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GNU/Linux Tutorials

Most of us here at the Linux Supporters Group are pretty much amateurs at this GNU/Linux stuff; we do not make our living running Linux. Many of us have come to it later in life, and all of us have been lucky enough -- in a moment of madness, frustration or liberation -- to have thrown away our carefully-crafted copy of RedHat and struggled for a week installing and re-installing Debian 'Potato' ... or something similarly insane, like Slackware ! We have our favourite distro; none the less, we still experiment with other distros from time to time.

As we laboriously work something out and get it debugged and make it a routine process, we are happy to pass on that experience so that you don't have to spend your time re-inventing the wheel. We are all immensely grateful for tips and tricks that we found in all sorts of places - both in books and on the internet - when we were struggling with something Linux-related, and so here are some of our tips and tricks as payment in return.

The topics that follow arose in a series of talks and/or workshops that we held over the past few years -- for our Linux Supporters Group meetings in Adelaide, for the South Australia Microprocessor Group, and for the Southern Fleurieu Linux User Group at Victor Harbour -- and we present them here in much the same form.

Here are the tutorials so far in date order:

Tutorial Description Link to Tutorial
"How to Develop a simple Log Script using Bash" is a tutorial for the beginner that introduces you to the commandline with a vengeance. Here we take you through the process of creating a facility for logging comments on your computer so that you can record important events in the system along with the date and time they happened. The tutorial takes you through the top down design of an interactive bash session, and the skills learnt can then be put to good use in all the subsequent tutorials. Develop Log Script
"Explore all your Commands with bash, cmd and psh" is a tutorial that develops a script that examines all the commands that you have available on your computer in a random order, and prints the first few lines of the manual for that command, so that you can see what is around. It does this using bash (GNU/Linux), cmd.exe (NT) and psh (XP/Vista) so you can compare the abilities and the power of these shells. For the time being, it is presented here as a PDF file for download. Explore all Commands
"Comparison of Shell Features of bash, cmd and psh" is a tutorial that describes and discusses the similarities and the differences between the way that bash (GNU/Linux), cmd.exe (NT) and psh (XP/Vista) get things done on the command line. These are things that we noticed when implementing scripting exercises in the 3 shells. The example script finds the word frequency in files of over 1 million words and measures the time it takes each shell to complete this task. Compare 3 Shells
"An Introduction to the X Window System" explains what an X Server is, and shows you how to start as many X Servers as you need on your own computer, so that you can do many things, such as sharing photos, sharing programs, and sharing desktops. There are two PDF files for download at present: the tutorial itself, and some exercises. Introduction to X
Xercises
"An Appreciation of the Open Office Suite" takes you through one of our speaker's experience with the OpenOffice.org suite of programs: Writer (word processor); Calc (spreadsheet); Impress (slide-show editor), Draw (drawing editor), Base (database package). It compares and contrasts the features with experience of other programs, and describes how it felt to use each feature. It is an Impress slide show, for download, as it was presented at our meeting. OpenOffice Review
"Management of Magnetic Tape under Linux" takes you through installing and using a couple of magnetic tape drives: a Quantum TRAVAN drive with an IDE interface, and a Quantum DAT drive with a SATA interface. The talk shows what to expect during installation and use aas backup. It is in the form of a PDF which was handed out at our meeting. Manage Magnetic Tape
"Creating Ad-Hoc Wireless Networks using Linux" shows you what the IEEE 802.11 standard means by applying it to configuring a couple of wireless network interface cards and then using the Linux wireless programs to create a small ad-hoc network consisting of three laptops. The PDFs summarise the idea behind the talk and lists all the commands used during the demonstration at our meeting. Ad-Hoc Wireless Slides
Ad-Hoc Wireless Commands
"A Gentle Introduction to the C Language" is a PDF file that presents an overview of C given at our meeting that can orientate you quickly. This goes with a C program that controls an LCD -- the JA-SCB16202S-GN12M-LB -- which is a commonly-available item pictured here (front) and here (back) and wired up to a parallel port as per the comments in the C program. Introduction to C
LCD program
"Configuring a Gateway/Router using Linux" shows you how to establish the necessary firewall and routing rules so that you can connect one or more computers (that only have wired ethernet) to another computer (that only has mobile ethernet) by going through a third computer (that has both interfaces). The PDF shows in detail how we configured the third computer to act as a gateway/router during the demonstration at our meeting. Configure a Gateway/Router
"KDE 4: History, Development and Features" traces the history of KDE as a desktop environment, describes the background behind its features, and puts perspective on its future. The PDF is from the talk given at our meeting, before the KDE4 demo. KDE4: History, Development and Features
