Learn How UNIX Multitasks

BlueVoodoo writes "On UNIX systems, each system and end-user task is contained within a process. Learn how to control processes and use a number of commands to peer into your system."

Comments

exciting

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow! ps, top, sleep, kill, PIDs? This is some pretty groundbreaking stuff here!

Re:exciting

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't forget to set the I_WANT_A_BROKEN_PS environment variable!

Re:exciting

[pedalman]

FTFA:

"If it helps, you can think of a process as its own sovereign nation, with borders, resources, and gross domestic product."

Sounds like he is trying to teach UNIX to a bunch of Economics majors.

Re:exciting

[PPH]

Now, that wasn't very nice.

Re:exciting

[morgan_greywolf]

I especially liked this one:

$ ls -l /usr/bin/top
-r-xr-sr-x 1 root tty 19388 Mar 20 2005 /usr/bin/wall

Wow. That's a neat trick.

Re:exciting

[cortana]

I thought the setgid bit on the executable causes it to run with 'tty' as its gid; which presumably gives it the privilige to write to the various tty devices under /dev.

Re:exciting

[SL Baur]

It looks like a distro bug. Your tty should not be world writable for security reasons -- on some terminals it's possible to blast an escape sequence at it that it will use as input as if the user typed it in. (See the man pages for write and/or wall they both should filter their input to prevent this).

Re:exciting

[Matt Perry]

Don't forget to set the I_WANT_A_BROKEN_PS [rt.com] environment variable!

POSIX_ME_HARDER would have been a much better variable name.

Re:exciting

[cortana]

Bear in mind that the various devices may do different things on different operating systems.

On Linux, /dev/tty refers to the controlling terminal of the process that opened it. Therefore there is no reason to restrict its permissions... in fact to do so would prevent processes from writing to the terminal (if they wanted to do so directly to read a password, for instance, rather than relying on reading from stdin). /dev/tty[0-9]+ are the actual virtual consoles that one logs in on. They are owned by root:root until someone logs in on one whereupon they become owned by $user:tty. /dev/pts/[0-9]+ are pseudo terminals that are created by a terminal emulator such as xterm, or a remote login server such as ssh. They are also owned by $user:tty

Re:exciting

[badc0ffee]

Forking spawn of shell -- new insult inutility.

Re:exciting

[Matt Perry]

You are correct. You can find the interview here: http://www.softpanorama.org/People/Stallman/interv iews.shtml

Woop-tee-doo.

[McDutchie]

It's a basic primer on UNIX job control. Whee. Not that it isn't well done or useful to the target audience -- but how is this 'news', never mind 'stuff that matters'?

Re:Woop-tee-doo.

[billcopc]

It's called "here's a slashdotting to boost my pagerank". Whenever you see useless tripe on the internet, chances are it's designed to generate idiot traffic and/or ad revenue. Thank Google for this glut.

Re:Woop-tee-doo.

[skoaldipper]

but how is this 'news', never mind 'stuff that matters'?

It matters to us *nix developers with a conscience. Just remember fellas, this is what happens to all spawned PIDs in a chroot jail. Please, think of the children. And, there really is a spoon!

Re:Woop-tee-doo.

[Anonymous Coward]

You should have said NSFW. It really doesn't matter for me but if someone at work has a IT dude with nothing better to do looking at log files for the heck of it that person could get into trouble ;-). Course if hes reading slashdot he or she is already in trouble already lol

Re:Woop-tee-doo.

[skoaldipper]

My apologies. Sometimes I forget even my own standards when in the cartoon realm. It's a fork and a spoon making snu snu for those at work.

Re:Woop-tee-doo.

[ukemike]

It's a basic primer on UNIX job control. Whee. Not that it isn't well done or useful to the target audience -- but how is this 'news', never mind 'stuff that matters'?
"Looks like someone has a case of the mondays!"

