Linux Essentials Chapters 1 - 7

What are the file extensions for C: source code files?

".c" files are the main source code, whereas ".h" files are header files which contain short definitions of the functions in the ".c" files.

What are the file extensions for C++ source code files?

".cc", ".cpp", ".cxx", and ".c++", with header files ending in ".h", ".hh", ".hpp", ".hxx", or ".h++".

What are the file extensions for Perl programs?

".pl", ".pm", or ".t".

What are the file extensions for Python programs?

".py" and similar variants.

When using less, what are the search functions?

"/pattern" searches forward for the word pattern in the document, while "?pattern" searches backwards. You can do this with any keyword.

Name the 3 most common cables used to connect video cards to monitors.

"15-pin Video Graphics Arra (VGA)

What does GNU stand for?

"GNU Not Unix" is an attempt to bring as much functionality as possible from the Unix OS into Linux environments.

What is it called when you run an executable program that does not have its location in $PATH?

"Invoking a command outside the defined path"

How do you "hide" a file in Linux?

"Move it" by using the "mv" command to rename the file to include a dot ( . ), i.e. - mv file1 .file1

Give an example of system startup scripts that are often referred to via symbolic links.

"Runlevels" that are in dedicated directories specific to startup scripts.

List 4 directories that are Unshareable, 2 Static and 2 Variable.

"Static - /etc and /boot

List 4 directories that are Shareable, 2 Static and 2 Variable.

"Static - /usr and /opt

Which symbol allows extending a single command to multiple lines in the Linux terminal?

"\"

What command displays a short description of system commands for keywords and displays the result on the standard output?

"apropos"

Give an example of an argument.

"cat afile.txt" where "cat" is short for the concatenate command, and "afile.txt" is the argument.

What is the command to get everything off of your screen when working inside a shell?

"clear"

Type the command used to copy a file to another directory.

"cp newfile.txt /Downloads"

Type the command used to copy a file to another directory and rename it.

"cp newfile.txt Downloads/newfileDownloads.txt"

Type the command used to copy a file into the present directory.

"cp newfile.txt newfilecopy.txt"

How do you create a symbolic link?

"ln -s origname linkname"

How do you create a hard link?

"ln origname linkname" where origname is the original name and linkname is the new link's name.

How do you rename a file in Linux?

"move it" by using the "mv" command to rename the file, i.e. - "mv file1 file2" renames file1 to file2

Give an example of the command you can give to find out where all of the files are for any given program running on Linux.

"rpm -ql someprogram" shows where every file is if the someprogram package resides on an RPM based-system.

Name 3 common locations where Linux stores programs.

/bin, /usr/bin, and usr/local/bin

Name 3 common locations where Linux stores programs run by root.

/sbin, /usr/sbin, and usr/local/sbin

Which directory is accessible to all users and holds temporary files?

/tmp

Which directory stores various executable files not needed for booting or repairing the Linux system?

/usr/bin

If you can't find what you're looking for in the man or info pages, what directories often have a lot of information?

/usr/doc and /usr/share/doc

List the 15 most important directories in Linux.

1) / 2) /boot 3) /bin 4) /dev 5) /etc 6) /home - non-system directory 7) /lib 8) /media - non-system directory 9) /mnt - non-system directory 10) /root 11) /run 12) /sbin 13) /tmp - non-system directory 14) /usr 15) /var

List 3 directories that typically have documentation in them specific to any given installation package.

1) /usr/doc/packagename 2) /usr/share/doc/packagename 3) /user/share/doc/packages/packagename

List the 3 ways that files can be referenced in Linux.

1) Absolute references 2) Home Directory references 3) Relative references

Name 8 programming languages that Linux supports.

1) Assembly 2) C: 3) C++ 4) Java 5) Perl 6) PHP 7) Python 8) Shell Scripting

Name 6 Multimedia programs used in Linux.

1) Audacity 2) Blender 3) The GIMP 4) ImageMagick 5) HandBrake 6) MythTV

Name 4 ways that open source software is better than commercial software.

1) Better code 2) More flexibility 3) Lower cost 4) Lack of Vendor lock-in

Name the 5 parameters you will need to choose from if setting up a Linux virtual machine in the cloud.

1) CPU size 2) Memory size 3) Storage size 4) Storage type 5) Type of Linux distribution, such as Linux Server, Fedora, Red Hat, etc.

Name 6 web browsers that are supported by Linux.

1) Chrome 2) Firefox 3) Web 4) Konqueror 5) Lynx 6) Opera

Name the 4 categories of software.

1) Commercial 2) Shareware 3) Freeware 4) Open Source

Name 6 ways to launch programs when using Linux desktop environments.

1) Desktop menus 2) Desktop icons 3) Panels 4) Context menus 5) Searching for programs 6) Terminals

Name 4 ways to find applications when using Linux.

1) Desktop menus 2) Search features 3) Tables of Equivalents 4) Other's expertise

Name 4 things you might put on a disk partition.

1) Different OS's 2) Swap Space in case you run out of RAM 3) User data files 4) The primary OS

What are the 4 primary tools used in Linux Package Management Systems?

1) Dpkg 2) Rpm 3) Apt-get 4) Yum

Name the 3 primary roles of computers.

1) Embedded computers 2) Desktop and laptop computers 3) Server computers

Name 6 common components found on the Raspberry Pi.

1) Ethernet LAN port 2) HDMI port 3) ACT PWR indicator - shows SD card is connected 4) Digital Serial Interface (DSI) - for connecting a monitor 5) Power LED 6) SD Card socket

Name 4 common Linux email clients.

1) Evolution 2) KMail 3) Mutt 4) Thunderbird

How many categories are searched when using man pages? List them.

1) Executable programs and shell commands 2) System calls provided by the kernel 3) Library calls provided by program libraries 4) Device files (usually stored in /dev) 5) File formats 6) Games 7) Miscellaneous (macro packages, conventions, and so on) 8) System administration commands 9) Kernel routines

Name 7 common Linux filesystems.

1) Ext2fs 2) Ext3fs 3) Ext4fs 4) ReiserFS 5) JFSArch, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, Mandriva, openSUSE, Red Hat, Slackware, SUSE Enterprise, and Ubuntu 7) Btrfs

Name 6 other filesystems used by other computers that Linux supports.

1) FAT 2) NTFS 3) HFS 4) HFS+ 5) ISO-9660 6) UDF

Name the 10 principles of the Open Source Initiative.

1) Free Redistribution 2) Source Code Availability 3) Permission to Derive Works 4) Respect for Source Code Integrity 5) No Discrimination against Persons or Groups 6) No Discrimination against Fields of Endeavor 7) Automatic License Distribution 8) Lack of Product Specificity 9) Lack of Restrictions on other Software 10) Technology Neutrality

What are the 4 software freedoms that the FSF defines?

1) Freedom to use the software for any purpose. 2) Freedom to examine the source code and modify it as you see fit. 3) Freedom to redistribute the software. 4) Freedom to redistribute your modified software.

Name 4 office tool packages used in Linux.

1) GNOME Office 2) Calligra 3) Apache OpenOffice 4) LibreOffice

What are the 5 Open Source licenses?

1) GNU GPL and LGPL 2) BSD 3) MIT 4) Apache 5) Artistic

List 5 things that sometimes are not automatically configured by X when plugged in via USB.

1) Human Interface devices (mice, keyboards, etc.) - Adjust the X configuration file, if necessary. 2) External Disk storage 3) Mobile phones, cameras, music players, and E-book readers - some need their settings adjusted to be seen as a USB storage device. 4) Scanners 5) Printers

What 2 things must a System Administrator keep in mind when it comes to open source software?

1) If you redistribute any software - particularly if you merge 2 or more programs - the licensing requirements may change. 2) Some Linux distributions come with software that does not qualify as Open Source.

Name 8 things that the software of a computer must do to manage displays.

1) Initializing the video card, including setting resolution. 2) Allocating sections of the display to hold windows that belong to particular applications. 3) Managing overlapping windows so that only the "topmost" window contents are displayed. 4) Managing a pointer that the user controls via a mouse or similar device. 5) Directing user input from a keyboard to whatever application is active. 6) Displaying text and shapes within windows at the request of programs. 7) Providing user interface elements to move and resize windows. 8) Managing the interior of windows, such as displaying menus and scrollbars.

Name 4 things that an OS Kernel normally manages.

1) Interfacing with hardware devices. 2) Allocating memory to programs. 3) Allocating CPU time to programs. 4) Enabling programs to interact with each other.

Name the 7 primary differences between Linux and Windows.

1) Licensing (Linux is open source) 2) Costs (Linux is mostly free) 3) Hardware compatibility 4) Software availability (MS is more common for users, but Linux is better at server software) 5) User interfaces 6) Configurability (Linux is more configurable) 7) Security (Linux is more secure against viruses)

Name 5 benefits of using Linux.

1) Linux is open source software. 2) Linux is free. 3) Linux has inherited a great deal of Unix software. 4) Linux is highly scalable - it runs on everything from mobile devices to supercomputers. It can be used on systems that are too old for the latest version of Windows or Mac OS. 5) Many businesses rely on Linux.

What are the 3 names used to reference the most common partitioning scheme for x86 and x86-64 computers?

1) Master Boot Record (MBR) 2) MS-DOS 3) BIOS Partitioning

Give 5 examples of Embedded Computers.

