Linux in Easy Steps

by McGrath, Mike

• ISBN13: 9781840783513
• ISBN10: 1840783516
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-05-01
• Publisher: In Easy Steps Limited

Summary

Begun as a small-scale labour of love, Linux has blossomed into the world's most versatile and flexible operating system. The reasons for its appeal are manifold: This open source OS allows numerous users to simultaneously work with multiple applications without experiencing any traffic problems, thus making it an ideal operating system for web servers. In addition, Linux is an extremely stable operating system that serves as a platform for an ever-growing number of quality applications. And not least, it's free! You can download it for nothing from the Internet. With Linux in easy steps, joining the Linux Revolution is as easy as one, two, three. Following its simple instructions, you can learn to install the operating system, explore the desktop, and launch great applications. This fully illustrated primer teaches you to climb the Linux directory tree, navigate with the File Browser, and much more. Its easy-to-understand tutorials guide you through the OpenOffice business suite and media applications that let you enjoy the web, music, video, and graphics. Later chapters show you how to use the Linux shell to communicate directly with the kernel at the very heart of the operating system, allowing you total control over your Linux system.

Table of Contents

Getting started	p. 7
Introducing Linux	p. 8
Choosing a Linux distro	p. 10
Evaluating hardware	p. 12
Making space for Linux	p. 14
Beginning installation	p. 16
Partitioning the disk	p. 18
Creating a user account	p. 20
Completing installation	p. 22
Summary	p. 24
Exploring the desktop	p. 25
Adjusting the taskbar	p. 26
Launching applications	p. 28
Changing screen resolution	p. 30
Choosing a background	p. 32
Customizing windows	p. 34
Enabling system sounds	p. 36
Using multiple desktops	p. 38
Getting help	p. 40
Summary	p. 42
Touring the filesystem	p. 43
Meeting the directory tree	p. 44
Recognizing directories	p. 46
Navigating with File Browser	p. 50
Handling files	p. 52
Creating shortcuts	p. 54
Locating files	p. 56
Understanding permissions	p. 58
Summary	p. 60
Running office applications	p. 61
Creating documents	p. 62
Exporting documents	p. 64
Creating spreadsheets	p. 66
Creating presentations	p. 68
Creating charts & graphs	p. 70
Creating databases	p. 72
Querying table data	p. 74
Sending & reading email	p. 76
Summary	p. 78
Running media applications	p. 79
Browsing the web	p. 80
Messaging online	p. 82
Phoning over the internet	p. 84
Watching video	p. 86
Playing music	p. 88
Burning disks	p. 90
Creating graphics	p. 92
Adding more applications	p. 94
Summary	p. 96
Commanding the shell	p. 97
Invoking the terminal	p. 98
Becoming the superuser	p. 100
Customizing the shell prompt	p. 102
Changing the run level	p. 104
Revealing shell variables	p. 106
Launching apps from the shell	p. 108
Navigating at the prompt	p. 110
Operating on directories	p. 112
Summary	p. 114
Handling files in the shell	p. 115
Managing files	p. 116
Examining file properties	p. 118
Comparing files	p. 120
Finding files	p. 122
Reading text files	p. 124
Creating & editing text files	p. 126
Manipulating text content	p. 128
Matching text patterns	p. 130
Summary	p. 132
Performing shell operations	p. 133
Handling archives	p. 134
Making backups	p. 136
Examining filesystems	p. 138
Controlling processes	p. 140
Working with accounts	p. 142
Setting access permissions	p. 144
Installing packages	p. 146
Getting the date and time	p. 148
Summary	p. 150
Networking with the shell	p. 151
Connecting across a network	p. 152
Communicating on the network	p. 154
Transferring files	p. 156
Switching shell consoles	p. 158
Sending network messages	p. 160
Printing from the shell	p. 162
Evaluating expressions	p. 164
Scripting for the shell	p. 166
Summary	p. 168
Command reference	p. 169
Symbols	p. 170
A - C commands	p. 171
D - F commands	p. 173
F - I commands	p. 175
J - L commands	p. 177
M - N commands	p. 178
P commands	p. 179
R commands	p. 180
S commands	p. 181
T commands	p. 183
U - V commands	p. 185
W - Z commands	p. 186
Index	p. 187
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