book

Running Linux, 5th Edition

by Matthias Kalle Dalheimer, Matt Welsh

December 2005

Beginner

974 pages

31h 50m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Organization of This Book
1.1. About This Book

1.3.1. A Bag of Features1.3.2. Kernel1.3.3. Commands and Shells1.3.4. Text Processing and Word Processing1.3.5. Commercial Applications1.3.6. Programming Languages and Utilities1.3.7. The X Window System1.3.8. KDE and GNOME1.3.9. Networking1.3.10. Laptop Support1.3.11. Interfacing with Windows1.3.12. Other Applications
1.4.1. A Summary of Free Software Licensing1.4.2. SCO and Other Challenges
1.5.1. Hints for Unix Novices1.5.2. Hints for Unix Gurus
1.6.1. Online Documents1.6.2. Books and Other Published Works1.6.3. Usenet Newsgroups1.6.4. Internet Mailing Lists
2.1. Distributions of Linux2.1.1. Getting Linux via Mail Order or Other Hard Media2.1.2. Getting Linux from the Internet
2.2.1. Installation Overview2.2.2. Repartitioning Concepts2.2.3. Linux Partition Requirements2.2.4. Creating Swap Space2.2.5. Creating the Filesystems2.2.6. Installing the Software2.2.7. Creating the Boot Floppy or Installing GRUB2.2.8. Additional Installation Procedures
2.3.1. Creating a User Account2.3.2. Getting Online Help2.3.3. Editing /etc/fstab2.3.4. Shutting Down the System
2.4.1. Problems with Booting the Installation Medium2.4.2. Hardware Problems2.4.2.1. Isolating hardware problems2.4.2.2. Problems recognizing hard drive or controller2.4.2.3. Problems with SCSI controllers and devices2.4.3. Problems Installing the Software2.4.4. Problems After Installing Linux2.4.4.1. Problems booting Linux from floppy2.4.4.2. Problems booting Linux from the hard drive2.4.4.3. Problems logging in2.4.4.4. Problems using the system
3.1. Why Use a Graphical Desktop?
3.2.1. General Features3.2.2. Installing KDE3.2.3. Using KDE3.2.3.1. The KDE panel and the K menu3.2.3.2. The KDE Control Center
3.3.1. konsole: Your Home Base3.3.1.1. Starting up konsole3.3.1.2. Cutting and pasting selections3.3.1.3. More konsole tricks3.3.2. Clocks3.3.3. KGhostview: Displaying PostScript and PDF3.3.4. Reading Documentation with Konqueror3.3.5. Burning CDs with K3b
3.4.1. Core Desktop Interface3.4.1.1. Basic GNOME tasks3.4.1.2. The panel3.4.1.3. Nautilus: your desktop and file manager3.4.2. Expert Settings: GConf
3.5.1. Evolution: Mail, Calendar, and Contacts3.5.1.1. Evolution mail3.5.1.2. Evolution calendar3.5.1.3. Evolution contacts3.5.2. GNOME and Office Software3.5.3. Movies and Music: Totem and Rhythmbox3.5.4. Additional Applications and Resources
4.1. Logging In
4.4.1. Directories4.4.2. Listing Files4.4.3. Viewing Files, More or Less4.4.4. Symbolic Links
4.7.1. Word Completion4.7.2. Moving Around Among Commands
4.17.1. Setting Terminal Attributes4.17.2. Shell Programming4.17.3. Being More Efficient with the Z Shell
5.1. The World Wide Web5.1.1. Using Konqueror5.1.2. Other Web Browsers
5.2.1. Initial Configuration5.2.2. Chatting5.2.3. Advanced Configuration
6.1. Using KMail
6.4.1. Symmetric Encryption6.4.2. Public-Key Cryptography6.4.3. Creating a New Key Pair6.4.4. Encrypting with Public Keys6.4.5. Digital Signatures6.4.6. The Web of Trust6.4.7. Using gPG-agent
7.1. Gaming
7.2.1. Installation7.2.2. Single Player7.2.3. Multiplayer7.2.4. Mods
7.3.1. Installation7.3.2. Single Player7.3.3. Multiplayer
7.4.1. Installation7.4.2. Play7.4.3. Game Server7.4.4. Updates
7.5.1. MAME7.5.2. Nestra7.5.3. SNES9x