1) Mobile phones 2) E-book readers 3) DVR's 4) Automotive computers 5) Appliances

Give 5 examples of times when copies of software must be made, regardless of copyright laws.

1) Moving a copy of the program from an installation medium to a hard drive or solid-state drive. 2) Moving a copy of the program from a hard drive or solid-state drive to the computer's random access memory (RAM). 3) Moving a copy of the RAM into swap space. 4) Moving a copy of the RAM into various smaller caches on the motherboard or CPU. 5) Copies of the program on one or more hard drives or solid state drives as a backup in case of disk failures.

What are the 9 main categories of information found on man results pages?

1) Name 2) Synopsis 3) Description 4) Options 5) Files 6) See Also 7) Bugs 8) History 9) Author

Name 4 times when you might need to find and install drivers that were not part of the Kernel or X Window System.

1) New hardware 2) Unusual hardware 3) Proprietary drivers 4) Big fixes

What are 3 ways that hardware compatibility differs between Windows and Linux?

1) Not all hardware manufactures make drivers for Linux, so they must be developed by the open source community. 2) Linux developers maintain drives for old hardware much longer than manufacturers. 3) Linux is less resource intensive, so you can still be productive on older hardware.

Name 6 benefits of cloud computing.

1) Obsolete Infrastructure Management 2) Pay-per-hour cost model 3) Easy resource termination 4) Supports on-demand self-service model 5) High availability 6) Fault tolerant design

Name 6 things that are often plugged into the motherboard.

1) One or more slots for CPU's 2) Multiple slots for RAM 3) Slots for Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) or other cards 4) Connectors for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) disks, and sometimes for Parallel ATA (PATA) disks 5) Back panel connectors for devices such as USB, keyboards, monitors, etc. 6) Connectors for additional external devices, such as front-panel USB plugs

Name 5 general sources of support for Linux distributions.

1) Program authors 2) Web forums and mailing lists 3) Internet Relay Chat (IRC) 4) Paid consultants 5) Web searches

What are the 4 cloud computing models?

1) Public cloud 2) Private cloud 3) Community cloud 4) Hybrid cloud

Name 5 good practices when it comes to server security.

1) Research specific servers to pick ones that have good security reputations. 2) Keep server programs up to date/upgraded. 3) Learn enough to ensure your servers are configured properly. 4) Remove unused accounts and audit necessary accounts to be sure they use strong passwords. 5) Use firewalls to control traffic in both directions to and from your servers.

Name 3 applications that drivers sometimes reside in.

1) SANE, which handles scanners 2) Ghostscript, which converts printed output into a form that particular printers understand 3) X, which manages the display

Name 6 ways companies can make money from open source software.

1) Services and Support 2) Dual Licensing 3) Multiple Products 4) Open Source Drivers 5) Bounties 6) Donations

Name the 4 different cloud service models.

1) Software as a Service (SaaS) 2) Database as a Service (DaaS) 3) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) 4) Platform as a Service (PaaS)

What are the 3 ways you can start a shell in order to use text-mode commands?

1) Start a shell in a GUI window called a "terminal program". 2) Log in to the computer locally via a text-mode console 3) Log in to the computer remotely using a text-mode login protocol.

Name 3 popular initialization daemons used in Linux.

1) System V init (SysVinit) 2) Upstart 3) System

Name 7 types of System Files.

1) System startup scripts that launch servers and other important daemons. 2) Program files - both binary files and scripts. 3) Program support files, such as fonts and icons. 4) Configuration files that define how the system works (network settings, disk layout, etc.). 5) Configuration files for most servers and other daemons 6) Data storage for system programs, such as the database that describes what programs are installed. 7) System log files that record normal system activity.

What are the 5 main categories that make up a Linux distribution?

1) The Kernel 2) Core Unix Tools 3) Supplemental software 4) Startup scripts 5) An Installer

Name 6 open source projects that clone Unix programs.

1) The Linux Kernel 2) The GNU Project (OS Elements) 3) Xorg-X11 (GUI) 4) Desktop Environments 5) Server Programs 6) User Productivity Programs

Name 6 types of software that need to or can be run on a Linux computer.

1) The X Window System GUI (X for short) 2) A desktop environment, such as GNOME, KDE, Xfce, or Unity 3) A web browser 4) An email client 5) A Graphics editor 6) An Office suite

What are the 3 most important principles that define Open Source software?

1) The right of the user to redistribute the program 2) Availability of source code 3) The right of the user to make and distribute changed versions of the program

Name 5 risks when it comes to running a server.

1) They can contain bugs that allow others to run programs locally. 2) The server can be misconfigured, giving outsiders access. 3) Users with remote access can abuse their access. 4) A server can be used as a stepping stone to attack other servers, making it look like the attack originated from a different location. 5) Servers are subject to Denial of Services (DoS) attacks.

What 3 text-mode commands can be used on Linux to learn about the CPU?

1) Uname -a 2) Iscpu 3) Cat /proc/cpuinfo

Name 6 functions of Raspberry Pi.

1) Used for video and image processing 2) Supports the execution of IoT applications 3) Allows you to install a 3rd- party operating system 4) Can convert a TV into a Smart TV 5) It is used to make supercomputers 6) Supports Python programming by default, and other programming languages as well.

Give 1 example each of system files that users should be able to view, and files that they should not.

1) View - System files such as fonts and icons 2) Not View - The /etc/shadow file, because it hold encrypted passwords

Name 5 security problems that can be encountered when using web browsers.

1) Websites can log user data 2) Dynamic content that can include small programs 3) Malicious/Phishing websites 4) Unsecure websites that transmit your data unencrypted 5) Password theft

What are the 3 types of partitioning tools that Linux uses?

1) fdisk Family 2) libparted-Based Tools 3) GPTfdiskFamily

List the first 4 IEEE-1541 size prefixes.

1) kibibyte (KiB) is 210 (1,02 4) bytes (1 Kb) 2) mebibtye (MiB) is 220 (1,048,57 6) bytes (1MB) 3) gibibyte (GiB) is 230 (1,073,741,82 4) bytes (1GB) 4) tebibyte (TiB) is 240 (1,099,511,627,77 6) bytes (1,000GB)

List 9 popular protocols and their port numbers.

20-21 FTP ~ 22 SSH ~ 23 Telnet ~ 25 SMTP ~ 53 DNS ~ 67 BOOTP, DHCP ~ 110 POP3 ~ 143 IMAP ~ 443 HTTPS

What is a GUI?

A Graphical User Interface that uses icons, menus, and a mouse pointer to input commands rather than using a command shell.

With regard to drivers, what benefit can be gained from upgrading the Kernel?

A Kernel upgrade can provide bug fixes to both existing drivers and entirely new drivers. That also applies to any software that has drivers that affect your system.

How are Linux distributions covered by licensing?

A Linux distribution is a collection of many programs that may use different individual licenses. No one license takes priority over the others.

What is a Linux PMS?

A Package Management System manages prebuilt packages for Linux software installations.

What does the "ls -R" command produce?

A Recursive list of files and directories, including a list of files that are inside any of the directories listed.

What is Mac OS X based on?

A commercial Unix-based OS that eschews both X and the desktop environments that run on it in favor of Apple's own GUI.

What is a Compiler?

A compiler translates source code to binary code.

What is the difference between a copyright and a patent?

A copyright protects a single creative work, but a patent protects the idea itself. Patents typically apply to inventions.

What is Xfce?

A desktop environment that provides more configurability than GNOME or Unity, but aims to consume fewer resources.

What does the "ls -l" command produce?

A detailed list of files, including permissions, group assignment, size, etc.

Describe an Extended partition.

A disk can only have one extended partition, and it serves as a placeholder for logical partitions.

Describe a Hard link.

A hard link is a duplicate directory entry - both entries point to the same file. Because they work by tying together low-level filesystem data, hard links can only exist on a single system. Neither link holds priority over the other.

What is a monolithic Kernel?

A kernel that does everything a kernel is supposed to do, but in one big process. (Linux, BSD)

Describe BSD.

A license used by open source BSD OS's that allows for modifications to be distributed under other licenses.

What does the "ls" command produce?

A list of files and folders.

Describe RPM.

A low-level package tool used as the foundation of the Red Hat Linux PMS.

Describe dpkg.

A low-level package tool used in the Debian family of PMS tools that can be used to directly install, manage, and remove software packages. It is limited in functionality, however, and cannot download software packages from the repositories.

What is a Motherboard?

A motherboard is a large circuit board inside the computer that is dominated by a "chipset".

What is a Driver?

A piece of software that "talks" to hardware.

What is Bash?

A popular Linux shell called Bourne Again Shell.

Describe a Primary partition.

A primary partition is the simplest type of partition, and a disk can have from zero up to 4 primary partitions. One can be an extended partition.

In Linux, what is Task 7 (providing user interface elements to move and resize windows) controlled by?

A program called a "window manager".

What is X Server?

A program that implements X for a computer, especially the component that interacts most directly with the video hardware.

What is Blender?

A program to create complex 3D images, including both stills and animations.

What are the 3 common classes of wildcards in Linux?

A question mark "?", an asterisk "*", and bracketed values "[ ]".

What is a Command Line Shell?

A shell is a program that allows users to type commands to do things such as rename files, launch programs, etc. Command line shells vary from one OS to another.

