fated tutorials to improve 7 Nol Aras ~' s y) OPC 100% INDEPENDENTThe Complete ‘ Build Your O7 C The Complete ane Manual Sue "init ternet “The Complete ‘s Linux Manual The Complete Landscape _ faThe Complete Tale Manual “That's what makes Linux so good: you put in something and that effort multiplies. It's a positive Feedback cycle.” Se AR Cae ed dae mO me Lee en Linux is everywhere. It powers the Internet as the main operating Se TN le Maa eke eee rel eR 0)- [eee ed PS CUNCM Co ccst cc tc emmntent] Ele Rett eR ET NEUE ue)9) (lee WD as rela} ultra stable, lightning Fast and completely free of charge. bee R eRe K oR COR MTU A area mele roe Cond operating system. Its unique configuration allows the user to customise and personalise the OS into any Form they wish. A PRET atte ental (Mele OM ole) SNe MEM Let Ren ee Nace) the next, install thousands of freely available apps and programs and take back control of their computer. Linux is about freedom. Freedom from the walled-garden Fyeye)cey- (ape mele a Mme g (ee) Melee ne VSNL le Lod choose what you want on your computer, freedom to alter it and use it how you please. It’s a worldwide community of like- CTs oR SelM Dee aa os ACO flute —el]o)( 203 With this book, you too can become a part of the open community fold Maat ie MM Rel cole CRU leal unease ey-\¢ ANI Gall eRe Re ia to grips with Linux, show you how it works, what you can do with Cereal Rnd Me ao RLM EU acd) See cmos ipeoN am aeons BB cocmouss FB som puvications & wwmbdmoubiictionscomVo Why Linux? aT Ras om tae tn ee reese aR ak Ce Renee oy 48 cy 52 Ey cy cy 60 eT Ee mun ony a PaaS on Me ENC aa 66 68 70 ic 4 cd acy 80 Ev cy Cee Cee na Install Apps via the Terminal Part 1 eee acinar enue) Peta mein eee ean Creating and Removing Directories Fun Things to do in the Terminal More Fun Things to do in the Terminal rere aes 7 Did you know...Linux and the Big Beng Cr ea ee a Cer ec oeicae) Cree erie) eee Cree art ees Coe eae AZof Linux Commands CoN Gems ete Ica Installing Linuxin a Virtual Environment een ee mea Pena egret 34 10 Things to do After Installing Linux Mint ETL creer yee! Te ud cme ae een ns Ce pu al ren ageter eee hence eet ee eC 100 Did you Know... Space Invaders, Coancod cry cred cy rr) cord cry ord Deuce Cea keomucn enn hac east eeepc Conditions and Loops ered Dnt gem s ) CL eed ord 124 ord cry) cet) ord ery 136 138 cr rr ery Contents @% RemSee eae Ln) Structure of a C++ Program eonneemacct ss Cece) Tete Nes Data Types Sard oes eae) Did you Know...The Hobbit Common Coding MistakesSay Hello to Linux “How did you know so much about computers?” “I didn't, it was the First one.”Why Linux? What is it? Where do I get it? Why are there so many different versions of it? Most beginners ask these, and many ‘more, questions when starting out. It’s true that Linux is an incredibly versatile and powerful operating system but where do you start? Thankfully, you can Find the answers in this section. Theres so much you can do with Linux but you need to know where to start; we're here to help you out. In this section you can learn what Linuxis, what a distro is and what a desktop environment is. You can also begin to explore how Linux works and howit can work For you. Desktop Environments h Distro?wy Say Hello to Linux Why Linux? and freedom From any Form of licensing or payment. There’s a lot more to Linux than Meni dents) FREE AND OPEN Linux a Fantastic Fit for those who want something different. The efficiency of the system, the availability of applications and stability are just a Few good reasons. ‘The fist thing youneed toknow isthat thereisno such operating Linux works considerably differently to Windows or macOS, I's Free system called Linux Linuxisin Fact the operating system kernel, the fora start:Freeto download, Free toinstall on as many computers core component of an 05. When talking about Linuxwhat we, and asyou lke, free to use for an unlimited amount of time and free to ‘others, ae referring to are one of the many distributions, or distros, _uparade and extend with, equally, free programs anc applications. that use the Linux kernel. No daubt you've heard of at least ane of "This free to use element is one ofthe biggest draws far the the current popular distros: Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, openSUSE, developer. While aWinclows license can cost up to £100, and a Mac DDebian, Raspbian, the lst aes on, Each one of these distros offer considerably more, a user, be they a developer, gamer or someone something ite different For the user. while each hasthe Linux who wants te put an older computer to use, can quickly download & kernel atits core, they provide the user with aciferent looking distro and get to work in a matter of minutes. desktop environment, different preloaded applications, different ways inwhich to update the system ancl get mare appsinstalled Alongside the free to use aspect comes level of freedom to anda sightly different look and feel throughout the entire system, customise and mould the system to your own uses. Each ofthe However, a the centre lies Linux, which is why we say Linux available distros available on the internet have a certain ‘spin’ Linuxis a great operating system on which to start coding 2D +o) 0 ambitions omThere are thousands of free packages available For programmers under Linux. inthat some offer increased security, a fancy looking desktop, ’ gaming specific spin, or something directed toward students This extensiblty makes Linux a more desirable platformto use, as you can quickly mould the system into a development base, including many different kinds of IDEs For the likes of Python, webs development, C++, Java and so on; or create a base For online anonymity, perhaps as a Minecraft server, media centre and much more, Another remarkable advantage for those looking to learn how to-code, is that Linux comes with mast of the popular coding environments built in. Bath Python and C++ are preinstalled ina high percentage of Linux distros available, which means you can start to program almost as soon as you instal the system and boot It up for the frst time. Generally