Linux is an open-source operating system like other operating systems
such as Microsoft Windows , Apple Mac OS, iOS, Google android, etc. An operating system is a software that enables the communication between computer hardware and software. It conveys input to get processed by the processor and brings output to the hardware to display it. This is the basic function of an operating system. Although it performs many other important tasks, let's not talk about that.
Linux is around us since the mid-90s. It can be used from wristwatches
to supercomputers. It is everywhere in our phones, laptops, PCs, cars and even in refrigerators. It is very much famous among developers and normal computer users.
Evolution of Linux OS The Linux OS
was developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991, which sprouted as an idea to improve the UNIX OS. He suggested improvements but was rejected by UNIX designers. Therefore, he thought of launching an OS, designed in a way that could be modified by its users.
Nowadays, Linux is the fastest-growing OS. It is used from phones to
supercomputers by almost all major hardware devices
Structure Of Linux Operating System
An operating system is a collection of software, each designed for a specific function.
Linux OS has following components:
1) Kernel Linux kernel is the core part of the operating system. It establishes communication between devices and software. Moreover, it manages system resources. It has four responsibilities: o device management: A system has many devices connected to it like CPU, a memory device, sound cards, graphic cards, etc. A kernel stores all the data related to all the devices in the device driver (without this kernel won't be able to control the devices). Thus kernel knows what a device can do and how to manipulate it to bring out the best performance. It also manages communication between all the devices. The kernel has certain rules that have to be followed by all the devices. o Memory management: Another function that kernel has to manage is the memory management. The kernel keeps track of used and unused memory and makes sure that processes shouldn't manipulate data of each other using virtual memory addresses. o Process management: In the process, management kernel assigns enough time and gives priorities to processes before handling CPU to other processes. It also deals with security and ownership information. o Handling system calls: Handling system calls means a programmer can write a query or ask the kernel to perform a task.
2) System Libraries System libraries are special programs that help in accessing the kernel's features. A kernel has to be triggered to perform a task, and this triggering is done by the applications. But applications must know how to place a system call because each kernel has a different set of system calls. Programmers have developed a standard library of procedures to communicate with the kernel. Each operating system supports these standards, and then these are transferred to system calls for that operating system.
The most well-known system library for Linux is Glibc (GNU C library).
3) System Tools Linux OS has a set of utility tools, which are usually simple commands. It is a software which GNU project has written and publish under their open source license so that software is freely available to everyone.
With the help of commands, you can access your files, edit and manipulate data in your directories or files, change the location of files, or anything.
4) Development Tools With the above three components, your OS is running and working. But to update your system, you have additional tools and libraries. These additional tools and libraries are written by the programmers and are called toolchain. A toolchain is a vital development tool used by the developers to produce a working application. 5) End User Tools These end tools make a system unique for a user. End tools are not required for the operating system but are necessary for a user.
Some examples of end tools are graphic design tools, office suites, browsers, multimedia players,
What is Bash?
BASH is an acronym for Bourne Again Shell, a punning name, which is a tribute to Bourne Shell (i.e., invented by Steven Bourne).
Bash is a shell program written by Brian Fox as an upgraded version of Bourne Shell program 'sh'. It is an open source GNU project. It was released in 1989 as one of the most popular shell distribution of GNU/Linux operating systems. It provides functional improvements over Bourne Shell for both programming and interactive uses. It includes command line editing, key bindings, command history with unlimited size, etc.
In basic terms, Bash is a command line interpreter that typically runs in a text window where user can interpret commands to carry out various actions. The combination of these commands as a series within a file is known as a Shell Script. Bash can read and execute the commands from a Shell Script.
Bash is the default login shell for most Linux distributions and Apple's mac OS. It is also accessible for Windows 10 with a version and default user shell in Solaris 11.