What is a Terminal?

A text-mode shell inside a window.

Describe apt-get.

A text-mode tool for Debian PMS that can install repositories and remove software packages from your local Linux system. It can perform package upgrades for individual packages, all of the packages on your system, or your entire distribution.

Describe yum.

A text-mode tool for the Red Hat PMS that is used on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Fedora, and CentOS. Allows installation from repositories, removal of software packages from your local Linux system, and package upgrades.

What is a Terminal?

A text-mode user interface inside a window that allows you to run either text-mode or GUI programs by typing their filenames.

What is Raspberry Pi?

A very inexpensive minicomputer - about the size of a credit card - that allows you to plug in devices such as a mouse, keyboard, etc.

Name 4 popular OpenSource administrative applications.

APT-GET, Yum, Webmin, and GUI Tools

Describe ARM CPU chips.

ARM chips incorporate a processor called "Reduced Instruction Set Computing" (RISC) that strips down the process to bare-bones minimum, making it use significantly less electrical power. For this reason, ARM chips are ideal for mobile devices.

What is modeled after SCSI?

ATAPI, and it often uses USB interfaces to connect to external disks.

What is in the / directory?

All files appear in this directory or in subdirectories of it.

What are the 2 types of pre-release versions of Linux distributions?

Alpha software is extremely new and very likely to contain bugs, while Beta software is more stable, but still not as stable as final release software.

Describe a Symbolic link.

Also known as a soft link, a symbolic link is a file that refers to another file by name. When you tell a program to read or write to a symbolic link, Linux redirects the access to the original file. Symbolic links can work across filesystem boundaries.

Where is the best source to look for documentation about any given Linux distribution?

Although there are many "general" websites on the Internet, it is best to seek information on the page of the specific distribution that you are working with.

What is an OS clone?

An OS clone has functions and behaviors similar to another OS, but does not contain the source code from that OS.

What is an OS Kernel?

An OS kernel is a software component that's responsible for managing various low-level features of the computer.

What is the difference between an absolute path and a relative path?

An absolute path is used if you want to change directory (cd) to a folder outside of the directory that you are already in, such as "cd /home/aaron". A relative path is how you change directory to another folder inside the directory that you are already in. If you are already in the /home directory and you want to get to the /aaron directory, you only have to type "cd /aaron".

What do asterisk wildcards stand for?

An asterisk matches any character, or any set of characters, including no character. For example, "b*k" matches book, balk, and buck, but "b*k" also matches bk, bbk, and backtrack.

The term "server" can apply to what?

An entire computer, or to a single program running on that computer.

What is eSATA?

An external variant of SATA that provides high-speed connections to external hard disks.

What is Assembly language?

And older, rarely used language with a simple one-to-one correspondence between machine code numbers and the symbols that the programmer uses.

What is the Apache license?

And open source license that permits redistribution under the same or another license, and a text file called NOTICE that comes with the original work must be included in any derivative work.

Name 3 Embedded Systems that use Linux.

Android, Linux-based network appliances, and TiVo.

What programs open filenames with the extension .html or .htm?

Any web browser.

Name a popular Web Server written for Linux.

Apache

What 2 popular web servers are offered on Linux?

Apache HTTPD and Nginx

Name 5 popular OpenSource server applications.

Apache, Samba, NFS, MySQL, and Postfix

How do you run a program in the background as you launch it?

Append an ampersand ($) to the end of the command line, i.e. - "firefox &"

Can applications developed for Max OS X run on Linux?

Applications developed for OS X can't be run directly on Linux or other Unix-like OS's.

Name 11 popular Unix distributions.

Arch, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, Mandriva, openSUSE, Red Hat, Slackware, SUSE Enterprise, and Ubuntu.

With regard to the code of a CPU, what is true of upgrades to that CPU?

As long as the changes remain in the same CPU "family", they can run the same code as their predecessors.

In addition to computer programs, what are Creative Commons licenses aimed at?

Audio recordings, video recordings, textual works, etc.

Why does the Kernel host most drivers?

Because drivers typically require privileged access to hardware, and that is the purpose of the Kernel.

Name a popular DNS system written for Linux.

Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND)

What is the promise of Open Source?

Better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.

What is in the /boot directory?

Boot files such as the Linux kernel, initial RAM disk, and boot-loader configuration files.

What is a common Shell Scripting language?

Bourne Again Shell (Bash), and if there is any file extension, it is usually ".sh".

What is the default shell in most Linux distributions?

Bourne Again Shell, or "bash".

Describe the newest and most popular Linux filesystem.

Btrfs supports files up to 16 EiB, and filesystems of the same size. It has multiple features, including the ability to combine multiple physical disks into a single filesystem.

Name 7 popular OpenSource programming applications.

C, C++, Python, PHP, Perl, Shell (bash, sh), and Java

What does 32-bit vs. 64-bit mean as far as binary numbers?

CPU's process data in binary using only 0's or 1'. CPU limits are based on the number of digits they can process - 32 or 64, in this case.

Give 4 examples of OS utility programs.

Calculators, calendars, text editors, and disk maintenance tools.

Which 4 distributions offer the longest time between releases?

CentOS and Debian on the free side, and Red Hat Enterprise and SUSE Enterprise on the commercial side.

If you are using a paid version of Linux, such as Red Hat Enterprise or SUSE Enterprise, where can you get support?

Check the details of your purchase/license, because free support may be part of your purchase.

What are OS distributions?

Collections of a specific kernel with specific support programs

Name a popular Print Server written for Linux.

Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) or Samba

What are the 2 broad categories of programming languages?

Compiled languages and Interpreted languages.

If configuration files are kept in the /etc folder, what configuration information is stored in any given user's home directory/

Configuration files that are specific to that user, and they override the system-wide configuration files. They are generally "dot" files, so you will need to use the "ls -a" command to see them.

What is stored in the /etc folder?

Configuration files.

What are servers listening for?

Connections from client computers so they can respond to data transfer requests.

Describe Dynamic Content.

Content that varies depending on the user, the time of day, or some other criteria.

What does the "cp" command do?

Copies files, using various available options.

What does the term "cp" do?

Copies files.

When copying files, what does the "-u" or "--update" command do?

Copies the file only if the original is newer than the target, or if the target doesn't exist.

How do you move to the beginning or the end of a line in the terminal window?

Ctrl+A moves the cursor to the start of the line, and Ctrl+E moves it to the end.

What are the Windows and Linux keyboard shortcuts for opening up a terminal window?

Ctrl+Alt+t for Windows and Ctrl+Option+t for Linux

How do you search through recently used commands?

Ctrl+R and then type some of the characters from the command you are looking for.

Of the 3 common video connectors, which 2 are digital?

DVI and HDMI

What are filesystems?

Data structures that help the computer organize directories and files. In Windows, each filesystem receives its own letter, such as A:, B:, C:, etc. In Linux all filesystems are part of a single directory tree.

What does a web server do?

Delivers web pages to internal and/or external network users.

What decides which category the man queries will search?

Depending on the distribution that is being used, there are different configuration files specifically for the man pages, and there is an area there called SECTION that defines the search order.

What is in the /dev directory?

Device files that have low-level access to hardware.

When it comes to file management, in Linux, what are directories?

Directories are just files that contain other files, so - with some exceptions - any file management options on the command line will work with directories as well.

Name 2 methods used by OS's to manage data stored on disks.

Disk partitions and file systems.

What does the command "uname -a" do?

Displays basic information on the kernel and the CPU.

Do businesses prefer longer or shorter release cycles?

Distributions are only supported for a few months to approximately 1 year after a new distribution comes out, so businesses prefer a longer time between installations in order to avoid disruptions.

What is the difference between distributions with a longer release cycle vs. a shorter release cycle?

Distributions with a short release cycles aim to provide the latest software available, while those with longer release cycles strive to provide the most stable environment.

How do you create a link to a directory?

Do this by using a symbolic link because hard links between directories are potentially dangerous.

In essence, what are hard links?

Duplicate directory entries that point to the same file.

Where are filesystem partitions mounted in Linux?

Each filesystem is mounted at a "mount point" in the root (/) filesystem.

How much DC power can a power supply deliver?

Each power supply has a limited amount of deliverable power, so if you add a hard disk or a power-hungry plug-in card, you could exceed the amount of power that is available.

In the text-mode login prompt "Essentials login", what does Essentials stand for?

Essentials is the computer name.

What does the "history" command do?

Even after you close out a shell, when you open a new shell, the system remembers every command you have typed, and the history command will display them.

What programs open filenames with the extension .pdf?

Evince, Okular, Adobe Reader, and xpdf.

Should you use FAT on a Linux system?

FAT's compatibility makes it a good choice on dual-boot systems, and it can be used in 2 ways on a Linux machine: msdos (short filenames) and vfat (long filenames).

Describe the fdisk family.

Fdisk, cfdisk, and sfdisk are simple, text-based partitioning utilities for MBR disks.

In the text-mode login prompt "Fedora Release 21", what does that stand for?

Fedora Release 21 is the OS name and version.

Give an example of what a text-mode login prompt looks like.

Fedora release 21 (Twenty One)Kernel 3.18.6-200.fc21.x86_64 on an x86_64 (tty 1) essentials login:

What are 5 common desktop environment features?

File managers, Program launchers, Window controls, Multiple desktops, and Logout options.

Where do the binaries in /bin libraries generally link to?

Files in the /lib folder.

Where do the binaries in /usr/bin libraries generally link to?

Files in the /usr/lib folder.

When looking at the results of the "ls-R" command, what does the dot " . " indicate?

Files or folders that are inside the directory that you are in at the time.

What type of files are stored in the /var directory?

Files that change often, such as mail and log files.

What are System Files?

Files that control how the system operates.

What is the Thunderbird email client associated with?

Firefox

What is the most popular web browser for Linux, and what is its biggest drawback?

Firefox, but it is a complete browser, so it consumes a lot of memory.

What 2 umbrella terms refer explicitly to Open Source and Free Software Foundation software and development?

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), and Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS).

Name 10 free and 2 commercial Linux distributions.

Free: Arch, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, Mint, OpenSUSE, Scientific, Slackware, and Ubuntu. Commercial: Red Hat Enterprise and SUSE Enterprise.

What is the default desktop environment for the Fedora and Debian distributions?

GNOME

What are 4 popular Linux desktop environment suites?

GNOME, the K Desktop Environment (KDE), Unity, and Xfce

How are GPLv2 and GPLv3 different?

GPLv2 is not as restrictive as GPLv3, but that also allowed loopholes in the implementation of the FSF philosophy, so GPLv3 was created to combat hardware and software restrictions.

How are partitions different when using GPT?

GPT supports up to 128 partitions, with no distinction between primary, extended, or logical partitions.

In Linux, what is Task 8 (Managing the interior of windows, such as displaying menus and scrollbars) controlled by?

GUI libraries known as widget sets.

What is the Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) Partition Table (GPT)?

GUID is the successor to MBR and supports disk sizes up to 8 tebibytes (TiB).

What is GPL?

General Public License is a common, free software license created and favored by the Free Software Foundation.

How many volts of power does the power supply give to the motherboard?

Generally 12 volts for major components, and a separate 5 volt supply for some of the smaller components.

Other than using man pages or info pages, where else can you look for information?

Go to "cd /usr/share/doc" and then type the "ls" command. You can then scroll through the alphabetical results to find information on whatever your subject is.

What can you do if your printer is not automatically detected by Linux?

Go to http://localhost:631 to open up a web-based printer configuration utility called CUPS.

What programs open filenames with the extension .gz,. xz, or .bz2?

Gunzip, unxz, or bunzip2

Describe the filenames for hard disks and partitions in Linux.

Hard disk filenames include letters, such as /dev/sda, dev/sdb, and so on, with each disk using the next letter. Partition filenames use numbers, such as /dev/sda1, dev/sdb6, etc.

What are the 2 types of links to files that you can create in Linux?

Hard links and Symbolic links.

What is the primary difference between an embedded computer and a desktop or laptop?

How much control the user has over the OS. Embedded devices are used - not maintained - by end users. System administration tasks are done at the factory or by using much simpler, specialized interfaces.

What file system is used for optical disks such as CD-ROM's and CD-R's.

ISO-9660

What is a common reason for making symbolic links?

If a file you want to edit frequently is buried in several directory levels, instead of typing all of those directory/folder names each time you want to edit that file, you can just open the symbolically linked file in your directory in order to edit it.

How can you use ".." to navigate inside the directory that you are already in?

If you are in the /home directory - for example - and you are in your own folder, such as /aaron, but you want to go to Bob's folder, you can type "cd ../bob". Each ".." effectively replaces one "tree" in whatever directory you are in.

Give an example of program subdirectories that are in the /etc directory.

If you have Samba and X Windows System installed, you would have the directories /etc/samba and /etc/X11 subdirectories - respectively.

Give an example of a CPU seeing multi-core CPU's.

If you have two 4-core CPU's, you will get the performance of an 8-CPU system.

What is the difference between using hard links and symbolic links?

If you use symbolic links, deleting the original file makes the file completely inaccessible; the symbolic links remain, but point to a non-existent file. If you use hard links, you must delete ALL copies of the file to delete the file itself.

What is a big memory benefit of using the command history tools?

If you've forgotten the exact name of a file or command that was recently used, you might be able to retrieve it by going through the list of commands, or by searching with Ctrl+R.

When was the FSF founded?

In 1985, by Richard Stallman.

Describe Relative references.

In Linux, every directory includes a hidden subdirectory ".." that can be referenced. For example, if Sally is working in her home directory, but want to reference a file in Fred's home directory, she can use the command "../fred/afile.txt". This can be used for more than one directory, depending on how "deep" your reference needs to be.

What is a primary difference between Windows and Linux when it comes to where programs reside in the directory structure.

In Windows, most - or all - of a program's files reside in the same directory, such as C:\Program Files\Someprogram. In Linux, a program's files are likely to reside in standard locations that are shared with other programs.

Broadly speaking, where do drivers usually exist?

In the Kernel, or in a Library/Application.

Where do individual user account files normally reside?

In their /home directory.

What is the difference between man pages and info pages?

Info pages are more modern and include hyperlinks to related information.

What is in the /run directory?

Information about the running system.

Describe Infrastructure as a Service.

Infrastructure as a Service provides resources such as virtual machines, storage, etc. The end user does not need anything on their local machine. (Amazon Web Services)

What are other names that PATA has been called in the past?

Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) and Enhanced IDE (EIDE).

Name a popular DHCP system written for Linux.

Internet Systems Consortium

What advantage do Interpreted programs have over compiled programs?

Interpreted programs are easier to develop, since you don't have to deal with the compilation process, and they are easier to modify. Just open the program in a text editor, make your edits, and resave it.

What does virtualization software do?

It allows the creation of simulated hardware, operating systems, network resources, etc.

What does the "--classify" or the short form "-F" option do when using the ls command?

It appends an indicator code to the end of each name so you know what type of file it is.

How many connectors can a PATA cable have?

It can have up to 3 connectors - one for the motherboard or disk controller card, and two more for hard disks.

What does the "--recursive" or short form "-R" option do when using the ls command?

It causes ls to display directory contents recursively, with directories as well as subdirectories listed.

What does the "cd" command do?

It changes the directory that you are working in. Your current directory doesn't matter for a lot of commands, but it does when you begin to refer to files.

How many wires connect a power supply to a motherboard?

It depends on the configuration, but as a general rule for modern computing, there is probably one large wire that plugs into the motherboard itself, and a separate, smaller wire that supplies power just to the CPU.

With regard to hardware, what does X Window System handle?

It detects most of your hardware automatically, including the video card, monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and configures them automatically?

What does the "echo" command do?

It displays whatever option you give it, such as "echo Hello" would display the word Hello.

When copying files, what does the "-f" or "--force" command do?

It forces the system to overwrite files without prompting.

Describe PATA.

It has a wide, 40- or 80-pin cable that transfers several bits of data simultaneously, hence the word Parallel in the name Parallel ATA, or PATA.

What does a trailing at sign (@) indicate?

It is a "symbolic link" which is a file that points to another file.

What is a Daemon?

It is a program that runs unattended in the background. Most server administrators set up their servers to run in the background when the computer boots.

What is the ATA Packet Interface (ATAPI) standard?

It is a standard that defines a software interface that helps ATA manage devices other than hard disks.

Describe the Lynx web browser.

It is a text-based browser, so it can be used if you are running Linux in text-mode, and it is also useful to test web pages.

Describe the C: language.

It is a very important, compiled language in Linux since most of the Linux kernel and a large number of Linux applications are written in C:.

What is Command Completion?

It is a way to enter a long command or filename with a minimal number of keystrokes. To use it, simply start typing the command or filename, and then hit the TAB key.

What is the "$PATH" part of a command called?

It is an environment variable called the "PATH env variable".

Describe C++.

It is an extension to C: that adds object-oriented features, meaning that greater emphasis is given to data structures and their interactions than to the procedures used to control the flow of the program.

What is the purpose of creating links to files in Linux?

It is better to create links to files than to create multiple copies of those files.

When searching for files, what is important to remember about Linux?

It is case-sensitive.

Is GPT better than MBR?

It is more versatile, yes, but Windows only supports MBR natively, and GPT only in certain circumstances, so when dual-booting with Windows, keep that in mind.

What is Apache HTTPD?

It is part of the Linux Apache MySQL PHP (LAMP) stack for web applications and is one of the most popular web servers on the Internet.

What does the "cat" function do?

It is short for concatenate, and it displays whatever information is in the file or directory that it is uses on, such as "cat /etc/passwd".

When copying files, what does the "-a" or "--archive" command do?

It is similar to a recursive copy, but it also preserves the ownership and links attached to the files and folders.

What is meant by the term "copyleft"?

It is the FSF philosophy and the licenses it inspires.

In its most basic definition, what is a Shell?

It is the interface between you - the user - and the underlying Linux system.

What is stored in the /usr/lib folder?

It is usually just a symbolic link to the /lib folder.

What does the "man" command do?

It looks up whatever command follows it in the Linux manual systems, such as "man cat" to look up the concatenate command.

When copying files, what does the "-i" or "--interactive" command do?

It makes the system prompt you before overwriting files.

What does the "syslog" program do?

It manages the storage - and sometimes rotation - of the daemons on your system.

If you are the only user on a Linux computer, why do you still need to have a root account and an individual user account?

It provides a layer of protection against bugs, malware, etc., because even if you have access to the root account, as long as you are only logged in as a single user, the problem you are having won't be able to affect the system files.

