1.
Linux for
Beginners

2.
● Instructor Intro
● Linux History
● Linux Overview
● Command Line Basics
● Editors
● Installing Software
● Where to Learn More
● Assignments
Overview

3.
Who is Richard?
Richard Anton
US ARMY (2003 – 2007)
BA in CS–Thomas Edison State University
Ongoing studies: MS in CS at Drexel University
25+ years developing software professionally
Extensive Leadership experience across startups, big
tech, Army.
Linux user since 1993, developed many software
services that run on Linux.

4.
Linux History
Before we start, watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfBWk4nw440&list=WL&index=186
Linux is an operating system (OS)
Open source and inspired by UNIX, a commercial OS started at AT&T
Linux kernel is core part, started by Linux Torvalds, now many developers
Originally ran on 386 processor or better PCs

5.
Linux Overview
Besides the Linux kernel is core part, the whole system, also called Linux
includes lots of other software, and comes in different versions called
distributions.
We will focus on Fedora which is a free distribution by RedHat.
The first time I installed Linux, it was SlackWare distribution on 52
individual 3.5” floppy disks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sheqhcrE1gs

6.
Command Line
Before graphical user interfaces, GUIs, existed, everything was command
line interface, which is text based. Harder to learn, but lets you automate
things easily.
Some basic commands: man, info, ls, cd, pwd, mkdir, cat, less, cp, mv, rm
Watch videos from: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-linux-
command-line-2018/what-is-the-command-line

7.
Editors
Some popular Linux editors that you can use from the command line are
nano, vim, and emacs. For very beginners, I recommend nano.
● vim (VI Improved), https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vim/index.htm
● emacs, http://www.jesshamrick.com/2012/09/10/absolute-beginners-
guide-to-emacs/
● nano,https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/42980/the-beginners-guide-to-
nano-the-linux-command-line-text-editor/

8.
Installing Software
Linux software is usually installed using a package manager in units called
packages
This varies by distribution.
RedHat based distributions like Fedora use RPMs (RedHat Package Manager)
But modern version uses a higher level program on top of rpm, called dnf
(docs), previously called yum, (wikipedia entry)
We aren’t going to worry about this much for now.

9.
Assignments
Exercise One: Sign up for a Udemy account and register for https://www.udemy.com/course/mastering-the-linux-
command-line-cli/ (There is a fee $)
Do the entire course, and all the exercises. It’s 3 hours of video. Free Alternative:
https://training.linuxfoundation.org/training/introduction-to-linux/
Exercise Two Get setup to practice commands and play around in Linux by following one of the options at
https://opensource.com/article/19/7/ways-get-started-linux $ Alternate: Go to https://codeanywhere.com/ and
sign up for a free trial.
Exercise Three: Read this document and practice using the commands.
Create a file named myfile.txt in your home directory and write a message in there for Richard to read using an
editor of your choice.