speaking Linux doesn't take up as many system resources ‘as Windows or macOS; by system resources we mean memory, haré drive space and CPU load. The Linux code has been streamlined ands free from thire-party ‘bloatware’ which hogs those systems resources. A more efficient system of course means more available resources For the cading and testing environment and the programs youeventually create. Less use of resources also meansyou can Use Linux on older hardware that would normally struggle or even Why Linux? om 9 O= Qi Mandriva siackrare Each distro offers something unique to the user but all have Linux atthe core, refuse to runthe latest versions of Windows or macOS;s0 rather than throwing away an old computer, it can be reused with a Linux distr, Is notall about C~+, Python or any of the other more popular programming languages though. Using the command ine of Linux, also called the Terminal, you're able to create Shell scripts, wihich are programs that are designed to.run from the command line and made up of scripting languages, They are used mainly to ‘automate tasks or offer the user some form of input and output For ‘a certain operation, Finally although there are many more advantages we canlist, there are thousands and thousands of free programs and apps avalable that cover neary every aspect of computing. Known as packages, there are (tthe time of writing) over 8,700 specific programming applications just on Linux Mint alone and an incredible 62,000 ‘overall packages catering for everything from Amateur Radio to ww tools Linux then, isa great resource and environment for programming in. k's perFectiy suited for developers and is continually improving {and evolving, if you're serious about getting inte coding, or you just wantto try something new, give Linux a try and see how it works, Foryou. A Linux programming environment can be as simple or as complex as you need itto be.my Say Hello to Linux ) The Best Linux Distributions Med OLRM oo Mee Lod M Paolo Melee) Cel icicle oe LaLe E-)9) Deere KRM ke Lee lee eee (OAC OM AU RWC Bolt can get them. GOING LINUX ‘The installation process for most distributions i similar. You download a disk image from the website and burn It to an optical disk or create a USB Flash Drive installer. Just be carefulto get the right distribution for your hardware and read the instructions carefully. NT aI Le By Far the most popular Linux distro (¢stribution) is Linux Mint, Mint began life backin 2006, as an alternative to the then most popular distro, Ubuntu. Although based on Ubuntu's Long Term Support build Linux Mint took different cirection and offered the user a better overall experience. Linux Minthas three main desktop versions avalable with each new version of the core OSit releases. This may sound confusing at first but i's quite simple, Currentiy, Linux Mint Uses the Cinnamon Desktop Environment ats flagship mode! there's MATE and Xfce madels availabe too Cinnamon isa araphicaly rich desktop environment, MATE uses less fancy graphics, and is more stable on a wider variety of desktop systems and Xfce is an extremely streamlined desktop environment that's builtfor speed and ultimate stability, Throughout this title welllbe using the Cinnamon version; however, you can try outany oF the other desktop environments ‘as you wish. in Fact, its recommended that you da spend some time trying diferentensironments, and even different cstros, tose which suits you and your computer best ‘The second most popular distro avallable Is Ubuntu, which Isananclent african word meaning ‘humanity to others Ubuntus popularity has luctuated over its Fourteen year Ife Atone time, twas easily the most used Linux-based operating systemin the world but some wrong choices along the way ‘with regards to its presentation, and some unfavourable, controversial elements involving privacy, sadly saw it topple From the number one spot. That said, Ubuntu has since made amends ands slowing crawling its way back up the Linuxleader board, The atest versions oF the OS use the GNOME 3 desktop environment,an impressive environment, althoughit can be alittle confusing For former Windows users and isalitle heavy on systern resources, especialy if you're planning on instaling iton an older computer. Ubuntu, forall its faults, sa good Linux distro to stare ‘experimenting with Its a clean interface, easy to use and install and offers the user acomplete Linux experience. ‘yowrwubuntu.com‘Archis one of longest running Linux ‘arch sa distro forwhen you're more distrbutions and Forms the basis of ‘experienced with Linux. You start wi ‘many other versions of Linux. Why instal nothing but the command line and From Mint or Ubuntu when you can install there youhave to manually partition your Arch? Many users do exactly that but it's hard dive, set where the installation ‘not ideal For beginners. Ubuntu and Mint Files go, create a user, set the OS locale both offer an easier installation path and and finally installa desktop environment come with software packages to help along withthe apps you want. E vouoet stated The advantage though forallthishard Arch on the other hand, isa more work,sa distro that you havecreatec This? ‘bare bones’ affair. Arch is committed to free software and ‘means your Arch distro worttcome with llthe unnecessaryfilesand —? Its repositories contain over 50,000 apps to install, including 29s that othershave preinstalled: is custom made for you, by you multiple different Desktop environments, and use as you would with any other distro. wwewarchlinux.ora RASPBERRY PI DESKTOP No doubt youve heard ofthe Raspberry Pi. ’shard not to have, {3s this remarkable tiny computer has taken the technology ‘world by storm for the lst sixyears since it was introduced, hore ae several pects to the Raspberry Pi that makeit sucha sought after piece of the computing world, For one Ischeap, casing around £25 for what essentially afully ‘working computer. It’s small, measuring not much bigger than a credit card, You can build electronics witht, using a fully programmable interface; and it ames with Raspbian, is own custom-made, Debian-based operating