What does the term "locate" do?

It searches a database of terms that Linux maintains, so it is faster than find. However, you can't control where it is searching.

In Linux, what is the backslash "\" used for?

It serves as a "quote" or "escape" character to enter otherwise hard to specify characters, such as spaces as part of a filename. For that reason, a backslash is not a legal character in Linux filenames.

What does the command "ls -a" produce?

It shows all files and folder, even those that are hidden.

What does the option "-tom" do when combined with the free command, i.e. - "free -tom".

It shows the free commands output in a more human understandable output.

What does the command "lspci" do?

It shows the motherboard's features and also shows information on the PCI devices.

What does the question mark "?" do when using the ls command?

It shows you any one variable character that can be in that spot, such as "ls -l file?.txt" will show you file1.txt, file2.txt, etc.

What does the command "echo $PATH" do?

It shows you what directories make up the path - sometimes called the defined path.

What does a computer's power supply do?

It takes the alternating current (AC) power from a wall outlet and converts it into the direct current (DC) that the motherboard and everything that plugs into it uses.

What does the "$PATH" command do?

It tells the shell to look in a certain path for any given search criteria that you give it. For example, after you run the "echo $PATH" command, you can search in those results for specific commands, such as ls, echo, etc. The $PATH command tells the shell where to look for whatever it is you are looking for.

Describe LibreOffice.

It was created as a fork of the original OpenOffice.org and is becoming the most popular office suite in Linux. It also includes the 6 programs Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, Draw, and Math.

What influence did MIT have on Open Source software?

It was the original moving force behind the X Window System that is included with many Linux distributions.

What is unique about the less command?

It will also search compressed files, such as those with a ".gz" file extension.

What happens if you put multiple arguments in quotes after the echo command?

It will see the entire text string as one argument, rather than multiple, and would display them exactly as they were typed. The command "echo Hello There" without the words quoted is actually 2 arguments. If you put the words in quotes, i.e. - "echo "Hello There"", the system would display the words as well as the spaces because the quotes told echo to display that single argument, rather than 2 arguments.

Why would you use the "touch" command on a file or set of files that already exists?

It will update the files' access and modification time stamps to the current date and time. This helps if you are using a command that works on files based on their access times, and you want the program to treat the old files as if they are new. This would also work if you want to distribute a collection of files and you want them all to have identical time stamps.

Describe Java.

Java was created by Sun Microsystems, which is now Oracle. It is a cross-platform language that's somewhere between being compiled and interpreted.

What is Command History?

Just like other terminal windows, Linux remember previous commands, and you can use the arrow keys to scroll back and forth through them.

What is the default desktop environment for Mandriva and openSUSE?

KDE

Name 3 Linux programs written in C++.

KDE, Apache OpenOffice, and LibreOffice.

Name the 6 most common Linux desktop environments.

KDE, GNOME, LXDE, Unity, Xfce, and Build Your Own.

What is "less"?

Less is a "pager" program for man text results that displays text one screen (one page) at a time. It can open information from inside a compressed file (*.gz) and displays it better than using the cat command.

What programs open filenames with the extension .txt?

Less or any text editor.

What is LGPL?

Lesser GPL allows developers to use libraries in the creation of program functionality, such as GUI's. GPL is too restrictive, so Lesser GPL was created.

In Linux, what is the Library that most programs rely on?

Libc

Describe libparted-Based tools.

Libparted tools can handle both MBR and GPT, and one tool - Gparted - is GUI-based, so easier for people to use.

What are Libraries?

Libraries are collections of programming functions that can be used by a variety of programs.

What are Libraries?

Libraries are collections of programming functions that can be useful to many programs. They are stored in separate files to save disk space and RAM when programs run.

What is in the /lib directory?

Libraries that contain code used by programs that are critical for basic system operation.

What can licenses do for proprietary software?

Licenses can restrict or grant use of proprietary software based on how it is written.

What is stored in the /lib folder?

Linked library files used by binaries in /bin and /usr/sbin.

What is the Linux Kernel called?

Linux - technically speaking the term Linux ONLY refers to the Kernel.

What type of kernel does Linux use?

Linux and BSD-derived kernels use monolithic designs.

How does Linux compare to Windows in the server arena?

Linux dominates the server arena, regularly powering email servers, web servers, file servers, etc.

What is Linux?

Linux is a clone of the Unix Operating System (OS).

What are Desktop Environment Suites?

Linux uses a basic GUI, so desktop environment suites are used to provide a more complete user experience.

What would happen if you created a variable of the letter "a" and assigned it to the phrase "Hello There" with the command a=Hello There?

Linux would display the word Hello, but then throw an error because it doesn't understand the command "There". If you want the variable "a" to display the phrase "Hello There", you must quote it on the variable, such as "a="Hello There"".

What is stored in the /var/log folder?

Log files for daemons that run on your system.

How do you update the man database?

Log in as a superuser and type the command "makewhatis" or "mandb", depending on which distribution you are using.

Describe a Logical partition.

Logical partitions always reside within an Extended partition, and since their boundaries are logical - instead of physical - you can have as many logical partitions as you like.

Name a popular Database written for Linux.

MSQL

What programs open filenames with the extension .1 through .9?

Man, info, and less.

What does the "klog" program do?

Manages the logs for the kernel itself.

What is the biggest challenge in dealing with video devices?

Managing drivers for the video chipsets involved.

What is a server dual-setup?

Many server administrators use both HTTPD Apache and Nginx in a side by side setup where each server does what it does best.

What is in the /var directory?

Misc. transient files, such as log and print spool files. /var/tmp holds files that should NOT be deleted when the computer reboots.

Name 3 popular OpenSource mobile applications.

Mobile SSH clients, Mobile browsers, and the Dolphin browser

How are the connectors on a motherboard managed?

Most are managed by the board's primary chipset. However, sometimes additional chipsets are installed for specific purposes, such as an extra Ethernet chipset or an extra SATA chipset.

When inside a terminal window, what do the prompts usually end in?

Most default prompts end in a "$" or a ">" greater than symbol for ordinary users. If using the root account, the prompt usually ends in "#".

Does the mv command allow the same options as the cp command?

Mostly, yes, with the exception of --preserve, --recursive, and --archive.

If you have a high-end graphics card, what is something you have to consider when deciding on the type of power supply to use?

Motherboards that provide "on-board graphics" do not have a separate graphics card that needs to be powered. However, for a graphics card that needs more power, such as with gaming computers, the type of power supply you install must support the total number of wires and the total amount of power that will be needed by the motherboard, the CPU, as well as the graphics card.

What does the "mv" command do?

Moves files and folders to different locations.

What does the Esc key followed by the V key do?

Moves the display back one page.

What do the letters N, P, and U do when inside an info node?

N moves to the next node in a series, P moves to a previous node in a series, and U moves up one level in the node hierarchy.

What are trademarks?

Names, logos, and similar identifiers of a specific company or product. Software and the companies that produce it often use trademarks, as do hardware companies.

What is GNOME's default file manager?

Nautilus.

Is it better to use "man" pages or "info" pages?

Neither is better. Man pages are the defacto standard, and what most people use. However, Info pages are more modern and robust. In addition, although their content is sometimes similar, it is often a good idea to look at both in order to find whatever it is that you are looking for.

Name a popular File Server written for Linux.

Network File System (NFS) or Samba

Name a popular Time Server written for Linux.

Network Time Protocol (NTP)

What is Nginx?

Nginx (pronounced Engine X) is a web server than can retrieve resources from one or more servers, as well as operate as a mail server. It is fast and lightweight.

Do you need to choose one filesystem?

No - to the contrary. Take advantage of the different benefits of each type of filesystem for different sets of files.

Can you patent an entire program?

No, but you can patent the algorithms that the program uses.

Are all Linux Kernels the same?

No, kernels are constantly evolving, and any 2 different Linux distributions will likely have slightly different kernels.

Does the power supply only feed the motherboard power?

No, there are usually separate wires that connect to hard drives, CD drives, graphics cards, and other power-hungry devices inside the computer.

Do manual pages only describe programs?

No, they can also describe configuration files and other features of Linux installations.

Do you need a CD to install Linux?

No, tools such as UNetbootin can copy files from a Linux installation disk onto a USB flash drive.

Does the less functionality only work on man pages?

No, you can use it to navigate through files as well. Just type the command followed by the filename, such as "less readme.txt"

Does Android run the same Linux applications that a desktop or server does?

No. Although Android is a Linux-based OS, the applications are entirely different.

Do all users on a machine have to use the same shell?

No. Each account specifies its own default shell.

Are programs converted by an Interpreter converted all at once?

No. The conversion happens one line at a time, which means the program is never completely converted into machine code. The interpreter determines what each line does, and then does that one thing. For that reason, interpreted programs run more slowly than compiled programs.

Are you confined to the way a terminal window looks?

No. Using the standard menu options of the terminal window, you have various options to change the look and feel.

Are your terminal login credentials all-encompassing?

No. You can run terminal windows as yourself and/or as the root, even in the same session by just opening up new tabs.

Are you limited to just one terminal window?

No. You can use the file menu to open as many tabs as you like.

How are nodes organized?

Nodes are organized on levels, like the organization of a book. A subject will have a main node, then multiple nodes at a lower level.

What are info pages also known as?

