Part 2: Linux Resources, Help and Some Links
by Peter, Stan, Barbara and Marie Klimas
Answers to Some Frequently Asked Linux Questions
Distributed under the General Public Licence http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html.
Your feedback, comments, corrections, and improvements are appreciated.
Send them to either bklimas@magma.ca
or bw641@freenet.carleton.ca
Start: Linux Newbie Administrator Guide
Part 0: For the Undecided (Linux Benefits)
Part 1: Before Linux Installation
Part 2: >Linux Resources, Help and Some Links<
Part 3: Basic Operations FAQ
Part 4: Linux Newbie Administrator FAQ
Part 5: How to Upgrade the Kernel
Part 6: Linux Shortcuts and Commands
Part 7: Essential Linux applications (proprietary
or not)
Contents of this page:
2. Linux Resources, Help and Some Links
2.1 Any Linux reading materials?
2.2 Is there a help command?
2.3 Newsgroups
2.4 Any Linux Internet links?
2. Linux Resources, Help and Some Links
2.1 Any Linux reading materials?
Check your RedHat 5.2 CD for the softcopy of the RedHat manual (written with newbies in mind). Under Linux, you can read it using:lynx /mnt/cdrom/doc/rhmanual/manual/index.htm
This will start lynx, a simple text-mode browser to view the manual. You can also use Netscape or any other html browser. If your RedHat is still not installed, you can view the manual with an MS Windows-based browser, e.g. Netscape for Windows.
If you already installed Linux, check /usr/doc/LDP for the excellent Linux Documentation Project manuals. (If you didn't install the documentation, consider installing everything now.) For example, these commands will let you browse the Linux System Administrators' Guide:
cd /usr/doc/LPD/sag
lynx sag.htmlAlso, check /usr/doc/HOWTO for the HOWTO documents, and /usr/doc/HOWTO/mini for the MINIHOWTOs. Check /usr/doc/FAQ for a set of FAQ. For example, these commands will let you view the text version of the Linux-FAQ on your cdrom (the CD must be mounted first):
cd /mnt/cdrom/doc/FAQ/txt/
less Linux-FAQSince the documentation is also available on the RedHat CD, so you can read it before Linux installation. For example, this will let you read the Linux-FAQ from under DOS, assuming your CDROM under DOS is the drive D:
d:
cd \doc\FAQ\txt
edit Linux-FAQFor more or updated documentation, see http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/index.html#guide.
Most Linux commands can be run with the "--help" option. For example, this will give you a concise help on the Linux cp (copy) command:2.3 Newsgroupscp --help | less
More extensive info is accessed from the command line using the so-called manual pages man [topic]. For example:
man cp
will display the manual page for the cp command. The manual pages are the standard "help" system under Linux, and contain wealth of information, but often require an effort to understand by a newbie.
The man command uses the simple utility "less" to let you scroll through a text. Use arrows to scroll, press "q" to quit. (Actually, "less" can do more than this. Press "h" for help when running less, or learn more about "less" using man less.)
There is also the info command info [topic]. For example:
info cp
Often info contains information similar to man, but more up-to-date.
If you don't remember exactly the name of the command that you need to use, try apropos. For example, to obtain a list of commands which have something to do with "copy", try:
apropos copy
In some menu driven programs, most notebly under setup when browsing the system services, you may press F1 for info what the particular service does.
The kde windows manager includes a GUI-based "help browser", which can be started by clicking the "book with a light" icon on the Kpanel. This browser can be used to access the kde-specific help as well as the system manual pages.
If you want to learn about the many packages that come on your CDs in rpm format, you may want to use the GUI-based glint (type glint in an X-terminal) to browse through the packages, display the info that they contain, and install them if you wish (the installation has to be done as root).
These can be a intimidating place to be, be warned. I just choose to ignore the stupid or offensive postings or e-mails. For the malicious ones, I make an exception and inform the system administrator at their originating e-mail provider. Advertisments I receive after posting to a newsgroup get deleted before reading--I know I am not the only one doing this, so please mark your subject line clearly if you want your e-mail to be read, particularly if your e-mail address contains the string "aol". Despite their drawbacks, newsgroups can be an efficient way of accessing the information you need.Before going to the newsgroups, I would highly recommend DejaNews (http://www.dejanews.com/home_ps.shtml). This is a huge archive of newsgroup postings and you can search it using nice search tools. This way, you can often find an answer to your question without going through tons of trash, and without exposing yourself to anger after posting a question which "was already asked ten times this week". You may be surprised by the amount of information avaiable through Dejanews.
