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Notes on the 1st GNU\Linux course

Manal's picture
Sat, 07/08/2004 - 11:13am — Manal

Sun 1-8-2004

Notes:

Background:

  • Free Software (4 freedoms)
  • Open Source (security in Linux)
  • Q: Benefits of Free Software\Open Source
    • Do it yourself
    • Limited markets\needs (e.g gimp module for color blind ppl)
    • Price (legal)

Installation:

  • What is Booting?
    • BIOS
  • General rules of installing a new operating system?
    • Partitioning
    • Package Selection
    • Locale selection
    • Hardware configuration
    • Boot Loader
    • Network configuration
  • Partions in Linux:
    • at least 2
    • swap
  • Hardware problems?
    • with internal modems
    • Linux comes with all drivers
  • Security:
    • Levels
    • Administrator (root user)
  • Partitioning:
    • If you have windows there will be 1 more options (use free space on windows)
    • You need to defrag before resizing a windows partition
  • Custom disk partitioning
  • types of file system
    • use journalized ext3
  • Packages:
    • Desktop layers
    • LSB: Linux standard Base
    • If you choose to install servers, Mandrake makes sure of your choice (security)
  • Users
    • / and the root user are not related
    • Multiuser system
    • Administrator is the only user who can change the settings of the system
    • you need to press accept user before you press next
  • Boot Loader
    • accept the suggested options

There was an error in the Cds so we delayed the rest of the installation demonstration to the 2nd session and skiped to Desktop demonstration.

Desktop:

  • Clipboard
  • Maximize, Minimize
  • Mandrake Documentation

What do use Computer in?

  • Office
  • Internet
  • Multimedia
  • Programming:
    • C++ (can do it on Linux)
    • C# (under developmnet)
    • C (can do it on Linux)
    • Visual Basic (Gambas is similar)
    • Visual C++ (can't do it, it's a M$ product)
    • Java (can do it on Linux)
    • Scripting (perl, python, php)
    • for embeded devices (can do it on Linux)
  • Graphics
    • photoshop (GIMP)
    • flash

Tue 3-8-2004

Notes:

Installation (cont.)

  • root user, useers
  • Location
  • Time Zone
    • GMT (Don't select it if yoou are using windows)
    • ???
  • Network
    • Installer thinks you are using dhcp, but you need to configure the network
    • LAN connection (also if you have DSL @ home)
    • choose eth0
    • ignore that it's already detected and manual config it
    • remove network hot plugin option (useful if you will remove the cable in the middle of the install)
    • configure the network same as we configured it before (59, 60, 61, 62, 29, 63, 64) gateway (1.1)
  • DNS:
    • 62.140.73.1
    • 62.140.73.2
    • 161.121.2.2
  • Firewall:
    • everything allowed
  • Updates
    • select No
  • Last screen: (Advanced button)
    • Auto install floppy (useful if you will install on other identical PCs)
    • Save package selection (useful if you will install on other different PCs and you want to install the same set of packages)

Will need to install:

  • Mozilla (better do it while installation)
  • Scribus
  • Superkaramba
  • Nvu
  • Blender
  • Inkscape
  • Lifrea

Desktop:

  • Add panel
  • Applets
  • KDE --> configure your desktop

Office:

  • KOffice and GnomeOffice
  • OpenOffice:
    • OOWriter (styles, export to pdf, advanced html)
    • OOCalc (more accurate, gnumeric, export to pdf)
    • OOImpress (export to pdf or macromedia flash)
    • OpenOffice has a windows version

Internet Apps:

  • Netscape 1998 --> Mozilla
  • Konquerer
  • Mozilla
    • CTRL T --> open new tabs
    • F9 --> sidebar (search, bookmarks, history)
    • sidebar is expandable (news)
    • edit --> preferences --> languages (make default character encoding windows 1256)
    • Apperance ==> plugins (XUL platform)
  • Mozilla mail
    • same as outlook express
    • can open newsgroups
    • scripts to get your email from yahoo, hotmail, gmail
  • Kontact
    • same as Microsoft Outlook
    • to do + mail + ...
  • Kolab
  • Kopete
    • needs upgrade for yahoo and msn
    • video & voice chat not supported yet (working on it in gaim)
    • plugins (dictionary, encryption)
  • Konquerer
    • network icon (sftp://ip)
  • Liferea
    • get RSS feed of EGLUG
    • In preferences: use browser command (mozilla %s)
  • gftp
  • kget (equivalent to getright)

Multimedia:

  • Totem (get movies from sftp://192.168.1.64)
  • Gmplayer and Mplayer
  • Gimp 2 (/usr/share/wallpapers)
  • Gqview
    • duplicate (grap all & drop, compare by)
    • info about digital images
    • Sort manager
  • kdeinlive (similar to moviemaker)
    • Cinelara (hard), Avidimux (easy)
  • Audicity
    • Ardur (hard)
  • Blender (equivalent tp 3dmax)
    • export source code to OpenGL
    • scripts with python (3d interactive)
    • filter ability
    • Blender interactive version generates executables for windows, makintosh and Linux
  • Inkscape
    • supports svg
    • make paths that you can use for filters or selection areas in gimp
  • Qcad (office --> graphs)
  • Superkaramba
    • /usr/share/apps/superkaramba/themes
    • move it eith ALT
  • Nvu
  • Gnucash (office --> finances)
  • Scribus (equivalent to publisher, quarkx express)
    • desktopp publishing tools
    • no arabic support yet
  • Dia: connected graphs (office --> graphs)
  • Imageseek (just mentioned it)
  • LyX

Web Apps:

70% of the web servers are apache servers

Thr 5-8-2004

Notes:

Closer look on the OS (components and concepts)

  • Compatible with Unix
  • GNU\Linux didn't take of Unix but is similar to it
  • Simplicity:
    • single task, do it well
    • procedure for communication
  • Linux kernel:
    • hardware drivers
    • networking
    • file system
  • GNU tools:
  • GNU Development tools:
    • libraries
    • compilers (install, build)
    • use it if you want to compile a driver for example
  • we can say that Linux consists of:
    • kernel
    • GNU tools
    • GNU development tools
  • hardware
    • --> kernel
      • --> X server
        • --> desktop
  • graphical == X window system
  • login in failsafe
    • graphical interface without desktop environment
    • no panels, icons, background, borders, menu
    • CTRL + ALT + backspace to logout of graphical interface
  • Client - Server:
    • X window
    • cups (for printers)
    • sane (for scanners)
  • Samba
    • see windows network
    • see windows share
    • share from my desktop
  • services:
    • crond
    • sshd
  • Single tree
  • file names (case sensitive)
  • file system
    • choose depends on the purpose of the directory

file tree (EVERYTHING is a FILE):

  • /bin ==> programs (minimum programs only, e.g. gnu tools)
  • /boot ==> kernel (vmlinuz2.6...)
  • /etc ==> configuration files of the whole system
  • /mnt ==> mount external media
  • /root ==> home of the root user
  • /sbin ==> programs/commands that only the root can use
  • /tmp ==> temporary files
  • /var ==> files that are modified while we are working (e.g. score of a game)
  • /usr has bin, etc,.. same as /
    • /usr/bin ==> executables of all applications
    • /usr/include ==> header files
    • /usr/lib ==> libraries for apps
    • /usr/share ==> the rest of the files of each apps
      • /usr/share/doc ==> all documentations and manuals
  • /dev
    • cdroms and disks
    • cdrom, disk, partition, mouse are files from the point of view of the OS
    • ex: cat /dev/mouse , then move the mouse and observe
  • /proc ==> information about all the state of the OS and the processes that are running
    • /proc/meminfo

File types:

  • regular files
  • device files
  • sockets (client server)
  • links
  • forgot to mention hidden files

Permissions, Users & groups:

  • permissions for:
    • owner
    • group
    • others
  • permissions (for files and directories) are:
    • read
    • write
    • execute
  • directory permissioons:
    • no read ==> can't read any file in this directory even if you have permission to read the file itself
    • no write ==> can modify the files in this directory if I have write permission to them, but can't add or delete a new file in it
    • execute ==> can go through/inside it
  • Advanced: Programs have owner and group when they are running ???
    • set UID ==> give the program the permisions of the user of the file not those of who started the program
    • set GID ==> same but for the group (e.g. used in score of games)
    • sticky bit ???
    • set UID and GID have no meaning for directories

Mandrake Control Center

  • Boot Loader:
    • number of seconds befre automatic loading
    • if i added another OS after Linux and want to add it in the boot loader
    • choose the default OS
  • Hardware: (configuration)
  • Mount points:
    • partitioning, and change mount points of partitions
    • NFS for network of other Linuxes and Unixes
    • samba
    • webDAV (mount webserver directories as file system)
    • user disk sharing (allows user to make a share directory on NFS or samba)
  • Network and Internet:
    • Internet connection sharing
      • transparent proxy (caching sites, filtering, organizes the requests of all the users), no need to config the browsers of users
  • Security:
    • levels and checks
    • permissions (chooses a policy for files improtant to the system)
    • firewall (same as in installer)
  • System:
    • Menus
      • Menu style --> add link to what to do menu, then save
    • Display Manager
    • services (start, stop, boot)
    • fonts
    • date & time
    • logs (of the system)
    • console (opens command line interface)
    • users and groups:
      • can add user and group password
    • Backups
      • backup system (/etc)
      • backup users (/home)
      • Advanced (choose which directory)
      • back up where (harddisk, network, ...)
      • incremental and differential backups
  • Software Manager
    • Install and Remove
      • Mandrake choices
      • choose package by: (selection, repository, update)
      • info (maximum)
    • Updates
      • security, bug fixes, normal
      • use rsync (fastest)
    • Media Manager:
      • main: 4cds
      • contrib: 5cds (by users tested by mandrake)
      • plf: 2cds (multimedia, codecs, games, peer2peer)
      • other

(not finished yet)

How to get HELP?

  • how to open a terminal/switch to the console
  • how to run a command
  • how to run a command as root
  • Resources for this course

  • packaging --> easy urpmi
    • use the small index option (less discription) for dial up

  • wiki
  • forum
  • articles
  • #eglug (irc.freenode.org)
  • Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m

Questions Asked during the course:

Q: Where is the source code?

You can get the source code of the GNU\Linux OS and its Free Applications from the internet, visit the website of the projecr/software and you will find its source code.

Q: What is the language that is used in programming Linux?

A: The GNU\Linux operating system and its applications are programmed using different languages, among them: C, C++, perl, python, lisb, ruby.

  • The Linux kernel and the GNU tools are written in C.
  • Many of the desktop applications are written in C++, e.g. Mozilla, Open Office.
  • The Mandrake installer is written in perl

Q: Are programs on Linux small?

A: yes, they are. Each program does a specific task and does it very good, and they depend upon existing packages



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