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Re: Brand_Spankin_Newbie



On Fri, 25 Aug 2000, Brian Vozza wrote:

> Whats up everyone....
> 
> 	I have been a windows programmer for several years...and I am 
> finally converting over to linux.  Only problem is.....Dont know where 
> ta start.  Ive managed to install potato on my machine but am 
> cluelesssss as to where to go from here.  Are there any good tutorials 
> or reference material that you guys could recommend.  I seem to be lost 
> with the file structure.  I dont know where everything is....and once I 
> find it.....what the hell ta do with it.  Any help is appreciated.  
> Thanks...
> 
> 
> dubi
> 

Linux (or Unix) is kind of like a set of really nice tools (like wrenches
and such). It takes a little while to learn how to use them, but once you
do you have a lot more capability than just a hammer and a socket set.

There is a TON of info on this on the web. There are also a lot of good
books available. 

The first thing you really need to figure out, IMHO, is how to do basic
commands in the system. Checkout <http://www.gnu.org/manual/bash/> for a
manual on the Bash shell. The shell is the primary user interface to the
system. 

Next you need an editor. I'm use emacs and I recommend it highly. This is
very much a religious issue with many people though, so try out some
editors (there are lots) and go for it. 

The primary method of documenting how to set things up or do stuff on
Linux are the HOWTOs. See <http://www.linux.org/docs/index.html> for a
bunch of links to Linux documentation. Debian (and maybe other
distributions, I'm not sure) also has documentation for packages in
/usr/doc. Some are good, some not so much, but it is a good place to start
when trying to figure out how to configure something.

Converse with people on this list. It is an incredible resource and is
archived and searchable <http://lists.debian.org/> at the bottom of the
page. Ask a pretty specific question and usually you'll get a bunch of
answers.

Good luck with it.





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