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>System Administration</TITLE
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><DIV
CLASS="SECT1"
><H1
CLASS="SECT1"
><A
NAME="SYSTEM-ADMINISTRATION"
>4. System Administration</A
></H1
><P
>	This section contains information on common system
	administration tasks. It is by no means an
	exhaustive list of what goes on in Linux system administration but
	rather a collection of a few common tasks that a new user may
	find useful. If you would like more information on Linux
	system administration, refer to the online Linux System
	Administrators' Guide, found at <A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/sag/book1.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/sag/book1.html</A
>.
	</P
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="CHANGING-YOUR-PASSWORD"
>4.1. Changing your password</A
></H2
><P
>	Every time you log onto a Linux system, you must provide a
	password for your account. Occasionally you may wish to change
	your password, and many systems require that you do so regularly
	for added security.
	</P
><P
>	Changing your password is done in the Emacs shell. Normally,
	changing your password in the Emacs shell displays it on the
	screen and also speaks it aloud. However, Emacspeak adds a line to your
	<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>.emacs</TT
> file that keeps Emacs from echoing
	your password either visually or orally. Of course, it's still
	a good idea to change your password in a secure area where
	no-one is likely to watch you type it in. To change your
	password: 
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			From inside Emacs, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x
			shell</B
> to launch an Emacs shell.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			At the prompt, type
			<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>passwd</B
>. You will be prompted for both your
			current password and your new password. 
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	Note that some systems require passwords to be a certain
	length or contain certain characters such as numbers. If your
	password entry is rejected for some reason, keep trying.  In general,
	most 6-8 letter passwords that contain at least one number
	work well. Of course, be sure it's easy for you to remember!
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="INSTALLING-APPLICATIONS"
>4.2. Installing applications</A
></H2
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="ABOUT-EMACS-APPLICATIONS"
>4.2.1. About Emacs applications</A
></H3
><P
>	As an Emacs user, you can
	mentally divide applications into two categories: those
	that are native to Emacs (that is, those applications written
	specifically for Emacs),
	and those that are not (for example, command-line applications). If an application is not
	Emacs-native, you can still run it from the Emacs shell
	command line.  To run the application, type the command
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x shell</B
> to start the shell then the appropriate command to start the
	application. If the application is native to Emacs, you can
	type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x name-of-application</B
> to start the
	application. The application will run directly in the Emacs
	buffer.
	</P
><P
>	Sometimes, even though an application wasn't designed
	specifically for Emacs, you can install a special wrapper
	file that makes Emacs think the application is Emacs-native. These
	special files have a <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>.el</TT
>, or
	Emacs-lisp, extension. After you've downloaded and
	installed a new application, if a <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>.el</TT
> file exists for it, you
	can download that file too.  Place it in the correct
	directory, add the appropriate line to your
	<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>.emacs</TT
> file so that Emacs will recognize
	the application, and
	you'll be able to run the application as if it were native to Emacs.  
	</P
><P
>	As an Emacspeak user, you'll also want to know which
	applications are Emacspeak-enabled. These Emacspeak-enabled applications have a second
	special <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>.el</TT
> wrapper file that contains Emacspeak-specific commands that provide
	audio feedback just for that application. For a complete list
	of Emacspeak-enabled applications, see <A
HREF="http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net/applications.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net/applications.html</A
>.
	All avaliable <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>emacspeak-*.el</TT
> files are
	included with Emacspeak, so you won't have to download them.
	</P
><P
>	So, when you install a new application,
	you'll need the following three things:
	</P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: disc"
><P
>				The application.
				</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: disc"
><P
>				A <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>.el</TT
> file for
				that application, if you want to run
				it directly from Emacs instead of from
				the Emacs shell command line.
				</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: disc"
><P
>				An
				<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>emacspeak-*.el</TT
>
				file for the application, if you want
				to run it directly from Emacs and have
				it Emacspeak-enabled. Check
				in the /emacspeak/lisp directory
				to see if one exists for your
				application.