Nodes, and the info page system is made up of a series of interrelated nodes.

When copying files, what does the "-p" or "--preserve" command do?

Normally the user who issues the cp command owns the copied file and uses that account's default permissions. The option preserves ownership and permissions, if possible.

Describe binary codes.

Numbers that represent operations, such as adding 2 numbers or choosing which of two actions to take.

What is the main difference between OS X and Linux?

OS X is largely limited to Apple hardware. Linux, by contrast, runs on a wide variety of hardware, including most PCs. You can even install Linux on Macintosh computers.

Give 4 examples of cloud computing applications.

Office 365, Netflix, Dropbox, and Hulu.

What are Repositories?

Official software storage servers that can be accessed on the Internet via a Linux system's PMS utilities.

When a Linux distribution has multiple partitions, what is always the case with the filesystems that are present?

One of the filesystems is always the root system, and every other filesystem is "mounted" to the root, including any attached media such as a USB flash drives, a DVD player, etc.

Network protocols involve transferring data over what?

One or more Ports, which are numbered resources on a computer.

What is a Chipset?

One or more chips that provide key functionality for the computer. They handle the hard disk interfaces, USB interfaces, network services, etc.

Name 5 popular OpenSource desktop applications.

OpenOffice, LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, and Chromium (open-sourced Chrome)

What programs open filenames with the extension .odt?

OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice, or most word processors.

What does the "--directory" or "-d" short form option do when using the ls command?

Ordinarily ls will display the contents of a directory rather than the name of the directory. This option displays the name instead.

What does the "-p" or "-parents" option do when using the mkdir command?

Ordinarily you will get an error if you try to make a directory inside a directory that doesn't exist. However, if you use the "-p" option, it will force Linux to create the parent directory, such as "mkdir -p first/second" to create a subdirectory called second in a parent directory called first that doesn't exist yet.

Describe Apache OpenOffice.

Originally created by Oracle and called OpenOffice.org, it was donated to the Apache group in 2011. It has 6 applications: Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, Draw, and Math.

What are the 2 most common disk interfaces today?

PATA and SATA.

Describe PHP.

PHP, or Hypertext Preprocessor, was created for use on web servers in order to generate dynamic content. It is an interpreted language that requires a PHP-aware web server, such as Apache.

How do you delete an entire directory tree?

Pass the "-r", "-R", or "--recursive" option to the rm command along with a directory name, i.e. - "rm -r somedirectory/".

In programming, what "language" do humans understand better than binary?

People are better at handling words and symbols, such as "+" or "if".

Describe Perl.

Perl is an interpreted language that allows for easy manipulation of text. It is a general-purpose language that can be used for many tasks.

Describe Platform as a Service.

Platform as a Service provides the run-time environment for system development.

What are the 3 types of partitions?

Primary, Extended, and Logical.

What does the "--color" option do when using the ls command?

Produces a color-coded listing that differentiates directories and other special file types by displaying them in different colors.

What is in the /bin directory?

Program files that are critical for normal operation and that ordinary users may run.

What is in the /sbin directory?

Program files that are critical for normal operation and that ordinary users seldom run.

Describe Compiled languages.

Programmers convert - or compile - a program written in a high-level language from its original source code into the machine code form.

What is in the /usr directory?

Programs and files that are used in normal system operation but are not critical for a bare-bones boot of the system. It is split into subdirectories that mirror parts of the root organization - /usr/bin, /usr/sbin, /usr/lib, etc.

Describe Interpreted languages.

Programs written in interpreted languages are converted to machine code at the time they're run by a program known as an interpreter.

What does the "ls" command do?

Provides information by displaying the names of files in a directory. If you pass it no options, it shows the files in the current directory. However, you can pass it both options and file or directory specifications.

How do you execute scripts from the command line?

Put a period ( . ) followed immediately (no space) by a forward slash ( / ) and then the name of the script.

If the touch command allows multiple arguments, such as "touch touchfile1.txt touchfile2.txt", etc., how can you create a filename that has more than one word?

Put the name of the file in quotes, such as "touch "my file is awesome"".

Describe Python.

Python is an interpreted language whose major goal is code readability. It supports object orientation, and is often used for scripting , and can also be used to write more complex programs.

In order to run on any given CPU, software must be what?

Recompiled for that CPU.

What does the term "rm" do?

Removes files.

What does the command "Iscpu" do?

Returns additional information about the CPU in about 20 lines of output.

What does the command "cat /proc/cpuinfo" do?

Returns detailed information about the CPU - even more than the "lscpu" command.

In Linux, what is root?

Root is the Linux administrative user.

Which account has access to all files and directories, except those created and used by specific programs?

Root, which is why most system activities can only be done when logged in as the root user.

Running a CPU at a faster Clock Rate is similar to what?

Running an engine at a faster speed.

Describe SATA.

SATA is mostly software compatible with PATA, but it uses thinner cables that can handle just one hard disk per cable. Currently, SATA is the dominant disk technology on new computers.

A Linux server that handles the SMB/CIFS protocol normally runs what software?

Samba

Name a popular Remote Login Server written for Linux.

Secure Shell (SSH) or Virtual Network Computing (VNC)

How do you unfreeze a terminal window after launching a GUI program from inside the terminal?

Select the terminal and click Ctrl+Z to suspend the GUI program.

Name a popular Email Server written for Linux.

Sendmail, Postfix, or Evolution

In essence, what are symbolic links?

Separate files that refer to the original file by name.

How do you issue 2 separate shell commands on the same line in a shell?

Separate the commands with a semicolon ( ; ), i.e. - echo Hello; echo World will put "Hello" on one line and "World" on another line because they are 2 different commands.

What is SAS?

Serial Attached SCSI is a serial variant that's similar to SATA.

Describe Shareable vs. Unshareable files created by the FHS.

Shareable files may be shared between computers, such as user data files, program binary files, etc. Unshareable files contain system-specific information, such as configuration files, that should not be shared between computers.

Describe Shell Scripting.

Shells that enable entirely keyboard-based use of the computer.

What does the "ps" command do?

Shows a list of the currently running programs.

What does the ps command do when used with the "-aux" option?

Shows all processes that are running on the system, not just the processes running for the present user.

What does the "top" command do?

Shows an interactive live display of running processes.

What does the "free" command do?

Shows present memory usage on your system.

What does the "hostname" command do?

Shows the local machine and domain that you are in at the time.

What does the command "ls-la" produce?

Since "ls-l" produces a detailed list, "ls-la" produces a detailed list that also includes hidden files.

Why are there duplicate folders such as /lib and /usr/lib, or /bin and /usr/bin?

Since the programs used often have similar dependencies on library files, it is more efficient to point to a library rather than create an additional copy of it.

What do question mark wildcards stand for?

Single characters such as b??k could stand for book, balk, buck, etc.

What is a Microkernel?

Smaller than monolithic kernels, they move as many tasks as possible into non-kernel processes and then manage the communications between processes. (Windows, HURD)

What is Open Source a development method for?

Software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process.

What is one issue with web browsers and cloud computing?

Some cloud computing providers will only work with specific web browsers. If one Linux browser does not work, try a different one.

What is a Super Server?

Some servers run via a super server, such a xinetd. The server programs run constantly, keeping the servers they manage unloaded except when they're needed.

Describe Static vs. Variable files created by the FHS.

Static files normally don't change unless modified by the System Administrator, i.e. - program executable files. Variable files change often, such as user files, automated scripts, etc.

On the command line, what are arguments?

Subcommands or codes that follow the program name.

What are wildcards?

Symbols or sets of symbols that stand in for other characters. It is also known as "globbing".

What is in the /etc directory?

System configuration files.

What does the command "cd" with nothing following it do?

Takes you back to your home directory.

What are 3 shells other than Bash?

Tcsh, ksh, and zsh.

What is in the /tmp directory?

Temporary files that are sometimes deleted when the computer reboots, but not always, depending on the distribution that you are using.

Why are text-mode tools better to use in Linux than a GUI?

Text-mode tools provide more flexibility, and the tasks that they accomplish vary less between Linux distributions than the tasks in GUI distributions.

What are the 2 display modes for Linux?

Text-mode, and GUI. The primary GUI program is X Window System, or X for short.

What must happen before you can access a file system at a specific location?

That location must first be mounted.

Give 2 options you can use with the rm command to prompt or not prompt for file deletions.

The "-i" option will cause rm to prompt before deleting each file. The "-f" or "--force" option will cause rm to delete files without prompting.

What is a more powerful search than man pages?

The "apropos" command performs a more thorough search of both the Name and Description section of man pages.

In Cloud Computing, what is meant by the cloud vs. computing?

The "cloud" represents the Internet, and "computing" represents what you are doing over the Internet.

What is the difference between the /tmp directory and the /var/tmp directory?

The /tmp directory is used for short-term storage and its contents are erased when the computer is rebooted. The /var/tmp directory is not deleted automatically.

What is FHS?

The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard allows a common and effective file hierarchy that is followed more or less by all Linux distributions.

What is the FSF, and what is their free software philosophy?

The Free Software Foundation advocates for the "free" use of software, meaning that the software itself might still cost money, but people should be free to do what they want with it.

What programs open filenames with the extension .tif, .png, or .jpg?

The GIMP and Eye of GNOME ("eog)

Where can you find an info page GUI browser?