Command shortcuts similar in other shells, but be aware there could be subtle differences. 1. Tab Tab is my ultimate friend - it never lets me down. It is the handiest shortcut and time saver ever developed. It autocompletes commands, file names, or directory names for you. Simply start typing a command, file name, or directory name, and then press the Tab key. The system will either complete the string or display all available options to you. 2. Ctrl+C Ctrl+C is a well-known shortcut that I use all the time. It cleanly aborts most programs by sending the SIGINT signal to the program that I want to interrupt and abort. Most programs correctly catch it and exit cleanly. If the program does not specify how to handle SIGINT, the underlying processes are then self-terminated. Yes, it's safe to use. 3. Ctrl+R/O/G I find this combination (reverse-i-search) very useful when searching through my command history. I can bring up commands that I used previously, navigate through them, and repeat the command I need. This is very helpful with long and chained commands. • Ctrl+R: Recall the last command matching the characters you provide. • Ctrl+R (again): Navigate through the matching commands. • Ctrl+O: Send the command back to your terminal or select Enter to execute the command from the search mode. • Ctrl+G: Leave the history search mode without running a command. 4. Ctrl+L This shortcut is equivalent to the clear command. It clears your terminal screen. 5. Ctrl+D This shortcut will effectively log you out of any terminal and close it, or get you back to the original user when used after su or sudo commands. It sends an EOF (End-of-file) marker to bash. Bash exits when it receives this marker. This shortcut is similar to running the exit command. 6. Ctrl+Alt+D This shortcut will minimize all terminals/windows and show your desktop. Repeat it to revert your windows back in the same order. 7. Ctrl+U This shortcut erases everything from the current cursor position to the beginning of the line. I find this useful when I mistype a command or see a syntax error and prefer to start over. It's a very handy shortcut. 8. Ctrl+Z This shortcut is useful if you need to get the terminal back while working on something. It sends the SIGTSTP signal to the foreground process. For example, you are working in a text editor and need to break out to find some data. You can use this shortcut to suspend and send the editor to the background, do your other task, and then run fg to get back into your application. 9. Ctrl+A Move the cursor to the beginning of the line. Very handy when you need that little flag added to the beginning of your 200 characters chained-command. I use this instead of the arrow keys to save time. 10. Ctrl+E This shortcut does the opposite of Ctrl+A. It moves the cursor to the end of the line. I always use the Ctrl+A and Ctrl+E shortcuts to quickly move my cursor around the current line while typing long or chained commands.
Linux File Hierarchy Structure
• Difficulty Level : Medium • Last Updated : 12 Dec, 2021 The Linux File Hierarchy Structure or the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) defines the directory structure and directory contents in Unix-like operating systems. It is maintained by the Linux Foundation. • In the FHS, all files and directories appear under the root directory /, even if they are stored on different physical or virtual devices. • Some of these directories only exist on a particular system if certain subsystems, such as the X Window System, are installed. • Most of these directories exist in all UNIX operating systems and are generally used in much the same way; however, the descriptions here are those used specifically for the FHS and are not considered authoritative for platforms other than Linux. 1. / (Root): Primary hierarchy root and root directory of the entire file system hierarchy. 1. / (Root): Primary hierarchy root and root directory of the entire file system hierarchy.
• Every single file and directory starts from the root directory • The only root user has the right to write under this directory • /root is the root user’s home directory, which is not the same as / 2. /bin : Essential command binaries that need to be available in single-user mode; for all users, e.g., cat, ls, cp.
• Contains binary executables
• Common linux commands you need to use in single-user modes are located under this directory. • Commands used by all the users of the system are located here e.g. ps, ls, ping, grep, cp 3. /boot : Boot loader files, e.g., kernels, initrd.
• Kernel initrd, vmlinux, grub files are located under /boot
• These include terminal devices, usb, or any device attached
to the system. • Example: /dev/tty1, /dev/usbmon0 5. /etc : Host-specific system-wide configuration files. • Contains configuration files required by all programs. • This also contains startup and shutdown shell scripts used to start/stop individual programs. • Example: /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/logrotate.conf. 6. /home : Users’ home directories, containing saved files, personal settings, etc. • Home directories for all users to store their personal files. • example: /home/kishlay, /home/kv
7. /lib : Libraries essential for the binaries in /bin/ and /sbin/.
• Library filenames are either ld* or lib*.so.* • Example: ld-2.11.1.so, libncurses.so.5.7 8. /media : Mount points for removable media such as CD- ROMs (appeared in FHS-2.3). • Temporary mount directory for removable devices. • Examples, /media/cdrom for CD-ROM; /media/floppy for floppy drives; /media/cdrecorder for CD writer 9. /mnt : Temporarily mounted filesystems. • Temporary mount directory where sysadmins can mount filesystems.
