Unix for Busy People
This is a course I thought at a previous employer (fictitiously referred to as Yoyodyne) some time ago. You can see how dated it is. I leave it here for posterity and perhaps for fun.
Course Description
- A study of modern Unix) derived systems for business customers who are end users of a Unix system. This course is not geared for users who are primary Unix users however it is a good start for a beginning primary user. This course is geared towards Solaris and Redhat Linux although it is generic enough to apply to all post 2002 Unix derived operating systems.
- This course is not an advocacy course. You won't be bored with the history of this or that other than which is essential to a good understand of the philosophy of the way Unix systems work in general.
Textbook (highly recommended):
- Sams Teach Yourself Unix in 24 Hours (4th Edition) by Dave Taylor (Downloads from book)
Student Learning Outcomes
- To provide the student with information about the philosophy of Unix derived operating systems.
- To provide overview of commands related to everyday use of the Unix operating systems.
- To provide information on the Unix file systems and directory structure.
- To provide information on obtaining further help with more advanced and also programming topics.
- To provide information on free and open source software and advocacy.
Course outline and handouts
- All reading assignments should be completed by the date to the left of the assignment.
| Class | Topic | Reading assignment | Handout | Lab | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Unix Philosophy and it's different flavors and account assignments | Hour 1 | Unix for Busy People - Introduction | None | Read Basics of the Unix Philosophy |
| 2 | Logging in, Secure Shell and the Network | Read Hours 2 & 21 | Unix for Busy People - Logging in, Secure Shell and the Network | ||
| 3 | File systems, files, directories and devices | Read Hour 3 | Unix for Busy People - File systems, files, directories and devices | ||
| 4 | File and disk management and locating files | Read Hours 4, 6 & 22 | Unix for Busy People - File and disk management and locating files | ||
| 5 | Users, superusers, groups, su and sudo | No reading assignment this week. Review the handout instead. | Unix for Busy People - Users, superusers, groups, su and sudo | Further reading: Practical UNIX and Internet Security, Third Edition, chapters 4 & 5 | |
| 6 | Security and permissions | Read Hour 5 | |||
| 7 | Logins, Jobs and Process | No reading assignment this week. Review the handout instead | Unix for Busy People - Logins, Jobs and Process | ||
| 8 | Pipes, redirection and stream | Read Hours 8 & 9 | |||
| 9 | Text editing, manipulation and filters (sed, grep, awk and tr) | Read Hour 10 | |||
| 10 | Scheduling, jobs, batch, cron and printing | Read Hour 15 | |||
| 11 | Customizing, shells, shortcuts, environment, profile, scripts and running programs | Read Hours 13 and 14 | |||
| 12 | Messaging and email, Intro to shell scripting and automation | Read Hours 20, 16 & 17 | |||
| 13 | Archiving and backups. scp, rsync and copying files off system. | Read Hour 19 | |||
| 14 | Archiving and backups. scp, rsync and copying files off system. | Read Hour 19 and review Hour 6 | |||
| 15 | Troubleshooting, how to get help on more advanced topics | None | |||
| 16 | Individual make-up and Q&A. Open session | None |
Lab servers:
Individual labs: Labs
Course accounts:
- Accounts will be created for each registered user on Solaris 10 and Linux shared systems.
There are two lab server available for the class. You should have received an email from Kevin Inscoe with your login name and password for the two server. If you did not receive this email please contact Kevin Inscoe at 867-5309 or email to kevin.inscoe@gmail.com and request an account. Be sure to leave your phone number, full name and email address. The password for the two servers is the same and is auto-generated. You will be able to change your password once you login. Access to the lab servers is only by SSH.
Solaris server - SSH to kinscoe-solaris.yoyodyne.com or 10.88.68.199
Linux server - SSH to kinscoe-linux.yoyodyne.com or 10.88.68.198
Further reading and additional resources:
References:
- Basics of the Unix Philosophy
- Wikipedia's list of Unix commands
- An Introduction to the Linux Command Line via [1]
- O'Reilly's Linux Command Directory
- Solaris 10 User Commands] ([2])
- Speaking UNIX: 10 great tools for any UNIX system
Further reading:
- and Linux: Visual QuickStart Guide, 4th Edition by Deborah S. Ray and Eric J. Ray, publisher: Peachpit Press. ebook
- Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition by Arnold Robbins, publisher: O'Reilly Media.
- A Practical Guide to Solaris by Mark G. Sobell (a little pricey but if you perform a lot of Solaris end user work it's a good overall tutorial)
Recommended UNIX Books for more advanced topics:
- Think Unix] by Jon Lasser
- Unix Power Tools
- Essential System Administration
- Classic Shell Scripting
- Learning the bash Shell
- Sams Teach Yourself Shell Programming in 24 Hours
- UNIX Shell Programming, Revised Edition
- Portable Shell Programming: An Extensive Collection of Bourne Shell Examples
- The UNIX and X Command Compendium
- O'Reilly UNIX(tm) book collection
Additional web resources
- http://www.linuxcommand.org/ - Visual tutorials
- Shell notes and examples
- Free Online Unix Training Materials
- Unix is a Four Letter Word... and Vi is a Two Letter Abbreviation
- What You Need To Know: when you can't find your UNIX system administrator
- Linux and the Unix Philosophy
- Solaris 8 Administrator's Guide (a little dated).
Berry's screencast series: