[KLUG Members] Linux tutor.

[Bruce Smith]

> 3.  (This is one I discovered on my own being an IT guy) How much you 
> really need to learn basics in command line.

YES!!!

When I first started with Unix, I set down with a printed manual of all
the commands, and went though most of them one at a time in front of a
terminal, trying them.  I skipped some that didn't apply to our system,
but I went though the majority of commands.

This was back before the wide selection of books available now.

> 4.  I still don't understand scripts at all. 

Think of scripts as DOS .bat scripts, with one BIG difference.
With DOS, you have what, about 50 commands you can put in the file?
With Linux/Unix, you have literally THOUSANDS of commands available!
Add the builtin shell commands and you have a programming language
similar in power to something like BASIC.

Pressing TAB twice at my command prompt now, the system ask me if I
really want to list all 2630 possibilities.  And those are only the
external commands, not the ones build into my shell.  "root" has 3002
external commands available (additional administration commands).  Plus
I don't have all the commands available in my distribution installed ...
(don't be overwhelmed, you don't need to know them all :)

I would recommend a good book on shell programming if you really want to
get good at this.  And stick with the borne/bash/korn/posix type of
shell programming, stay away from the C-shell (csh/tcsh) in my biased
opinion (it's not as portable and not commonly used any more).

> I just need to learn the little "tricks" as Bruce put it.

Well, you also need to learn the fundamentals.  Probably first.  :-)

If we're going continue this thread, let's move it to the novice list.

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Bruce Smith                bruce@armintl.com
System Administrator / Network Administrator
Armstrong International, Inc.
Three Rivers, Michigan  49093  USA
http://www.armstrong-intl.com/
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