What Is Ubuntu?

By Roharme D

Ubuntu is an easy version of Linux. It is not windows,but it is almost user friendly like windows. No all applications have graphical interface. Many applications force users to use commands to run them.Commands are mandatory to work with Linux and Ubuntu is not an exception.

Useful Commands:

* apt-get – Call Advanced Packaging Tool.

* clear – Clears terminal screen

* cat [filename] – Opens the file in terminal

* cat > [filename] – Createsa file with name mentioned

* chmod – Change the mode of a file to read, write, execute, extract etc.

* gedit – Opens gnome editor

* gksudo [program name] – Open graphic interface of an application with administrator

* install – Install a package or a component

* pon – Trigger a dsl-connection

* poff – Turn of a dsl-connection

* plog -PPPOE Log file.

* sudo -To become an administration for that particular transaction / terminal session alone.

* privileges.

* synaptic – Open package installer

* vi – Opens VI editor

Installing a software:

Ubuntu does not support direct executable files. You will either be provided with a compiled object that can be installed as such or the complete source code itself. In case of source code, it must be compiled first to proceed with the installation. There is no fixed way to compile the code. It depends upon the language in which the software has been written.

Fully compiled software will have standard extensions which Ubuntu understands by their extension.Some standard file type are

*.run – These files types must be executed with shell command as

* sh.run

*.deb – Deb is the abbreviated form of Debian packages. These packages can be installed right away by double clicking.It opens itself in package installer.

*.bin – These are standard binary files. They might be locked sometimes. They must be provided privileges before executing. The privileges can be changed by the command chmod with the switch +x.To install the software, use the command./[FILENAME].bin (note the dot in the beginning)

There are many other ways of installing a software.

Synaptic Manager:

This is a built-in Ubuntu installer. Ubuntu, keeps track of many useful and popular packages. They are indexed in the synaptic manager. You can install the software using the synaptic manager, if the software is listed in it.

To start synaptic manager, use the command sudo synaptic

Application Package Tool:

APT is one of the typical features of Ubuntu. There are plenty of software and utilities that can directly be installed in your system without having a downloaded soft copy. Just naming the package would suffice. Some famous package that can be installed with APT are

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-sdk sudo apt-get install xmms sudo apt-get install vlc sudo apt-get install mvn sudo apt-get install ant sudo apt-get install svn

Almost all applications can be opened using a command line. Command line version of software are faster than graphic interface as they occupy less memory.This could be a handy guide for beginners. But this is just a piece of Ubuntu. There are many things are there to be learnt to play with Ubuntu.

How to Configure SAMBA on a Linux Server
By Chris Ondo

Step By step guide to configuring SAMBA on a LINUX server.

This is for network administrators with experience configuring and administrating LINUX servers that want to know how to configure a SAMBA file server the right way step by step.

In this step by step tutorial I am going to show you how to make a shared folder on a linux server and share it so users on Microsoft windows workstations can access it on a local – internal network.

In this tutorial I am going to make the folder called “shared folder” and allow everybody access to the folder and printer networked to the Linux server.

This is a basic how to guide for configuring a samba workgroup file server.
I will cover how to build and configure a samba PDC – Primary domain controller in another tutorial for more experienced network administrators.

STEP 1
Open the samba configuration file using a unix text editor.
I like NANO since it is very easy to use.
Below are the commands I used to perform this task.

[root@localhost ~]# cd /etc
[root@localhost etc]# cd samba
[root@localhost samba]# nano smb.conf

Ok now we are in the smb.conf file
Now delete all the text in the configuration file.
Now copy and paste the below text…after that is done hit the “control and X buttons on your keyboard to exit out of the NANO text editor.
Then hit the Y button and last hit the ENTER button.
Now we are back to the command prompt and our samba configuration file is edited and saved.

[global]
workgroup = workgroup
server string = My Linux File Server
hosts allow = 192.168. 127.
log file = /var/log/samba/%m.log
security = user
netbios name = SAMBA SERVER
encrypt passwords = yes
smb passwd file = /etc/samba/smbpasswd
socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192

[shared folder]
comment = My Home Directory
browseable = yes
writable = yes
public = yes
read only = no

[printers]
path = /var/spool/samba
public = yes
guest ok = yes
printable = yes
browseable = yes
writable = yes
read only = no

STEP 2
We have to create a user acct on the Linux server itself then we will create a samba user on top of the Linux user acct.

[root@localhost ~]# useradd chris
[root@localhost ~]# passwd chris
Changing password for user chris.
New UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.
[root@localhost ~]# smbpasswd -a chris
New SMB password:
Retype new SMB password:
getsmbfilepwent: malformed password entry (no :)
mod_smbfilepwd_entry: malformed password entry (no :)
[root@localhost ~]#

STEP 3
We have to start the SAMBA service.
It may already be started or it may not…so let’s check and see.