I thought that the slashdot community was supportive of people migrating away from windoze to the linux world. TFA covers things that are not obvious to people that don't have *nix experience. It was a nicely written article. It might spur discussion on further basic knowledge needed to deal with linux. The whole community of "nerds" includes slide-rules to slashdot. Not every nerd is a sysadmin. To me this was useful. I already had learned 75% but had forgotten some and a bit was new and might be handy. That is "stuff that matters" to me. If nothing else cranky sysadmins, when posed with a question about something this basic, could roll their eyes condescendingly and give a link to this handy page.

The better question is why is this posted under "devcelopers"?

Re:Woop-tee-doo.

[drinkypoo]

I thought that the slashdot community was supportive of people migrating away from windoze to the linux world. TFA covers things that are not obvious to people that don't have *nix experience.

It also covers things that people simply don't need to know. Start up Ubuntu (or whatever) and run the system monitor, just like in Windows, to kill processes. That's about all you need to know!

Unless someone is a hardcore tech geek on Windows (snicker) they aren't going to need to know anything like this to move from Windows to Linux. The information they need is more like "How do I open this file that I worked with using program X on Windows?" Of course, a fair amount of the time is "you don't" like in the case of EPS files; you can import them as a graphic into OO.o, which sometimes works depending on the complexity of the file.

But I digress. The point is that this is supposed to be news for nerds and the fact that Unix has process management utilities is not news. People who need to know this kind of shit should be able to find it handily on the 'net; if they are not smart enough to do so, they are highly encouraged to get a book on the subject. (And maybe one about finding things with search engines, too, since this information is everywhere.)

Re:Woop-tee-doo.

[The_Wilschon]

"Looks like someone has a case of the mondays!"

Could you send me your name, address, floorplan, daily schedule, and also mail me a copy of your housekey, please? I once swore to kill anyone who ever actually said that. Especially if they said it at a time when I actually did have a "case" of the "mondays". \end{tonguecheek*}

Next...

[ari_j]

Learn how UNIX stores files. This revolutionary new article will show you how to use ls and cd, and you will walk away with a complete understanding of how files are stored. More magic demystified, indeed!

Re:Next...

[jimstapleton]

What? No 'touch'? I take it that's the polictially correct article?

Re:Next...

[drinkypoo]

We had to eliminate that command because it was giving pedophiles ideas. From now on, touch will be replaced with echo redirected into a file. Just redirect nothing onto the end of a file to update the mtime... Won't someone think of the children?

know your sysadmin

[Anonymous Coward]

alias renice 'echo Renice\? You must mean kill -9.; kill -9 \!*'

What the flying f*ck?

[stratjakt]

Ok, I knew /. was getting less and less computer literate.

But if you don't fucking know basic UNIX process control, don't talk about computers, or IT, k?

Seriously, this isnt even Computers 101. This is the bullshit you're expected to know to take Computers 101.

Re:What the flying f*ck?

[NeoPaladin394]

This is an article in a series (labeled Introductory to Intermediate) designed to introduce to the O/S. The first article in the series talks about how to use find! You can't point at an O'Reilly book and call Stupid because you know what it talks about. The article is well written and explains processes perfectly for the intended audience, and not everyone is born with the intrinsic knowledge of how every O/S in the world works. Readers on this site want a world of O/S choices, but are so willing to bash an article that will help accomplish just that? And just because it gives a quick, sentence overview of PS and LS? Unbelievable.

The article may or may not belong on the front page, but claiming someone's illiterate for not knowing stuff like this, especially if they were in an Apple or MS shop? Heaven forbid.

Re:What the flying f*ck?

[TheNetAvenger]

The article may or may not belong on the front page, but claiming someone's illiterate for not knowing stuff like this, especially if they were in an Apple or MS shop? Heaven forbid

Um, I don't care if they are in a DOS/Novell shop. This is basic stuff and are also concepts that have relevance in all OSes.

As for Apple or MS shop? Ok, Apple uses a BSD interface to a Mach kernel and is very much a *nix architecture. In the MS Shop, NT also includes a full BSD subsystem that is used for running *nix applicaitons on servers and also for extending the interoperability between Windows and non Windows environments.