• Contains add-on applications from individual vendors. • Add-on applications should be installed under either /opt/ or /opt/ sub-directory. 11. /sbin : Essential system binaries, e.g., fsck, init, route. • Just like /bin, /sbin also contains binary executables. • The linux commands located under this directory are used typically by system administrator, for system maintenance purpose. • Example: iptables, reboot, fdisk, ifconfig, swapon
12. /srv : Site-specific data served by this system, such as data
and scripts for web servers, data offered by FTP servers, and repositories for version control systems. • srv stands for service. • Contains server specific services related data. • Example, /srv/cvs contains CVS related data. 13. /tmp : Temporary files. Often not preserved between system reboots, and may be severely size restricted. • Directory that contains temporary files created by system and users. • Files under this directory are deleted when system is rebooted. 14. /usr : Secondary hierarchy for read-only user data; contains the majority of (multi-)user utilities and applications.
• Contains binaries, libraries, documentation, and source-code
for second level programs. • /usr/bin contains binary files for user programs. If you can’t find a user binary under /bin, look under /usr/bin. For example: at, awk, cc, less, scp • /usr/sbin contains binary files for system administrators. If you can’t find a system binary under /sbin, look under /usr/sbin. For example: atd, cron, sshd, useradd, userdel • /usr/lib contains libraries for /usr/bin and /usr/sbin • /usr/local contains users programs that you install from source. For example, when you install apache from source, it goes under /usr/local/apache2 • /usr/src holds the Linux kernel sources, header-files and documentation. 15. /proc : Virtual filesystem providing process and kernel information as files. In Linux, corresponds to a procfs mount. Generally automatically generated and populated by the system, on the fly. • Contains information about system process. • This is a pseudo filesystem contains information about running process. For example: /proc/{pid} directory contains information about the process with that particular pid. • This is a virtual filesystem with text information about system resources. For example: /proc/uptime File Management in Linux • Difficulty Level : Easy • Last Updated : 24 Feb, 2020
In Linux, most of the operations are performed on files. And to handle
these files Linux has directories also known as folders which are maintained in a tree-like structure. Though, these directories are also a type of file themselves. Linux has 3 types of files: 1. Regular Files: It is the common file type in Linux. it includes files like – text files, images, binary files, etc. Such files can be created using the touch command. They consist of the majority of files in the Linux/UNIX system. The regular file contains ASCII or Human Readable text, executable program binaries, program data and much more. 2. Directories: Windows call these directories as folders. These are the files that store the list of file names and the related information. The root directory(/) is the base of the system, /home/ is the default location for user’s home directories, /bin for Essential User Binaries, /boot – Static Boot Files, etc. We could create new directories with mkdir command. 3. Special Files: Represents a real physical device such as a printer which is used for IO operations. Device or special files are used for device Input/Output(I/O) on UNIX and Linux systems. You can see them in a file system like an ordinary directory or file. In Unix systems, there are two types of special files for each device, i.e. character special files and block special files. For more details, read the article Unix file system.
1. Files Listing
To perform Files listings or to list files and directories ls command is
used $ls All your files and directories in the current directory would be listed and each type of file would be displayed with a different color. Like in the output directories are displayed with dark blue color. $ls -l
It returns the detailed listing of the files and directories in the current directory. The command gives os the owner of the file and even which file could be managed by which user or group and which user/group has the right to access or execute which file.
2. Creating Files
touch command can be used to create a new file. It will create and open a new blank file if the file with a filename does not exist. And in case the file already exists then the file will not be affected. $touch filename 3. Displaying File Contents
cat command can be used to display the contents of a file. This
command will display the contents of the ‘filename’ file. And if the output is very large then we could use more or less to fit the output on the terminal screen otherwise the content of the whole file is displayed at once. $cat filename
4. Copying a File
cp command could be used to create the copy of a file. It will create the new file in destination with the same name and content as that of the file ‘filename’. $cp source/filename destination/
5. Moving a File mv command could be used to move a file from source to destination. It will remove the file filename from the source folder and would be creating a file with the same name and content in the destination folder. $mv source/filename destination/
6. Renaming a File
mv command could be used to rename a file. It will rename the filename
to new_filename or in other words, it will remove the filename file and would be creating a new file with the new_filename with the same content and name as that of the filename file. $mv filename new_filename
7. Deleting a File
rm command could be used to delete a file. It will remove the filename
