[LBo] COURSE: Chapter 4. Processes

[Stefan Waidele]

Welcome again,

the list has been very quiet during the last two weeks. I guess that 
this was due to the fact that there were no major problems in chapter 3.

We will allocate two weeks for chapter 4, too.
It is serious Linux/Unix basics which is covered here, so try out 
everything.

I would also welcome all the "late commers" who joined the class during 
the last weeks. It's good to have you with us. If you read (and 
exercise) faster, you will catch up with us during those two weeks 
before we advance to chapter 5.

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*** What will we be reading this week? ***
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Chapter 4:
http://linuxbasics.org/course/book/chap_04

For those of you who would like to have one big page to read, you can
view the daily snapshot at:
http://linuxbasics.org/course/book/allof_chapter_04

If you have some things that you want to clarify, just ask on the list.
Don't be shy. There are no silly or stupid questions.

Also, if there are more questions on chapter 3, keep on asking on the
mailing-list. The fact that we move on to chapter 4 does not mean that
chapter 3 is suddenly off-topic.


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*** Things to be done this week ***
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Let's pretend we are all using "init" :)

Ubuntu Edgy Eft has changed the system startup from the way it was done
on UNIX System V (SysV-init) to "Upstart". Ubuntu does not have an 
"inittab" anymore.
This stuff is quite new, so those who have a system without an inittab 
might not be able to follow this chapter "hands on", but you will still 
learn a lot about how things work in Unix/Linux in general.

Even if things are about to change, it is good to know how "it
used to be".

For those who want to read up on Upstart, this should be the first place
to go: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReplacementInit

Just some pointers to pages related to chapter 4 on the LinuxBasics.org 
website:

http://linuxbasics.org/tutorials/advanced/realworld/killing_my_software
http://linuxbasics.org/tutorials/advanced/realworld/puzzling_commandlines

Some offsite links for the curious:

"The Linux Booting Process Unveiled" which also covers Slackware, which
has a BSD-style init-process:
http://www.pycs.net/lateral/stories/23.html

Another classic is the "From-PowerUp-To-Bash-Prompt-HOWTO" at:
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/From-PowerUp-To-Bash-Prompt-HOWTO.html


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*** Anything else? ***
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You know this already:
In case you have comments or questions about the course, don't hesitate
to contact us at TheCrew at LinuxBasics.org

And, of course, post your questions and comments about Linux or the
LBook to the list: LBo-course at LinuxBasics.org

Yours,

Anita, Jisao, Sam and Stefan
TheCrew at LinuxBasics.org