How to continue to learn?

classic1977 · 2014-07-15 14:39:20

Unsure where to post this, feel free to move.

I installed arch last week, so far minimal issues. System is running great, got my DLNA server up, installed my dev software, and even got some Windows games running great with PlayOnLinux... I learned so much about Linux in the first few days, and had so much fun - but now that my system is running optimally, I feel like I've plateaued. Anybody have any tips or advice on how to keep learning and become more Linux proficient?

Kartious · 2014-07-15 14:59:10

For me for Arch Linux it would be

- Read the Forum Etiquette, it will make your life here much easier on these forums in the long run.

- Reading the Arch Wiki is a great source of detailed information for learning.

- I would also have a good look at the forums every now and again, you can learn solutions for yourself and good explanations on why "X" issue isn't working for other users, especially if its a common issue.

- Finally just general research... Not really knowing your background experience with Linux it would just easier for yourself to make targets of what you want to learn or achieve and then do that. Could be anything from SSH encryption to setting up Samba or compiling a custom kernel.

Trilby · 2014-07-15 15:03:57

There are lots of guides/tutorials out there (e.g. Greg's wiki for Bash), but really I think the best learning comes from scratching our own personal itches. Look at whatever you do on your computer and ask if any of it seems repetative, tedious, etc. Is there something that could (in a perfect world) be streamlined, even if you don't know if it would be possible to streamline it. Then ... figure out how. This might be installing/learning a new tool, or it might drive you to create a new tool.

The only other thing I've done to learn is allow my maniacal minimalism to have free reign. I'll look at all installed packages and eliminate anything I don't understand. Sometimes this leads to some breakage (a quick repair is to reinstall the package in question), sometimes it leads to a lighter system - but it always leads to learning. I strive to not have *any* package installed for which I don't know exactly what it is doing and how it is doing it.

ooo · 2014-07-15 15:04:01

there's always something to tweak(break) in your system.
browse the wiki and forum and I bet you'll find plenty of interest.

or learn to code (if you can't already) and start hacking the kernel or whatever project you find interesting, or even start you own.

there's also lots other of things you can do to help arch linux and other open source projects that you might find rewarding.

xero · 2014-07-15 15:11:33

if tweaking the system peaks your interest, perhaps try out a few new WM/DEs. if you've always used floating window managers, give a tiler like dwm, awesome, or herbstluftwm a shot. perhaps learn about GTK and try creating your own themes.

if you're interested in coding perhaps try learning to write some bash script. of if web is more your focus, setup a localhost webserver and learn about server side programming in php, javascript, sql, etc.

decide what you're interested in, set a goal in that area, and work towards it. have fun!

clfarron4 · 2014-07-15 21:21:04

ooo wrote:

there's always something to tweak(break) in your system.

Break. Fix. Find something new to break. Repeat.

That's what I've done.

Mario Chapa · 2014-07-16 01:29:32

I started using Arch because my professor recommended me to become proficient in Linux as it is much better than windows for research, so I have had a experience similar to yours, over the last year and a half that I have been using arch, I have learn more about how a computer and the OS works than I did before.

I have a notebook where I wrote all the nice stuff I did to my PC that I though would be nice writing down, so this are some suggestions that you might find interesting and will teach you a lot:

- Try AwesomeWM : It is a tiling manager that is written in lua and can be configured to your liking by editing a configuration file (of course, written in lua)
Using AWM will bring some issues that will need to do some research and experimentation to solve, like for example, shutting down or restarting the system (Pro tip: using systemctl will help you with this)

- Try the zsh shell (install, make it your default shell, enable syntax highlighting, enable tab completion with menu selection, directory history, etc etc)
- Learn Vim, the text editor
- Check out Unison. If you have two computers (for example, I have a laptop I use at home and the computer in my lab) and you want to have some files synchronized between the two.
- Change to the ck-kernel ( https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/linux-ck )

Besides these activities, I would recommend that for every program you want to use or function you want to add to your system, always go for a program that has command-line interfase. you always learn new things about your OS when working on the command line.

rgb-one · 2014-07-16 02:17:44

I would say a bare bones system will provide the conditions for you to learn more about Linux. That is what I am doing now to increase my knowledge of Linux. So install few programs like vim and vifm and other command line applications, make use of the terminal for everything eg. mounting and un-mounting disks, automating tasks with scripts etc. Also you can install gentoo. There is much to learn from the gentoo handbook as well as the arch wiki.

