Learning Unix Concepts Through Fiction?

AntiPasto asks: "Technical reading is often difficult to digest. With a new project called HotelNix I hope to create a database of stories that teach concepts one would normally read in man pages. We all know that these tasty tidbits can be at the very least archaic, so could the Unix world benefit from a public-domain, user-contributed technical story archive? What kinds of writing would be beneficial to readers on many levels, and in what ways could we index it?" Interesting project. I think this might help Unix newbies more than seasoned admins in learning concepts, but that in and of itself would be worthwhile.

Comments

Very cool

[handybundler]

Having just been de-virginixed over this last weekend, I have found that there is so much I'd like to know about UNIX and the many incarnations. I'm afraid that not having used the OS,that I don't know how to run it like it was designed to run. I know it's really based around giving the developing mind the tools for creating, but if your like me and have never seen the likes of a single line of UNIX code(my terms give that away), then this is where the issue is for me, and maybe for others who would like to know more. Most would say go back to school. I agree, I should. I'd devote a mass chunk of time to learning what I should have learned back when my friend and I had a Commodore 64 that we messed around with.

The man docs are suited for those who have taken the painstaking time to learn everything about how to program. I, unfortunately, have not. I'm doing well if I code a whole page in HTML and don't blow it out on the first upload. So you can see where I'm at.

I've been in the computer environment for about the last 10-15 years or so. I forget what year it was when we got terminals in grade school. '84? '85?, but most of my interaction has all been in the graphic type environment. From what I understand, the GUI is not every ones favorite place to be when working on a system. I like my terminal access in Linux. It let's me know that I have the power to manipulate the system at it's core. But what the heck am I going to do when i get there?

I've been a Windows user since 3.1 and I know little dos. I have gotten so used to running installations in Windows, that when it comes to running tar or rpm file, I don't know what to do. I'm sure that the hardcores are sitting there chuckling to themselves right now chanting "newbie, newbie", but when I say this it's most like ly to get a laugh from any veteran Unix user. Is it possible to pre program installs in to the rpms and zips? to autorun upon completetion? So many files with so many different variables make it more frustrating than difficult. For a person with knowledge of enough commands to possibly "break" some thing in the process, it gets a little scary in that neck of the Woods. Or, in the cases so far, not even get them to unzip. For instance, I need to rebuild my GIMP library that I had running in windows, but I can't get the unnzip right? I've read howtos (maybe not enough) but no go. Once I get the install thing down, unzipping is mastered, and how to deal with things at /root, then I'll be ready to devote all of my time on a system to Linux. Rignt now I keep that C: drive handy just in case. But I haven't been back for four days. :-)

The UNIX concept is what originally attracted me to running it in some form eventually. Now I do. The thought of being able to customize a computer system to be able to be so personalized just blew me away. Sure you can run all the programs you want in any other OS, but it doesn't run like it does in Linux. Not to mention the whole concept behind the entire OpenSource Development. That alone is the single most reason that any one should be interested. It's a community, not a competition. The appeal of the mass spread of knowledge resources is the ultimate way to get people on the same level. If it means doing this by documenting usage in a pooled information format that a newbile like myself can grasp, then it gets my vote. Heck I'd even like to contribute to it's success by doing idiot checks.:-)

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Converted.

Re:Very cool

[CrayDrygu]

I have gotten so used to running installations in Windows, that when it comes to running tar or rpm file, I don't know what to do. I'm sure that the hardcores are sitting there chuckling to themselves right now chanting "newbie, newbie",

Yep! But hey, I was in your position not too long ago (maybe a year to 1.5 years), and I know what it's like. How to deal with tar and RPM files took me forever to memorize, but I eventually got it. Here's a brief overview that'll work for about 99% of them:

tgz/tar.gz:
tar zxf file.tgz
cd file
./configure
make
su -
make install

The z tells it to uncompress the file, since it's been compressed with gzip (if you have just a .tar, you can leave that out). x means extract. f means use the file specified (as opposed to a device like a tape drive or floppy).

Everything after the tar command is for compiling programs -- if your tarball isn't source code, you can skip those.

Oh, and no, there's no "-" in front of the "zxf". tar is weird like that (though I think it'll work with the - too).

rpm:
rpm -Uvh file.rpm

U means Upgrade, but it works for installs too. v is for Verbose, gives a litte more info on what it's doing. And the h tells it to display hash marks (#) as a sort of progress bar.

Uninstalling RPM files is a little different, as you need to specify the package name instead of the file name. The command is "rpm -e package". To find a package name, it's helpful to make a list of all the packages installed on your system:

rpm -qa |sort > rpmlist.txt

Then just open that file in your favorite text editor and find the package you want. Or do it from the command line with grep:

rpm -qa |grep "package"

Now print this out on an index card and keep it near your linux systems. =)

--

routergod

[po_boy]

Sounds a bit like routergod which includes such articles as Alicia Silverstone on ISDN and Charles Manson On Static Routes. Always have a good reference handy!

Re:routergod

[MostlyHarmless]

This wouldn't have anything to do with Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics, now, would it?


--

Unix fiction? Like in Jurassic park?

[dougmc]

`I know this -- this is a UNIX system'

Re:Unix fiction? Like in Jurassic park?

[Mr. Slippery]

Or Wanye's World II:

Garth:"Hey. That's a Unix book." (pointing at Garthette's copy of Steven's Unix Network Programming.

Garthette: Yeah.

Garth: Cooool.

Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | http://www.infamous.net/

Cryptonomicon?

[Enry]

I thought that Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash were great at teaching concepts like crypto and how the Internet works. My (mostly) non-technical wife read it and understood much of what Stephenson was saying.