8.1. Using OpenOffice8.1.1. "OpenOffice" Versus "OpenOffice.org"8.1.2. The Modules of OpenOffice8.1.3. OpenDocument and OpenOffice 28.1.4. OpenOffice Writer8.1.4.1. Launching OOoWriter8.1.4.2. Opening files8.1.4.3. Saving files8.1.4.4. Exporting and sending files8.1.4.5. Identifying the toolbars8.1.4.6. Basic formatting8.1.4.7. Printing a document8.1.4.8. Advanced formatting8.1.4.9. Templates8.1.4.10. Styles8.1.4.11. Collaboration with documents8.1.4.12. Navigator8.1.4.13. Keyboard shortcuts8.1.4.14. Searching a document with Find & Replace8.1.4.15. Inserting hyperlinks8.1.4.16. Word count8.1.4.17. Password-protecting documents8.1.5. OOoWriter Customization8.1.5.1. OOoWriter toolbar customization8.1.5.2. Adding an OOoWriter icon on the desktop or taskbar panel8.1.5.3. Adjusting unpopular default settings8.1.6. OpenOffice Calc8.1.6.1. Managing files8.1.6.2. Entering labels (text)8.1.6.3. Autofill8.1.6.4. Entering simple formulas8.1.6.5. Summing a column of numbers8.1.6.6. Moving cell contents8.1.6.7. Adjusting column widths and row heights8.1.6.8. Merging cells8.1.6.9. Freezing and splitting windows8.1.6.10. Page Break View8.1.6.11. Setting the print range8.1.6.12. Functions8.1.6.13. Worksheets, or sheets8.1.6.14. Sorting data8.1.6.15. Data sources8.1.6.16. Macros8.1.7. OpenOffice Impress8.1.7.1. Creating a presentation from scratch with AutoPilot8.1.7.2. Opening an existing presentation8.1.7.3. Saving a presentation8.1.7.4. Export formats8.1.7.5. OOoImpress workspace views8.1.7.6. OOoImpress modes8.1.7.7. Editing a presentation8.1.7.8. The presentation palette8.1.7.9. Putting on a slide show8.1.8. Customizing OpenOffice8.1.8.1. Adding a Launcher icon8.1.8.2. Defaulting to the MS Office file formats
8.2.1. Hands On: Getting to Know KOffice8.2.1.1. Using tabulators in KWord8.2.1.2. Embedding charts into spreadsheets
8.4.1. Checking the Connection8.4.2. KPilot Synchronization
8.5.1. Basic Group Organization8.5.2. Groupware Server Solutions8.5.2.1. Kolab8.5.2.2. OpenGroupware.org8.5.2.3. phpGroupWare and eGroupware8.5.2.4. OPEN-XCHANGE8.5.2.5. Closed-source products8.5.3. LDAP: Accessing Global Address Books
8.6.1. Getting Started8.6.1.1. Choosing a currency8.6.1.2. Choosing accounts8.6.1.3. Entering opening balances8.6.1.4. Finishing your account setup8.6.2. The Account8.6.3. The GnuCash Accounts Window8.6.3.1. Creating new accounts8.6.3.2. Deleting accounts8.6.4. Transactions8.6.4.1. Entering transactions8.6.4.2. Recording split transactions8.6.4.3. Scheduling transactions8.6.5. Reports8.6.6. Real-Life Examples8.6.6.1. Going to the grocery store8.6.6.2. Getting a tax refund8.6.6.3. Buying a car
9.1. Multimedia Concepts9.1.1. Digital Sampling9.1.2. File Formats9.1.3. Multimedia Hardware
9.2.1. Sound Drivers9.2.1.1. Installation and configuration9.2.1.2. Collecting hardware information9.2.1.3. Configuring ISA Plug and Play (optional)9.2.1.4. Configuring the kernel (optional)9.2.1.5. Configuring kernel modules9.2.1.6. Testing the installation9.2.2. Video Drivers9.2.3. Alternate Input Devices
9.4.1. KDE9.4.2. GNOME
9.6.1. Sound Mixers9.6.2. Multimedia Players9.6.3. CD and DVD Burning Tools9.6.4. Speech Tools9.6.5. Image, Sound, and Video Editing and Management Tools9.6.6. Imaging Tools9.6.6.1. Image management with KimDaBa9.6.6.2. Image manipulation with the GIMP9.6.7. Recording Tools9.6.8. Music Composition Tools9.6.9. Internet Telephony and Conferencing Tools9.6.10. Browser Plug-ins9.6.11. Putting It All Together
10.1. Maintaining the System
10.2.1. Filesystem Types10.2.2. Mounting Filesystems10.2.3. Automounting Devices10.2.4. Creating Filesystems10.2.5. Checking and Repairing Filesystems10.2.6. Encrypted Filesystems10.2.6.1. Configuring the kernel10.2.6.2. Creating an encrypted filesystem10.2.6.3. Mounting the filesystem10.2.6.4. Security Issues
10.3.1. Creating Swap Space10.3.2. Enabling the Swap Space10.3.3. Disabling Swap Space
11.1. Managing User Accounts11.1.1. The passwd File11.1.2. Shadow Passwords11.1.3. PAM and Other Authentication Methods11.1.4. The Group File11.1.5. Creating Accounts11.1.6. Deleting and Disabling Accounts11.1.7. Modifying User Accounts
