guide me about linux

[tinner]

Hi, I’m doesn’t know anything about Linux programming language, can someone guide me or suggest me any good Ebook for Linux and me how to start a Linux program and in which editor I can do the program and how can I compile and run the program in Linux.

[paulunderwood]

First off, Linux is not a programming language is actually the kernel of the operating system called Gnu/linux. Most people refer to GNU/linux just as "linux". Under this free and open source operating system there are a number of different languages with compilers and interpreters, plus many other free things, for example Open Office.

But I assume you have the Windows operating system and that you might want to use some free tools, like "gcc", a free "C programing language" compiler, and not be bothered with installing linux (operating system). In this case you will might try out cygwin.

If you are interested in installing the GNU/Linux operating system and have an old computer (on which the data and previous operating system are defunct) then try out an installation. There are scores of GNU/Linux distributions. Ubuntu is one of the easiest to install. If the machine is a low spec. one you could try Xubuntu.

If you have only one machine, and no old one to play with, then you could go for a "dual boot system" where Linux and Windows live on separate parts of the same computer. However, you have to be careful not to destroy your Windows installation. I recommend you really understand what you are doing before you attempt this and take a backup of you data.

As for "starting a program", you need to "execute" it. This might be clicking on something with the mouse, or by typing in the command to a "terminal" (program) from the keyboard.

There are many editors for plain text; emacs, vi, gedit, nano etc, The first three will pick up on the file extension of the file being worked on and make the code appear in pretty colours, which is useful for debugging.

Let, suppose you have wrtten the program "hello-world.c" in the "C programming language". To turn it into some thing that can be executed you simply type

gcc hello-world.c

and this will produce an executable file called "a.out" (which you may rename), and to run this (from the same directory that it resides in), under linux, type in:

./a.out

If you wrote a "perl" program you could execute it like this:

perl hello-world.pl

To Xyzzy: Where is that e-book that you once linked from here about the history of Unix?

[Xyzzy]

Originally Posted by paulunderwood

To Xyzzy: Where is that e-book that you once linked from here about the history of Unix?

It may have been this:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html/

[tinner]

Hi, paulunderwood thanks for your information, i has more doubts in linux later i will clear my doubts on this forum.

_____________
tinner

[tinner]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

It may have been this:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html/

Hi,thanks for your site which is given above. i have want to the site, it was good site and it has many topics about OS and linux etc.
____________
tinner

[tinner]

I'm looking for an easy Linux distribution that can be permanently installed on a Dell computer with a ram of 512 mb and a free space of 10 GB.
If it possible, I would like the distribution to be easy to use and install because I'm a beginner and i should have all the necessary applications and characteristics needed for a personal desktop usage.
suggest me a best linux distribution that match's above requirements. thanks in advance.

[Xyzzy]

Probably Ubuntu.

http://www.ubuntulinux.org/
http://ubuntuforums.org/

[jasong]

Tinner's last post kinda cheeses me a bit, I'd be wanting crunching credit in exchange for the help.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by jasong

Tinner's last post kinda cheeses me a bit, I'd be wanting crunching credit in exchange for the help.

Fair enough. What do you offer me in return for the assistance I've given you in the past?

(Was the above a rhetorical question and, for that matter, is this a rhetorical question?)


Paul

[Xyzzy]

"Do A Good Turn Daily."

The Scout slogan is "Do A Good Turn Daily". Good Turns are helpful acts of kindness done quietly, without boasting and without expecting reward or pay. Doing at least one good turn every day is a normal part of a Scout's life.

[jasong]

Originally Posted by xilman

Fair enough. What do you offer me in return for the assistance I've given you in the past?

(Was the above a rhetorical question and, for that matter, is this a rhetorical question?)


Paul

The following is meant politely, I promise. :)

1) I definitely appreciate the help you and the Forum have given me in the past, and acknowledge that I owe you. You obviously didn't realize that, so you haven't had an opportunity to collect. :)

2) I guess it's more the tone of the post that cheesed me, a lot of times I get mad at people at work(KFC) because of a lack of manners. While I have been hypocritical about it in the past, I try to show appreciation for helpful people, even if it's only an,"I really appreciate this," or something.