If anyone hires someone that doesn't understand basic 'computing principles', they are hiring computer 'illiterate' techs. PERIOD.

Re:What the flying f*ck?

[NeoPaladin394]

If anyone hires someone that doesn't understand basic 'computing principles', they are hiring computer 'illiterate' techs. PERIOD.

I was referring to the specific O/S implementation details outlined in the article, not the basic freshman year, "What is a process?" My fault for not being more specific in the closer, but I still stand by my statement.

If you hire someone who is supposed to be working with Windows/*NIX interoperability and hadn't a clue how UNIX works, then you have a problem and, yes, the new guy is illiterate for the task he is given. If you hire a developer to make a .NET application for a specific Windows architecture, then I wouldn't consider the user illiterate for not knowing the processes and binary code Unix launches on startup. At least, not in the incompetent sense that the word is being used here.

Re:What the flying f*ck?

[backbyter]

I agree that the article is beneath intermediate and advanced users of *nix .

As a noob, *nix illiterate, etc., I appreciated the article. I've had some past experience on a *nix box. I know very little. Of course, I didn't know a whole lot of JCL before I started working with mainframes either. I wouldn't expect anyone not familiar with a mainframe to immediately know the error codes produced by the system or what an initiator is either.

Like a previous posted has pointed out, due to the slashdot communities love of *nix you're getting windows converts here to this site. You can either help them along or drive them back to MS loving hands. I'm sure some of the converts are pretty sharp, and just might become the next big thing for *nix adoption by the mainstream.

I think most of the younger generation couldn't tell you how to list a directory using Windows command line. Why? They haven't had to. Since there's still a lot of work in *nix that can only be done by the command line, I say keep on posting articles like this. Maybe put them in a "Linux noobs" section, but at least help the prospective converts.

Re:What the flying f*ck?

[TheNetAvenger]

Ok, agree with one exception.

If you hire someone who is supposed to be working with Windows/*NIX interoperability and hadn't a clue how UNIX works, then you have a problem and, yes, the new guy is illiterate for the task he is given. If you hire a developer to make a .NET application for a specific Windows architecture, then I wouldn't consider the user illiterate for not knowing the processes and binary code Unix launches on startup. At least, not in the incompetent sense that the word is being used here.


I am more demanding than this on developers and techs. I don't care if the project is 100% MS and .NET, if they have little knowledge outside of the specific job they are completing then their creativity is severly limited and fundamental insights they should just have are not there.

I have worked with many projects like ASP and .NET web development and when the develoeprs have no understanding of OSes and even *nix concepts they are nothing more than monkeys cranking out code that is dictated to them.

Another problem with such closed knowledge is even in little things, like in the example of Web development. I 'inherited' a tech that was supposed to be a great Web developer(MS tools), and when parts of the project were moved to Linux servers, the person literally did not understand why upper & lower case mixed reference tags were failing. And as scary as that sounds it very common.

But this is just like my personal stand on people in the OSS *nix world that have fallen so far away from MS that they fail to understand the newer MS OSes and what things are done right in the NT architecture that *nix has never done very well at. Techs will mislead clients because they don't understand 'easier' concepts that other people are using that came from the MS world even though they could be implemented on *nix.

This is also especially true for OSS *nix developers, if they don't know what else is out there, they could be recreating wheels that companies like MS, Sun, etc have already solved. And sadly I find this a lot even in some very well known and good OSS projects. There is something to be said for learning from your competition or people that have gone before you.

Maybe it is more like the difference between knowledge and understanding.

Re:What the flying f*ck?

[Vellmont]

and when parts of the project were moved to Linux servers, the person literally did not understand why upper & lower case mixed reference tags were failing. And as scary as that sounds it very common.


Scary? Not really. One platform has different quirks than another. The linux world is by and large case sensitive, so people have learned to instinctively think about case. The Windows world isn't, so people are less inclined to think about case. It only takes about a minute to explain the case sensitive issue.

