I want to learn more about linux

Dethredic · 2009-06-24 02:59:58

So, I started off with Ubuntu about 5 months ago. It was spring break and I got bored of Ubuntu so I decided to install Arch. Things went well and I have never looked back. After about a month of really customizing and figuring stuff out I felt smarter, but when I put things into perspective I still feel as though I am lacking knowledge.

I have currently come to a point where I love my setup and don't want to change stuff in case I mess it up. Don't worry I have good news. I will be receiving a laptop soon and that is going to be my guinea pig for the summer.

Some of my ideas so far:

1) learn vim - I tried it back in my Ubuntu days, but it was too hard so I just used nano. I now feel as though I should know how to use it...

2) try a tiling window manager - With Arch came openbox, and although it was very different from gnome / explorer.exe it has grown on me and I could never go back.

3) learn to program - I know some very basic stuff, but I could never make a functional program. Considering I am going into "computer engineering" next year it may be a good idea.

any suggestions on other things (chances are I haven't done it), or how to do the ones already on my list would be awesome.

Peasantoid · 2009-06-24 03:02:04

1) Learning vi(m) is a good idea. (I hear Emacs is nice too.)
2) Also a good idea. Tiling WMs are great. (I recommend Musca.)
3) Good idea. (Try not to use Java unless you absolutely need to. C recommended, so you get a solid base.)

Last edited by Peasantoid (2009-06-24 03:06:01)

Acecero · 2009-06-24 03:25:51

http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=59083&p=1

Dethredic · 2009-06-24 14:17:40

Thanks guys.

Trent · 2009-06-24 14:40:31

It's great that you want to learn more. Eric S. Raymond has written a how-to on becoming a hacker at http://catb.org/esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html which I strongly recommend.

Vim is my favorite editor, and the in-program help will get you places (type :help) -- try to work your way through the whole thing, and come back to it when you have questions. It's really quite powerful. (I never got into emacs myself, but you might try that too.)

As for programming, Java isn't so bad as a language, but I have to agree that it's not a good choice for learning. Don't start with C, though -- in fact, start with almost anything else. High level languages like Python, Perl, Ruby, sh are recommended. When you feel like you are up to learning C, get a copy of the white bible (The C Programming Language, 2nd ed., by Kernighan and Ritchie).

Arch isn't a bad place for learning, but I would also suggest running Slackware, Gentoo, and/or Debian on the side for the experience.

lifeafter2am · 2009-06-24 14:47:11

1) Try out Emacs too, and see which one fits your needs best.
2) I am a former FluxBox user, now using XMonad, and will never go back; so yes, try a few tiling WM's.
3) I recommend either Perl or Python to start, and learn to work with the shell writing scripts as well.

I also agree with Trent, that if you can, install Gentoo. The process, while simular to Arch, holds you hand even less and is generally a great learning experience for not only learning the system, but also how compiling works and compilier flags and bulid flags and such.

Last edited by lifeafter2am (2009-06-24 14:47:31)

Themaister · 2009-06-24 15:02:41

Heck, if you want to do it real hardcore, there's always LFS Gentoo isn't really that much harder than Arch if you know how to partition, chroot and compile a kernel manually.

Last edited by Themaister (2009-06-24 15:05:17)

lifeafter2am · 2009-06-24 15:03:36

Themaister wrote:

Heck, if you want to do it real hardcore, there's always LFS

I did one of those once. The key word there is once.

Themaister · 2009-06-24 15:06:02

Indeed. I did that once too, and only once. 5 hours wasted of my life, but hey.

Last edited by Themaister (2009-06-24 15:06:33)

Dethredic · 2009-06-24 15:23:41

Well, I don't think I am at the LFS point yet. Maybe if I get really bored........

Acecero · 2009-06-24 15:44:26

Dethredic wrote:

Well, I don't think I am at the LFS point yet. Maybe if I get really bored........

Give it a shot, I'm thinking about doing one soon for the learning.

jrib · 2009-06-24 16:39:53

You should read the rute book: http://rute.2038bug.com/rute.html.gz

Dethredic · 2009-06-24 21:12:39

jrib wrote:

You should read the rute book: http://rute.2038bug.com/rute.html.gz

I am not so much a fan of just reading. I would rather play with stuff that is out of my knowledge range, screw something up by accident then spend a while trying to fix it. Even if I don't break something I still learn from new projects.

olovram · 2009-06-24 23:33:35

Dethredic wrote:

It was spring break and I got bored of Ubuntu so I decided to install Arch.

That is such an awful way to waste a sping break.

Daenyth · 2009-06-25 00:02:05

Trent wrote:

Arch isn't a bad place for learning, but I would also suggest running Slackware, [...]

