Differences between version 7 and revision by previous author of NewUserTips.
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| Newer page: | version 7 | Last edited on Monday, June 27, 2005 4:13:03 pm | by AristotlePagaltzis | Revert |
| Older page: | version 1 | Last edited on Sunday, June 30, 2002 2:14:44 pm | by PerryLorier | Revert |
@@ -1,20 +1,49 @@
-* The equivalent of Windows
' ipconfig config
command on Linux
is ifconfig.
-* Your initial windowmanager
settings are (generally) stored in the .xinitrc file.
-* Global system configuration files are in the /etc directory.
-* Use "
rpm -Uvh filename" to install a
.rpm file. see
rpm(8)
-* Use "
tar -
xzvf filename"
to decompress a .tar.gz or .tgz file. see
tar(1)
-* Don't get involved in emacs(1) vs. vi(1) arguments - they're both nightmares to use
. Use nano(1) or
pico(1) for editing text files on the command line
. (Advanced users who actually like
emacs(1) or
vi(1) please ignore this statement)
. joe(1)
is a very nice text-mode editor if you find
that pico is a little too basic
. But jed
(1) is all you need, and its easy to type too.
-* The cp(1) command copies files. The cp
-r command copies folders
.
-* Before you ask for help online, be sure to read the HOWTO
first. Linux documentation
is difficult to understand sometimes
so don't feel bad if you don't get it, but
make the attempt to read it because
the first question they'll ask
you is "Have
you read
the documentation?"
-* If your desktop locks up, CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE
will kill the GUI
and drop you to the command line again
without having to reboot your
system.
-* You don't have to worry about defragmenting the computer
.
-* You don't have to worry about Outlook viruses
.
-* Linux will crash on you at some point. It happens, no matter what anybody says. However, it won't happen nearly as much as it does on Windows
.
-* You don't have to shut down or resart
every day. It's ok to leave a Linux system running for a week or more (some users have their system running for months at a time). You should still conserve electricity, tho.
-* There is no UNDELETE function
in Linux. If you delete a file (rm filename)
it's gone and you can't get it back
. see
rm(1)
-* The command "su -" changes you to the root user
(assuming
you have the password
). see
su(1)
-* Installing a program from source is easier than you think. tar -xzvf
filename.tar.gz then go into the directory and it
's usually
./configure then
make then
make install. You
have to be root to
install software.
-* Apparently it's a good idea to make
sure you are working on the correct drive when doing mkfs
- as doing this command on
the __
wrong__ drive can be quite ''__
annoying''__
to say the least.
-* Learn how to use redirection "<" and
">" and pipes "|" (
in the shell)
.
+* The [Linux]
equivalent of MicrosoftWindows
' <tt>
ipconfig</tt>
command is ifconfig(8)
.
+
+* Your initial WindowManager
settings are (generally) stored in the <tt>
.xinitrc</tt> or <tt>.xsession</tt>
file in your home
.
+
+* Global system configuration files are in the <tt>
/etc</tt>
directory.
+
+* Install [RPM] [Package]s using <tt>
rpm -Uvh filename</tt>
. See
rpm(8). However, investigate a better PackageManagementTool urgently. On FedoraCore, that would be AptForRpm or [Yum].
+
+* Use <tt>
tar xzvf filename</tt>
to decompress a <tt>
.tar.gz</tt>
or <tt>
.tgz</tt>
file, otherwise known as a TarBall
. See
tar(1)
+
+* Don't get involved in emacs(1) vs. vi(1) arguments. Use nano(1),
pico(1), joe(1), or jed
(1) for your initial
editing needs
. Once you have gotten a little more comfortable with the system, however, be sure to revisit
emacs(1) and
vi(1) as they offer ''tons'' of power you will never get with the simple minded editors
. For the latter, [Vim]
is the suggested clone, which comes with
a <tt>vimtutor</tt> program
that should get your over the initial hurdles quickly
. ''Does any equivalent for emacs
(1) exist?''
+
+* The cp(1) command copies files. The <tt>
-a</tt> switch is for copying directories
.
+
+* Before you ask for help online, be sure to read the documentation
first. It
is sometimes
difficult to understand so don't feel bad if you don't get it, just
make the attempt. It will either make any explanation you get from someone else clearer, or
the explanation will help
you understand the documentation. Next time
you look at it,
the documentation will be less puzzling. If you repeat this a couple times, then you'll soon be cruising along with the docs just fine.
+
+* If your desktop locks up, Ctrl-Alt-Backspace
will kill the graphical environment (the [XServer], in technical terms)
and drop you to the [Shell] (or your display manager)
without having to reboot the
system.
+
+* You don't have to worry about defragmenting your disks
.
+
+* You don't have to worry about defragmenting your memory
.
+
+* You don't have to worry about mail [Worm]s.
+
+* [
Linux]
will crash on you at some point. It happens, no matter what anybody says. However, it won't happen nearly as much as it does on MicrosoftWindows
.
+
+* You don't have to shut down or restart
every day. It's ok to leave a [
Linux]
system running for a week or more (some users have their system running for months at a time). You should still conserve electricity, tho.
+
+* There is no way to undelete a file
in [
Linux]
. You deleted it,
it's gone. See
rm(1)
+
+* sudo
(1) will let
you execute a command with SuperUser (or any other
) privileges
. If you really need a root shell, you can use
su(1). You should never log in as root (except if you managed to get the system so shot up that you can't log in as a user).
+
+* Installing a program from source is easier than you think. The sequence is usually along the lines of:
+ <pre>
+
tar xvzf ''
filename''-''version''
.tar.gz
+ cd
''filename''-''version''
+
./configure &&
make
+ sudo
make install
+ </pre>
+ Note you
have to be root for the <tt>make
install</tt> step if you are installing into system wide directories. You can always install to your home directory, of course -- which you need to indicate by saying <tt>./configure --prefix=$HOME</tt> on the relevant step. You can also pass many more options, to <tt>configure</tt>, most of which needn't concern you, except for the (usually few) <tt>--enable-''foo''</tt>/<tt>--disable-''foo''</tt> and <tt>--with-''bar''</tt>/<tt>--without-''bar''</tt> which let you hand-pick features to include or omit from the resultant build of the
software.
+
+* Make
sure you are working on the correct drive when doing any FileSystem level work
-- nuking
the wrong partition or disk is
annoying to say the least.
+
+* Learn how to use redirection (
"<tt><</tt>
",
"<tt>></tt
>")
and pipes (
"<tt>
|</tt>
")
in the [Shell]
. See bash(1)
See also AdvancedUserTips
+
+----
+CategoryBeginners