No, what's really scary is people who are just inherently bad programmers. Until you've come across someone like that, you have little appreciation for how bad it can get. Miss identifying a case sensitivity issue is really nothing compared to reading someones complete mess and constantly wondering "why did he do it like that?", or "wow, that's one of the biggest security holes I've ever seen." The difference is the guy who doesn't think about case sensitivity can be re-trained in minutes. Bad programmers are just inherently bad programmers and there's little hope for them.

Re:What the flying f*ck?

[TheNetAvenger]

The Windows world isn't, so people are less inclined to think about case. It only takes about a minute to explain the case sensitive issue.


The irony is that the programmer was using a freaking case sensitive language, and still didn't get it the first time it was explained to him.

This is part of the basic understanding I was talking about. If someone can't think outside a box enough to go, "Hmm mayber the OS FS is case sensitive," then they can't be fixed.

please, hepl

[Anonymous Coward]

I get
"ps: Command not found"

What do to? Heeeeeelp.

Re:please, hepl

[EricTheGreen]

Try this instead:

"c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe" http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Hope this hepls....

Re:please, hepl

[RafaelGCPP]

D:\Documents and Settings\y1ry>"c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
O sistema não pode encontrar o caminho especificado.


Damn! My OS uses another language!!

Re:please, hepl

[EricTheGreen]

Mau. Muito mau

([grin])

Re:please, hepl

[donaldm]

Hmm! the old "Command not found". Well you can try and set your PATH variable but unfortunately that is for more advanced users, so keep reading the IBM articles.

Incredible!

[Wuhao]

With several businesses now owning their own Unix mainframes, and with some futurists speculating that hobbyists may one day have full-fledged Unix systems in their basements, a detailed understanding of Unix operation -- including its intricacies, like these "processes" -- becomes increasingly important, even for people not charged with the operation of one of these computational goliaths. I for one plan to study these "processes" carefully.

Re:Incredible!

[PPH]

I must be behind the times. All I have is half a dozen or so PCs and laptops running something called Linux. Not a mainframe in sight. And I don't even have a basment to keep them in!

Re:Incredible!

[0racle]

Na, not behind the times, just missing something.

It's called a sense of humour.

Re:Incredible!

[Wuhao]

I envision there one day being a vast network of computers, accessible to all, containing limitless mountains of data -- and on this network, the common man will finally be able to communicate with his kinsmen worldwide and transcend all borders. Finally, free of the tyranny of governments and liberated from the logistics of contemporary communication, Mankind shall at last realize his full artistic potential. No more need a man hide his drawings of the horribly mutated, furry Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk engaged in sadomasochistic intercourse as they eject feces from their hermaphroditic nipples; it shall be available to all, stumbled across by those just trying to fi--

You know, now that I think about it, you're right. If you can get some torches and pitchforks together, I'll rally the townspeople, and we can storm Bell Labs.

Next week on Slashdot...

[mypalmike]

An in-depth look at Linux filesystems. Specifically, how to make use of the mysterious "ls" command.

Re:Next week on Slashdot...

[SuiteSisterMary]

For a lot of modern desktop Linux users, who think that KDE or Gnome are the 'standard unix interface,' an article on ls would probably be quite eyeopening, not to mention incomprehensible.

Use the Firehose!

[644bd346996]

If you think this article is stupid and an insult to your technical prowess, go to the firehose and vote it down.

Re:Use the Firehose!

[gEvil (beta)]

Mod Parent Up! Vote Article Down!

Re:Use the Firehose!

[jellomizer]

Yea you are a big man now. You read an article and you understood it before you read the article. So you feel inclined to instult the fact that some people may not know this.
Yes this is Basic Unix Command Line suff. But a lot of Unix users don't go beyond typing the command to run the program. Forking, Piping, Scripting, is more then what they really use. An some of the times these people who don't understand this are actually smarter then most of us. Say a Physicist who uses Unix to test their math or run complex simulations. Also there are a lot of people using Linux/Unix who were never formally taught how to use it. So they stick in the GUI, or Find and install programs that a simple small script can acomplish. I know you want to do your "I am an Alpha Geek" while thumping your chest. But if an article gets posted and you really don't care, then don't read it and move along. Because getting an article on information that you already know isn't a big deal, this is far more mature then say the latest Cool PC Mods.

