Richard Owlett wrote: > I'm not literally moving in one step from CP/M to Linux. > BUT, I think that may describe a needed change in mindset. > > I've spent a year lurking on several Linux related groups > and browsing untold Linux related sites with emphasis on > Debian and Ubuntu related pages. I have a 6 year old copy of > _A Practical Guide to Red Hat Linux_ by Sobel and have just > downloaded a pdf of _Slackware Linux Essentials_ . > > What has all this accomplished? > Demonstrate that I'm missing some underlying concept(s) > common to all UNIX variants/derivatives. > > I suspect that what I'm looking for would run 3,000 to > 30,000 words. > > I started to get more specific an found I'd just muddy the > waters. > > TIA >
This will be a response to the points raised in the replies so far. Command line usage and the number of tools available is no particular problem. As far as mindset it's just CP/M or DOS with a different vocabulary/syntax. I think the key thing I'm missing is understanding just what are distributions and dependencies. In the old days you wrote a program that compiled/linked/loaded ALL needed code into a single executable that the OS fetched and loaded. Later came precompiled libraries that could be loaded during execution e.g. DLL's. Now Linux has Something _Better(tm). Just what Something _Better is remains undefined. Another question (related???); "What is a LIVE edition?" Not why needed or how to use, but how is it constructed? There must be something "standard" as I've noticed references to tools that can make a "Live CD" from a running configuration. I've downloaded a bunch of Live CDs and gathered an idea of what I like. I'm leaning towards Debian or Slackware. They both have software I want and I like what I see in a couple of Slacware based Live distros. Ubuntu (as a specific distro or perhaps as an an example of a class) loses as it crams down my throat what it thinks I must use and does not give some that is an absolute necessity - eg connect to internet via dial up modem. _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
