R.e. Advanced commandline - proposed chapter for Server guide attached

[Will Simpson]

Super. Consider adding a heading for aliases. I find them to be my
most favorite part of the command line. I carry them from system to
system so I'm still using some that I developed back when I was on
HPUX in 1993. These are nothing fancy but my fingers have incredible
'muscle memory' and I'd be lost without my good old aliases.

Will Simpson
irc nick: linuxphotogeek


On 12/11/06, icosa atropa <icos.atropa at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Ubuntu server documentation team,
>
> I've been drafting the following chapter in response to a number of
> repeated questions on the ubuntu forum for the server guide and my own
> use of the server guide.  I've tried to follow the project outline at
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerGuide, esp. with regards to overlap with
> desktop guide.  My goal is primarily an explanatory overview of
> commandline concepts that will be used in operations described in the
> Server Guide's later chapters.  As per the ubuntu style guide,
> "Explanatory writing is used for special language or concepts that
> users need to understand a procedure. Format explanatory text in
> paragraphs."
>
> Your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated,
> christian
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Proposed Chapter 2.5 - After installation, before Package management
>
> Introduction:
> The default installation of ubuntu server does not include a desktop
> environment.  Instead, users login to the commandline.  This is
> intentional.  The commandline requires less per-user overhead and is
> easier to troubleshoot.  Advantages notwithstanding, new users often
> find the commandline intimidating.
>
> This chapter of the server guide provides an overview of the
> commandline from a server administer's point of view.  The goal of
> this chapter is to explain core concepts rather than to provide
> exhaustive detail or advocate specific solutions.
>
> 1. Basics
> Ubuntu server ships with the bash shell installed as its default.
> When users log in, a new shell is started.  Users type text onto the
> commandline.  When enter is pressed, the line of text is split into
> arguments separated by whitespace.  The first argument is typically a
> command;  the remaining arguments can include command options (e.g.
> -v), files (e.g. /etc/bashrc) and special shell-interpreted constructs
> like redirects (e.g. >out.file).
>
> Documentation is available for commonly used commands as man pages.
> For administrators, man pages are valuable resources to which the
> exclamation RTFM refers.  For example, typing "man man" will give the
> man page for the man command.  Most gnu tools include info pages that
> are called with "info topic".  In addition, many programs give useful
> information when given the -h or --help arguments (e.g. info --help).
>
> 2. Commandline editing
> Commandline editing can speed and ease commandline use.  By default,
> the bash shell uses the gnu readline library with emacs key bindings
> (e.g. ^-a and ^-e) to edit text commandline text and interact with the
> command history[1].  In addition, tab completion allows the shell to
> search for, and either complete or display, text matching the already
> entered text.  Both readline and tab completion are highly
> configurable.
>
> 3.  Shell Environment
> When a new shell starts, it reads several files that determine its
> environment.  Each shell's environment influences the behavior of that
> shell and of commands started from that shell.   By default, every
> shell reads /etc/bashrc on startup. In addition, each user's shell
> reads '~/.bashrc' on startup by default.  Finally, the environment can
> be altered from the commandline itself (e.g export VAR=Value).
>
> 4.  Permissions and Sudo
> By default, ubuntu uses unix-style file permissions[2] to determine
> the user's priveledges to read, write, and execute the system's files
> (ubuntu, like most unix-like operating systems, views directories and
> pipes as files).  Root is the special user who has unrestricted
> priviledges.
>
> Many administrative activities must be performed with root
> priviledges.  In ubuntu, login as root is discouraged.  Instead,
> select users are included in the sudoers file.  These users can
> execute commands with elevated privileges by using sudo.  One
> advantage of this method is that all sudo executions are recorded in
> logfiles, improving accountability.  In addition, using sudo for each
> root-level command helps remind users to use caution.
>
> #---  Still working on
> 5.  Special Topic
> a.  Pipes and Redirects
> b.  Globs and Regular Expressions
>
> 6. Editors
> a. nano is default
> b. vim has minimalist ui, fast, installed by default
> c. emacs not installed by default, is easy to begin using and highly extensible
>
> 7.  Programming
> a.  ubuntu system uses many scripts
> b.  editors include helpful programming tools
> c.  programming helps users help themselves
>
> [1] http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/readline/readline.3.html
> [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_permissions
>
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