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The Complete Beginner's Guide to Linux
Linux.com ^ | 13 August 2014 | Jack Wallen

Posted on 08/15/2014 4:37:21 AM PDT by ShadowAce

What is Linux

Linux. It’s been around since the mid ‘90s, and has since reached a user-base that spans industries and continents. For those in the know, you understand that Linux is actually everywhere. It’s in your phones, in your cars, in your refrigerators, your Roku devices. It runs most of the Internet, the supercomputers making scientific breakthroughs, and the world's stock exchanges. But before Linux became the platform to run desktops, servers, and embedded systems across the globe, it was (and still is) one of the most reliable, secure, and worry-free operating systems available.

For those not in the know, worry not – here is all the information you need to get up to speed on the Linux platform.









What is Linux?

Just like Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Mac OS X, Linux is an operating system. An operating system is software that manages all of the hardware resources associated with your desktop or laptop. To put it simply – the operating system manages the communication between your software and your hardware. Without the operating system (often referred to as the “OS”), the software wouldn’t function.

The OS is comprised of a number of pieces: 

Ubuntu software center screenshot

Why use Linux?

This is the one question that most people ask. Why bother learning a completely different computing environment, when the operating system that ships with most desktops, laptops, and servers works just fine? To answer that question, I would pose another question. Does that operating system you’re currently using really work “just fine”? Or are you constantly battling viruses, malware, slow downs, crashes, costly repairs, and licensing fees?

If you struggle with the above, and want to free yourself from the constant fear of losing data or having to take your computer in for the “yearly clean up,” Linux might be the perfect platform for you. Linux has evolved into one of the most reliable computer ecosystems on the planet. Combine that reliability with zero cost of entry and you have the perfect solution for a desktop platform.

That’s right, zero cost of entry...as in free. You can install Linux on as many computers as you like without paying a cent for software or server licensing (including costly Microsoft Client Access License – CALs).

Let’s take a look at the cost of a Linux server, in comparison to Windows Server 2012. The price of the Windows Server 2012 software alone can run up to $1,200.00 USD. That doesn’t include CALs, and licenses for other software you may need to run (such as a database, a web server, mail server, etc). With the Linux server...it’s all free and easy to install. In fact, installing a full blown web server (that includes a database server), is just a few clicks or commands away (take a look at “Easy LAMP Server Installation” to get an idea how simple it can be).

If you’re a system administrator, working with Linux is a dream come true. No more daily babysitting servers. In fact, Linux is as close to “set it and forget it” as you will ever find. And, on the off chance, one service on the server requires restarting, re-configuring, upgrading, etc...most likely the rest of the server won’t be affected.

Be it the desktop or a server, if zero cost isn’t enough to win you over – what about having an operating system that will work, trouble free, for as long as you use it? I’ve personally used Linux for nearly twenty years (as a desktop and server platform) and have not once had an issue with malware, viruses, or random computer slow-downs. It’s that stable. And server reboots? Only if the kernel is updated. It is not out of the ordinary for a Linux server to go years without being rebooted. That’s stability and dependability.

Linux is also distributed under an open source license. Open source follows the following key philosophies:

The above are crucial to understanding the community that comes together to create the Linux platform. It is, without a doubt, an operating system that is “by the people, for the people”. These philosophies are also one of the main reasons a large percentage of people use Linux. It’s about freedom and freedom of choice.

What is a “distribution?"

Unity desktop

Linux has a number of different versions to suit nearly any type of user. From new users to hard-core users, you’ll find a “flavor” of Linux to match your needs. These versions are called distributions (or, in the short form, “distros.”) Nearly every distribution of Linux can be downloaded for free, burned onto disk (or USB thumb drive), and installed (on as many machines as you like). The most popular Linux distributions are:

Each distribution has a different take on the desktop. Some opt for very modern user interfaces (such as Ubuntu’s Unity, above, and Deepin’s Deepin Desktop), whereas others stick with a more traditional desktop environment (openSUSE uses KDE). For an easy guide to Linux desktops check out How to Find the Best Linux Desktop for You. 

You can check out the top 100 distributions on the Distrowatch site.

And don’t think the server has been left behind. For this arena, you can turn to:

Some of the above server distributions are free (such as Ubuntu Server and CentOS) and some have an associated price (such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Enterprise Linux). Those with an associated price also include support.

Which distribution is right for you?

Which distribution you use will depend upon the answer to three simple questions:

If your computer skills are fairly basic, you’ll want to stick with a newbie-friendly distribution such as Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or Deepin. If you’re skill set extends into the above-average range, you could go with a distribution like Debian or Fedora. If, however, you’ve pretty much mastered the craft of computer and system administration, use a distribution like Gentoo.