11.2.1. What Permissions Mean11.2.2. Owners and Groups
12.1. Upgrading Software
12.2.1. Using RPM12.2.2. Using dpkg and apt
12.3.1. YaST Online Update: Automated Updates12.3.2. Red Carpet and ZENworks Linux Management: Alternative Package Management Tools12.3.2.1. Installing Red Carpet12.3.2.2. Using the Red Carpet GUI12.3.2.3. Using the rug command12.3.2.4. Multiple users12.3.2.5. Operating an update server
12.4.1. Upgrading Libraries12.4.2. Upgrading the Compiler
12.5.1. Using gzip and bzip212.5.2. Using tar12.5.3. Using tar with gzip and bzip212.5.4. tar Tricks
13.1. Networking with TCP/IP13.1.1. TCP/IP Concepts13.1.2. Hardware Requirements13.1.3. Configuring TCP/IP with Ethernet13.1.3.1. Your network configuration13.1.3.2. The network configuration files13.1.3.3. /etc/hosts13.1.3.4. /etc/networks13.1.3.5. /etc/host.conf13.1.3.6. /etc/resolv.conf13.1.3.7. Setting your hostname13.1.3.8. Trying out your network
13.2.1. Basic PPP Configuration for Modems13.2.1.1. Requirements13.2.1.2. Serial device names13.2.1.3. Setting up PPP13.2.1.4. Writing a chat script13.2.1.5. Starting up pppd13.2.1.6. Configuring DNS13.2.1.7. Troubleshooting PPP configuration13.2.1.8. PAP and CHAP
13.3.1. Configuring Your ISDN Hardware13.3.2. Setting Up Synchronous PPP13.3.3. And If It Does Not Work?13.3.4. Where to Go from Here?
13.6.1. ping13.6.2. traceroute13.6.3. dig
14.1. Printing14.1.1. Basic Linux Printing Commands14.1.2. Some Common Command-Line Printing Tasks14.1.3. nenscript and enscript14.1.4. Printing Using GUI Tools14.1.5. How the Printing System Processes a File
14.2.1. Linux Printing Software14.2.1.1. Linux printing daemons14.2.1.2. Ghostscript14.2.1.3. Printer definitions14.2.1.4. Additional printing software14.2.2. Configuring Printer Hardware14.2.2.1. Verifying printer compatibility14.2.2.2. Printer interfaces14.2.2.3. Verifying basic printer connectivity14.2.3. Configuring CUPS Security14.2.3.1. Enabling web-based configuration14.2.3.2. Enabling or disabling browsing14.2.3.3. Restarting CUPS14.2.4. Defining Printers in CUPS14.2.4.1. Accessing the printer definition tool14.2.4.2. Creating a printer definition14.2.4.3. Testing your printer definition14.2.5. Fine-Tuning Printer Definitions14.2.6. Managing Printer Queues14.2.6.1. Using command-line tools14.2.6.2. Using the CUPS web-based interface14.2.7. Maintaining LPD Compatibility14.2.7.1. Maintaining a legacy /etc/printcap file14.2.7.2. Accepting print jobs from LPD systems14.2.8. Printer Troubleshooting14.2.9. Behind the Scenes: CUPS Files and Directories
15.1. Sharing Files with Windows Systems (Samba)15.1.1. Protocols and Things Windows-Related15.1.2. Linux System Preparation and Installing Samba15.1.3. Accessing Remote Windows Files and Printers15.1.3.1. Using the FTP-like smbclient to access Windows15.1.3.2. Using Linux-kernel-based smbfs15.1.3.3. Using Linux-kernel-based cifsfs15.1.3.4. Using Linux desktop tools with libsmbclient15.1.3.5. Printing to printers on Windows systems15.1.4. Sharing Linux Files and Printers with Windows Users15.1.4.1. Installing Samba15.1.4.2. Configuring Samba15.1.4.3. Starting the Samba server15.1.4.4. Adding users15.1.5. An Office File- and Print-Sharing Solution Using Samba15.1.6. Automatic Printer Driver Download15.1.7. Using smbsh for Direct File Manipulation on Remote Systems
15.2.1. Configuring Your System as an NFS Client15.2.1.1. Using /etc/fstab NFS client entries15.2.1.2. Finding NFS exported resources and diagnosing problems15.2.1.3. Manual mounting of NFS filesystems15.2.1.4. Adding a directory to the NFS server's exports15.2.2. Configuring Your System as an NIS Client
16.1. A History of X
16.8.1. OpenGL Setup16.8.1.1. GLX16.8.1.2. DRI16.8.1.3. Proprietary drivers16.8.1.4. Configuring X.org for OpenGL16.8.1.5. Mesa
