The linux operating system has multi-user as well as multi-tasking
features that are designed to mimic the POSIX implementation of the Unix
standard. To log into your new system, type 'user1' at the login: prompt.
Enter 'password' at the password prompt. This is also the root password
on the default installation. You can experiment with the multi-user
feature
by pressing the alt and F2 keys at the same time to log into a second
"virtual console". Log-in as 'user1' again and press enter. Now type
'top'
and press enter. System resources and running tasks should be displayed.
To exit top just type 'q' for quit. You may press alt-F1 to return to
the first console.
When you are finished using Linux, you need to shut down properly
to
avoid losing information and corrupting file systems. From the command
prompt
type 'halt' and press enter. Typing 'halt' and pressing enter will shut
down the
system so you can turn it off manually at the System halted message. The
'reboot'
command will restart the machine after performing the shut down routine.
Most
people only access the root account when necessary because Linux will
execute
any valid command from root. If the command is misformed or unintended,
it
may damage the system to the point of no repair AND no data recovery.
Remember,
there is no undelete in Linux.
One of the tasks requiring root access is to add a new user
account. To add your personal account, type 'useradd' as root and give
your
new account your own login name. You can accept the default user groups
and id
numbers by just pressing enter when prompted. Be sure to give all of your
accounts passwords for security purposes. Type 'man passwd' and enter to
view
the manual page on how to do it. Manual pages are intentionally terse
because
most people reference them to check command syntax and parameters.
An important thing to remember about Linux is that its command syntax
mimics unix. This means that all commands and file names are case
sensitive.
For example: FILE, FILe, FIle, File, and file are all different
filenames.
Likewise, directories are separated by forward slashes rather than the
back
slashes used in dos. To list directory contents with file attributes,
use the command 'ls -la'.
The following commands are but a small sample of those available on
your system. To get more information, simply use the man command followed
by
the command name. For example, 'man ls' will display the manual page on
the
list command.
ls
-(lower case L, lower case S) list the contents of the
current
directory if no directory is specified
cd
-changes to the specified directory. A / must be affixed to
the beginning of an absolute path
less
-displays specified text file with forward and backwards
scrolling
man
-displays manual page of specified command
cp
-copies specified file to specified location. Also allows
renaming of file
mv
-moves specified file to specified location while removing
original file. Also allows renaming
rm
-removes specified files.
mc
-invokes Midnight Commander shell that provides features of
the above commands through a graphical interface
startx
-invokes the twm window manager after configuring with the
root 'setup' command
passwd
-changes the account password to restrict access
reboot
bootstrap
halt
-shutdowns system and initiates restart of the bios
-shutdowns system and indicates when ready for manual
power cycling.
Commands available to root only
useradd
mount
different
-adds user access to system
-mounts devices such as cdroms, floppy drives, and
hard drive partitions to make them accessible by the
filesystem
umount
-unmounts devices to allow changing removable media
setup
-system configuration utility
DOCUMENTATION
More documentation is available in the /usr/share/doc directory of
the
system and under the /docs directory on the cdrom. There is a Linux
documentation project on the internet as well as sites maintained by the
developers of the Fedora Linux distribution. www.redhat.com and
www.ibiblio.org