system thatincludes an} Office suite alongside many different programming languages and educational resources. Raspbian is exclusive tothe P hardware, since the Raspberry Pluses an ARM processor to power it. However, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has since released! a PC version of Raspbian: F Raspberry Pi Desktop. Most Linux distributions Fallinto two camps. There are ones vith the latest Features and technology like Ubuntu and Mint and chose with few new Features but rock slid reliability, lke Debian, Just ike the Pi version, Raspberry Pi Desktop comes with the allthe coding, educational and other apps you will evr need It’s quick, stable and works superbly, If youre interested in stretching your Linux experience, then thisis certainly one oF the top distros to conside’ Meanwhile, openSUSE attempts to cover both bases. (OpenSUSE Leap is the rock solid system. It’s developed openly by acommunity along with SUSE employees, who develop ‘an enterprise-level operating system, SUSE; this powers the London Stack Exchange amongst other things. [tis designed for mission critical environments where ‘thereisno scope forinstabilty. If you find all that too sensible, openSUSE Tumbleweed s2roling release with all the latest Features, and the occasional crash E opensuse isa highly respected Linux distribution and man E ofits cove contributors work on the Linux Kernel, LibreOF Gnome and ather key Linux areas. In short, openSUSE is where youllfind the preshanging out.Say Hello to Linux Equipment You Will Need SUN Ue Tce cece Wael ena an een ert Uso iiare] Wa oe ROU Im sar eee NEO oe el RL Mar) LMA Ke lao However, it’s worth checking you have everything in place before proceeding. MINTY INGREDIENTS Before we start working our way through this book, here's what you need to install and run Linux Mint. You have several choices available, so take your time and see which works best For you. IS NMeUlo) You caninstall Linux Mint onto your computer via USB or DVD. \Wellook into each atte later on but iF you're already Familiar \with the process, or thinking of USB and just gathering the: hardware you need, then you're going to need a minimum 4G USB Flach drive to store the Linux Mint ISO. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ‘The minimum system requirements For Unux Mint are asfollows 3: CPU-7O0MHz RAM/Memory ~ 512MB Hard Drive space — 9GB (20GB recommended) £ Display - 1024 x 768 resolution Obviously the better the system you have, the betterthe experience willbe and quicker too. PPT Te) DVD installation of Linux Mint simply requires ablank DVD-R disc. OF ‘course, you also ‘need an optical ive (a DVD Writer rive) before you're able to transfer or burn the $0 image to the disc.(Equipment You Will Need @ VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT Installation toa virtual environment. a favourite method of testing and using Linux distros. Linux Mint works exceedingly well when used ina virtual environment but more on that later. There are mary different virtual environment apps available; however, VirtualBox, From Oracle, is one of the easiest to into. You can find the latest version at www.virtvalbox.ora, le goes without saying really, that an Internet connection i vital for ‘making sure that Linux Mint is upto date with the latest updates and patches, as wel asthe installation of further software. although you don't need an internet connection to use Linux Mint, you'll miss ut on a world of Free software available for the distro, Fa MAC HARDWARE Although Linux Mint can be installed onto a Mar, there's a school of thought that recommends Mac owners use a virual environment, suchas Virualbox or Parallels, and vty not, MacOS is already 3 splendid operating system. IF you're ‘wanting to breathe new life into an colder Mac, make sure it'san Intel PU model andnot the Power PC models, Beware though, it's not as pain Frees installing on to aPC. ‘mwnabcnoublistions comTY say Hello totinux Desktop Environments WHICH MINT? ‘A Desktop Environment is the graphical interface which you use to interact with the core Linux system. Just as the graphical desktop For Windows 10s also called Fluent Design. Linux Mint offers the user a choice of versions of the distr: Gnnamen, MATE and Xfce, While that may sound alittle confusing for the newcomer, essentially each ofthe versions available contains the same core Linux structure and kernel, the kernelisthe cove of the operating system, that handles all the instructions between the software and hardware. Each version is simply a ifferent desktop environment, the Graphical User Interface (GUD that you use to interact with the ‘operating system. Each of the desktop environments uses diffe apps to access or use the system, such as the file manager to browse the operating system's file structure or the way i-launches ather apps. Again though, the core avalable producthity, ‘graphic suites ae the same, and Function inthe same way, wa bmablistions com \Wwhy bother then witha diferent desktap environment? Smply put, t's ‘down to personal taste, Some users prefer MATE, as MATE's a fork of the classic GNOME 2 environment ands litle more menu x ‘The Oracle VI VirtualBox Extension Packhas been a owrioaded fom httos:// iz | ‘and savedocaly as G\Users\david VirtualBox \Oradie_Vi_Virtualliox_Extension_Pack-6.0.2.vbox- cextpack Do you nish to nstall this extension pack? Gad Toe mubiaiiocs CImy Getting Started with Linux Installing Linux ina Virtual Environment Teele fa SAU Tiel sro aurel VAN ORR LA ee aoe Ran ABA Machine (VM) environment into which you install Linux. This process won't affect your Sree keira e unUnTSEN Me ccc es CREATING THE VM There are plenty of options to choose from when creating a VM. For now though, let’s set up a VM adequate to run Mint Cinnamon and perform well, ‘With VirtualBox open, click on the New icon in the ‘Thenext section defines the amount of system top right of the app. This opens the new VM Wizard ‘memory, oF RAM, the VM has allocated. Remember thisamount is taken from the available memory installed on your computer, so dont givethe VM too much, For example, wehave ‘8GB of memory installed and we're giving 2G8 to the VM. when you're ready, click Next-to continue. gy FEPTSPD the box next to Name, type Linux Mint and PPI This section is where you start to create the virtual VirtualBox should automatically choose Linux as hard disk thatthe VM uses to install Minton to. the Type and Ubuntu (64-bit) asthe Version; iF not then use the ‘The default option, ‘Create a virtual hard sk now, isthe one we've drop-down boxes to select the correct settings (remember Mint using, Click Create to mave an. ‘mainstream is based on Ubuntu). Click Next when you'te ready to proceed. . 