Re:Use the Firehose!

[Vellmont]

If you think this article is stupid and an insult to your technical prowess, go to the firehose and vote it down.

Not everyone on Slashdot is at the same level as everyone else. While I've known all the stuff in the article for 10-12 years, I'm certain there's a significant number of people here that have no idea about process forking, or what the init process is.

Re:Use the Firehose!

[Fezmid]

Yeah, but should we really have basic articles like that on this site? Maybe we should have an algebra primer? 2x+4=12, show me how to solve for x. Or using your physicist example, should we have an article describing the coefficient of friction for us? No, because it doesn't really fit with the site.

Nobody's saying that the article isn't useful, but it's not a /. article.

Re:Use the Firehose!

[clintp]

And for a better introduction to process creation, I offer:

Mr. Peabody Explains fork()

Re:Use the Firehose!

[Anonymous Coward]

I sent it to two teams I work with. I had recently made a presentation that explains some similar things, and this comes at it from a different angle. I think it was very useful.

(Myself, I know it all, but not everyone does)

Re:Use the Firehose!

[writermike]

If you think this article is stupid and an insult to your technical prowess, go to the firehose and vote it down.

Not everyone on Slashdot is at the same level as everyone else. While I've known all the stuff in the article for 10-12 years, I'm certain there's a significant number of people here that have no idea about process forking, or what the init process is. Thank you.

I primarily work on Windows-based systems having only touched on *nix-based systems here and there and even though I run a Linux laptop, I still only have a basic understanding of how it all works.

Based upon so many of the comments here, though, it's apparent that one simply must KNOW this information before coming to this site. Stuff that matters, indeed, but that stuff better be for l33ts.

m

Re:Use the Firehose!

[xSauronx]

i dont know about it all....ive read some about it, but i dont expect it posted to slashdot. i expect *news* and this place gets worse and worse. if someone needs to know these things; theyll have a book already, or be googling for it.

whats next, samba configs for file sharing on a LAN?

Re:Use the Firehose!

[Gilmoure]

Alpha Geek Chest Beater is right. Slashdot is not the place for articles on how to use an OS (even if most people here already know this). Slashdot's about how expensive new Apple gear is and Windows bashing. Get with the program!

Re:Use the Firehose!

[Rudolf]

If you think this article is stupid and an insult to your technical prowess, go to the firehose and vote it down.

Can you really do that after it's on the front page? Does it get yanked if enough votes are cast against it?

Re:Use the Firehose!

[ACORN_USER]

If you're that clueless, you probably haven't even got a unix platform to play on yet. And if you don't have a unix platform to play on yet, you should probably have a read through 'unix for dummies' first.

It's like publishing a white paper on 'uses of "the", "it" and "because" in the English language.' Kind of useless unless you already have a rudimentry understanding of the language and definately not the place to start.
'Tottaallly Poooointless (in the voice of Dr. Cox from Scrubs)" if you have already studied some English grammer.

Re:Use the Firehose!

[fusion9290991]

Reading some of the negative comments here, it reaffirms why it took such a long time for me to switch to Linux. All those Alpha-Geeks trying to outl33t each other.

*Yawn*.

I take comfort in the fact that Alpha Geeks they may be, but my dick will always be bigger than theirs :)

Re:Use the Firehose!

[kaoshin]

I would agree with you if this wasn't posted under developers. This isn't universal information, but is considered prerequisite for Linux development. This info is more appropriate for the Slash homepage and for those who are too lazy to delve into articles or read through books like LPI exam cram for the 101 exam which include this info. Not to sound arrogant, but LOL if you are an real developer putting together code for Unix platforms without the fundamentals.

random?

