147 lines
6.6 KiB
HTML
147 lines
6.6 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<html><head>
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<TITLE>The Linux Gazette FAQ</TITLE></HEAD>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000"
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LINK="#3366FF" VLINK="#A000A0">
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<H4>"The Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center>
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<H1><A NAME="faq">
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<img src="../../gx/lg-penguin.gif" alt=" ">
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<font color="#B03060">The <I>Linux Gazette</I> FAQ</font>
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</A></H1>
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Updated 30-Jan-2002
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</center>
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<p><hr><p>
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<H2>How can I get help on Linux?</H2>
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<ol>
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<li>Try the help files already in your Linux system
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<li>See what reading material is out there
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<li>Ask experienced people for help
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</ul>
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<H3>Try the help files already in your Linux system</H3>
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<p>The usual command to ask for a help page on the command line is the
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word <tt>man</tt> followed by the name of the command you need help
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with. You can get started with <tt>man man</tt>. It might help you to
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remember this, if you realize it's short for "manual."
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<p>A lot of plain text documents about packages can be found in
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<tt>/usr/doc/packages</tt> in modern distributions. If you installed
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them, you can also usually find the FAQs and HOWTOs installed in
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respective directories there.
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<p>Some applications have their own built-in access to help files (even those
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are usually text stored in another file, which can be reached in other
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ways). For example, pressing F1 in <tt>vim</tt>, ? in <tt>lynx</tt>,
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or ctrl-H followed by a key in Emacs, will get you into their help system.
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These may be confusing to novices, though.
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<p>Many programs provide minimal help about their command-line interface if
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given the command-line option <tt>--help</tt> or <tt>-?</tt>. Even if these
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don't work, most give a usage message if they don't understand their command-
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line arguments. The GNU project has especially forwarded this idea. It's
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a good one; every programmer creating a small utility should have it
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self-documented at least this much.
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<p>Graphical interfaces such as <tt>tkman</tt> and <tt>tkinfo</tt> will
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help quite a bit because they know where to find these kinds of help files;
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you can use their menus to help you find what you need. The better ones
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may also have more complex search functions.
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<p>Some of the bigger distributions link their default web pages to HTML
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versions of the help files. They may also have a link to help directly from
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the menus in their default X Windowing setup. Therefore, it's wise to
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install the default window manager, even if you (or the friend helping you)
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have a preference for another one, and to explore its menus a bit.
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<h3>See what reading material is out there</h3>
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<P> Check the FAQ. (Oh, you already are.
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<img src="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" alt=":)">)
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Somewhat more seriously, there is a Linux FAQ located at
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<a href="http://www.linuxdoc.org/FAQ/Linux-FAQ.html"
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>http://www.linuxdoc.org/FAQ/Linux-FAQ.html</a> which you might
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find to be helpful.
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<p>For people who are very new to Linux, especially if they are also new
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to computing in general, it may be handy to pick up one of these basic
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Linux books to get started:
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<ul>
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<li>Bill Ball's <em>Learning Linux in 24 Hours</em>
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<li>Mark Sobell's <em>A Practical Guide to the Linux System</em>
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<li>Either <em>Linux Installation and Getting Started</em> or the
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O'Reilly book <em>Running Linux</em>. They're extremely similar
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so you should only need one of them.
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</ul>
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<h3>Ask experienced people for help</h3>
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<p>Mailing lists exist for almost every application of any note, as well
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as for the distributions. If you get curious about a subject, and don't mind
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a bit of extra mail, sign onto applicable mailing lists as a "lurker" --
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that is, just to read, not particularly to post. At some point it will make
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enough sense that their FAQ will seem very readable, and then you'll be well
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versed enough to ask more specific questions coherently. Don't forget to
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keep the slice of mail that advises you how to leave the mailing list when
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you tire of it or learn what you needed to know.
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<p>You may be able to meet with a local Linux User Group, if your area has
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one. There seem to be more all the time -- if you think you may not have
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one nearby, check the local university or community college before giving up.
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<P>And of course, there's always good general resources, such as the Linux
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Gazette <img src="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" alt=":)">
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<P> Questions sent to <A HREF=mailto:gazette@ssc.com>gazette@ssc.com</A> will
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be published in the Mailbag in the next issue. Make sure your From: or
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Reply-to: address is correct in your e-mail, so that respondents can send you
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an answer directly. Otherwise you will have to wait till the following issue
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to see whether somebody replied.
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<P> Questions sent to <A HREF=../tag/ask-the-gang.html>The Answer Gang</A>
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will be read by all the folks in the Answer Gang (some of whom have
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<a href="../tag/bios.html">Bio notes</a>) and any answers may be published
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in the Two Cent Tips or Answer Gang columns.
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<P> If your system is hosed and your data is lost and your homework is due
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tomorrow but your computer ate it, and it's the beginning of the month and the
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next Mailbag won't be published for four weeks, write to the Answer Gang. We
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get a few hundred slices of mail a day, but when we answer, it's direct to
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you. We also copy the Gazette so that it will be published when the month
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end comes comes along.
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<P> You might want to check the new
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<a href="../../tag/kb.html">Answer Gang Knowledge Base</a> and see if your question
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got asked before, or if the Answer Guy's curiosity and ramblings from a
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related question covered what you need to know.
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<H5 ALIGN=center>
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This page written and maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
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<A HREF=mailto:gazette@ssc.com>gazette@ssc.com</A><BR>
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Copyright © 1999, Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc.,
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<P> <hr> <P>
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