The GNU Emacs editor, which is a powerful text editor, provides an info page browser. Also, tkinfo is a stand-alone program with similar functionality.

What is the FDL?

The GNU Free Documentation License is intended for use in documentation rather than by programs.

What is GIMP?

The GNU Image Manipulation Program is a still-image manipulation program similar to Adobe Photoshop.

What happens if you launch a GUI program from a terminal window?

The GUI opens its own window or windows, and the terminal window will freeze, but stay open.

What is GPL and what is the major problem with it?

The General Public License is a very well known license platform for relasing Open Source software. Unfortunately, if there is even the smallest bit of GPL licensed source code in any given software release, the entire software release has to be licensed as GPL, which makes it very restrictive.

What is the default view in the File Manager, Nautilus, and what is kept there?

The Home location is the default view, and it is where users will store their own files.

What makes up any given Linux distribution?

The Kernel, and its utilities and configuration files. Each distribution is - in essence - its own OS.

What is a license created by the FSF and often used for libraries?

The Lesser GPL, or Lesser General Public.

What is LXDE?

The Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment uses fewer resources, so it is ideal for older or less powerful computers.

Why does the Linux Kernel still use GPLv2?

The Linux Kernel is often used in devices such as TiVo's and Android-based phones, and GPLv3 would be too restrictive to allow the necessary boot processes used by those types of devices.

What is the aim of the OSI?

The Open Source Initiative aims to promote open source software in the business world. They are just a little more pragmatic and "official" than the FSF, but still offers more total license options than the FSF.

What is ODF?

The OpenDocument Format is an open set of file formats meant to standardize common files such as word processing, spreadsheets, etc.

What is SCSI?

The Small Computer System Interface is a parallel interface that was once common on servers, but is less common today.

What is ZFS?

The Zettabyte File System ensures that data stored on disks cannot be lost due to any physical error or misprocessing by the hardware or OS.

What is a monitor's aspect ratio, and what are the common ratios?

The aspect ratio is the ratio of the length to the height of the display. Modern monitors usually use a ratio of 4:3 or 16:9.

Why does the size of a motherboard matter?

The bigger and more bulky it is, the more things that can be plugged into it for use by the system. However, that comes with the tradeoff of the machine itself needing to be bigger in order to accommodate the large size.

What is a Multi-core CPU?

The circuitry for two or more CPU's are combined into one unit. The OS "sees" this as multiple CPU's, and Linux can run as many CPU-intensive programs as you have cores, so they don't slow each other down.

What is Source Code?

The code programs are written in.

What happens if a power supply becomes over-burdened?

The computer can crash or behave erratically, perhaps corrupting data or files. Such problems can be hard to distinguish from other problems, such as bad RAM or a failing hard disk.

What is the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard ls (FHS)?

The directory structure and directory contents in Linux distributions.

What benefit does Linux offer when used on embedded systems?

The distributions include fixed, basic configurations and guided setup tools to help inexperienced users set up critical basic options, such as network settings and time zones.

What is the difference between the number sign (#) and the dollar sign ($) when looking at a Linux command line?

The dollar sign ($) usually denotes a regular user, while the number sign (#) usually denotes the root, administrative user.

What happens if you put multiple variables together in quotes when using the echo command?

The echo command will treat them as one argument, including spacing. So if variable "a" is equal to the word "Hello", and variable "b" is equal to the word "World", the command "echo "$a$b" would produce "HelloWord" with no spaces because you didn't put any spaces in your quoted variables.

What is Binary Code?

The form a program must take in order for a computer to run it.

Describe the GPTfdiskFamily.

The gdisk, cgdisk, and sgdisk tools are similar to the fdisk family of tools, but work with GPT disks. They provide more options than libparted tools, but are not as user-friendly to learn.

When is the Kernel loaded?

The kernel is the first program loaded on start-up and it handles the rest of the start-up process.

What does the "-l" option do when using the ls command?

The ls command normally displays filenames only. This option (a lower-case "L") produces more details, such as the file's permission string, owner, group, size, and creation date.

If you aren't getting results from your man page searches, what is one possibility?

The man database has not been updated, especially after a fresh program or Linux installation.

When you view the output of the "dmesg" command, in what order are the line items?

The most recent items are at the bottom of the list, directly above the command line. If you have recently added something to the kernel - such as a plug in USB drive, new hardware, etc., the messages about those entries will be at the bottom (most recent) section of the list.

What must you consider with regard to your motherboard and the type of hard drive that you want to use?

The motherboard must have the right connectors for your chosen hard drive(s).

When using the ls -l command, how do you identify a directory?

The permissions string will start with the letter d, such as drwxrwxrwx.

What are binaries?

The program files for a particular processor and kernel—for each OS.

What are "processes"?

The programs that are currently running.

What is the main filesystem called in Linux?

The root filesystem (/).

What is in the /root directory?

The root user's home directory.

What is Samba?

The standard Windows interoperability suite of programs for Unix and Linux.

How do you know if a file is a symbolic link when looking at the results from an ls command?

The symbolic link is denoted by an "l" (lowercase L) as the first character of the file's permissions string, such as lrwxrwxrwx.

Describe Home Directory references.

The tilde "~" refers to the user's home directory, as in ~/afile.txt is the same as /home/fred/afile.txt

In what 2 ways in a Linux installation can you typically find additional information other than using man or info pages?

There is often a documentation file called "doc" or "documentation" after the file name, such as "samba-doc". There are also README files with some installations.

If you try to use the command rmdir to remove a directory that is empty, but it doesn't work, what is a possible reason?

There may be hidden files in that directory, and rmdir will not remove directories with files in them. You must go into the directory in question and perform an "ls -la" command to list all files - including hidden files - to see what is inside that directory.

Describe Absolute references.

These references are relative to the root "/" directory, as in /home/fred/afile.txt that is in Fred's home directory.

How are C: programs compiled?

They are generally compiled with the gcc program, which is part of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) package.

How long do variables last?

They are only assigned during any given instance of a shell. Once you close the shell, the variables go away.

What do bracketed characters stand for?

They match any character in a set, such as b[ao][lo]k matches balk and book, but not buck.

What is in the /media directory?

This is the NEW mount point for removable media, typically split into subdirectories for each mounted filesystem.

What is in the /mnt directory?

This is the TRADITIONAL mount point for removable media, typically split into subdirectories for each mounted filesystem.

What is the goal of Creative Commons?

To combat a creative culture that is tied to permissions granted or not granted by those who hold copyrights on earlier works.

Give an example of when you would need 2 drivers to manage a device.

To print to a USB printer, you use the Kernel's USB driver and a Ghostscript printer driver.

What is the term in parentheses after the Kernel designation when viewing the text-mode login prompt, such as (tty1)?

Tty1 is the name of the hardware being used for the login.

From the /usr/share/doc directory, what do you do once you find a keyword that you are looking for?

Type "cd keyword" and then use the ls file to see what information is available.

Other than clicking the "X" to close a window, how can you close a terminal window?

Type "exit" at the command prompt.

How do you return to a running GUI-based program after you have been working in the terminal window?

Type "fg" (for foreground) which returns the GUI program to the "foreground" of the shell - not necessarily the foreground window.

What is the simplest usage of man pages?

Type the "man" command followed by the name of a command, configuration file, system call, or other keyword.

How do you run both a GUI program and a terminal window at the same time?

Type the command "bg" (for background) into the terminal window. Both programs will now be active.

How can you force an update to the locate database?

Type the command "updatedb" when logged in as a superuser.

What is another way to get information about commands in Linux?

Type the command followed by "--help", i.e. - "ls --help" or "cat --help"

How do you find information about a command?

Type the word "info" prior to the command, i.e. - "info cat" to get information about the concatenate command.

How often is the locate database updated?

Typically every 24 hours.

Most modern computers use what as the primary interface for external peripherals?

USB

Since it is so simple and widespread, what is FAT used on?

USB flash drives, smartphones, e-book readers, digital camera media, etc.

What is Unity?

Unity is the default desktop environment for Ubuntu, and it aims for simplicity and a consistent desktop environment across various desktops and platforms.

What filesystem is used on DVD and Blu-ray media?

Universal Disk Format (UDF), which is intended to replace ISO-9660.

How are Linux directories sorted alphabetically?

Upper-case directory names, such as "/X11" will always be listed before lower-case directory names, such as "/usr"

How can you minimize the amount of data that is returned from the "ps -aux" command?

Use a "pipe" and the grep command to search for a specific keyword, i.e. - "ps -aux | grep bash".

How can you use the "touch" command to ensure you don't accidentally create new files when all you want to do is change their timestamp?

Use the "-d string" or "--date=string" option to set the date of the file that is represented by the specified string. For example, "touch -d "July 4 2015 afile.txt" will change the timestamp for that file to July 4, 2015.

How can you delete an entire directory tree when using the rmdir command?

Use the "-p" or "--parents" option, such as "rmdir -p newdir1/newdir1inside".

How do you display the contents of a file in Linux?

Use the "cat" command, which is short for concatenate.

How can you tell the complete path of the directory that you are in at any given time?

Use the "pwd" command. Some Linux distributions display your complete path on the command line at all times, some do not.

How do you remove a directory in Linux?

Use the "rmdir" command followed by the directory name, such as "rmdir newdir". "rmdir" only removes empty folders.