[flynt]

Is it just me, or is this one of the most random Slashdot articles ever posted? A link to Chapter 8 of an IBM manual on Unix development, really?

They don't know how to spell "UNIX"....

[Kadin2048]

Sadly though, there are probably people graduating from "computer science" programs who only know of 'processes' as something you get after pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del and clicking on the "Task Manager" button.

You're vastly overestimating the CS curriculum, at least at my local State uni, if you think that UNIX anything is taught in the 100-level courses.

Re:They don't know how to spell "UNIX"....

[chrism238]

That may all be true, but you don't graduate with just the 100-level courses!

Re:They don't know how to spell "UNIX"....

[loconet]

I think one of the big problems is not so much the lack of content offered in the classroom. The bigger problem I see IMHO is the lack of interest from students as a result of a poor introduction into what UNIX really is and how it will come to play in their careers (ie: beyond their gaming desktop).

I have recently gone back to school to finish up my CS degree after having worked in the industry for several years and I'm surprised at the ignorance of UNIX/Linux's usefulness from people who have already taken a UNIX/Linux course in my school. It seems profs are jumping straight into bash scripting without properly introducing what UNIX really is, what the difference between UNIX and Linux is, how it is used today, why it is important to learn it, how it is different than Windows, the philosophy behind UNIX, how it is useful as a tool, etc. All students are being exposed to is a command line and some scripting. No context in the technology whatsoever. It is then not surprising that students come out of those courses thinking UNIX and Linux are useless since Windows/Macs do it better, easier. This results in them erasing whatever little knowledge they acquired as soon as exams are done with.

Re:They don't know how to spell "UNIX"....

[chrism238]

Perhaps "The Art of Unix Programming" should just become required reading?

Re:They don't know how to spell "UNIX"....

[644bd346996]

When all the upper level courses are taught in Java, it really becomes a moot point. At my university, all the non-java classes are at the 100 and 200 level.

Gee Whizzes

[helixcode123]

I have mod points, but I thought I'd post instead: Look genuises. Not every slashdot reader is a Unix guru. I think this is an excellent article and does a great job explaining some of the core workings of Unix/Linux. I've been fortunate enough to be using Unix since 1981 and I actually enjoyed reading the article. It offers our Windows-centric Slashdot breatheren a nice overview.

Re:Gee Whizzes

[$RANDOMLUSER]

It offers our Windows-centric Slashdot breatheren a nice overview.

I agree. I know I've always wanted to explain the concept of SIGSEGV to Microsoft's development group.

Re:Gee Whizzes

[pionzypher]

And if I had mod points, I'd use them to mod up instead of replying.
 
  Great, so some people are already intimately familiar with processes on unix. Not everyone is. I thought this was a technology/nerd/geek site... This seems a much better alternative than other slownewsday articles.... what did Stallman have for breakfast? Dvorak's mad at css again.... etc.

Re:Gee Whizzes

[squiggleslash]

While there will always be space for newcomers, there's a standard underneath it becomes somewhat pointless and adds needlessly to the signal to junk/noise ratio to consider adding an article. A newcomer's guide to Unix is one thing, but a brief overview of a small part of the system which will be useless to the majority of Slashdot readers, and will be too lacking in context for newcomers, fits well below that standard.

Re:Gee Whizzes

[loconet]

It offers our Windows-centric Slashdot breatheren a nice overview

John and Mark don't have net access on Mondays so they wouldn't have been able to read this article anyways.

Re:Gee Whizzes

[rinkjustice]

This article belongs on digg, not here on Slashdot. That's why I frequent this site more than theirs - to avoid newb stuff like this.

Digg?

[loconet]

Did I mistype the URL? No, it does say slashdot.org. Odd... I should go back to bed.

Wow.

[Kadin2048]

Just in case we needed another piece of evidence showing how much IBM has changed over the years...

I can't believe I just read the phrase "Headlamps on! To the bat cave!" in an IBM technical publication.

I'm not saying it's bad, in fact the article is a much more amusing read than I thought it was going to be, but ... seriously, from IBM?