7 CBee ems wrens anes. men) |. —— SSInstalling Linux in a Virtual Environment om ESTER The :00-up window that appears after clicking Ceeate is asking you what type of virtual hard disk you want to create. We're going to use the default VDI (VirtualBox Disk image) inthis case, asthe others are often used to move VMs From one VM application to the next, Make sure VDIis selected and dick Next Free The question of whether to opt for Dynamically or Fixe sized virtual hard disks may come across as being somewhat confusing to the newcomer. A Dynamically Allocated virtual hard disk sa more flexible storage management ‘option and won't take up much space within your physical hard Gisk tobeginwith, Ensure Dynamically Allocated is selected and click Newt PPT) The virtualhard cisk sasingle Folder, up tothe size you state inthis section. Ensure the location ofthe virtual hard disk, on your computer, has enough free space available. For example, we've used a bigger storage option an our D'\ drive, rnamedit Linux Mint and allocated 25,S0GB of space to the virtual hard ds Ea After clicking Create the intial setup ofthe Vt is complete; you should now be looking at the ‘newly created VM within the VirtualBox application, Before you begin though, click the Settings button and within the General section click the Advanced tab, Using the pull-down menus, choose Bidirectional’ For bath Shared Clipboard and Drag'n Drop. TOUSSVOEED © ETE) low tha: by clicking onthe System section, then the Processor tab, Depending on your CPU, allocate as many cores as ou can without detriment your host ‘ystor we've opted fortwo CPUs. Now click onthe Display section, slide the Video Memory up tothe maximum and tck'enable 30 Acceleration Clk OK to committhe new settings Tbvbe VegED BRTTSET DD at ese BB change Desleopeachgrons ( Navigating the Cinnamon Desktop @ Ee From that desktop rightclick, context menu, select Customise, followed by the Desktop Setting link at the bottom ofthe newly apened window. This openea new window wihere you'te able to edit which desktop icons are present. IF you're Using @ setup with multiple monitors attached, you can also choose vihich monitor displays which icons PETITE lick on the menu and type system settings and ‘open the resulting icon. This takes you to che ‘system Settings options. From here you're able to control and edit the way Linux Mint Cinnamon looks and works as well adel new users, manage the Firewall and enable accessibility options Saea Beas0aco08 a a os a aoee | — | ooes | PEED (2 short Linux Mint cinnamon can be configured tolock quite extraordinary. There are many ‘examples avalable of how good it can get and what can be ‘achieved. You can go as complex ar as simple as you want, adding different component and animations or just keeping i plain and easytoread,my Getting to Know Linux) 10 Things to do After Installing Linux Mint Linux Mint is a polished distro out of the box but, as with most Linux distros, there are Sol Ras eae e-layer ele) (eh cod Me Ke\ Rau OTN ole ares Man Eko specific tweaks, most can be applied to other distros. LINUX TWEAKS ‘Some of these post-installation actions are highly recommended, while others are just handy additions and simply tweak the system or add a customisation FETTER nur mint offers the user a three level policy ‘approach to updates: Don't Break My Computer, (Optimise Stability and Security and Always Update Everything, The recammencled option isthe Optimise Stability and Securty, viich only updates safe, essential patches that weo't impact critical elements of the core OS, Read through the descriptions but choose the middle, and recommended option, Ee Click tne OK button and you can see a couple of tos ready for installation. SeFore you update though, click onthe blve bar OK button to switch to a Local Mirror. This opens the Software Sources option, In the Mirors section, click ‘on the Main and Base drop-down menus and select a server closest toyour current location Ee Click the Update the Cache button and close the Software Sources window. Back in the Update ‘Manager, click onthe install Updates icon and enter your password. The updates automatically apply themselves and relaunch Update ‘Manager, this time with 3 lot more updates. again, click Insall Updates: OK any messages anc wait or them to Finish(10 Things to do after installing Linux mint QCY cap “The updates are graded by level, 1 being alow level update, level 5 being a dangerausone. Stick to level 3 updates, is our advice; and click Replace For any messages regarding overwriting a configuration file. With regards tothe Software Rendering issue anc lack of erivers For non-VirtualBiox Users, click the Menu and type diver into the search box BED When asked to accept the changes, enter ¥ and also when asked to configure lind. Make sure OK is highlightad and press Enter, then Yes to any Further questions, Next Lp stllin the Terminal, enter: cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness, the result should be 60, IFyour computer as less than 4GB of RAM/ ‘memory, then enter: gksudo xed /etc/sysctl . conf. ‘Those with graphical problems, such as Software Rendering, should ‘opto use the latest, ecommended Graphics drive. PEED {cthis point you'll probably need to restart Linux Mint, so do that now. After a reboot click the Menu button again followed by the Te:minal. The Terminal icons found in the left-hand colurnn, above the Files icon. With the Terminal open, enter: sudo apt-get install Libdvd-pkg, press Enter and