This Reference Manual is aimed at people who wish to better understand their Mandriva Linux system, and who want to take advantage of its huge capabilities. After reading this manual, we hope that you'll be at ease with the daily administration of a GNU/Linux box. Here's an overview of its two components, along with a brief description of each chapter it contains:
In the first part (Introduction to the Linux System), we introduce you
to the GNU/Linux system. We discuss its architecture, the main
files systems available and some more peculiar aspects like the
/proc
file system.
In the first chapter
(Chapter 1, Basic UNIX® System Concepts) we introduce the UNIX®
paradigm while speaking more specifically of the GNU/Linux
world. We discuss the standard file-manipulation utilities as well
as some useful features provided by the shell
. Then comes a
complementary chapter (Chapter 2, Disks and Partitions) in which we explain how
hard disks are managed under GNU/Linux. We also deal with hard
disk partitioning.
We explore the organization of the file tree in Chapter 3, File-Tree Organization. UNIX® systems tend to grow very large, but every file has its place in a specific directory. After reading this chapter, you will know where to look for files depending on their role in the system.
The next chapter deals
with file systems (Chapter 4, The Linux File System). After presenting the
available file systems, we discuss file types and some additional
concepts and utilities such as inodes and pipes. The following
chapter (Chapter 5, The /proc File System) introduces a special (and
virtual) GNU/Linux file system called
/proc
.
The second part (Hands On) deals with more practical topics. We speak about the relationship between file systems and mount points, how to use the command line in your daily tasks, how to edit configuration files with light and powerful editors, and more.
We cover the topics of file systems and mount points (Chapter 6, File Systems and Mount Points) by defining both terms, as well as explaining them with real life examples.
Then we tackle the command-line interface (Chapter 7, Introduction to the Command Line). We discuss file-handling utilities such as the mkdir and touch commands, and how to move, delete and copy files and directories in the file system. We also speak about file attributes and how to handle them with commands such as chown and chgrp. We then tackle shell globbing patterns, redirections and pipes, command-line completions, as well as basic job(s) control.
The next chapter covers text editing (Chapter 8, Text Editing: Emacs and VI). As most UNIX® configuration files are text files, you will eventually want or need to edit them in a text editor. You will learn how to use two of the most famous text editors in the UNIX® and GNU/Linux worlds: the mighty Emacs, written by Richard M. Stallman, and the good-old Vi, written in 1976 by Bill Joy.
You should then be able to perform basic maintenance on your system. The following two chapters present practical uses of the command line (Chapter 9, Command-Line Utilities), and process control (Chapter 10, Process Control) in general.
The next chapter (Chapter 11, The Start-Up Files: init sysv) presents the Mandriva Linux boot-up procedure, and how to use it efficiently. We speak about init (the process which allows your system to boot) and different run levels you may wish to use (especially for maintenance tasks). We also briefly explain how to use drakxservices to manage services.
In the following chapter (Chapter 12, Secure Remote Access) we explain how to securely access a remote system (through ssh) to perform maintenance tasks, to run programs on it, etc. We give you a quick overview of the connection scheme and we then describe a basic server/client ssh setup. The usage of scp is also discussed.
We close out this book with a chapter dedicated to package management through the command line (Chapter 13, Package Management From The Command Line). In it you will learn how to use the urpmi utility along with its counterpart, urpme. We also explain how to manage media sources.