[root@localhost ~]# service smb status
smbd is stopped
nmbd is stopped
[root@localhost ~]#

The samba service is not running so let’s start it up

[root@localhost ~]# service smb start
smbd (pid 4267 4266) is running…
nmbd (pid 4271) is running…
[root@localhost ~]#

Now let’s verify the service is running

[root@localhost ~]# service smb status
smbd (pid 4267 4266) is running…
nmbd (pid 4271) is running…
[root@localhost ~]#

STEP 4
reboot your windows XP workstations then go to network “my network places” then go to “workgroup computers”.
You will see a computer there called “My Linux File Server”.
You can manually map a local drive letter to this folder or write a logon script the same as you would connecting to a Microsoft file server – shared folder.
Double click on that computer and you will be prompted for a user name and password.
Use the user name and password you choose in step #2
Now you will see a folder called “shared folder” You can copy and paste data to this folder just like it were a windows file server.

Chris Ondo – Central Florida Computer Engineering

http://centralfloridacomputerengineering.com

Linux Terminal Control Sequences
By Bernard Peh

Linux terminals share alot in common with their primitive ancestors such as vt100 like consoles. These early devices is capable of sending sequences that signaled events outside of the normal flow of typed characters, such as escape, tab, linefeed…etc. Linux uses CTRL key to send out these out of band signals. This article summarises many of the commonly used control sequences that are used in all Linux terminals.

CTRL-C

This is the most commonly used sequence. In the bash shell, CTRL-C will terminate any currently running process and return you to the bash prompt. For example, if you accidentally run a command that does not stop, use CTRL-C to cancel the command.

CTRL-D

Many Unix commands read their input directly from the keyboard. An example is the WC command. WC counts the number of lines, words and characters that a user types in from the keyboard. So if you tpye WC at the command prompt, the command will wait for your input till you use CTRL-D to signal the end of transmission.

CTRL-Z

CTRL-Z means to suspend a program. For example, you are working with a command and you want to stop it temporary as it is taking too long. To do that, you can use CTRL-Z. You can later restore back the command using the fg command.

CTRL-U

If you have messed up a certain command and you want to start all over, instead of using backspace, you can use CTRL-U. CTRL-U resets the current line.

CTRL-H

Instead of using the backspace key, you can use CTRL-H to function the same way. Unless the backspace key is malfunctioned or mapped wrongly, this sequence serves very little purpose.

CTRL-L

If your screen is too cluttered with unwanted information, you can clear the screen using CTRL-L.

CTRL-S

Freeze your screen. This is a good command to use if you decide to go for a coffee break and do not want any process to run till you are back.

CTRL-Q

This sequence is exactly the opposite to CTRL-S. If you have freezed the screen before, you use this command to unfreeze it.

CTRL-J

Functions the same way as the RETURN key.

CTRL-G

Makes a terminal beep sound for fun and entertainment.

Control Sequences are important to all Linux / Unix users. Some sequences are important while some are useless today. It is worth memorising the first few sequences as described in this article.

Bernard Peh is a great passioner of web technologies and one of the co-founders of Sitecritic.net internet articles. He works with experienced web designers and developers everyday, developing and designing commercial websites. He specialises mainly in SEO and PHP work.

Linux Commands Tutorials – Using the Ls Command With Examples of Options – A Hands-On Tutorial Help
By Clyde E. Boom

This Linux command tutorial shows you several examples of how to run the Linux ls command using popular, commonly used command options.

All of the Linux command examples shown below have been designed to work with all Linux distributions (versions).

So, if you run all of the Linux commands shown below yourself, you’ll have a mini Linux command tutorial.

Try it – it’s a great way to get Linux training!

The Linux ls Command

The Linux ls (list) command is a very popular Linux command that is used to show a listing of directories and files.

Linux ls Command Tutorial – Showing Examples of Using ls Command Options

Run the CD (change directory) command below to change into the etc directory (folder) so we have lots of directories and files for the ls command examples below.

]$ CD /etc

Run the ls command without any options.

]$ ls

This shows a listing of all directories and files (items) in the current directory, which is the etc directory. There are a lot of items and only the end of the listing appears. You can’t see the top of the listing because it has scrolled off the screen.

So, we will use the | (vertical bar – above the Enter key on many keyboards) to “pipe” the output of the ls command to the less command – and then see some options of the ls command.

Linux Tips: To type the | (vertical bar) on most keyboards, hold down the shift key and press the (backslash) key.

Linux Tips: The less command is used to pause the output of a command after the first “screenful”, so the output doesn’t scroll off the screen. The less command is a Linux command, and not an option of the ls command.

]$ ls | less

Now, because you piped the output of the ls command to the less command, you can use the Up Arrow, Down Arrow and Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll through the output of the ls command.

Press the Down Arrow key a few times; then the Up Arrow key and then Page Up and Page Down. A nice way to view the files in the Linux file system!

Notice that just the item (directory and file) names appear. You don’t see any other information, such as the size and date.

Press the letter “q” (without the quotes) to quit out of the less command. Do this after running each of the command examples below.

Now run the ls command with the -l (for long) option to get a “long” and more detailed listing of the items in the etc directory.

]$ ls -l | less

Now you get lots more info on each item! The size (in bytes) of the item appears at the left of the date. When a “d” appears at the far left of an item, this indicates that the item is a directory (folder).

Try scrolling down and then scrolling up.