-1 from me. After having used slack, I can say the only that I learned on there that Arch couldn't have taught me was that compiling sucks.

sa · 2009-06-25 00:49:14

I used ubuntu for a couple months too and wanted something more complicated. Ever since I started using Arch about a year ago, I just installed it to a clean hard drive with the Beginner's install guide (on the wiki) by my side, and I worked through every problem I came across. Forcing myself to solve every problem instead of finding a workaround made me learn a LOT in the first month or two of using Arch alone. I like Slack too but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone at this point in time. But do take time to learn vim or emacs, I am just breaking away from nano now...i have put off a real text editor for much too long!

Also yeah, say goodbye to your whole spring break (and beyond)

Ranguvar · 2009-06-25 01:51:11

sa wrote:

I used ubuntu for a couple months too and wanted something more complicated.

-1, Arch is way more simple than the Buntu
But I know what you mean.

Last edited by Ranguvar (2009-06-25 01:51:28)

bernarcher · 2009-06-25 09:25:40

Dethredic wrote:

Well, I don't think I am at the LFS point yet. Maybe if I get really bored........

No need to do a real install.
Just take your time to read the LFS book (and the BLFS one afterwards, too). What you do learn there may prove worthwile once you'll try out the Arch ABS building system.

I used (B)LFS for years until I ran out of time when I had to set up a new system. Thanks to Arch I have almost the same flexibility while saving a lot of time.

Last edited by bernarcher (2009-06-25 09:30:10)

Blue Peppers · 2009-06-25 16:51:10

1) learn vim - I tried it back in my Ubuntu days, but it was too hard so I just used nano. I now feel as though I should know how to use it...

Why bother? Just learn the deleat comands, the input comands, the save commands, and paste commands. Don't let the editor rule you, it is ment to be used.

2) try a tiling window manager - With Arch came openbox, and although it was very different from gnome / explorer.exe it has grown on me and I could never go back.

I wouldn't bother. I tried a tiling WM, but I'm on KDE mod atm, and while I miss cirtain things, I think I found most of them in non tiling WM. I especialy recoment JWM, it's funny at first, but I grew to love it, and my KDEmod works very similarly now

3) learn to program - I know some very basic stuff, but I could never make a functional program. Considering I am going into "computer engineering" next year it may be a good idea.

I suggest Python, as it has many great resorces (I suggest "Learning Python", by O'Reilly) and is commenly used. It also gets you into many good habits (forced indentation, easy documentation strings, and general good code manners), and the syntax is very clean.

any suggestions on other things (chances are I haven't done it), or how to do the ones already on my list would be awesome.

Learn how to use bash properly. By that I mean being able to use almost all of bash's features. It's an incredibly powerfull tool, and you do it a disservice if you do not learn it fully.

brisbin33 · 2009-06-25 17:02:13

i'd have to disagree with Blue Peppers on some points.

learn vim and learn it well. not only it is an amazingly efficient way to edit text files (when used properly), but you'll soon notice a whole myriad of linux programs respect vim-style key bindings and it'll make use of those programs quicker and more enjoyable too.

i recently switched from openbox to xmonad and i _love_ it. the walk-through on the xmonad site gets one comfortable creating and moving windows very quickly and you'll realize your vim-style keybindings make this a very efficient way to manage windows.

on the last point, i'd fully agree with Blue Peppers that bash (or whatever shell you prefer) should be learned as completely as possible. writing shell scripts is easy, fulfilling, and will help you more quickly learn and implement bashisms into your daily CLI work (as an example, i haven't used my file manager in god knows how long).

writings complex bash scripts that do useful things will also provide a good foundation for moving up the 'language-ladder' as i think of it, through python, perl, ruby, maybe C? i dunno, i'm still just scripting...

anyways, welcome. if you're willing to read man and wiki pages and be patient with the process, you'll be surprised a year from now at how much more you've learned... and each year after that.

jrib · 2009-06-26 05:00:18

Dethredic wrote:

jrib wrote:
You should read the rute book: http://rute.2038bug.com/rute.html.gz
I am not so much a fan of just reading. I would rather play with stuff that is out of my knowledge range, screw something up by accident then spend a while trying to fix it. Even if I don't break something I still learn from new projects.

Don't just read, try what you read

barzam · 2009-06-26 13:20:43

I think I'm at more or less the same position as the OP. However, I read the vim help files and forced myself to use vim for all my editing needs, that's a great way to teach yourself how to use it. I haven't looked back since, but I still have tons to learn, which is a great thing as it's very fun to use it.

I also dumped my flux/openbox desktops and installed awesome (I'm since then an awesome user btw). It's a very fun tiling WM, and the standard config is good enough to use if you (like me) don't understand how to edit most of it!

Ranguvar · 2009-06-27 01:03:59

I find the best way to learn an OS is to try crazy stuff on a whim, break everything, and then try to fix it instead of reinstalling. Not kidding Put Arch in a VM or something, and go crazy. Hey, try deleting your /etc/ (and no searching the forums for hints) Break stuff and then figure out how to fix it.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-06-24 02:59:58

I want to learn more about linux

#2 2009-06-24 03:02:04

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#3 2009-06-24 03:25:51

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#5 2009-06-24 14:40:31

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#6 2009-06-24 14:47:11

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