Last edited by rgb-one (2014-07-16 03:05:10)

jakobcreutzfeldt · 2014-07-16 10:33:55

Here are my recommendations

As others have mentioned: experiment, break stuff, fix your mistakes, repeat
I say do not start using things like zsh until you understand the basics (bash, in this example) very well.
Read manuals! This might not be your thing but for me, I learned a ton by just casually reading manuals. A lot of core GNU programs, eg coreutils, have full manuals available via the 'info' command. Others have quite extensive man pages, though man pages are more difficult to casually browse due to a lack of a master index (hint: use the 'apropos' command to find man pages related to a particular topic, or simply run 'pacman -Ql foo | grep /usr/share/man' to find man pages associated with a package you're interested in learning about)
Avoid installing full desktop environments. Once I stopped using Gnome and tried setting up my own environment made up of the tools I wanted, I learned a lot about what comprises a graphical working environment. Start with a window manager, and then go from there. I recommend something extremely simple like dwm so you don't get completely lost just customizing it, so you can instead focus on all the other things first. Once you get used to that wm, you can try out some more complicated/configurable ones
Don't take on too much at once. Try to focus on customizing/configuring only one or two components of your system at a time. This will help you absorb the information on that component more easily.

Have fun!

classic1977 · 2014-07-16 13:24:03

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think for now I will continue to read manuals, get more familiar with bash, and also get LAMP running and develop my own website (maybe force myself to edit a bit in vim). I'll see you all around!

Last edited by classic1977 (2014-07-16 13:24:30)

ewaller · 2014-07-16 16:25:03

Also, play along with the forums at home. Look at the problems others are having and try to understand them. See how the seasoned members diagnose problems by the questions they ask and the answers they provide. When you have the confidence and a bit of experience, try to help others with things you are sure you know. I find that teaching others is a great way to really learn how something works.

Trilby · 2014-07-16 16:34:13

ewaller wrote:

try to help others with things you are sure you know.

Or be like me and try to help while talking out of your backside. There's no better learning experience than the public humilation of being completely wrong

I've heard it said that intelligence is knowledge gained without having to make mistakes. Wisdom is knowledge gained by making mistakes. So by all accounts I should be very wise by now ... should be. Oh well.

Last edited by Trilby (2014-07-16 16:36:50)

clfarron4 · 2014-07-16 19:57:30

Trilby wrote:

ewaller wrote:
try to help others with things you are sure you know.
Or be like me and try to help while talking out of your backside.

I don't think I've had any major humiliations yet...

Runiq · 2014-07-16 20:06:30

Trilby wrote:

ewaller wrote:
try to help others with things you are sure you know.
Or be like me and try to help while talking out of your backside. There's no better learning experience than the public humilation of being completely wrong
I've heard it said that intelligence is knowledge gained without having to make mistakes. Wisdom is knowledge gained by making mistakes. So by all accounts I should be very wise by now ... should be. Oh well.

Glad to see I'm not alone, heh.

xero · 2014-07-17 14:45:15

classic1977 wrote:

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think for now I will continue to read manuals, get more familiar with bash, and also get LAMP running and develop my own website (maybe force myself to edit a bit in vim). I'll see you all around!

you will never learn vim (or anything for that matter) if you dont force yourself to use it.

this is a great online resource for learning the vim basics: http://www.openvim.com/tutorial.html

Kartious · 2014-07-18 07:36:28

clfarron4 wrote:

Trilby wrote:
ewaller wrote:
try to help others with things you are sure you know.
Or be like me and try to help while talking out of your backside.
I don't think I've had any major humiliations yet...

As long as we take on board people correcting us and then not cause a massive flair about it, people shouldn't really be too bothered.... unless its some bad advice about creating some dodgy symbolic links then kill them with pitch forks and torches...

Cyrusm · 2014-07-18 13:35:43

I'm of the opinion that if you want to learn more about your system, and continue tweaking your system to your needs, you need to be doing something with the system. You could learn/do programming, that's probably the most common, however there are other options as well. You could do art, writing, electronics design, build and host your own web page or media server, do mathematical simulations for fun and profit! Basically, I just suggest using your computer as more than just a web-browser. The more you do, the more you will learn.

Arch Linux

#1 2014-07-15 14:39:20

How to continue to learn?

#2 2014-07-15 14:59:10

Re: How to continue to learn?

#3 2014-07-15 15:03:57

Re: How to continue to learn?

#4 2014-07-15 15:04:01

Re: How to continue to learn?

#5 2014-07-15 15:11:33

Re: How to continue to learn?

#6 2014-07-15 21:21:04

Re: How to continue to learn?

#7 2014-07-16 01:29:32

Re: How to continue to learn?

#8 2014-07-16 02:17:44

Re: How to continue to learn?

#9 2014-07-16 10:33:55

Re: How to continue to learn?

#10 2014-07-16 13:24:03

Re: How to continue to learn?

#11 2014-07-16 16:25:03

Re: How to continue to learn?

#12 2014-07-16 16:34:13

Re: How to continue to learn?

#13 2014-07-16 19:57:30

Re: How to continue to learn?

#14 2014-07-16 20:06:30

Re: How to continue to learn?

#15 2014-07-17 14:45:15

Re: How to continue to learn?

#16 2014-07-18 07:36:28

Re: How to continue to learn?

#17 2014-07-18 13:35:43

Re: How to continue to learn?

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