type in your password, This enables encrypted OVD playback ie tot view sa teria Heb Bap ‘This tweakhelps speed up systems with less than 44GB RAM/memory. Scroll down to the bottom of the file you ust opened and acd allowing new lines: # Decrease snap usage to a more reasonable Level vm. swappiness=10 Click Fle» Save, then File > Qui rotice a slight hike in perfor Reboct Linux Mint and you should BED Security is always concer in this modem digital ‘age. While Linux Mintisa secure system, i's advisable to always try and improve it. Click the Menu button and search for Firewall: click the Firewall Configuration icon andl enter your password, In the Firewall window, click the Status sider to O/ ‘mnabcnoublations comApollo 11 [oovou.now. Fa Bee ae eda nn ec Ras een eo software that helped the crew make eR eat pee ee ees) eer aera Set eet oa can Ce eee Mee Laboratory populated the memory with a Reser eres Incredibly, that code is freely available aR at Mes iory researcher in 2003, you can view the code Lp RAC Len eee CER Apollo-11/. Look out for code snippets, such as Burn_Baby_Burn, in particular line SL ace eu eee Peete ees co ek a srentwithouts {enve a humout1 One giant leap For \ mankind, and coding.6) Getting to Know Linux Creating Users When you first install Linux Mint it is configured for use with a single user. While Pare PR cmeece MOT ean eM ACM EMR Ree eee UR (ele) need to create separate users with their own unique Home folders. NEW USERS. Having different users means each user has access to his or hers own areas on the system, Documents, pictures, videos and so on are separate, as with multiple users on other operating systems. PEMD Cickon the Linux Mint Menu and type ‘users to PETER) Erter the new user's Full ame, followed by the begin searching For the relevant console, From the Username they need when logging into Linux Mint, search results, choose Users and Groups and enter your password. Make sure the username isall inlower case, 2 and 0-9 characters ‘The Users and Groups console is quite basiclooking, and thankfully only. You can have fullstops, underscores or hyphens iF you wish easy to use. At First, ou can just see your own username from when Clickthe Add button when you're ready to continue. you installed Linux Mint. Toadda new se click the Add button atthe The new user appearsinthe st of cuen Lncx Sure bottom of the console. There are two types of Su) ‘Mint users, in alphabetical order. At present, there's. Useryou cin reste Standerdand acinar Unless thenew ne passwordsetaa cle he sernthelit of carer ees, chen User has need to install new apps or access parts of the Filesystem click the No Password Set option under the user's username. beyond their Home folder, hen opt for the Standard account type Otherwise, use the Administrator account type. sean o ° = (ied a WE eutinauiatinsconEra Vou can now enter a password for the new user cor cickthe curled arrow atthe end of the New Password textbox to generate a password For you, as wll as cisplaying it. Naturally, its a ood idea to come up with as strong a password as possible. When you're done, click the Change button. ( Creating Users om PEPIIED nce logged in che new userisrequiredtoset ua their own desktop wallpaper, icons, Pane, Menu ‘and s0.0n, Depending on what Account Type you set up For them, ‘Standard or Administrator, they won't beable to install any new ‘apps. This screenshot is From a Standard user account type SUG now, as the new user has been created. IF you click the Mint Menu, followed by Logout, you are presented with the ‘Min Login Manager. The new userfs now presentin the list of currently available users. lick on himyher to og them in, COMMAND LINE ACCOUNTS ‘You can close the Users and Groups console window You can create as many new accounts 25 you S10 need and you're able to switch between them hen required. Its bestto have just one account that's capable of instaling new software, that way you can keep track of what's on, your system. Session Log out of this system now? Switch User Just as you'd expect, you can also create @ new user within the command Line. Open up a Terminal session under the main ter esr stg EERE Te process for adding anew user from the command lines relate! Ponies ie aaa username 1 [errr reer nto ne Ceo Mee cece Clicky to confirm the detals and create the user account. ee eee ee STEP 2 ¥ the new user from within the Users and Groups -onsole.IFyou want to delete a user From Mint, you can either enter YEN AIUTECGNREVETa-Tsin the Terminal orclick the: Delete button in Users and Groups.my Getting to Know Linux Customising the Desktop Customising the operating system desktop is one way to make it your own: a Teco Le olh Corea oN ULM LUN M ROM ao OM ol Mol aa CR ol UROL Klee AUS company logo. Whatever your reasons for having your own desktop, here's how it's done. YOUR DESKTOP Linuxis probably one of the customisable oper: you can create something ing systems there is. With just a Few tweaks, one or two extras installed and credible, The First aspect of desktop customisation sto You just need to click the avalable images, From any ‘change the wallpaper. Right-click the desktop and of the locations provided to have ther instal asthe choose Change Desktop Background, This opens the Backgrounds desktop wallpaper. Incidentally, fyou have images stored in another {app in Linux Mint; remember, other distros may present their location on yaursystem or network, you can add them by clicking on backeround, wallpaper selection tools differently. the Plus symbol at the bottom of the Backgrounds console, using the file manager to locate them. Ce] = Mere cneranst Linton a lle EERE oy cing on hesetnst ymca te Sue backgrounds depending on the version the user is Gund play numerous images as a slideshow or change the running You normaly ge: thes catego flcwedt afout,_ apactofhewalpaperstoavaney of choos. Petts wn sepaatedtom the thers The tures pon isdferent because treads the mage conten om the tars Foden your toe raEEE [fnone of the avaliable wallpapers take your Fancy, open abrowser and search forthe type of background image you profer. When you've