17.1. Booting the System17.1.1. Using a Boot Floppy17.1.2. Using GRUB17.1.2.1. The /etc/grub.conf file17.1.2.2. Specifying boot-time options17.1.2.3. Removing GRUB
17.2.1. Kernel Boot Messages17.2.2. init, inittab, and rc Files17.2.3. rc Files
18.1. Building a New Kernel18.1.1. Obtaining Kernel Sources18.1.1.1. Unpacking the sources18.1.1.2. Applying patches18.1.2. Building the Kernel18.1.2.1. Kernel configuration: make config18.1.2.2. Preparing the ground: make clean18.1.2.3. Compiling the kernel18.1.2.4. Installing the kernel
18.2.1. Installing the Kernel18.2.2. Compiling Modules18.2.3. Loading a Module
19.1. Editing Files Using vi19.1.1. Starting vi19.1.2. Inserting Text and Moving Around19.1.3. Deleting Text and Undoing Changes19.1.4. Changing Text19.1.5. Moving Around the File19.1.6. Saving Files and Quitting vi19.1.7. Editing Another File19.1.8. Including Other Files19.1.9. Running Shell Commands19.1.10. Global Searching and Replacing19.1.11. Moving Text and Using Registers19.1.12. Extending vi
19.2.1. Firing It Up19.2.2. Simple Editing Commands19.2.3. Tutorial and Online Help19.2.4. Deleting, Copying, and Moving Text19.2.5. Searching and Replacing19.2.6. Macros19.2.7. Running Commands and Programming Within Emacs19.2.8. Tailoring Emacs19.2.9. Regular Expressions19.2.10. Emacs and the X Window System
20.1. TeX and LaTeX20.1.1. Learning the Ropes20.1.2. Formatting and Printing20.1.3. Further Reading
20.3.1. Writing a Manual Page20.3.2. Formatting and Installing the Manual Page
20.4.1. Writing the Texinfo Source20.4.2. Formatting Texinfo
21.1. Programming with gcc21.1.1. Quick Overview21.1.2. gcc Features21.1.3. Basic gcc Usage21.1.4. Using Multiple Source Files21.1.5. Optimizing21.1.6. Enabling Debugging Code21.1.7. More Fun with Libraries21.1.7.1. Creating shared libraries21.1.8. Using C++
21.2.1. What make Does21.2.2. Some Syntax Rules21.2.3. Macros21.2.4. Suffix Rules and Pattern Rules21.2.5. Multiple Commands21.2.6. Including Other makefiles21.2.7. Interpreting make Messages21.2.8. Autoconf, Automake, and Other Makefile Tools
21.3.1. Tracing a Program21.3.2. Examining a Core File21.3.3. Debugging a Running Program21.3.4. Changing and Examining Data21.3.5. Getting Information21.3.6. Miscellaneous Features21.3.6.1. Breakpoints and watchpoints21.3.6.2. Instruction-level debugging21.3.6.3. Using Emacs with gdb
21.4.1. Debuggers21.4.2. Profiling and Performance Tools21.4.3. Using strace21.4.4. Using Valgrind21.4.5. Interface Building Tools21.4.6. Revision Control Tools: RCS21.4.7. Revision Control Tools: CVS21.4.7.1. Setting up a CVS repository21.4.7.2. Working with CVS21.4.7.3. CVS over the Internet21.4.8. Patching Files21.4.9. Indenting Code
21.5.1. A Sample Program21.5.2. More Features21.5.3. Pros and Cons
21.6.1. The Promise of Java, or Why You Might Want to Use Java21.6.2. Getting Java for Linux
21.7.1. Parsing Output from the Last Command Using Python21.7.2. Developing a Calculator Using Python
21.9.1. GLUT21.9.2. Qt
22.1. Configuring Your Own Web Server22.1.1. httpd.conf22.1.2. srm.conf and access.conf22.1.3. Starting httpd
23.1. The Postfix MTA23.1.1. A Word About DNS23.1.2. Installing Postfix23.1.3. Postfix Configuration23.1.4. Starting Postfix23.1.5. Postfix Logging23.1.6. Running Postfix on System Startup23.1.7. Postfix Relay Control23.1.8. Additional Configurations
23.2.1. Procmail Concepts23.2.2. Preparing Procmail for Use23.2.2.1. Setting up a sandbox23.2.3. Recipe Syntax23.2.4. Examples23.2.4.1. Making a backup of all incoming mail23.2.4.2. Storing mail from a mailing list in a special mailbox23.2.4.3. Forward messages as SMS23.2.4.4. Sending an out-of-office reply
24.1. Introduction
24.2.1. RPM Install24.2.2. Compiling from Source