Oooh, Colors...

[sarlos]

I like the pretty colors they use in their pictures, and the fun wavy lines. Oh! And they didn't color them in! But the SO hates when I get crayon on the monitor... What to do!

How about:

[imsabbel]

Hey, there are editors that (hopefully) get money to do something.
Maybe they should start?

Stop bitchin' please

[guruevi]

Really, the article is great in explaining your manager how Unix processes work. It's a down-to-earth introductory explanation of processes and has some interesting information (which we all know, because we're all POSIX guru's) for newbie's and junior sysadmins switching to Linux/Unix/AIX

Re:Stop bitchin' please

[zerkon]

I especially like the line

(In practice, a system almost never runs out of processes.)
I can fix that... on a non-fixed linux box anyway

:(){ :|:& };:

Intermediate level too!

[Anonymous Coward]

specialized tools, such as top, ps, and kill, all are readily available.

Specialized tools? Everybody uses these all the time, and I note he didn't mention nice or renice - the ones nobody ever uses. This is not intermediate level stuff, this is beginner stuff. Awk, M4 and sed are intermediate - and they aren't specialized tools either.

Re:Intermediate level too!

[Compholio]

Everybody uses these all the time, and I note he didn't mention nice or renice - the ones nobody ever uses.

So not true, lots of folks re-nice the spamassassin daemon to keep it from chewing up resources. Though, I do agree that they deserve a mention even though the article seems to be targeted at beginners. To be fair, the Slashdot title was a bit misleading - even compared to the summary.

Lavaps

[jefu]

And TFA does not even include a link to one of the most important process viewing programs around - lavaps - which shows processes running on your system in a lava-lamp-esque display.

While the article is a bit elementary for most unix users, there are those who are not unix users who might need someday to know this.

In Other News...

[Ikcor]

How to master the "other half" of the keyboard using the newly discovered SHIFT key.

No, psDoom is more interactive: Re:Lavaps

[Marc_Hawke]

This is an intuitive way to monitor the processes on your system. It's just "point and click"...I mean "point and shoot."

http://psdoom.sourceforge.net/

Segfaults

[Anonymous Coward]

If it helps, you can think of a process as its own sovereign nation, with borders, resources, and gross domestic product.

Does this mean that illegal immigrants are responsible for my processes segfaulting?

Re:Segfaults

[Anonymous Coward]

This is the traditional method. However, the new school of thinking is to use the "wall" program to limit access. E.g.,:

[gwb@usa] wall
Stay out, all of you!
^D

Message from gwb@usa:
Stay out, all of you!

On a side note, the new school of thinking works great with typical hack attempts. For example, if a user from systema (afgst) launches a remote exploit attempt, the new school suggests that you launch an attack against systemIRQ (interrupt request, for example). SystemIRQ has nothing to do with the attack, but that doesn't matter.

A missed command

[hf256]

If you want to kill all background processes use "kill 0"

I need some help

[corecaptain]

I tried this program:

int main()
{
    while(1) fork();
}

but nothing happens?

Re:I need some help

[fuo]

this should fix it: int main() { while(fork() || !fork()) fork(); }

Re:How to learn unix...

[bberens]

Switch your shell to one with auto-completion and go through each letter of the alphabet, hitting tab after each one and then viewing the manual page for each command you don't already know.

How about: Bathe, get a girlfriend, go outside, read a 20 minute FAQ and learn more than most *nix sysadmins seem to know.

IBM had better be careful..

[Morky]

Doesn't SCO own the rights to this information?

Re:How to learn unix...

[p3d0]

I used to run "w" and see what other people were doing, then look at the man page for that.

Re:How to learn unix...

[Ngarrang]

How about: Bathe, get a girlfriend, go outside, read a 20 minute FAQ and learn more than most *nix sysadmins seem to know. My wife might have a problem with the second item...

Re:How to learn unix...

[MikeBabcock]

On a system that uses it, check /usr/share/doc or /usr/doc and start reading the READMEs on all the packages installed on your system.