				</P
></LI
></UL
><P
>	Whenever possible, this HOWTO tells you specifically
	whether or not an application is Emacs-native, and if not,
	where to get the special <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>.el</TT
> wrapper files if they are
	available.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="DOWNLOADING-APPLICATIONS"
>4.2.2. Downloading your application</A
></H3
><P
>	Once you've chosen a new application to install, you'll need
	to download it. Typically you'll use either
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>FTP</SPAN
> application or the
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>wget</SPAN
> application to download your new Linux
	application, since most of them are distributed only on the
	Internet. If you are unfamiliar with the
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>FTP</SPAN
> and
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>wget</SPAN
> applications, refer to <A
HREF="working-with-files.html#DOWNLOADING-FILES"
>Section 5.1</A
>, Downloading files, for information
	on how to use these applications to get your files.
	</P
><P
>	Usually, the files you download will have some sort of extension (the letters after the "dot"
	or "period" in the file name) that denotes what type of file it
	is. If your file has a .gz or .tar extension, refer to <A
HREF="system-administration.html#UNCOMPRESSING-FILES"
>Section 4.2.3</A
> on uncompressing files.  If your file has a .rpm
	extension, refer to <A
HREF="system-administration.html#INSTALLING-RPMS"
>Section 4.2.4</A
> on
	installing RPMs.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="UNCOMPRESSING-FILES"
>4.2.3. Uncompressing files</A
></H3
><P
>	Most files are compressed in at least one (and
	sometimes multiple) ways. You can tell how a file was
	compressed, and thus how to uncompress it, by the extensions
	on the file.  The most common extensions are .tar and .gz,
	though there are others.
	</P
><P
>	If your downloaded file has multiple extensions, you'll have
	to uncompress it one step at a time, uncompressing the last
	extension first.  For example, if the file is named
	<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>foo.tar.gz</TT
>, complete the following steps:
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			Start the <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Emacs</SPAN
>
			shell using the command <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x shell</B
>.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			If necessary, use the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>cd</B
>
			(change directory) command to move to the
			directory that contains your downloaded file.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			At the Emacs shell command prompt, type
			<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>gunzip foo.tar.gz</B
>. The
			file will be unzipped, leaving you
			with a file called
			<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>foo.tar</TT
> in your
			directory. Files with a .tar extension are commonly known as "tarballs."
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			At the command prompt, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>tar -xvf
			foo.tar</B
>. The tarball will be uncompressed, usually
			leaving either a single file or a new
			directory that contains a number of files.
			</P
><P
>			Some recent versions of the
			<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>tar</B
> command will both
			uncompress and untar a file if you add the
			<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>-z</B
> option. Thus, the
			command <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>tar -xvfz
			foo.tar.gz</B
> would both uncompress and
			untar the file.
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	If you ended up with a new directory after you uncompressed
	your files, it probably contains
	files with names like <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>INSTALL</TT
>,
	<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>NOTES</TT
>, or <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>README</TT
>,
	among others. These files usually include instructions for
	installing that specific application. As each application may
	have a different installation process, you should read these
	files carefully and follow any instructions they may
	provide. You'll
	probably need to be the root user to actually install any
	applications, as only root usually has the necessary permissions. 
	</P
><P
>	If you ended up with a single file after uncompressing, it
	probably has either a .rpm extension or some other type of
	extension, such as .el. If it has a .rpm extension, refer to
	<A
HREF="system-administration.html#INSTALLING-RPMS"
>Section 4.2.4</A
> on installing RPMs. If the file has
	some other extension, refer to the website where you
	downloaded it for more information.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="INSTALLING-RPMS"
>4.2.4. Installing RPMs</A
></H3
><P
>	If you downloaded or uncompressed a file that has a .rpm
	extension, you're in luck! It is a Red Hat Package Manager
	file that contains all the information it needs to install itself
	automatically. Assuming that your distribution supports RPMs,
	you can install the file as follows:
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			Open a root shell using the command <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x
			emacspeak-root</B
>, which is bound to
			<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-e C-r</B
>.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			At the command prompt, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>rpm -xfv
			foo.rpm</B
>. A number of messages will scroll by,
			and you'll be returned to the command prompt
			once RPM finishes installing the files.
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	For additional information on RPMs, refer to Red Hat's
	official website, <A
HREF="http://www.redhat.com"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.redhat.com</A
>
	or the official Red Hat Linux reference guide, at <A
HREF="http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7-Manual/ref-guide/ch-rpm.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7-Manual/ref-guide/ch-rpm.html</A
>.
	</P
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