How do you keep learning Arch?

jgreen1tc · 2011-06-14 17:13:17

I'm still really new to Linux. Arch has been my first distribution and I've only been using it since the start of my summer break from college. I've learned a lot about Linux in general from installing Arch and from troubleshooting my problems. But now that I have everything working (except Wine, but I'll do that later), I feel like I am actually *learning* Arch/Linux less, and just *using* the programs more (I already know how to use the open source software since that's what I used on Windows). I feel like I don't know as much as I could about my operating system and yet I am at a point where I can see myself settling with the knowledge I have now (like I did with Windows). What are some tips you can give to keep people learning Arch and Linux in general after this point (besides purposefully breaking something as that is obvious and also unwanted)?

A couple ideas I had was to try a few more distros on Virtual Box, and also teach myself to use vim instead of nano. Any other suggestions?

Inxsible · 2011-06-14 17:16:31

Keep tinkering with your system. Try out new things like different WMs, system monitors. Keep changing things around and pretty soon you will be comfortable changing major things like using different kernels or init methods etc.

Also, search the forums. There have been many threads asking similar questions and many have a lot of tips.

karol · 2011-06-14 17:30:49

Do everything from the wiki and investigate when something doesn't work to bring it up to date ;P

ANOKNUSA · 2011-06-14 17:35:23

+1 to Inxsible's ideas. I've learned everything I know about Linux by a) researching various concepts and issues; b) trying out new, interesting software; and c) breaking the hell out of my system, and then following steps a) and b) all over again. Arch is the perfect distro for me, is what I'm sayin'. Since my graphics card stopped playing nice with KWin around KDE 4.6.1, I've played around with different DEs/WMs, finally settling on Awesome (conceptually, it's similar to Plasma in that it's modular and highly configurable; you just need to edit a config file, instead of using drag-and-drop utilities). This exposed me to Lua, which has a fairly simple syntax, and most configs for it (luakit, clyde, etc.) are well-anotated. I need a little stability right now, but once I get the breathing room, I plan on trying out systemd to see if it improves my already acceptable boot time, just for the hell of it.

sitquietly · 2011-06-14 17:47:45

jgreen1tc wrote:

... I've learned a lot about Linux in general from installing Arch and from troubleshooting my problems. ... What are some tips you can give to keep people learning Arch and Linux in general after this point?

Read man pages, README files from the source code, and any other provided documentation instead of "googling". Most information that we need to understand how everything works is already installed on our computers (but I often forget to read it ).

BTW Konqueror makes a good man page reader: just enter "man:" in the location bar to start browsing the man pages, or "info:" to browse the info.

wonder · 2011-06-14 17:50:47

break it and start fixing

Last edited by wonder (2011-06-14 17:52:06)

falconindy · 2011-06-14 17:53:51

Get involved. TrollingReading the mailing lists (arch-dev-public, aur-dev, arch-projects) is a good place to start. The bug tracker can always use help, and yeah... break stuff, and figure out how to fix it (without asking others for help unless you're really stuck and have run out of ideas).

imatechguy · 2011-06-14 18:02:37

Read the forums, particularly the Newbie Corner and Installation sections. Try to understand the solution and why it worked when something gets solved. If it's unsolved and a subject that appeals to you try and find a solution yourself. As you get more comfortable and/or appealing subject matter is lacking in those sections then branch out into other sections that hold an interest for you. Try different packages to do the things you're currently doing. Since by their nature they are usually fairly minimal, which also tends to mean they need a good bit of configuring, check out the Light & Fast Award threads and give some of those packages a try. Just start with the stuff you like and expand from there. Also don't forget that just because you have your system "working" doesn't mean you can't "optimize" it.

