Essays:TNT: free tech books

Author: Evgeny Golyshev

On May 31, 2024, I launched a catalog of technical literature available under open licenses, where all books can be downloaded for free. The catalog, called TNT (short for TutorIn.Tech), is implemented as a Telegram bot. Users can create their own library, access it from any device, share books, and much more, but first things first.

High-quality vs. Free

The idea of high-quality yet free technical literature may still seem unrealistic today, much like free software did four decades ago. Bill Gates' "Open Letter to Hobbyists", which questioned communal software development, may still resonate with a considerable number of people when it comes to books. In that letter from February 1976, Gates wrote:

Who can afford to do professional work for nothing? What hobbyist can put three man-years into programming, finding all bugs, documenting his product, and distributing it for free?

However, seven years later, Richard Stallman launched the GNU Project, which marked the beginning of the free software movement. It demonstrated that communal software development, along with its free distribution, was a viable concept.

As for books, the revolution broke out a long time ago: high-quality and free technical literature has been around for more than a quarter of a century. A prime example is the "Linux From Scratch" guide, which has been released since 1999 under an open license that permits free distribution and derivative works. So why does a spidey-sense tell that a quality book cannot be free? I believe the issue lies in the fact that open-licensed books do not govern the print world, unlike free and open software, which underpins today's high-tech society. I hope that TNT can make a meaningful contribution to addressing this situation.

Release Gates

Alright, we've figured out that technical literature can be both high-quality and free. However, to rephrase Gates' words, one might ask: "What hobbyist can put three man-years into writing a book, correcting typos and inaccuracies, and distributing it for free?" I can suggest several possible reasons why this might be beneficial for authors.

The Free Distribution Can Expand the Audience For a Book

Often, when books under open licenses are published by educators or professionals whose work benefits from widespread publicity, it becomes essential for as many people as possible to evaluate their scholarly contributions. Imagine two scenarios. One author says, "I wrote a book, here's the link," while the other says, "I wrote a book; if you're interested, you can purchase it here," and shares the link. Whose book are people more likely to check out? For me, the answer is clear as day. The difference may not be about the money but rather the number of steps required to reach the goal.

Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow

"Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow" is Linus's Law, which can be effective not only in software development but also in writing books, considering typos and inaccuracies as bugs. As in the previous case, free distribution of a book expands its audience. Within that audience, there will undoubtedly be both readers and writers who will eagerly spot errors and suggest corrections.

Free Distribution Prolongs the Life of the Work

Here, I want to immediately proceed with examples.

Linux From Scratch

This book explains how to build your own GNU/Linux system from scratch, component by component. If readers are ready to dedicate a significant part of their lives to its reading, they'll come away with a clear understanding of the components that make up a modern GNU/Linux system, along with how they're configured and built.

The first version of this guide was released in December 1999, and its original author, Gerard Beekmans, hasn't been actively involved in the ongoing development of the project for quite some time. However, new versions of his work continue to be released consistently twice a year.

The Linux Kernel Module Programming Guide

This book discusses the internal mechanisms of the Linux kernel to teach readers how to develop modules for it. Originally written by Ori Pomerantz for Linux 2.2, the first version of the guide has not been preserved. However, since Linux 2.2 was released in January 1999, it's likely the work was published around that time. Jim Huang is currently actively updating the book. In addition to Pomerantz and Huang, three other authors also contributed to the book.

Just think, these books have been around for over a quarter of a century, and this is largely thanks to the open license. However, some might argue with me, stating that history has shown instances where commercial publishers have taken over someone else's work when the original authors were unavailable for some reason. For example, after the death of W. Richard Stevens in 1999, Stephen A. Rago continued his monumental work titled Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment. I would not insist that open licensing is the only way for a book to avoid obscurity. Certainly, that's not the case. But I'm convinced that a book under an open license has a lower chance of becoming "orphaned."

This is by no means an exhaustive list of reasons to publish a book under an open license. There are several more that could be mentioned, but it's time to move on.

Hybrid Format for Book Distribution

The free distribution of a book doesn't exclude cooperation with a commercial publisher. One does not interfere with the other. As an example, I would like to mention the book Free as in Freedom, which is dedicated to Richard Stallman, the founder of the GNU Project and the free software movement. This book was published by Tim O'Reilly's publishing house under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.1, a license that the author, Sam Williams, insisted upon. Since the license permitted derivative works, the book's central figure, Stallman, released an expanded and revised version several years after its initial publication, which he called Free as in Freedom 2.0. The second edition was published by the Free Software Foundation.

This is just one example of O'Reilly publishing a book under an open license. In the past, his publishing house did this quite frequently. Other well-known publishers of technical literature, such as Apress and No Starch Press, continue to do so even today.

TNT and the Open Print World

Great, we have established that authors are motivated to publish their books under open licenses, and they can easily be found online and downloaded for free. But why TNT? As a library for tech enthusiasts, TNT offers the following features.

Maintaining an Up-to-Date Catalog of Books

Working with books under open licenses sometimes resembles software development: they can be updated regularly, and some even have a fixed release cycle. Consequently, it's essential to keep track of updates, which is precisely the responsibility of TNT. Typically, a new version of a book appears in the catalog on the release date, and users receive notifications about the updates.

Always Accessible

Thanks to its implementation as a Telegram bot, users can access their library from any device. For example, you can start browsing the library on your phone and then save a preferred book to your favorites, making it easy to find later on your laptop.

Unique Content

TNT is largely a media project. Descriptions and sometimes even covers for the books are created by the TNT team.