"File Permissions in Linux" describes how file characteristics have evolved from Unix, and explains what they are and how to use them in Linux. There is a shell recipe summary here. Both PDFs are from the talk given at our meeting. File Permissions in Linux
"A Big Introduction to Prolog" comprises a PDF of the talk given at our meeting, which goes through an example prolog session in great detail. This example is fully supported by background explanation found in the lecture notes, and includes an extensive gprolog manual, with example prolog programs to come shortly. A Big Introduction to Prolog
"Encryption and Decryption: Using GPG in Linux" describes how to install the GNU Privacy Guard under Debian Linux and use it to manage some common encryption and decryption tasks. There is a handy encrypt script here, and a handy decrypt script here. The PDF explains how to use the bash scripts to become familiar with encryption and decryption. Using GPG in Linux
"Viruses, Trojans and Worms in Unix and Linux" offers an overview of the history of vulnerabilities in Unix and Linux. It describes the various major items and the programs they affect. We have provided a copy of the handout notes here, and we have provided a copy of the slides from the talk (on the right). Viruses, Trojans and Worms
"Multi-Booting: Tips, Traps and Treasures" gives a very comprehensive description of the hard-drive multi-booting procedure for XP, Vista and Debian Linux systems using the GRUB (qv). Hayden has provided a PDF version of his talk (on the right). See if you can find Ernest Shackleton's boot amongst the slides! Multi-Booting Tips
"Databases: How to manage MySQL via PHP" takes you through the process of creating, modifying and administering your database using the phpmyadmin program to access MySQL on Linux. Barry has provided a PDF version of a very comprehensive earlier exposition of SQL (Structured Query Language) on the right, and beneath that link is the PDF version of his talk on managing MySQL using PHP. SQL Theory
Using phpmyadmin
"MemoryBox: How to manage a secure distributed backup" takes you through the design considerations of the MemoryBox System. Michael has provided a PDF version of his talk on the right. MemoryBox Talk
"Image Processing in a Large Project" shows how Linux, with its roots in Unix and its networking and command-line constructs, is a natural choice for implementing much of the computation needed for image segmentation in the ADSS/SAR System.. This system may be adapted to a wide range of other applications. Peter has provided a PDF version of his talk on the right. Image Processing Talk
"How to create a bootable [K]ubuntu System on a USB stick" explains the theory behind, and gives a recipe for, building a bootable Kubuntu 10.04 system for a USB stick. It describes how to use 'casper' to build the system, and how to modify GRUB2 to boot it. Hayden has provided a PDF version of his talk on the right.
Bootable Kubuntu USB
"PHP and its application to MySQL" shows how PHP, which forms part of the LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) system, is used to create HTML that can construct a form for entering a query of a database maintained by the program MySQL, and display the result. Barry has provided a PDF version of his talk on the right. PHP and MySQL
You do not need much to run a virtual machine these days: just one CPU will do, without any special features, under VirtualBox, to install a distribution from one of the main operating systems (Windows, Linux, Solaris, BSD, IBM OS/2) so it runs under the control of the virtual machine manager. More advanced managers (see these notes) can make use of multiple CPUs. "Fun with Virtual Machines" describes Peter's experience with installing KVM and discusses various options that face you, along with how to install a distribution so it runs under KVM. A PDF version of his talk is on the right. Virtualisation
"A Basic Introduction to GRUB-2 Bootloader" talks about the GRUB-2 boot-loader program: what it is and what it does; the booting process; differences between GRUB-2 and GRUB; commands available at booting; customising GRUB-2; updating GRUB-2 scripts; and security issues over a network. A PDF version of the notes handed out at the talk is on the right. GRUB-2
"Using Advanced Options in Google Search" explains how to use the advanced search options in Google, and so helps you to get the best out of your search query. Barry has provided a PDF version of the slideshow from the talk on the right. Google Search Options
"The Kinect Sensor: Dissecting the X-Box" shows how to extract the Kinect Sensor from the XBox and looks at its capablilities in some detail. The talk was given in lieu of another talk now scheduled for later. A PDF version of the notes handed out at the talk is on the right. Kinect Sensor
"The Development of Chaos Theory" covers the history and applications, from Lorenz, Sierpinski, Julia, Mandelbrot and others, and demonstrating fractals, sets, bifurcation and digital imagery construction. Rick has provided the key articles, with their various links around which the talk was centered, on the right. Chaos Theory
Fractal Documentary
"WiFi Principles, Terminology and Jargon" reviews the principles of wifi propagation and management, with a summary of wifi terminology and jargon, to help orientate newcomers to this field. Hayden has provided the PDFs of the talk notes on the right. WiFi Principles
WiFi Terminology
"An Overview of micro, monolithic and hybrid Kernels" reviews the principles of and differences between three classes of computer operating system kernels: the micro-kernel; the monolithic kernel; and the hybrid kernel. Hayden has provided a PDF of his notes on the right. Overview: Kernel Concepts

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