[align=center]Table of Contents:[/align] [align=right] 1) Introduction 2) What is Linux? 3) Distributions 4) Root 5) The Terminal 6) Conclusion [/align]
1) Introduction: My name is Nick, but I go by "D0WNGRADE". I am 17 and I would like to consider myself a hacker. I have been using and learning Linux for well over six years, and have been hacking for about seven. I am writing this paper to teach new Linux users the basics. I hope I can teach you something of value!
2) What is Linux? Linux is an Operating System (OS) based off of the UNIX OS. The difference between UNIX and Linux, is the kernel. Linux is using the Linux kernel, written by Linus Torvalds. Linux can be installed on a variety of hardware, including Computers, Mobile Phones, Tablet Computers, Video-Game Consoles, Mainframes, and Super-Computers. The top ten fastest Super-Computers in the world run on Linux. The Play Station 3 (a popular Video-Game Console) was able to run Linux, until in September or August (I forget the month) Sony (the makers of the Play Station consoles) finally patched it.
3) Distributions Since Linux is Open-Source (meaning the source code is available to everyone) people have made their own "modifications" to the Linux code. These modifications are called "Distributions". There are many out there (my personal favorite is Ubuntu, I'm running 10.10) but which is the right one? Well, there is no right answer to that question...try them all, and pick the one you like best.
4) Root So, many new Linux users do not understand the concept of "root". What is it? Well, the root user is basically the "Admin" of Linux. Just like in Windows there is an Administrator account, in Linux this is called root. There is also a root directory. This is the "top" directory (or folder). Just like in Windows "C:/" is the "top" directory.
5) The Terminal The terminal is very powerful in Linux. You can do just about anything you'll ever need to do with it on Linux. Some basic commands: COMMAND - DESCRIPTION - USAGE cd - Changes you to the directory you specify - cd ../ ls - Lists files in the current directory, or one you specify - ls or ls ../ rm - Deletes the file specified - rm ~/Desktop/test.txt Those are a few VERY basic commands. Now some things you should know: ~ - The current user's home directory / - The root directory . - The current directory .. - The directory above the current one Those are, again, just some basic things. Remember to view the "man" (or manual) pages of each command: man cd - Views the man page of the "cd" command
6) Conclusion This is just a very basic paper on Linux, my next paper will be a tutorial on Linux Security! Look forward to it! :)
"root" changes unlike windows admin changes can be made without confirmation warnings etc. Especially when working in the shell. It's for this as well as the elevated priviledge level that new linux users especially ones using backtrack(which runs root as default) should take care when running the distro's.
unix is more of a "dumb terminal" you will find in businesses (like the one i ran at a bank, an AS400), it costs ALOT more than your free download of redhat!, is is not as open as far as all the apps that can go with it like the other distros
linux is free, has more varieties/distros, is open to more applications to install, is more versdatile and friendlier as far as usability
Eh. Not the best, but certainly basic. Note to add, Linux is based on top of GNU. Also, the root(/) is not to be confused with /root, the home folder for the root user.