jocheem67 · 2011-06-14 18:04:34

Just use it. That's what computers and their OS'es are about.
Hope that you won't run into problems too often, so that you don't have to learn all the ins and outs. They're a pain. Config-files, tty's, busybox, brrrr......at least I don't like 'm.
Thankfully arch got a way with being pretty stable, and it it isn't there's help in the forums and in the google.
If you really wanna learn, I'd say learn a programming language..
After 5 years I'm only good at using some multimedia CLI tools >> mplayer/mencoder/ffmpeg. Believe me, learning these tools is already a hobby as such:)

Jelle · 2011-06-14 18:48:38

There's a lot of nice WMs and DEs to try out, many ways to speed up your booting, increase your 'cli-skills', make the system more responsive, more secure, better looking. I scan certain topics (like the screenshot threads, systemd/e4rat topics, try-this section etc., but also problems to see if I can help out or see what's going on) to get some inspiration for endless tinkering and more understanding.
I try stuff for a certain period of time and set them up properly to see if I like it (file managers, terminal emulators/multiplexers, browsers, mail clients; you get it). Sometimes things stick and sometimes my original configuration was better. Every now and then I think of something that's not in the repos/aur/forum and I write a little script for it myself. For me (when I have some time on my hands), it's more about the journey than the destination.

MurdersLastCrow · 2011-06-16 08:33:19

Trust me, Linux is simpler than it seems. You almost have to create complexity these days, by customizing your system to death, compiling your own kernel, or taking the ultimate step and learning how to do some basic programming. But honestly, the Linux world is full of great software, and that's the main thing you will always continue to learn- how to utilize interesting programs. From a user perspective, even with Arch, you can learn pretty much all of the essentials with a good look at the Wiki. The Arch Wiki is probably the number one resource for things.

After trying some WMs and different environments to see what suits you best, all you can really do is stay up to date with what's going on in open source and maybe get involved in development. You're sure to learn a lot if you end up making a few PKGBUILDS. But really, if you know Arch well, you already know most Linux distributions better than the majority of Linux users.

So just use the software and enjoy it- the Linux desktop changes gradually, but with consistent innovation, so there will always be more to learn and do. Whatever interests you most, see what's going on there with Linux, whether it's a hobby or a certain type of technology. That's probably how to get the most out of the community and the software.

Awebb · 2011-06-16 09:10:17

Just wait for a major update of something utterly important (python3, gnome3, kernel3... wait, what?). Gnome 3 forced me to learn how a desktop really works and what I need to make a seamless desktop tick. I now understand basic things like dbus, udev, policykit, consolekit... and I bet the new kernel numbers will teach me how to use a hex editor,

Cyrusm · 2011-06-16 16:00:00

jgreen1tc wrote:

I feel like I am actually *learning* Arch/Linux less, and just *using* the programs more. I feel like I don't know as much as I could about my operating system and yet I am at a point where I can see myself settling with the knowledge I have now (like I did with Windows). What are some tips you can give to keep people learning Arch and Linux in general after this point (besides purposefully breaking something as that is obvious and also unwanted)?

If you really think about it, you are rarely using Linux. everything is just a collection of small programs running ON linux (even the little ones like ls, pwd, etc...) Just do as everyone above has said, keep exploring, trying alternative programs, building a system that you are comfortable with. Arch is kind of like a bonzai tree, over years you try new things, make small tweaks, and end up with a system that is unique, elegant, and does exactly what YOU designed it to do. Remember that an operating system is just a tool. you don't stare at a screwdriver and wonder about it's intricacies. you just take it and go find some screws to turn.

jgreen1tc · 2011-06-16 16:31:14

Thanks everyone for your input so far. It's getting me pretty motivated to learn more about my system.

Cyrusm wrote:

Remember that an operating system is just a tool. you don't stare at a screwdriver and wonder about it's intricacies. you just take it and go find some screws to turn.

This is an interesting philosophy. Although I think some tools can be (and should be) wondered about or else they will never be improved. I guess an answer to my original question would be to always try to improve my system in some way since this requires wondering about and learning my system better (Which as been the general consensus anyway).