The ls command below uses both the -l and -S options. The -S option causes the items to be sorted by size, with the largest item at the top.

Linux Tips: Linux commands are case sensitive, so when you see an upper case “S”, be sure to type in a capital “S” (without the quotes).

]$ ls -lS | less

Press the Page Down key until you get to the bottom of the listing.
A Practical Linux ls Command Example – Listing Linux Text Configuration Files

Now let’s say you need to look at some of the system configuration settings in a Linux text file. You know the file is in the current directory (etc) and that the file ends in “.conf”, but you can’t remember the full name of the file.

To see all possible file names, you use a Linux “pattern” of “*.conf” . This pattern uses the * (asterisk) wildcard character to show all files that end in “.conf”.

]$ ls -l *.conf | less

Now you see the Linux text file you need and can check the settings in it.

Quit out of the less command.

The exit command is used to close a terminal emulation window and end a Linux bash shell “session”.

]$ exit

Beyond This “Linux Commands Tutorials” Article
The Linux ls command is one of the most popular and commonly used Linux commands. There are lots of uses for the ls command and many other useful ls command options.

As part of your Linux training, you also need to learn how to use the ls command to: get a listing of “hidden” files, get a listing using an absolute path and relative path, get listings using several different “patterns” (with wildcard characters), and list directories and files recursively.

Now, imagine watching a clearly narrated Linux video tutorial that not only shows all of the examples above, but also shows you the full output of each command – you get to learn Linux live!

Then imagine pausing the Linux video after each example and trying the commands yourself – an excellent way to get Linux training!

And now I would like to offer you free access to my Linux Commands Training Mini-Course, a 7 Lesson, Daily Mini-Course, including the free Linux Commands ebook and Linux audio podcasts – showing you how to get started learning how to use Linux commands.

You can get your instant access at: http://www.LinuxCommandsTrainingCourse.com

From Clyde Boom – The Easy Linux Training Guy – Easy, self-paced Linux training – In Plain English!

Make a Linux Home Data Server of an Old PC

By Adam Knife

So, you’ve got an old computer, and you don’t know what to do with it. Sure, it can’t play new video games, maybe can’t run the latest and greatest software, don’t fret, it’s not totally worthless. Converting your old computer in to a home data server opens a range of possibilities, and a range of new things you can do with your computer(s) and the network.

So, how do you do it? Well, if it’s already set up for Windows Networking, you’ve got the basics set up for a Windows file server, and can simply use your local area network for transfering/working with files, however, this article is going to show you the more effective, and more powerful way: setting up a Linux file server.

The first step is to pick a Linux distro, DistroWatch.com lists the most popular distributions, and reviews a range of distributions, we’re going to use the Ubuntu [5.10] operating system, with a server installation, simply because it’s the operating system this author uses for his desktop, and is quickly becoming the most popular distribution around.

Your old computer likely has enough memory, and a powerful enough CPU to run Ubuntu, however, if you intend to use this server as a major central file server, it will likely need a new hard-drive. You can deal with that on your own.

When you insert the Ubuntu CD, and boot to it, instead of just pressing [enter] at the boot screen, type ’server’ then press enter – this will prevent it from installing any of the *-desktop packages, and not setting up any unneeded applications.

After following the steps of installation, you will be prompted with a logon screen – enter the username and password you provided during installation, and you are in your brand new Linux system. From here, you can do everything from browse the web, to set up the computer for various networking tasks, to play a range of Linux-based games.

Package management is a critical part of running a Linux system, luckily Ubuntu comes with two distinct and useful tools to aid in your package managing. Aptitude [which, is actually just a UI for apt-get] and apt-get.

A package called “samba” will allow you to set up proper networking between Linux and Windows computers (at least, we hope you’ve got your networking issues sorted out). Running “sudo apt-get install samba” in your new command line will tell the apt-get application to install the samba package, and set it up with default settings.

Once samba is installed, you’ll want to set it up to share certain files/directories, and set them up on your network – samba networking is a massive topic of it’s own, and way beyond the scope of this article, however, running “man samba” will give you the samba manual file, which lists off a series of other manuals to look at. Google’s always helpful too. :)

Now, once you have networking and samba set up, you should be able to transfer files between Windows and Linux through Network Neighborhood/smbclient – you’ve now got a basic data server set up. That was easy, wasn’t it?

For those who want to go further, Pure-FTPd will allow you to set up a fully featured FTP (file transfer protocol) server on this box, which you could use to access your files remotely from any computer set up with an FTP client (Windows Explorer has one built in!), setting up an Apache based web-server is fairly simple with Ubuntu’s apt-get packages, and OpenSSH allows the user to remotely log in to the Linux shell from any computer equipped with an SSH client.

A slight advancement to this system could allow you to set up Bash scripts combined with cron would allow you to set up scripts which immediately backup files every X days, or scripts to do certain processing to files at certain times – the possibilities are effectively endless.

Adan X. Knife is a computer scientist, entrepreneur and web developer. He currently runs a network of websites including one about High Definition Technology and a Free Games Library. He also runs a range of communication related sites including his cellular phone reviews site.