Re: Tips

[David Webster <cog@seul.org>]

On Tue, 7 Mar 2000, Jonathan Veit wrote:

> Here's the first few that come to my head.... changes, some of them might
> not be totally accurate, be critical of me.

right, here we go, I like the tips, but just a few minor comments.
 
> TIPS
> ======
> 
> Have a command you want to know more about? That's where the man program
> fits in. Type man <command> and it will give you the manual entry of that
> command.

I'd suggest either having the text you're ment to type in a different
format (i.e. italic/coloured/etc.), or inside brackets.
 
> Why can you type the full name of a program and it runs sometimes and not
> others? This is because only programs that are in specific "bin" directorys
> can be run from anywhere
> ex: /usr/bin /usr/X11R6/bin

s/ex/eg ?
 
> Tired of typing the same command over and over in a terminal?  Try pushing
> the up button to get the last command, and continue to until you find the
> last command.

Add something like: This command can then be edited and changed/added to..
 
> Want to get to your home directry quickly? ~/ is a short hand notation for
> your own directory

s/directry/directory  and ~/ doesn't actually help get to your home, does
it? It has to be used with a cd command. But the cd command takes you home
if you don't have any arguments. I'd suggest spliting this into two
seperate tips:

Want to get to your home directory quickly? Just type "cd".

Want to refer to your home directory? ~/ is a short hand notation for your
home directory.
 
> Feel you have too many or too little applications?  Use a Graphical RedHat
> Pacakage Manager Program easily install and uninstall programs.  Gnorpm or
> KPackage should suffice.

New tip suggestions:
What to know what packages you have installed? The command "rpm -qa | 
less" will tell you.
 
A program you ran gave you too much information to be displayed on the
screen all at once? try 'piping' the output (using '|') to 'less' (e.g.:
"command | less")

If you want to read a text file without opening up a word processor, then
try 'cat <filename>' or 'less <filename>'

> You want to do root commands without actually being root all the time?  type
> "su" in terminal and type root password to get root power temporarily.  type
> su -c <command> to run a command that only root would have access to.
> 
> Want to have a message pop-up when people login?  It's called motd, standing
> for message of the day, but at no means you have to change the message every
> day.  Easily as editing /etc/motd as root lets you write a message that will
> be shown when logging in.
> 
> If you have the power to use the mouse in terminal highlight a word or two
> with the left mouse button and then paste it by clicking the right.

Suggested rewording:
If you have the power to use a mouse at the terminal, try highlighting a
word or few with the left mouse button and then paste it by clicking the
right. 
 
(assumes gpm is running, problem?)

> These tips not enough information?  Connect to a linux chat room, post on a
> bulltien board or visit a website.  You'll find the help you need.

For you local Linux User Group (lug) have a look at:
http://www.ssc.com/glue/groups/
 
> Why doesn't this program run when I type it's name? Try putting a "./" in
> front of the name and then push enter.
> 
> Want to try your hand at artwork? Try one of the best graphic programs out
> there, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP for short.
> 
> For Some Reason X (Graphics) isn't working and your stranded?  Try The Indy
> Dialer to get on the internet and get help.
> 
> Want to do more than one thing in console? Push Alt - F2, No I didn't log
> you out, Push Alt - F1 back to where you were.  Back to Alt - F2 and login,
> You can switch between these two and F3, F4, F5, and F6 to increase
> productivity!
> 
> What day of thr week is the 17th? Type cal to get a print out of the month
> in a calender format, type man cal to get more info.
> 
> Trying out a program you have no idea how to get out of?  Ctrl-C will
> usually do they trick, but you want to exit programs normally when you can.

Ever get stuck in 'vi'? Try pressing Esc, and then typing ":q"
 
> Want to see if your network is running? As root or using su, type ifconfig
> to see all established network connections.

Doesn't ifconfig just show all the network interfaces (e.g. eth1/eth0/lo)?

> Something Crash hard? As root or using su, type top and press h for a list
> of commands. Using this you can end any program.

