Introduction to Linux
From Education
- The Power Point Presentation is here
Notes
- Developed for the April 2007 San Diego Supercomputing Center presentation by Kristina Wanous and Camille Frazier
- Fun with Linux: Handout/interactive portion
- Fun with Linux 2: The Fun Goes On
Presentation
What?
- Linux versus UNIX
- Operating system
- What’s an operating system?
- Free (GNU)
- As in speech, not as in beer
- Open source
- Not owned by anyone
History
- UNIX was developed ~1970s
- Code recycling – the kernel
- Fast forward to the 1990s
- Home PCs finally able to run UNIX
- Linus Torvalds
- Wouldn’t it be nice to have a free UNIX for use at home?
Who uses Linux?
- People who run web servers
- People who have embedded hardware
- People who use clusters
- People who use personal computers
- You!
How is Linux different from Windows?
- “Sit closer to your operating system”
- And if you don’t like, fix it yourself
- Monolithic kernel (one entity)
- Multi-user
- Open source
- Principle of least access
- More secure
- Everything’s a file
- Customization
Customization
- Operating system versus windowing system
- Linux windowing systems: Gnome, KDE, etc.
- Flavors of Linux
- Debian, Ubuntu, Gentoo, RedHat
- Which one’s right for me?
- How do you pick your outfit out in the morning?
Let's talk specifics....
What's a shell?
- DOS : Windows :: Shell : Linux/UNIX
- An interface
- Command interpreter and a programming language
- BASH (Bourne Again SHell)
Users
- X number of normal users
- Highly customizable rights
- X number of groups
- One root to rule them all
File System
- Hierarchy, just like Windows
- Home directory (~)
- Owner and group
Possible example from lowfatlinux.com pending permission...
Moving Around
- cd
- Absolute versus relative
- Where’s that file?
- ~/mystuff/school/project2/homework.txt
- If I’m starting from my home directory (~)
- cd mystuff/school/project2/
- cd ~/mystuff/school/project2/
- If I’m starting from the cs directory
- cd project2
Remember the Shortcuts
- ~
- Home directory
- .
- The directory I’m in right now
- ..
- The directory above the one I’m in right now
Sources
- Introduction to Linux: A Hands On Guide by Machtelt Garrels
- Introduction to Linux and Linux.com by Linux.com stuff
- Dr. Bob’s Low Fat Linux by Bob Rankin