24.4.1. Getting Started24.4.2. Basic Configuration24.4.3. Advanced Configuration24.4.4. Virtual Hosts
25.1. MySQL25.1.1. MySQL Installation and Initial Configuration25.1.2. Initial Tasks: Setting Up Users and SQL25.1.3. Creating and Populating a Database
25.2.1. Some Sample PHP25.2.2. PHP4 as an Apache Module
26.1. A Perspective on System Security
26.2.1. Shutting Down Unwanted Network Daemons26.2.2. Top 10 Things You Should Never Do
26.3.1. Using TCP Wrappers with inetd26.3.2. Using TCP Wrappers with xinetd26.3.3. /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny
26.4.1. netfilter Basics26.4.1.1. Using the iptables command26.4.2. Developing IP Filtering Rulesets26.4.3. IP Filter Management and Script Files26.4.4. Sample netfilter Configurations26.4.4.1. Simple IP filtering example26.4.4.2. IP filtering to protect an entire network26.4.4.3. IP masquerading example
27.1. Making Backups27.1.1. Simple Backups27.1.1.1. Backing up to tape27.1.1.2. Backing up to CD-R27.1.1.3. Backing up to hard disks27.1.1.4. To compress or not to compress?27.1.2. Incremental Backups
27.2.1. Repairing Filesystems27.2.2. Accessing Damaged Files27.2.3. Restoring Files from Backup
28.1. Sharing Partitions28.1.1. Filesystems and Mounting28.1.2. File Translation Utilities
28.2.1. Wine28.2.1.1. Getting and installing Wine28.2.1.2. A simple example of using Wine28.2.1.3. Configuring Wine28.2.1.4. Running Wine28.2.1.5. Further help28.2.1.6. CrossOver Office28.2.2. VMware Workstation28.2.2.1. So what does it actually do?28.2.2.2. Installing VMware Workstation 528.2.2.3. VMWare Workstation 5 features28.2.3. Other Programs for Running MS-DOS and Windows Applications on Linux
28.3.1. rdesktop and TSCLient28.3.1.1. Setting up Windows Terminal Services28.3.1.2. Connecting to the terminal server28.3.1.3. Making Windows applications multiuser aware28.3.1.4. Using Windows applications from the Linux desktop28.3.2. Virtual Network Connection28.3.2.1. Setting up VNC28.3.2.2. Running a Linux VNC server
A.1. Linux Documentation Project
A.3.1. General DocumentationA.3.2. Open Source ProjectsA.3.3. Programming Languages and ToolsA.3.4. News and Information SitesA.3.5. Linux Software Directories and Download SitesA.3.6. Linux DistributionsA.3.7. Commercial Linux Software CompaniesA.3.8. Internet RFCs and Other StandardsA.3.9. Miscellaneous

Content preview from Running Linux, 5th Edition

Chapter 3. Desktop Environments

If you installed one of the popular Linux distributions, it came up with a rather attractive graphical interface. This chapter tells you how to use this interface to get work done more quickly and pleasantly. Most Linux systems with graphical interfaces offer a comprehensive graphical environment called a desktop.

This chapter covers both of the popular Linux desktops, the K Desktop Environment (KDE) and GNOME. Readers who have trouble getting their graphical interfaces to work at all, or who want to delve deeper into the guts of Linux graphics, can find help in Chapter 16.

Why Use a Graphical Desktop?

If you plan to run your Linux machine as a server, there is no need to install any of the packages described in this chapter (unless you want to use graphical administration tools). X and the desktop systems require significant memory, CPU time, and disk space, and if your system never has a monitor attached to it, installing them is a waste of time and resources. Similarly, if you will just be doing programming and have no interest in viewing results graphically or using graphical integrated development environments (IDEs), you could well get by without these conveniences.

But for all other systems, KDE and GNOME make Linux appropriate for mass use. They do the kinds of things the average user expects his computer to do for him, such as the following: