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<title>Foreword</title>
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<para>Having used a number of different Linux distributions, I was never
fully satisfied with any of them. I didn't like the arrangement of
the bootscripts. I didn't like the way certain programs were configured by
default. Much more of that sort of thing bothered me. Finally I realized
that if I wanted full satisfaction from my Linux system I would have to
build my own system from scratch, using only the source code. I resolved
not to use pre-compiled packages of any kind, nor CD-ROM or boot disk that
would install some basic utilities. I would use my current Linux system to
develop my own.</para>

<para>This wild idea seemed very difficult at the time and often seemed
an impossible task. After sorting out all kinds of problems, such as
dependencies and compile-time errors, a custom-built Linux system was
created that was fully operational. I called this system a Linux From Scratch
system, or LFS for short.</para>

<para>I hope you will have a great time working on your own LFS!</para>

<literallayout>
-- 
Gerard Beekmans
gerard@linuxfromscratch.org
</literallayout>

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