How do you create a new, blank file in Linux?

Use the "touch" command, i.e. - "touch newfile.txt"

How can you find out how an executable program would be handled?

Use the "type" command and the name of the program, i.e. "type fee".

How do you unmount a filesystem?

Use the "umount /shared" command. Note that the "umount" command only has one n.

How can you search man pages if you don't have much information about what you are looking for?

Use the "whatis" command followed by the subject, such as "whatis cat" to learn about the concatenate command.

How can you view a formatted text file in raw form?

Use the -L option in less, i.e. - "less -L file.html"

How do you search for wildcards when using the ls command?

Use the asterick "*" after the wildcard you are searching for. For example, if you search for a file name that start with "t", your search string would look like this "ls t*".

How do you display files with a dot (.) using the ls command?

Use the option "—all" or the short form "-a" to display the "dot" files which are hidden system files on Linux systems.

If a directory that you want to delete has content in it, how can you turn off the error message that rmdir will give you?

Use the option --ignore-fail-on-non-empty option. Rmdir still won't delete the directory, but it doesn't return the error message.

If you want to change to a folder in your home directory, what is the fastest way to do that?

Use the tilde as part of your cd command, i.e. "cd ~/folder1" is the same as typing "cd /home/username/folder1".

Websites built with PHP can support what types of content?

User logins, shopping carts, different content based on user locations, etc.

What is in the /home directory?

User's home directories that are separated from the OS so that if you have to reinstall the OS, you don't lose your user's data.

Describe Software as a Service.

Users don't have to install software locally because they access the applications via the cloud, such as with Office 365.

Describe Database as a Service.

Users don't need to install database software or hardware - just provision the infrastructure in the cloud and start using the database.

How do you delete a file?

Using the remove command, or "rm", i.e. - "rm file1.txt file2.txt" to remove both of those files.

What are the file extensions for Java source code files?

Usually .java.

If a program is in one of the common directories, how can you run it?

Usually by just typing its name.

What are Virtual Terminals (VT's)?

Virtual screens that can hold various types of information.

What is Dual Licensing?

When a company creates 2 versions of a product - one that is open source and free, and the other that adds features not available in the open source version.

What are Bounties?

When a company offers to pay for new software or features via open source creation. The programmer who completes the final project collects the project's accumulated funds.

When copying files, what does the "-R" or "--recursive" command do?

When copying from a directory, that option will copy the directory and all of its subdirectories.

What is Cooperative Multitasking?

When programs voluntarily give up CPU time to other processes. (DOS)

What is Preemptive Multitasking?

When the Kernel schedules CPU time for programs, even if the programs didn't voluntarily give up control. (UNIX)

How does the mv command work with respect to moving files on the same filesystem vs. moving them to a different file system?

When the source and target are on the same filesystem, mv rewrites directory entries without actually moving the file's data. When you move a file from one filesystem to another, mv copies the file and then deletes the original file.

When is your "$PATH" defined?

When you log into Linux, so your "path" will depend on which user you are logged in as when you use it.

When are man pages most useful?

When you need to know the options to use with a command, the name of an option in a configuration file, or similar details.

What is the difference between using one dash "-" or two dashes "--" when using various ls commands?

When you use just one dash, the list comes out vertically on the screen. When you use two dashes, the list comes out horizontally.

How do you use the "whereis" search function?

Whereis does NOT search user directories, but it is a good way to find program executables and related files. Simply type "whereis keyword" to find the directory where that keyword exists.

How does Linux treat capitalization when using wildcards?

Wildcards are case sensitive, so b[a-z]ck doesn't match bAck or b3ck, as opposed to using a question mark, such as b[?]ck matches back, bAck, and b3ck.

How big can MBR partitions be?

With sector sizes of 512-bytes, which is the nearly universal size, MBR can support disk sizes up to 2 tebibytes (TiB).

How do you look at the kernel messages?

With the "dmesg" command.

How do you make a directory in Linux?

With the "mkdir" command, such as "mkdir newdir".

How can you force Linux to remove a directory (rmdir) regardless of whether or not it has files or folders in it?

With the command "rmdir -rf foldername" you can force Linux to recursively "-r" and without asking "f (for force)" delete a directory regardless of what is in it. ****THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS COMMAND****

What can you do if the X configuration file is missing?

Without X running, you can manually generate a configuration file by typing "# Xorg - configure" as root. The result is a file called /root/xorg.conf.new, and that file needs to be copied to /etc/X11/xorg.conf

What is the difference between a desktop computer and a workstation?

Workstations tend to be more powerful and specialized, and often run Unix or Linux.

Given the way humans understand symbols, what does programming involve?

Writing a program in a symbolic programming language and then translating that symbolic code into the numeric form that computers understand.

What is the Linux GUI known as?

X Window System, or X for short.

Name the 2 primary types of CPU's.

X86 and x86-64.

Can you "echo" more than one thing at a time to display?

Yes, although sometimes the items will need to be in quotes. For example, if you typed "echo Hello There", the system would display Hello There.

Are files and directories that are deleted with the rm command gone forever?

Yes, and there is no "recycle bin" like there is in Windows. Short of special systems tools, once you delete a file or a directory with the rm command, it's gone forever, so be cautious, especially when using it in conjunction with the "--recursive" option that deletes entire directories AND their subdirectories.

Is C: an efficient programming language?

Yes, but it is also easy to write buggy programs because it lacks some error-checking features that are common in other languages.

Can you use ls to display contents from more than one directory at a time?

Yes, by listing both directories in the command, i.e. "ls /bin /usr"

Can you view a history of the commands that you've used in Linux?

Yes, by typing the "history" command. Alternatively, you can type "history 10" to see the 10 most recent commands.

Can Kernels be patched?

Yes, distribution maintainers offer "patch kernels" to fix bugs or add features.

Can you use the echo command on more than one variable at a time?

Yes, just as with the "cat" command, you can issue the echo command followed by multiple variables, such as "echo $a $b" would display the contents of variable "a" followed by the contents of variable "b".

Can you move a file and rename it at the same time?

Yes, such as "mv file1 /home/username file2" would move the file called "file1" to the /home/username directory, and also rename it "file2"

Can you use bracketed characters to stand for a range of values?

Yes, such as b[a-z]ck matches back, and buck, but not b3ck.

Can you use variables (globbing) with the ls command?

Yes, such as ls "*txt" will only list the text files in the directory that you are in at the time.

Can you "touch" more than one file at a time?

Yes, the touch command allows for multiple arguments, such as "touch file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt" will create all three of those files.

Are Linux's native filesystems case-sensitive?

Yes, to Linux, afile.text, Afile.txt, and AFILE.TXT are 3 different files.

Is there a way to tell the man query to search a specific section?

Yes, type the section number in the query, i.e. - "man 3 cat" to search for information about the concatenate command in the "Library calls provided by program libraries" section.

Is there a way to remove directories that still have files in them?

Yes, use the " * " variable to remove everything, i.e. - "rm *"

Can you use the mkdir command to create directories inside other directories?

Yes, use the command "mkdir newdir/newdir2" to create a directory called newdir2 inside the directory newdir.

Is there a way to make man pages searches as powerful as the "apropos" command?

Yes, using the '-k" option. "apropos cat" and "man -k cat" will bring back the same results.

Can you sell open source software?

Yes, you just have to include the source code along with it. The open source software version that you are selling is the "cookie," while the source code that you must include with it is the "cookie recipe".

Can you "cat" more than one file at a time?

Yes, you just have to list them after the cat command, such as "cat file1.txt file2.txt".

Can you list files from a directory other than the one you are in at the time?

Yes, you just have to specify the path, such as "ls -l /home/username/Documents".

Is it possible to boot a Linux system without a disk?

Yes. You can boot a Linux computer using files stored on a network server.

Can you run a program that is not in one of the $PATH directories?

Yes. You have to type the program's directory location, along with its name, i.e. /home/Aaron/myprog

Describe how a basic variable works.

You can assign a variable to be anything, such as "a=Hello". The letter "a" is now equated with the word "Hello". By giving the command "echo a", you will get the result "Hello".

If you can't optimize the display of your monitor after attempting all of the available resolutions, what might the problem be?

You might have to upgrade the video card because some cards aren't able to handle the optimum resolution of certain monitors.

What must you do before you remove a disk that is in a Linux machine?

You must Unmount it either manually or from within the file manager.

What happens if the only way to get an updated driver is via a "kernel patch"?

You must make changes to the main kernel source-code package, then recompile the kernel.

What can you do if X does not detect your hardware or configure it properly?

You must manually edit the X configuration file, /etc/X11/xorg.conf.

How do you access a file system in Linux?

You must mount it with the mount command, such as "# mount /dev/sda5 /shared"

What is unique about many Unix login screens?

You often have to put in your username before the option to choose your preferred desktop environment will be available.

What is a resource/financial benefit of using cloud computing?

You only use and pay for the resources that you need, and you can scale up or back as needed based on your business needs.

What happens when you partition a disk?

You split the disk into 2 or more sections that can be created in whatever sizes you like, up to the max size of the disk.

When using command completion, what happens if more than one entry matches the letters that you have typed?

You will get an alert - most likely audible - and then you hit the TAB key again to see the list of entries that start with those letters.

Printer drivers are often incompatible with Linux. Where can you find printer driver information for Linux systems?

www.linuxprinting.org