, and distributions for each project are also covered in detail.
About the Author
Christian Gross (Zurich, Switzerland) has over a decade of experience as a software engineer and consultant in the software development industry. His specialty is in the development of applications that are network dependent (e.g., client/server, distributed processing, Web services, Internet technologies). He is a regular conference speaker and has co-authored books for Wrox and APress.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to Open Source Chapter 2: Writing Scripts Using a Shell and Its Associated Tools Chapter 3: Using Python to Write Scripts Chapter 4: Managing Security Using Encryption and Privacy Tools Chapter 5: Running Tasks on a Local Computer Chapter 6: Authentication and Managing Files Chapter 7: Managing Data Stores Chapter 8: Generating Web Content Chapter 9: Processing E-mail Chapter 10: Productivity Applications Appendix A: About the DVD Appendix B: Open Source License Index