faund the image you want asthe desktop wallpaper, right lick and choose Set As Desktop Background From the lst of options. When the Set Desktop Backaround console open, click the Set Desktop Background button, PPT ickthe menu button and search For ‘desktop! ‘and click the Desktop Settings result. The Desktop console allows youto pick the layout, desktop icons and options For multimonitor support you want. You can experiment with the ‘options fr the best setup, according to your personal tastes, FTA ° 2cition to changing the desktop walloaper, ‘and how the icons are displayed, you can alsoalter the overall theme for Linux Mint. From the Mint Menu, search For themes’ and click the Themes app as it appears in the Search results Customising the Desktop om Ee ‘Themes allows you to change the way certain aspects ofthe Mint desktop look: Window Borders, cons, Controls, Mouse Pointer and Desktop. in the Settings tab you can extend the options witha Few orvofF slider buttons, too. FETED you click on the add/remove button in the centre of the three avalable options, you can choose the default view from anumber cf areinstalled themes. Click the theme you want, then click the Install (downward pointing arrow) button toenable it, BETTER Test2.txt. This will reate the file Test2.txt and he Terminal into‘an editing mode, Fle Edt View Search Terminal Help PPD You'l notice thatthe cursors lashing below the cat > Test2.txt commang, without the usual prompt. This editing made will low you enter the text that the File will contain. Enter some test, then press CErl+D to exit and write the contents to the file, Free OF course you don't always havetto use the Termin to enter text into afile. Mint comes with a text editor called Ked, whichis similar to Windows’ Notepad, To view the previously created file in Xed, type into the Terminal: xed Test2, ‘ext, and press Enter, 5 ( Creating a File Using the Terminal FR os cusm oyueneneotossne itstop menu bar options B ten kee aa oom ee fs he cat cent fren in Terinn. Cnt, dent i me er cw PPI DD | however you prefer to remain working inthe Terminal to edit/save/create files, you can use Nano. Neno is simple Termina-based text editor To try with theexample, enter-nano Test2.txt. There's amenu along the bottom ofthe screen. To exit and save any content in Nano, press CCtrlax ane Follow the on-screen instructions, PETE We've used the Terminal to launch a Mint app, Xed, but any app can be launched from within the Terminal. For example, try: irefox, and press Enter. Close Firefox toreturn tothe Terminal Providing you know the name of tie app, itcan runfrom the Terminal. Adcitionaly, entering fireFox& opens FireFox, AND lets you stil use the Terminal mwmudadnosblictioscon (57Using the Terminal.) 4 Creating and Removing Directories As with creating Files in the Terminal, you can also create and delete directories, or Folders if you prefer. Directories form the structure of your File system, without logical directories the Filing system would be in utter chaos. MANAGING FOLDERS Learning how to create and delete Folders in the Terminal is an important Mint, and indeed Linux overall, skill to master. Here's the basics For you to try out. FETED With the Terminal open enter cd tomake sure vyou'rein your awn Home directory. Now enter Ie toview the current folders you have housed in the Home directory ‘youll notice thet Folders are labelled in Mint n cyan {ight blue). Lev start by creating anew directory. enterrmkdir testdir. Freee |fyounowenterls again, youll see that the new directory, testi, has been created alongside the ‘ther directories in the Home area, Obviously the command mkdir is what creates the directory, and no doubt you've already guessed Itstands for Make Directory 58) wwbsimaublistionscom IF you were to enter the command again, mkdiie testdiir, youll receive a message stating: medi cannot create directory ‘testdir’: File exists.lt goes without saying then, that you're only able to have one uniquely named directory within che current directory, However, as Linuxis case-sensitive, ou can have Testi, TestDir, testDir and son, EeD You can create directories within directories youve already created. For example, enter the testdir directory with cd. testdlir/ Followed by sols the folder structure Naturally there's nathing present, as you've just created the directory. Nov/drop back to Home with ed andentermkdir testdir/ reports. Gobacktothe testa. cd testdir/, and Ls aaain. Fe ta Yow sen emaFEPTIED The command to create directories is quite logical, therefore. Youll create the directory, and any sub- lirectories within, However, what ifyou want to create a directory anda sub-directory inasingle command? Make sure you're at Home (cd) and entercmkdir =p Temp/finances, Now, ed Temp/, an Is tolist the new directory, BTS The -P option is what enables the mkdir command, to create the sub-directory as well as the parent directory. n Linux, commands alvays follow the same structure: Command, Option, anc Argument. n the previous step example, ‘command (mkdir), option Cp, and argument [Temp/Finances). File Edit View Search Terminal Help ery re | PEPER) |fyouwantto ill down intothe various options available for the midi command, you can enter mkdir help into the Terminal. This will previde a quick help uide detailing the eptions and how the command structure works, (Creating and Removing Directories 5 FETIP Now that we've created some directories let's see about remaving them. Start by entering the testir irectory and listing its contents: ed testi, then ls. The previously created reports subdirectory is present. One way to removeit isto enter: rmdir reports, then ls again to confirm it’s not there BSED A cuick warning: removing a cirectoryin the Terminal doesnt place itin the Mint Rubbsh Bin, via [Nemo file manager. The same goes for any fies, too. I you remove a sirectory Fram the Terminal command then it’s gone For good. FEED Brrcicwillonly remove empty cirectories, to remove directories containing sub directories, or even files, youll need to use the im command with the -R option, For example, on the Temp/inance directories, use