Thanks again, guys!

scenox · 2011-06-16 22:53:42

I think it wasn't mentioned, you could also use [testing] repo, you would learn a lot. Also read wiki pages like 'Maximize performance' and try to understand the background, you can also add things in the wiki. Beside Linux you can try all the packages out there and find the most useful packages for you. Furthermore, you can try building up a home network with linux servers, virtualisation, streaming OS over network or something like that. Be creative You can also learn programming languages on Linux and actively develop packages.

dakor · 2011-06-17 01:22:33

Adopt a pkg in the AUR.

Last edited by dakor (2011-06-17 01:22:56)

Misfit138 · 2011-06-19 02:02:35

Cyrusm wrote:

Remember that an operating system is just a tool. you don't stare at a screwdriver and wonder about it's intricacies. you just take it and go find some screws to turn.

Well, in the case of GNU/Linux, it's more like a sonic screwdriver

Ari'osika · 2011-06-19 05:49:06

wonder wrote:

break it and start fixing

Ditto on that, [to the op] but I also install, break, fix other source-level distros to 'learn' Arch and learn about linux in general.

swarmer · 2011-06-20 20:19:31

Build LFS. I'm building it in VM now and it's giving me great amount of knowledge of Linux, from insane ln syntax variations to overall architecture.

krum · 2011-06-29 04:50:54

swarmer wrote:

Build LFS. I'm building it in VM now and it's giving me great amount of knowledge of Linux, from insane ln syntax variations to overall architecture.

+1 for LFS!

http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/

Last edited by krum (2011-06-29 04:52:33)

rwd · 2011-06-29 10:50:22

It depends on what your goals are. If you just want enough knowledge to keep the system running then reading the forum, wiki and manpages plus a bit of googling should be enough in my experience. If you want to become a sysadmin or developer you better buy a few good books to see the 'big picture' of why things are designed the way they are, and not just a collection of trivialities about some specific configuration file or tool. Besides reading you learn by tinkering: Learn programming in python and bash, or even c. Set up a mailserver and mess with it, try a distributed filesystem stuff like that.

Last edited by rwd (2011-06-29 11:12:29)

julian516 · 2011-07-09 17:32:03

I am a relatively new Arch user and a 4-5 year Linux user, so this is an interesting question to me.

1. Learn vim. Like Arch it is very simple, but the simplicity has a learning curve. The good news is that it will get in your fingers pretty quickly, it is installed on about anything you might run, and you can do about anything with it.

2. If you are new to Linux as well as Arch, man pages are invaluable. Something like Granneman, Linux Phrasebook can be helpful.

3. So now we get to learning Arch. The wiki is absolutely invaluable and by far the best I have encountered, so spend time there. If nothing else learn all you can about pacman because it is THE essential tool.

4. As you read, try things. No doubt about it something will break sooner or later and it is good exercise to figure out why and fix it. I have had to do this several times already.

5. Assuming you have the disk space, consider two Arch installations. Be conservative with the first so you can always get to it and get work done when you need to do it. Then use a second installation as your test-bed. If something breaks -- and it will I suspect -- you can always get to your other installation if something work-related just has to get out the door.

aardwolf · 2011-07-11 12:55:22

To be honest, I don't think I've ever been learning Archlinux.

Archlinux has been running 3 years on one PC and then 4 on another, without ever reinstalling it. It requires almost no maintanance, much less than Windows does, and it survives 4 years of upgrades better than Ubuntu does. I don't know where this "Archlinux is for advanced users" thing comes from.

So thanks a lot to the Archlinux developers!

I hope using it rather than contributing is ok though, sorry for that

Last edited by aardwolf (2011-07-11 13:17:43)

Arch Linux

#1 2011-06-14 17:13:17

How do you keep learning Arch?

#2 2011-06-14 17:16:31

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#5 2011-06-14 17:47:45

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#6 2011-06-14 17:50:47

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#7 2011-06-14 17:53:51

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