Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 3rd Edition Chapter 8

daemon

A Linux system process that provides a certain service.

ELILO

A boot loader used with computers that support Intel Extensible firmware Interface (Efi) technology.

chkconfig command

A command that can be used to configure daemon startup by runlevel.

service command

A command that can be used to manually start, stop, and restart daemons

dmesg command

A command that displays hardware-related messages generated by the Linux kernel.

system-config-keyboard command

A command used to configure a keyboard for use by X Windows.

system-config-display command

A command used to configure a video adapter card and monitor for use by X Windows.

mouse-test command

A command used to detect and configure your mouse.

GRand Unified Bootloader (GRUB)

A common boot loader used on Linux systems.

Linux Loader (LILO)

A common boot loader used on Linux systems.

X.Org

A common implementation of X Windows used in Linux distributions.

XFree86

A common implementation of X Windows used in Linux distributions.

dual boot

A configuration in which two or more OSs exist on the hard disk of a computer; a boot loader allows the user to choose which OS to load at boot time.

K Desktop Environment (KDE)

A desktop environment created by Matthias Ettrich in 1996.

GTK+ toolkit

A development toolkit for C programming; it is used in the GNOME desktop and the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP).

dmrc (display manager runtime configuration) file

A file that is stored within each user's home directory to list the preferred desktop environment for use by the GNOME Display Manager.

.xinitrc (X initialization runtime configuration) file

A file that is stored within each user's home directory to list the preferred desktop environment for use by the startx command.

EasyBCD

A free Windows utility that can be used to modify and configure the Windows boot loader so that it can dual boot a Linux OS.

KDE Display Manager (kdm)

A graphical login screen for users that resembles the KDE desktop.

X Display Manager (xdm)

A graphical login screen.

Display Settings utility

A graphical utility that can be used to configure the video card and monitor settings for use by X Windows.

Service Configuration utility

A graphical utility that can be used to start, stop, and restart daemons as well as configure the runlevels that they are automatically started and stopped in.

GNOME Display Manager (gdm)

A program that provides a graphical login screen.

xvidtune

A program used to fine-tune the vsync and hsync video card settings for use in X Windows.

boot loader

A program used to load an OS.

runlevel

A term that defines a certain type and number of daemons on a Linux system.

ntsysv

A utility that can be used to alter the daemons that are started in each runlevel.

compiz

A window manager that is commonly used within the KDE and GNOME desktops to provide 3D effects.

single user mode

Also called runlevel 1; the mode that provides a single terminal and a limited set of services.

multiuser mode

Also called runlevel 2; the mode that provides most daemons and a partial set of networking daemons.

extended multiuser mode

Also called runlevel 3; the mode that provides most daemons and a full set of networking daemons.

telinit command

An alias to the init command.

power on-self test (POST)

An initial series of tests run when a computer is powered on to ensure that hardware components are functional.

GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)

An open source graphics manipulation program that uses the GTK+ toolkit.

initstate

See runlevel.

runtime configuration (rc) scripts

Shell scripts that are used by the init daemon to initialize the system at boot time as well as start and stop daemons when entering a particular runlevel.

virtualization software

Software that can be used to run multiple OSs simultaneously on the same computer.

/boot/grub/grub.conf

The GRUB configuration file.

window manager

The GUI component that is responsible for determining the appearance of the windows drawn on the screen by X Windows.

/etc/lilo.conf

The LILO configuration file.

vmlinuz-

The Linux kernel file.

init command

The command used to change the OS from one runlevel to another.

runlevel command

The command used to display the current and most recent (previous) runlevel.

grub-md5-crypt command

The command used to generate an encrypted password for use in the /etc/grub/grub.conf file.

grub-install command

The command used to install the GRUB boot loader.

lilo command

The command used to reinstall the LILO boot loader based on the configuration information in /etc/lilo.conf.

X server

The component of X Windows that draws graphics to windows on the terminal screen.

X client

The component of X Windows that requests graphics to be drawn from the X server and displays them on the terminal screen.

X Windows

The component of the Linux GUI that displays graphics to windows on the terminal screen.

/etc/inittab

The configuration file for the init daemon that specifies the default runlevel.

/etc/X11/xorg.conf

The configuration file used by the X.Org implementation of X Windows.

/etc/X11/XF86Config

The configuration file used by the XFree86 implementation of X Windows.

GNU Object Model Environment (GNOME)

The default desktop environment in Fedora Linux; it was created in 1997.

Metacity Window Manager

The default window manager for the GNOME Desktop Environment in Fedora 13.

/etc/rc.d/rc*.d

The directories used to start and kill daemons in each runlevel.

/etc/rc.d/init.d

The directory in which most daemons', startup/shutdown scripts are located.

/boot

The directory that contains the kernel and boot-related files.

/etc/rc.d/rc.local

The final script executed during system startup.

initialize (init) daemon

The first process started by the Linux kernel; it is responsible for starting and stopping other daemons.

/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit

The first script executed during system startup.

upstart init system

The next-generation init daemon and related files used by modern Linux distributions such as Fedora 13.

GRUB root partition

The partition containing the second stage of the GRUB boot loader and the /boot/grub/grub.conf file.

active partition

The partition searched for by an OS after the MBR.

default runlevel

The runlevel that is entered when the Linux system is initialized at boot time.

desktop environment

The software that works with a window manager to provide a standard GUI environment that uses standard programs and development tools.

Qt toolkit

The software toolkit used with the K Desktop Environment.

K Window Manager (kwin)

The window manager that works under the KDE Desktop Environment.