distro settings knowledge management

alef · 2009-09-24 14:26:22

Hello,

I am sorry if similar post exists, but I did not really know which keyword to use.

My question is addressed to people who are not fluent in Linux, and need to remember the changes they do to the system, so that they can go back to it in the future if necessary.

For example, I have setup a connection to the wifi (WPA) during startup, but few days afterwards I travelled somewhere and had to connect to a new SSID, but I didn't remember the location of the file to edit.

I was thinking to use a spreadsheet where I would keep track of all change I do so that I know how to get back to this in the future, but there maybe already exists a simple tool doing something similar ?

spreadsheet would contain few columns for example

NAME | DESCRIPTION | MODIFIED FILES | TIPS URL | COMMENTS

what do you think ? Thanks for your advices.

.:B:. · 2009-09-24 14:54:37

I think the essence of knowledge is that one *knows* it. You can't claim to know something if you always have to refer to documentation to be able to use it. That's not knowledge; it's just reference material.

If you keep looking up stuff, you won't learn anything, and you won't know anything. It might be easy in the short run (and certainly helpful) but you won't learn from it if you keep using it, at least not for such trivial purposes. There's a point where you need to memorise stuff.

chpln · 2009-09-24 15:18:04

When I was starting out I took a rather simplistic approach: I'd use a single piece of paper and several coloured pens to scribble down notes as I made changes. One sheet of paper would typically last a month or so, and as it was on the desk beside me, I'd re-read it without thinking. Eventually I had memorised the location and purpose of each file I'd looked to modify.

That said, I think I'd too would now opt for a more modern approach. For the note format, I wouldn't use anything other than plain text. If you ever need to refer to it and, for example, you're unable to start X, you'll appreciate it. With the structure, your example looks pretty comprehensive. I might tend to also add a `date' field and make a habit of leaving detailed comments in the modified file where possible.

Gradually though, you'll likely find you no longer need a reference -- you'll become familiar with the purpose of each package, and either know or be able to determine the place(s) it stores its files and exactly how it needs to be changed.

lolilolicon · 2009-09-24 15:52:38

1. I think as a beginner, one probably needs to refer to the wiki pages now and then, so get it all to your local machine:

$ pacman -S arch-wiki-docs

2. I think it's good practice to take notes in a personal and organized way. You can try some note-taking apps: I've tried notecase and zim and they both work fine. Any other good note-taking apps guys?

3. For the wifi thing, you may want to try some more graphical approach. For example, wicd will help you setup your wired/wireless connections easily. Generally, if you don't want to be bothered to edit trivial stuff back and forth, that's what those little frontends are for. Ah, writing little (bash) scripts is very helpful to automate stuff also. And it's simple, lightweight, and fun.

alef · 2009-09-25 11:37:43

Thanks for your tips all of you :-)

Gen2ly · 2009-09-25 20:41:57

B wrote:

I think the essence of knowledge is that one *knows* it. You can't claim to know something if you always have to refer to documentation to be able to use it. That's not knowledge; it's just reference material.
If you keep looking up stuff, you won't learn anything, and you won't know anything. It might be easy in the short run (and certainly helpful) but you won't learn from it if you keep using it, at least not for such trivial purposes. There's a point where you need to memorise stuff.

lol B, you must write documents for a living. Well said though.

For me, I've had to reinstall six months, a year later and I'd get to a step and be like "I thought that I'd remember that... huh." So i write down what I do during the process and blog about it. Someone might just come across it and say, "So that's how you do it".

Last edited by Gen2ly (2009-09-25 20:42:30)

thayer · 2009-09-25 21:53:30

FWIW I have a directory, ~/linux/archdocs and in it I keep a separate text file for each workaround/howto I write for my system. When I want to view them all, I just run cat ~/linux/archdocs/* | less and search for whatever I need. Keeps things simple and I can refer to it offline when necessary. In this directory I also have an install-$HOSTNAME.txt for each PC/netbook I manage--it contains the basic kernel modules and hacks necessary to get up and running on a fresh install.

Last edited by thayer (2009-09-25 21:55:11)

rwd · 2009-11-07 14:16:38

I do something similar to Thayer. I keep notes for how to configure/fix things in plain text files in a folder hierarchy, and made a php shell script that creates a html page with a treeview from it. That way i can both look at my notes from a browser and or grep/cat from the commandline if necessary. With plain text you're not depending on any special tools to read them. How do you read your spreadsheet when x won't start for example .

It also a good idea to make a backup of any config file that you change, and regular system backups, for example with rdiff-backup, so you can go back to a previous configuration.

Last edited by rwd (2009-11-07 14:48:45)

Arch Linux

#1 2009-09-24 14:26:22

distro settings knowledge management

#2 2009-09-24 14:54:37

Re: distro settings knowledge management

#3 2009-09-24 15:18:04

Re: distro settings knowledge management

#4 2009-09-24 15:52:38

Re: distro settings knowledge management

#5 2009-09-25 11:37:43

Re: distro settings knowledge management

#6 2009-09-25 20:41:57

Re: distro settings knowledge management

#7 2009-09-25 21:53:30

Re: distro settings knowledge management

#8 2009-11-07 14:16:38

Re: distro settings knowledge management

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