rm -R. Temp. A.quick reveals thatthe parent Folder and all of its contents are removed. Careful when using this command ‘mwnudinoubliationscom (59)4h Using the Terminal.) Fun Things to do in the Terminal Despite the seriousness of an operating system, the Linux community are certainly no strangers to a bit of Fun. The developers over the years have created and inserted all manner of fun and odd elements into the Terminal. TERMINAL FUN You'll be working exclusively in the Terminal for these next two sections, so start warming up your fingers. After all, all work and no play... as the saying goes. EEEED te iccscomeniesensiountatts | EREEB ryasicowrtncachningineconaterenda not stalled by dato so ena: sudo apt-gat fandom fortune ou toyou then youn uk Mast install sL.Thecommond onberunvithslondwheneveevted dos require you toinstalthefertare ap, however Lin int will display 8 Steam Locomotive travelling across the screen (hence differs somewhat by having it already pre-loaded, allyou need to do ‘st, Entering LS, note the upper case, also works. isenter the command fortune into the Terminal, and enioy BED seserveremsatiateccoret ERED therercormaniececanyeesing ada the Terminal. By bningto a remote server athe frstwhatscemsa que uel acaon tothe tnowtenttrand you ono Epmace 2 Non opens. 08, wes cab isda ate some seeryorivetle played out, albeit in ASCIL To view this spectacle, enter-telnet passwords. Enter: rev, naw type some text, when you press Enter tonel..blinkenLights.nl. next, everything you typed in will be reversed, Press Ctrl+€ to exit 0) wbsimauictionscomFun Things to doin the Terminal (@Y TaD you're stuck trying to work outall the possible FETS you really want to expand the whole cow thing Factors or any particular number, simply enter For whatever reason, then pipe the Fortune factor Followed by the number. For example, factor 7doesn’t command through it, with: fortune | coasay; and forthe coffer much output, whereas factor 60 cisplays more. graphical cow equivalent fortune | xcowsay. Plus, there's always couthink, Ty: cowthink ...This book is anesone. ERTS There's2 ine line between the rather cool and FETED the command toilet doesnt inspire much realy-quite-weird. Having an ASCII cow repeat text confidence, we'll admit. However, it's not. as bad as toyou could potentially fallin the later. Enter comsay followed —__itfirst sounds. Start byinstaling it with: sudo apt-get install byany text you want, such as: cowsay Linux Mint is ace!. toilet. Then when installed, type something along the lines of Infact, you can even output the lscommand through thecow,by toilet. David. Or perhaps lst the contents of the current folder entering: 1S. | consay. throughit, with: 1s | tot Let. FETED Tofuttherthecowelement there'sevencrephical, ESTED IM Expanding the toilet command, you can actually Le.nonTerminal cow available, Install with: ‘generate some decent looking graphics through sudo apt-get install xconsay,thenwhenit’sinstalledenter it For example, trythis toilet -F monol2 -F metal David ‘somethingsimlar to cousay, suchas: xcowsay BOM Publications. You can enter toilet --help, far alist of the command line rguments to exoand Futher vmuddnoublctioscon (GiUsing the Terminal.) 4 More Fun Things to do in the Terminal IF the previous list of Fun, and quite bizarre, things to do in the Terminal has you wanting more, you're in luck. We've put together another batch of some useful, and some not so useful, commands for you to try out. MORE FUN, YAY Since the Terminal session is already open, and your keyboard digits are nicely warmed up, here are another two pages of Terminal nonsense. BETISEDD Remember the old 2x Spectsum days of computing, ‘when you could type in 10 print "Hello®, 20 goto 10) and Hello would list down the screen? Well in Linux Mint you can do the same, Simply enter yes followed by some text, Le. yes. Linux is ace. tll keep going until you press Ctrl+<. FETTER The Metrix was oneof the mest graphically copied Films ever released; there's even a version ofthe ‘Matrix code avaliable for Linux Mint.nstallitwith: sudo apt-get install enatrix. When i's dane enter: ematrix and Fallow the white rabbit, Neo, Unlike the real Matrix though, you can press CerlsCtoext, 2) ubimablictionscom BEE Having alittle white cat chase your mouse pointer around the desktop may sound tke a terrible waste of time. Oddly though, itisnt. Enter: sudo apt-get install ‘neko, then type oneko to have the cat appear. Move your ‘mouse cursor around the screen and the cat will chase it. Use Ctrl+C to exit the action EeED This entry is little more serious than the previous. Iescalled the Fork Bomb and what it does, basicaly is continually replicate itself until it has used up allthe avaiable ‘yntem resources, thus causing your computer to crash. Yau don't have to try itbut i's interesting nonetheless. simply enter :L }: and be prepared to reboot, Fle Eat ew Search Terminal HelpEEE Stringing several commandsand piping them thraugh other commands is what makes scripting such a powerful element to an OS, Using the while cornman, For example, together with toile, can yield some impressive results. Enterwhile true; do echo “SCdate 48D ST’ | toilet =f term -F border --metal)”; sleep 1; done. Fee 12lking computers were the craze of the 00s, enter: espeak “Hello, this is Linux Mint” to have the computer repeat the text inside the quotes to you. ‘Moke sure your volume is turned up, and tiy the Following: Ls. > folders.txt && espeak -f folders. txt. Thiswill have Mint read back the contents ofthe is command, Et View search Terminal Help BETTER) &\:o2ring ASCH fire isnt the most useful command to have at your disposal, bt t's Fun. Instal it with: sudo apt-get install Libaa-bin, then when installed use: ‘afire. t's not exactly warming but you get the dea. To expand theabove enter sudo apt-get install bb caca-utils, then, cacafire A More Fun Things to do in the Terminal Ee Used asa music demo From the old Amiga and OS days, the bb command reminds us of getting hold of three and a half inch floppies crammed with all manner of demoscene goodies We've already installed bb from the