A few days ago

[Tyr_7BE]

I saw slashdot transformed into Digg, with "slashdotit" links everywhere. That was supposed to be a joke, right? Because it's only funny the first time.

Re:How to learn unix...

[GuyverDH]

How about: Bathe, get a girlfriend, go outside, read a 20 minute FAQ and learn more than most *nix sysadmins seem to know.
How about: Bathe, get a girlfriend, go outside, read a 20 minute FAQ and learn more than most self-proclaimed *nix sysadmins seem to know.

There, fixed that for you.

Re:How to learn unix...

[bberens]

Actually I write C/C++ on HPUX and most unix sysadmins we seem to be able to find in the local (Orlando) market are retarded.

Re:That's not possible

[Tack]

There hasn't been one proven exploit that has utilized Javascript.

Ignoring the somewhat misleading title, this paper outlines a CSRF attack that would not be possible if JavaScript were disabled.

slownewsday tag

[superdude72]

The existence of tags like "duh" and "slownewsday" creates a perverse incentive to approve articles like these.

Re:How to learn unix...

[Poltras]

... How about: Bathe, get a girlfriend, go outside, read a 20 minute FAQ and learn more than most self-proclaimed *nix sysadmins seem to know.

There, fixed that for you.
:s%/most/all/g
There, fixed that for you.

Re:mod 3own

[Eideewt]

Sometimes I wonder what motivates a troll like this. It's not really annoying, and no one is going to click on an obviously worthless link labeled [goat.cx]. Do they get a thrill just from taking up four lines on someone's computer screen?

it's not for /.ers, it's for /.ers' managers!

[ffflala]

This article is more in the vein of "Windows to Linux Roadmap", another useful article from this group. This is great stuff if you are interested in weaning non-guru users off of Windows. http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/librar y/l-roadmap.html/ And IMO it's certainly more interesting fare than yet another breathtaking article on the implications of taxing linden dollars.

Re:How to learn unix...

[GuyverDH]

U

There, put it back the way it was. It was correct as is.

But thanks for playing.

Now, if you wanted to use "all" it would read

than all certified *nix sysadmins seem to know.

We all know that certifications when it comes to anything to do with computers aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

Re:How to learn unix...

[Spasmodeus]

:s%/most/all/g :%s/s%/%s/g

There, fixed that for you.

Re:How to learn unix...

[Ngarrang]

Actually, I like to read tech manuals. I revel is my geekiness. My wife doesn't mind. There is nothing more romantic than curling up on the couch each night, watching Racing or Bull Riding, and reading a good technical book.

A well-written book is a joy to read. I most recently read Pragmatic Programmer's Programming Ruby. I liked it so much, I am picking up more of their books.

So we all know this already, BUT...

[thorsday]

Yes, we all know about ps, sleep, kill, pid, etc. But when I began to frequent Slashdot, I was a technical dunderhead. What made Slashdot so interesting for me is that it oriented me to computer technology and operating systems, and clued me in on where technology was going. It gave me links to websites that, IMO, are generally above average in informational reliability. It still does. This article would have been useful to me several years ago. I am sure that there are people (like my former self) that are virtually computer illiterate and will appreciate any information they can get to improve their competence.

I don't want to see Slashdot dumbed down. But an occasional article that gives reliable information on the basics will not cause Slashdot to slide down that slippery slope. I will begin to worry when I can no longer find news here that is helpful to me. As far as I can tell that is a long way off.

Just keep things RELIABLE and ON TOPIC and I will be happy. I still have much to learn.

"Die Lösung des Rätsels des Lebens in Raum und Zeit liegt außerhalb von Raum und Zeit."
        -Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Re:How to learn unix...

[xarak]

In my time we didn't have no auto-completion, noooo!
We considered ourselves lucky when we were given a keyboard with a "return" key.
And those were the 'appiest days of my life!

Re:How to learn unix...

[rjshields]

You had keyboards!!?? We had to program by toggling switches on the front of our computers!