There are several newsgroups devoted to Linux and they seem much better than other newsgroups (maybe they are better policed by the Linux experts?). Here is a short list:
news:comp.os.linux.announce (moderated--the postings are done by a moderator, who reviews them prior to the posting.)
news:comp.os.linux.help
news:comp.os.linux.setup
news:comp.os.linux.misc (miscellenous)
news:comp.os.linux.advocacy (Use this one for discussion of pros and cons of Linux and perhaps your comparison of Linux with other operating systems. This is an excellent newsgroup if you like getting into endless arguments).
news:alt.linux.sux (Here you can read/write really all opinions on Linux.)
news:comp.os.linux.networking
new:comp.os.linux.x (X-windows)
news:comp.os.unix (general UNIX newsgroup)Please note that there is a newsgroup etiquette ("netiquette"), and you risk rejection and perhaps expose yourself to flames if you choose to break it. The major points:
- don't post on a topic that is unrelated to the subject of the newsgroup;
- don't post to many newsgroups at the same time (cross-post);
- use plain ASCII, don't post attachments, pictures, html, etc.;
- don't advertise (particularily commercial products).Useful abbreviations/acronyms:
Please mail me if you know of other interesting abbreviations that a newbie Linux administrator ought to know.
BTW "By the way, " AFAIK "As far as I know," (S/he may acctually know the best, but is being cautious) RTFD "Read the 'fine' documentation!" (Impatient and probably rude) ASAP "as soon as possible" FYI "For your information," (Implying that everybody else knows about it. S/he cannot mean that it is confidential if s/he puts it on a newsgroup, can s/he?) IMHO "In my humble opinion," :-) A smile to you. Many variants are available, also showing other faces to express moods. c.o.l.a. The newsgroup com.os.linux.announce (or perhaps comp.os.linux.advocacy?) Tia "Thanks in advance!" iirc "If I remember correctly," fwiw "For what it's worth" (the responder feels that the anwser may not be definitive)
There must be thousands of Internet sites devoted to Linux. Here are some Linux links which I like, in no particular order. If you need something else, you should find a useful pointer on one of these pages.
http://sunsite.auc.dk/linux-newbie/ Master site for this document (LNAG). Bookmark it. http://www.kalug.lug.net/linux-admin-FAQ/ Linux Admin FAQ (the non-Newbie). http://members.aa.net/~swear/pedia/learning-linux.html Gary's Encyclopedia--Learning Linux. Bookmark it. http://jgo.local.net/LinuxGuide/ Josh homepage. Good resource for learning Linux. http://www.control-escape.com/ This site seems good for newbies! http://qlink.queensu.ca/~3srf/linux-admin/ Linux administration made easy (LAME). "All new and improved" (Apr. 99). Recommended. http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/index.html#guide Lots of Linux documentation. http://www.slashdot.org/ Discussions for nerd, hackers, gurus, etc. http://www.freshmeat.org/ Update on today's releases of Linux software http://linuxtoday.com/ Linux news--excellent daily reading. Bookmark it. http://www.llp.fu-berlin.de/ The Linux Lab Project. Data acquisition etc. http://www.linuxberg.com/ Linuxberg. Big portal. http://counter.li.org/linuxcounter_eng.html The Linux counter. Register yourself as a linuxer! http://www.ap.univie.ac.at/users/havlik/Album/Linux-Counter/ See Dennis Havlik's impressive maps on Linux growth and geographical distribution. http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/iwj10/linux-faq/index.html Linux FAQ. ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/ Tons of Linux software at the Sunsite archive. Bookmark it. http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/linuxlist/linuxlist/linuxlist.html Linux applications. http://www.boutell.com/lsm/ Linux applications. http://www.linuxlinks.com/Software/ Linux applications. http://dir.yahoo.com/.../Unix/Linux/ Yahoo's entries for Linux. http://www.debian.org/ Debian Linux site. http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/hardware.html Linux hardware compatibility list. http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/links.html Lots of useful Linux links http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~conradp/linux/ Scores of execellent links. http://www.linuxstart.com/documentation/ More links to Linux documentation. http://www.linuxlinks.com/ Even more Linux links. http://www.gnu.org/ Master GNU site (GNU's-Not-Unix. This is a recursive definition). http://www.redhat.com/ The Red Hat site. It is typically too busy to bother.
Go to part 3: Basic Operations
FAQ