Learning Linux

[dclamp]

I thought it was about time that i learned how to use linux. and i mean the command line stuff. It has always looked interesting to me, but i have never known how to use it.

A Google search gave me this Learn Linux (http://learnlinux.tsf.org.za/courses/web-courses.html). Would you say that this is a good start?

Also, i am going to need to install Linux, so what version do you recommend that i start with (preferably open source)

[wossname]

My own personal opinions follow, nothing more...

You could take one of their courses sure, but you'd be learning it someone else's way. Everyone uses linux in a different way (much more so than Windows users differ in their own uses of Windows).

I recommend you do what I did, which is to just go crazy and install a distro right away.

Its like being thrown in at the deep end but I think most windows users benefit from the culture shock in the long run, I certainly did.

ANyway, which distro you choose depends on what style of computer user you are (something that will itself change, after you start using linux).

If you are a programmer then you'll probably want something with a many development tools as possible CentOS is a good one for that. If you're a sucker for a comfy desktop environment then you probably want something like Ubuntu.

Ubuntu has good hardware support, but I prefer CentOS because I use my linux boxes for coding and virtually nothing else.

What you definitely need to do is get into the habit of using the console as much as you can. Get to know the console and you'll be on the right track very quickly.

Get used to installing software in a variety of ways (source, RPMs etc.). Get used to using commandline compilers.

As long as you don't expect it to hold your hand all the time you'll be fine. There is plenty of information on the net about how to use linux.

And remember, it's not as scary as everyone makes it out to be.

Good luck. :)

[dclamp]

is centos good for a web server? Not live of course, but for a development environment?

[penagate]

Fedora is a nice compromise between the dull stability of CentOS and cotton-wool of Ubuntu, and it breaks often enough for you to get your hands dirty tinkering with it.


Read as many different tutorials and articles as you can. Don't take just one person's advice and point of view.

[dclamp]

well is fedora a good web server?

[penagate]

It's not a web server. It's an operating system. You can run a web server on it if you want.

[dclamp]

i phrased my question incorrectly. "does fedora make for a good web server?".

If you have been reading my other thread about my future career, i stated that i want to become a network administrator, and i am sure i will need to know linux.

[wossname]

Any linux will be a good web server. It's the choice of webserver software (eg. Apache / Boa...) that is more important.

Fedora is basically the same thing as CentOS anyway, there's really only minor differences in my experiences.

[tr333]

If you want a webserver that won't break down at that critical moment, go with Debian+apache. If you want to try linux without having to fiddle with partitions/drives, either install it in a vmware virtual machine or use Wubi (http://wubi-installer.org/) which allows you to install/uninstall Ubuntu as a Windows application.

FYI, Ubuntu is based on the Debian unstable branch, so it gets all of Debian's superb package management tools (apt, dpkg, synaptic).

[StrangerInBeijing]

a noob and linux learner myself, but for what it's worth:

I installed and played with many distro's the past few weeks. Would really recommend Ubuntu for a start, cause it was the only one that installed and recognized all my hardware and really easy to use.

Guess you can try any distro (I also use slackware, terminal only) as all of them have the terminal, and on all the Linux commands are the same. (Assuming I'm right if I say it's Linux commands you should learn well, not Linux distro's)

Just my few cents. Good luck!

[StrangerInBeijing]

I know there are thousands of sites with help and stuff.
But I found this one after trying to figure out how de hell to work with VI, and seems to be short and straight to the point what u looking for.
Maybe help
http://lowfatlinux.com/

[wossname]

I say it's Linux commands you should learn well, not Linux distro's

Precisely. I'd say you can't go far wrong if you have a good grasp of BASH. Get that right and you're equipped for any modern Unix system.

[TomGibbons]

The topic has moved on a little now but I use Fedora for my development web server. CentOS is just like RHEL without the Red Hat branding and licenses. They use Fedora as a basis on which to build RHEL. So that's kind of how that fits together. I used to use a Fedora machine for my production web server too but it's updated too frequently so I set up a CentOS box to replace it.