GNU/Linux
From DuncanWiki
The main focus of my wiki is to help me organize and maintain various documents I've written about my GNU/Linux experiences. I've been using GNU/Linux since 1993 when a local BBS set up a small system running Slackware Linux to interface with the Internet. By 1995 I had my own PC and was able to start running GNU/Linux at home, Slackware 3.0. I currently run a combination of Fedora & CentOS.
When people refer to Linux they're typically talking about two separate entities. The Linux kernel is the underlying program that talks directly to the hardware & the GNU project which is a collection of free software released under the GPL.
You can view a list of computers I work with/on at My Computers.
Contents |
Useful Software & Sites
Software
- GParted : Resize partitions on your harddrive, downloads are at http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
Parallel Compression
My Parallel Compression page has a little bit of info it as well as a .spec file for pigz, a parallel gzip implementation.
Sites
My . Files (dotfiles)
Dotfiles, also called RC files, are typically used for personal configuration of software.
You can view my dotfiles at http://files.duncanbrown.org/dotfiles/
Among the Unix variants, there are hundreds of configuration file formats. Each application or service may have a unique format. Historically, Unix operating system settings were often modified only by editing configuration files. Some formats allow entries to be disabled by prepending a special comment character. Unix user applications often create a file or directory in the home directory of the user upon startup. To hide the file or directory from casual listing of the contents of the home directory, the name of the file or directory is prepended with a period, giving rise to the nickname "dotfile" or "dot file". Server processes often use configuration files stored in /etc, but they may also use their installation directory, the root directory, or a location defined by the system administrator.
Configuration files also did more than just modify settings, they often (in the form of an "rc file") ran a set of commands upon startup (ex. a shell rc file might instruct the shell to change directories, run certain programs, delete or create files - many things which did not involve modifying variables in the shell itself and so were not in the shell's dotfiles); according to the Jargon File, this convention is borrowed from "runcom files" on the CTSS operating system.[1] This functionality can and has been extended for programs written in interpreted languages such that the configuration file is actually another program rewriting or extending or customizing the original program; Emacs is the most prominent such example.
On UNIX variants dot files are 'hidden' from listing by default, On Mac OS X these files are sometimes called "hidden files" although other mechanisms exist on Mac OS X to hide a file from view in various tools. The Explorer interface of Microsoft Windows XP does not allow you to rename a file with an initial '.' though it does allow access to such files, and Windows' Notepad program does allow files to be saved with such names.
IBM's AIX uses an Object Data Manager (ODM) database to store some system settings, some of which need to be available at boot time.
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rc_file
My Articles On The Subject
Setting Up A Home Server
- CUPS : setting up a print server
- Music Server : setting up several ways to access your music
Virtualization
CentOS Under Tektonic.net :: Believe it or not, I'm running everything on a $15/mo virtual host
GNU/Linux Software
GNU/Linux Software contains information on the software that I use under GNU/Linux as well as configuration thereof.
Desktop Customization
Themes
Wallpaper
Installation
Installing Fedora & CentOS Via Grub
Working With Video Game Systems
Scripting
Tips And Tricks
- GNU/Linux Tips And Tricks :: Contains neat little things I've come across
- NVIDIA Drivers Under CentOS :: What I've done to make my life a little easier
