123 lines
4.3 KiB
HTML
123 lines
4.3 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9">
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<TITLE> From DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO : Tailoring the System</TITLE>
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<LINK HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-9.html" REL=next>
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<LINK HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-7.html" REL=previous>
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<LINK HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO.html#toc8" REL=contents>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY>
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-9.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-7.html">Previous</A>
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO.html#toc8">Contents</A>
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<HR>
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<H2><A NAME="s8">8. Tailoring the System</A></H2>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="System Initialisation"></A> <A NAME="ss8.1">8.1 System Initialisation Files </A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>Two important files under DOS are <CODE>AUTOEXEC.BAT</CODE> and
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<CODE>CONFIG.SYS</CODE>, which are used at boot time to initialise the system,
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set some environment variables like PATH and FILES, and possibly launch a
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program or batch file. Additionally, Windows has the infamous registry---one
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of the worst ideas ever conceived in computer science.
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<P>Under Linux there are lots of initialisation files, some of which you had
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better not tamper with until you know exactly what you are doing; they
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reside in the /etc tree. All configuration can be done editing
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plain text files. If all you need is setting the PATH and other environment
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variables, or you want to change the login messages or automatically launch
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a program on login, have a look at the following files:
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<P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
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<PRE>
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FILES NOTES
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/etc/issue sets pre-login message
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/etc/motd sets post-login message
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/etc/profile sets $PATH and other variables, etc.
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/etc/bashrc sets aliases and functions, etc.
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/home/your_home/.bashrc sets your aliases + functions
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/home/your_home/.bash_profile or
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/home/your_home/.profile sets environment + starts your progs
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</PRE>
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</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
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<P>If the latter file exists (note that it is a hidden file), it will be read
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after the login, and the commands therein will be executed.
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<P>Example---look at this <CODE>.bash_profile</CODE>:
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<P>
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<HR>
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<PRE>
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# I am a comment
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echo Environment:
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printenv | less # equivalent of command SET under DOS
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alias d='ls -l' # easy to understand what an alias is
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alias up='cd ..'
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echo "I remind you that the path is "$PATH
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echo "Today is `date`" # use the output of the command 'date'
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echo "Have a good day, "$LOGNAME
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# The following is a "shell function"
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ctgz() # List the contents of a .tar.gz archive.
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{
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for file in $*
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do
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gzip -dc ${file} | tar tf -
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done
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}
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# end of .profile
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</PRE>
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<HR>
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<P><CODE>$PATH</CODE> and <CODE>$LOGNAME</CODE>, you guessed right, are
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environment variables. There are many others to play with; for instance, RMP
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for apps like <CODE>less</CODE> or <CODE>bash</CODE>.
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<P>Putting this line in your /etc/profile will provide the rough
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equivalent of <CODE>PROMPT $P$G</CODE>:
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<P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
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<PRE>
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export PS1="\w\\$ "
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</PRE>
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</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss8.2">8.2 Program Initialisation Files</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>Under Linux, virtually everything can be tailored to your needs. Most
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programs have one or more initialisation files you can fiddle with, often as
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a <CODE>.prognamerc</CODE> in your home dir. The first ones you'll want to
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modify are:
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI> <CODE> .inputrc</CODE>: used by <CODE>bash</CODE> to define key bindings;
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</LI>
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<LI> <CODE> .xinitrc</CODE>: used by <CODE>startx</CODE> to initialise X Window
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System;
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</LI>
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<LI> <CODE> .fvwmrc</CODE>: used by the window manager <CODE>fvwm</CODE>.
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</LI>
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<LI> <CODE> .joerc, .jstarrc</CODE>: used by the editor <CODE>joe</CODE>;
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</LI>
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<LI> <CODE> .jedrc</CODE>: used by the editor <CODE>jed</CODE>;
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</LI>
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<LI> <CODE> .pinerc</CODE>: used by the mail reader <CODE>pine</CODE>;
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</LI>
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<LI> <CODE> .Xdefault</CODE>: used by many X programs.
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>For all of these and the others you'll come across sooner or later, RMP.
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Perhaps I could interest you in the Configuration HOWTO,
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<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Config-HOWTO.html">http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Config-HOWTO.html</A>?
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<P>
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<P>
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<HR>
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-9.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-7.html">Previous</A>
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO.html#toc8">Contents</A>
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</HTML>
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