Linux Introduction for Beginners (4 day)

Course Overview

Linux is the open source operating system of choice for deployment throughout the enterprise. With its rapid expansion and multiple developer input, there is an increasing demand for skilled users who can exploit the features of this powerful platform to their organisation's advantage.

In this course, you gain the essential knowledge and skills required to leverage the wide range of Linux graphical and command line tools.

Audience

This course is valuable for those who are interested in acquiring the fundamental knowledge necessary to become a Linux administrator, developer, security specialist, application support specialist and more. Basic computer knowledge is assumed.

Skills Gained

• Manage, control and automate Linux GNU open-source tools
• Create, edit and search Linux files and directories
• Limit access within the file system by controlling permissions and ownership
• Combine GNU filter commands in pipelines to process and format text data
• Exploit Bash shell features to enhance the command line interface
• Perform multiple tasks in shell scripts

Course Outline

Introducing Linux

• The UNIX heritage
• Linux inception
• Linux kernel and GNU tools
• Open-source licensing
• Distributions

Accessing the System

The GNOME desktop

• Customising panels, launchers and applets
• Examining graphical applications
• Personalising the terminal window

Starting at the command line

• Switching to console logins
• Performing a SSH login
• Structuring commands

Managing Files and Directories

Naming files and directories

• Contrasting full and relative pathnames
• Unravelling the file system hierarchy
• Handling files with cpand mv
• Linking files

Organising files under directories

• Making and navigating directories
• Listing attributes with ls
• Browsing with GNOME Nautilus

Working with Linux files

• Accelerating command line usage with Bash wildcards
• Scrolling through files with GNU less
• Comparing files with diff

Controlling Access to Linux Resources

Defining access rights to files

• Identifying multiple users and groups
• Interpreting file and directory modes
• Adjusting access permissions: chmod

Collaborating via group membership

• Joining secondary groups
• Inheriting and changing group ownership

Adopting multiple roles

• Knowing who you are to the system
• Switching identity
• Changing passwords
• Raising privilege with su, sudoand setuid

Searching the System

Seeking files with specified attributes

• Locating files with find
• Finding pathnames with slocate

Matching text strings

• Extracting lines with GNU grep
• Matching patterns with regular expressions

Manipulating Text Files and Streams

Redirecting streams and filtering text

• Saving command output into files
• Connecting commands using pipes
• Selecting lines and fields using head, tail, gawkand cut
• Organising text with sort

Editing files and streams

• Automating stream edits with sed
• Creating and modifying files: vim, gedit

Leveraging Bash Shell Features

Customising Bash behaviour

• Setting options: noclobber, ignoreeof
• Assigning to built-in shell variables
• Aliasing commands

Initialising context

• Exporting variables to the environment
• Extending login and start-up scripts

Enhancing interactivity

• Retrieving and reusing previous commands
• Exploiting file name completion shortcuts

Automating Tasks with Shell Scripts

Invoking shell scripts

• Taking bashinput from a file
• Running scripts using source
• Calling scripts as commands

• Passing positional parameters

Testing and controlling execution

• Checking exit status with if
• Verifying file attributes with conditionals
• Repeating commands with forloops

Executing Jobs and Processes

• Monitoring processes with psand top
• Launching multiple jobs
• Signalling with kill

Archiving and Retrieving Data

• Mounting storage devices
• Measuring free space
• Compressing with bzipand gzip
• Creating tararchives

Linux Introduction for Beginners (4 day) / LIN-IN4