Introduction to Linux A Hands on Guide Machtelt Garrels Garrels.be <tille wants no spam _at_ garrels dot be> 1.27 Edition Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Machtelt Garrels 20080606 Introduction to Linux Table of Contents Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................1 1. Why this guide?...................................................................................................................................1 2. Who should read this book?.................................................................................................................1 3. New versions and availability..............................................................................................................1 4. Revision History..................................................................................................................................2 5. Contributions.......................................................................................................................................3 6. Feedback..............................................................................................................................................3 7. Copyright information.........................................................................................................................3 8. What do you need?...............................................................................................................................4 9. Conventions used in this document.....................................................................................................4 10. Organization of this document...........................................................................................................5 Chapter 1. What is Linux?.................................................................................................................................7 1.1. History..............................................................................................................................................7 1.1.1. UNIX.......................................................................................................................................7 1.1.2. Linus and Linux.......................................................................................................................8 1.1.3. Current application of Linux systems.....................................................................................9 1.2. The user interface..............................................................................................................................9 1.2.1. Is Linux difficult?....................................................................................................................9 1.2.2. Linux for non-experienced users...........................................................................................10 1.3. Does Linux have a future?..............................................................................................................10 1.3.1. Open Source..........................................................................................................................10 1.3.2. Ten years of experience at your service................................................................................11 1.4. Properties of Linux.........................................................................................................................12 1.4.1. Linux Pros.............................................................................................................................12 1.4.2. Linux Cons............................................................................................................................13 1.5. Linux Flavors..................................................................................................................................14 1.5.1. Linux and GNU.....................................................................................................................14 1.5.2. GNU/Linux............................................................................................................................15 1.5.3. Which distribution should I install?......................................................................................15 1.6. Summary.........................................................................................................................................16 1.7. Exercises.........................................................................................................................................16 Chapter 2. Quickstart.......................................................................................................................................18 2.1. Logging in, activating the user interface and logging out..............................................................18 2.1.1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................18 2.1.2. Graphical mode.....................................................................................................................18 2.1.3. Text mode..............................................................................................................................20 2.2. Absolute basics...............................................................................................................................21 2.2.1. The commands......................................................................................................................21 2.2.2. General remarks....................................................................................................................21 2.2.3. Using Bash features...............................................................................................................22 2.3. Getting help.....................................................................................................................................23 2.3.1. Be warned..............................................................................................................................23 2.3.2. The man pages.......................................................................................................................23 2.3.3. More info...............................................................................................................................25 2.4. Summary.........................................................................................................................................28 2.5. Exercises.........................................................................................................................................29 i Introduction to Linux Table of Contents Chapter 2. Quickstart 2.5.1. Connecting and disconnecting...............................................................................................29 2.5.2. Passwords..............................................................................................................................29 2.5.3. Directories.............................................................................................................................30 2.5.4. Files.......................................................................................................................................30 2.5.5. Getting help...........................................................................................................................31 Chapter 3. About files and the file system......................................................................................................32 3.1. General overview of the Linux file system.....................................................................................32 3.1.1. Files.......................................................................................................................................32 3.1.2. About partitioning.................................................................................................................33 3.1.3. More file system layout.........................................................................................................37 3.2. Orientation in the file system..........................................................................................................40 3.2.1. The path.................................................................................................................................40 3.2.2. Absolute and relative paths...................................................................................................41 3.2.3. The most important files and directories...............................................................................41 3.2.4. The most important configuration files.................................................................................44 3.2.5. The most common devices....................................................................................................46 3.2.6. The most common variable files...........................................................................................47 3.3. Manipulating files...........................................................................................................................48 3.3.1. Viewing file properties..........................................................................................................48