Re: New User

[Ron Johnson <ron.l.johnson@cox.net>]

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On 02/19/08 01:12, Byron Watkins wrote:
> Hi,
> 
>         I am trying to ween myself from Windows.  A couple of months ago
> I
> installed Debian on my new amd64 box and I am generally quite impressed
> by the amalgam.  There are a few items that I have been unable to
> address satisfactorily, however.

Congrats and good luck!

(You seem to be running Etch.  If this is your home box, I urge you
to move up to Lenny/Testing, or even Sid.  Current (or relatively
currently) versions of software, kernels, etc.

>         First, I am a programmer in one of my hobby lives.  I love C and
> C++
> and I have installed the gcc and g++ packages on my new box.  I have not
> yet found a good integrated developer environment, however.  About the
> only thing good about Windows, in my opinion, is their Visual C++.
> 
>         Second, I am an electrical engineer, so I would like to get
> closer to
> the hardware.  In order to do so, it would be nice to find a tutorial
> explaining the standard ways Linux implements plug and play, hardware
> access permissions, and communication between hardware and applications.

You'll need to become a kernel geek.  There are plenty of books and
web pages on the subject.  Try to find stuff written during or after
year 2005.

Here's a place to start:
http://lwn.net/Kernel/LDD3/

>         Third, I would like to find a good book to teach me how to
> accept and
> to process mouse, keyboard, graphics tablet, etc. input and how to
> generate and to operate the graphical windows used in Debian.  I
> understand that the Gnome and/or KDE interfaces are available and it
> would be nice to know what the differences, similarities, and
> compatibility issues are from the programmer's perspective.  I think I
> am using Gnome, so my first priority is programming for Gnome, but if I
> can program for both, even better.
> 
>         Any recommended literature and relevant references and/or urls
> are
> quite welcome and will be appreciated.

You need to go over to gnome.org and join their devel list and ask
them these same questions.  Probably also the gtk-devel (that might
not be the exact name) list.  Hope you've got a thick skin, though,
since I've heard that some of them can be a bit "impatient" with
newbies.

- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA  USA

PETA - People Eating Tasty Animals
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