E.7 Using Red Hat Linux

E.7.1 New to Linux

E.7.1.1 Question

I am totally new to linux and don't know anything about how to use it. or What is this root@localhost# I am seeing?

E.7.1.2 Answer

Many users new to Red Hat Linux need additional documentation on learning Linux. We are aware of this, and are continuing to expand our documentation, but should you require additional information, the following resources may be useful for you.

Books:

• Running Linux by Matt Welsh O'Reilly Books
• Linux for Dummies by various authors
• Red Hat Linux Unleashed Sams Publishing
• Teach Yourself Linux in 24 Hours Sams Publishing

Web Sites:

http://www.redhat.com/linux-info/ldp/LDP/gs/node5.html

http://www.best.com/ aturner/RedHat-FAQ/

For a complete description of supported hardware, please visit:

http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/rhl/intel/rh50-hardware-intel.html

E.7.2 Running Quake and Quake II

E.7.2.1 Question

I heard I can run Quake on my linux system. How do I set this up?

E.7.2.2 Answer

In order to get Quake to run on your system, you need to download the Quake/Linux program from:

http://www.idsoftware.com/archives/quakearc.html

E.7.3 Getting colors with ls

E.7.3.1 Question

How come I don't see colors when I run ls? When I am using my old Linux, the filenames all have different colors.

E.7.3.2 Answer

In order to allow the color option, you must edit .bashrc. This line must be placed in the file:

alias ls='ls --color=auto'

E.7.4 Compiled programs dont run

E.7.4.1 Question

I have installed Red Hat Linux. When I attempt to run a simple program I compiled, the following happens:

 a.out
bash: a.out: command not found

I have used other versions of Linux and never had such a problem in running programs. What is going on?

E.7.4.2 Answer

The problem is that, according to the computer shell, the program isn't there. The computer shell (the part of the OS that runs your commands) finds programs using a very strict path setting that figures out where items are. If you type the following, you will see what your PATH variable is set to:

echo PATH

One of the items that should not be there is the current working directory [cwd] (sometimes called the present working directory). The cwd is known as ``.'', so to execute commands in the cwd, you need to either add the directory to your path, or type something like the following:

 ./a.out

E.7.5 MacMillan Red Hat Linux Boxed Set Documentation

E.7.5.1 Question

I have purchased the MacMillan boxed set of Red Hat, and it says that it comes with extra on-line documentation. How do I install and read it?

E.7.5.2 Answer

The MacMillan Complete Red Hat Linux Operating System comes with several books (and parts of books) as an added value. These books are in PDF format, and require that you use a PDF document reader on them. The Linux Acrobat reader is included for this purpose.

To install the Reader, you will need to do the following while logged in as the user root.

Insert the installation cdrom and issue the following commands:

mount /mnt/cdrom
mkdir /tmp/acro
cd /tmp/acro
tar xzvf /mnt/cdrom/ebooks/acrobat.tar
# this will extract the files into the /tmp/acro directory

./INSTALL
# This will run the INSTALL script for your data. I usually install
# them into the default location of /usr/local

You can now run the command acroread and view the documentation in /mnt/cdrom/ebooks