If you’re looking for a server-only distribution, you will also want to decide if you need a desktop interface, or if you want to do this via command-line only. The Ubuntu Server does not install a GUI interface. This means two things – your server won’t be bogged down loading graphics and you’ll need to have a solid understanding of the Linux command line. However (there is always an “however” with Linux), you can install a GUI package on top of the Ubuntu Server with a single command like sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop. System administrators will also want to view a distribution with regards to features. Do you want a server-specific distribution that will offer you, out of the box, everything you need for your server? If so, CentOS might be the best choice. Or, do you want to take a desktop distribution and add the pieces as you need them? If so, Debian or Ubuntu Linux might serve you well.

For new users, check out “The Best Linux Distribution for New Users”, to make the selection a much easier task.

Installing Linux

For most, the idea of installing an operating system might seem like a very daunting task. Believe it or not, Linux offers one of the easiest installations of all operating systems. In fact, most versions of Linux offer what is called a Live distribution – which means you run the operating system from either a CD/DVD or USB flash drive without making any changes to your hard drive. You get the full functionality without having to commit to the installation. Once you’ve tried it out, and decided you wanted to use it, you simply double-click the “Install” icon and walk through the simple installation wizard.

Typically, the installation wizards walk you through the process with the following steps (I’ll illustrate the installation of Ubuntu Linux): 

That’s it. Once the system has completed the installation, reboot and you’re ready to go. For a more in-depth guide to installing Linux, take a look at “How to Install and Try Linux the Absolutely Easiest and Safest Way”, or download the Linux Foundation's PDF guide for Linux installation.

Installing software on Linux

Just as the operating system itself is easy to install, so too are applications. Most modern Linux distributions include what most would consider an “app store”. This is a centralized location where software can be searched and installed. Ubuntu Linux has the Ubuntu Software Center, Deepin has the Deepin Software Center, some distributions rely on Synaptic, while others rely on GNOME Software.

Regardless of the name, each of these tools do the same thing – a central place to search for and install Linux software. Of course, these pieces of software depend upon the presence of a GUI. For GUI-less servers, you will have to depend upon the command line interface for installation.

Let’s look at two different tools to illustrate how easy even the command line installation can be. Our examples are for Debian-based distributions and Fedora-based distributions. The Debian-based distros will use the apt-get tool for installing software and Fedora-based distros will require the use of the yum tool. Both work very similarly. I’ll illustrate using the apt-get command. Let’s say you want to install the wget tool (which is a handy tool used to download files from the command line). To install this using apt-get, the command would like like this:

sudo apt-get install wget

The sudo command is added because you need super user privileges in order to install software. Similarly, to install the same software on a Fedora-based distribution, you would first su to the super user (literally issue the command su and enter the root password), and issue this command:

yum install wget

That’s it...all there is to installing software on a Linux machine. It’s not nearly as challenging as you might think. Still in doubt? Recall the Easy Lamp Server Installation from earlier? With a single command:

sudo tasksel

You can install a complete LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) server on either a server or desktop distribution. It really is that easy.

More Resources

If you’re looking for one of the most reliable, secure, and dependable platforms for both the desktop and the server, look no further than one of the many Linux distributions. With Linux you can assure your desktops will be free of trouble, your servers up, and your support requests at a minimum.

If you’re looking for more resources to help guide you through your lifetime with Linux, check out the following resources: 



TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: linux
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To: martin_fierro
Nice sed!

Here's a fun trick for linuxers....

#!/usr/bin/bash

if [ "$1" == "" -o "$2" == "" ]
    then
      echo "Syntax:"
      echo "$0 extension path"
    exit
fi

ls -lR $2 | grep \\.$1 | awk '{ total += $5 } END { print total }'

What does it do? It accepts one arguments. The first  argument is a file extension. The second is a directory name. If you want it to start from the directory you are in, use ".".

This script will start in the directory specified and will find all files with that extension, add up all the file sizes, then print a total for that file type.

$ columnsum mp3 /home/av/music/bluegrass/
1500935414
$ columnsum mp3 .
488423164

 

21 posted on 08/15/2014 10:36:28 AM PDT by zeugma (Islam: The Antidote for civilization)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: zeugma
Pretty cool. Are you a fan of CommandlineFu?
22 posted on 08/15/2014 10:39:22 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: ShadowAce
Pretty cool. Are you a fan of CommandlineFu?

Yeah, it's been a while since I've been to that site, but I recall it having some really cool one liners.

I actually used that very simple script to teach some of the basics of life in the shell to a nephew. It was originally exactly 1 line that was hardcoded to look for and total up mp3 files. We first made it look for any type of file extension, which is actually trickier than you'd think because you have to escape the "." or you'll get false positives. Then we made it take a path for input. Lastly, put some checking to make sure you had two arguments. Was kinda cool. Very simple, but he was easily able to understand it. The idea I was trying to show was how to take something that did one thing and make it more general.

23 posted on 08/15/2014 4:37:02 PM PDT by zeugma (Islam: The Antidote for civilization)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]


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