What to know what your computer is doing? Well, "top" and "ps" can both
be used to show information on what processes (programs) are running,
their PID (process ID number) and more. top updates itself automatically.
 
> Ever see something like hda1? No, It's not Greek, Its pretty Simple,  hd
> means HardDisk, a means the first harddisk, and 1 means first partition.  So
> hdb3 Means third parition on second harddrive.

If you see sba1 instead of hda1, then this just means your hard drive
works using the SCSI protocol.
 
> Want to remotely login to your linux machine from a remote computer? Or let
> friends log on? If its not  installed already install telnetserver using rpm
> or a graphical rpm program.  Then using the ip address of your computer use
> a simple telnet program to connect.

Telnet? I'd prefer it if we recommended ssh.
 
> Looking for some hot games? www.happypenguin.com
> 
> Were you testing programming and when compiling with gcc all you got was
> a.out? type ./a.out to run your program, but understand that gcc file.c -o
> program will name your program, "program" instead of a.out.
> 
> Just because you use linux doesn't mean you can't talk to those who aren't
> as lucky.  Use gaim to talk to Aol buddy's or LlCQ to people who use ICQ.
> 
> Now that you use linux want to find some jokes only you, a linux user would
> get? www.userfriendly.org
 
Extras:

Need some more help? Check out the Linux Docmentation Project (ldp) online
at: http://www.linuxdoc.org/

Having problems with your Indy set up? Have a look at our website
<http://www.independence.seul.org/> and if you're still stuck, join the
mailing list.

What to keep upto date with the latest news and views about linux? Have a
look at slashdot: http://www.slashdot.org/

Looking for a program that wasn't included with Indy? Try:
http://www.freshmeat.net/
 
Want to talk to the Indy development team, make suggestions about
improvements, or just ask questions that our website didn't answer? Join
the indy mailing list by: <subscription info>

[BTW: I think we should have seperate developer and user mailing lists, as
users probably won't want to join and hear all the discussions we have,
and the developers probably don't want to be slowed down by users asking
questions. We should probably keep the dev. list open, tho.]
 
Forgotten who you are logged in as? Just as the computer "who am i"

Computers prefer working in numbers, so your login name corresponds to a
number the computer has given you. To find out you number (User ID or
UID), along with other useful information, type "id".

To find out how long you computer has been running for, how busy it has
been and how many people are currently logged on, use the 'uptime'
command.

To find out information about what your computer is running, it's machine
name, the version of the Operating System (OS) and what it is running on,
use: "uname -a"

Want to know the current date or time? Just ask your computer: "date".

Have more than one person using your computer? Find out who is logged on
with the "who" command. To find out more information, just use "w"

If you are having problems with a program, filename or password, remember
that Unix is case snesitive. e.g "FileName" is not the same as "filename"

Want to create a hidden file? Then make sure the file has a period "." at
the start of it's name: e.g. ".bash_history". These files will not then
show up when you type 'ls'. To list then, use "ls .*"

Don't want to see the contents of directories when using "ls"? Use "ls -d"
instead.

Want to know what directory you are currently in? Use "pwd".

Want to move to the directory you were last in? Use "cd -".

Want to know what format a file you have is? Try: "file <filename>"

Want to know how much disk space you have free? Try "df -h"

Want to know how much room a directory takes up? Try "du -h <directory>"

./ is a short hand for the directory you are currently in.

Don't want other people to read your email or private files? Try
encrypting them with GnuPG or PGP.

Don't understand the concepts of file permissions? Try reading
http://www.attrition.org/security/newbie/unix/man9/chmd.html

If you want a secure password, don't use any words you'd find in a
dictionary, a name or sequences of words or numbers. Try to use a unique
password with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and
special characters.

There's probably more where they came from.

David
--
David Webster |   cognite.net    | Project Independence Linux, Security:
cog@seul.org  | cogito, ergo sum | http://independence.seul.org/security/
     Our moral progression cannot begin until we have independence