previous step, sojust enter bb. Follow the onscreen instructions, and turn up your volume, EPID this entry is intwo pars. rirstyouneed to get hold ofthe necessary packages: sudo opt get install Libcurses-perl. when thas done entered Downloads && wget hntto://search,cpan.aca/CPAN, authors/id/X/KB/KBAUCOM/Tern-Anination-2.4.ar.a2 88 tor -xF Term-Anination-2.4.tor.gz && cd Term Animation-2.4/. Then:perl Makefile.PL && make 8& rake test && sudo make instaLl PSTEREE DD With thet litle lt done, onto the next. Enter: ed + && wget héto://nm.robobunny, con, projects/asciiquariun/asciiquariun. tar.gz && tar =xf asctiquarium. tar.gz 8& cd asctiquariunt.1/ 8% chmod +x asci iquarium Providing al went well enter «/ set iquarium and enjoy your very own ASCIkbased aquarium vmwmudadnoublictionscom (63)LS) using the Terminal ) Linux Tips and Tricks As you've seen, the Linux Terminal is quite an exceptional environment. With a Few extra apps installed, and a smidgen of command knowledge, incredible, and often quite strange, things can be accomplished. TAKING COMMAND There are countless Linux tips, secrets, hacks and tricks out there. Some are very old, originating From Linux's Unix heritage, while others are recent additions to Linux lore. Here's our Favourite ten tips and tricks. cD ise toccerciyoutrcn ts. AD ethene tom cones ide ateréog? ith émacs neal sudo apkget the Tena? Whe notpartary UseFul sue afarcrtng Install emacs25), cro to Terminal seston andenter. thing tobenld Tod so ener enacs -batch -1 dunnet sudo apt-get install elinks tins Dunnetis a text adventure written by Ron Schnell 1982, anc hidden in Emacs since 1994 Enter the website you want to visi Te E Team G2:ed onthe classic 1982 arcade game, FIESNUSNTNED snowing inthe Terminal console isnt ‘Maon Patrol, Moon Buggy appeared on something you come across every dey. IF the home computers of 1985 amid much praise. 'sacracking Atari you‘e interested, however, enter: ‘game, and it's available in the Linux Terminal by entering nget https: //gist.githubusercontent con/sontek/ sudo apt-get install moon-buggy 1505483/ran/7d024716ea57e69/b52632Fee09 42 753361¢4a2/snowjob. sh Then chmod +x snonjob.sh rmoon-bugay -/snowjob.sh Enjoy. a 3 GA) swsbimalictionscomeva ee | vounced to see what apps are consuming the most memory on Linux, simply enter PS aux I sort -rak 4 This sorts the outout by system memory use. PTTNSTSERD When you delete afl, chere'sa chance oF someone with the right software being able to retrieve it, However, to securely and permanently delete a file, uuseShred shred -zvu NAMEOFFILE. txt Replace NAMEOFFILE with the name of the Fac amy ASCilertcan be quite striking when applied to some images. However, its often difficult to ‘aetjust right. You can create some great ASCII at from the images you have by using img2tat img2txt NAMEOFIMAGEFILE..png Replace NAMEOFIMAGEFILE with the actual name of the image file on your system. IF imgotxt install installed, use: sudo apt-get install caca-utils. ( Linux Tips and tricks @Y FERED 22ck in the days of dialup connections, the online world was made up of Bulletin Board Systems. These remote servers provided hang-outs far users to chat, swap code, play games ‘and more, Using telnet in Linux, we can stillonnect to some active BBSes telnet pattlestarbbs.dyndns.ora There are countless operational 88Ses available, check out https:// ames Gs See Pee EER youwant tocreate an entire directory (or Folder) tree with a single command, you can use: mkdir -p New-Dir/ {subfoldert, subfolder2, subfolder3, subfoldera} This creates a NewsDir with Four sub Folders within. OCMC MAR ne tying available Linux commands. Thankfully, we can use apropos to help us Simply use it, along with a description of the command: ‘apropos “copy files” ‘apropos “rename files” ‘mwnadadnoublictionscom (68Linux and theDID YOU KNOW... that Linux is at the heart of the science behind the Large Hadron Collider? Using a combination of Red Hat Linux and CentOS {an ultra-stable distro built from the Red Hat core) as the base distributions of choice, scientists, developers and engineers have created SL —Scientific Linux. Using SL as the base, the clever people at CERN have developed several different versions of their ‘own custom Linux distro to help with all aspects of the LHC. Most notable is SLC, or Scientific Linux CERN, also known as CERNG According to reports, there are stems running SL, and over 15,000 running SLC.4 Using the Terminal.) Creating Bash Scripts —Part 1 Eventually, as you advance with Linux Mint, you'll want to start creating your own automated tasks and programs. These are essentially scripts, Bash Shell scripts to be exact, and they work in the same way as a DOS Batch file does, or any other programming language. GET SCRIPTING ‘A Bash scriptis simply a series of commands that Mint will run through to complete a certain task. They can be simple or remarkably complex, it all depends on the situation. BETEEDD You'tlbe working within the Terminal anc with a FETED Tobeoinwith, and before you start to write any text editor throughout the coming pages. There scripts, you need to create a folder where youcan are alternatives to the text editor, hich we'llook ating moment _putall ourscrpts into. Start with mkdir scripts, and enterthe butfor the sake of ease, we'llbe doing our examplesin Xed, Before foldered scripts/. This willbe our working Folder and from here you begin, however, run through the customary update check: Sudo you can create sub-folders if you want of each script you create. apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade Flee View Search Terminal Hep Fle Edt_Vew search Terminal He BLED eceerenetetiocwecmcctocmte | ERED wines texte ovr rir 2 Desh ped, Vi None, Vin NU Emacs and batch ie tower as nbeexecutedandflowthe ‘0 on. Inthe end it all comes down to personal preference. Our programming withinit, it needs to have a BAT ile extension. Linux Use of Keds purely due to making it easier to read the scriptin the isan extension-less operating system but the convention isto give screenshots you see below. scripts a sh extension File Edt View Search Terminal Hep