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<H2>June 2000, Issue 54 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Published by <I>Linux Journal</I></H2> 

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<H1><font color="#BB0000">Table of Contents:</font></H1>




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	<LI>  <a HREF="lg_mail54.html">The MailBag</A> 
	<UL>
		<LI>  <a HREF="lg_mail54.html#help">Help Wanted &amp; Article Ideas</A> 
		<LI>  <a HREF="lg_mail54.html#gen">General Mail</A> 
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	<LI>  <a HREF="lg_bytes54.html">News Bytes</A> 
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		<LI>  <a HREF="lg_bytes54.html#distro">Distro News</A> 
		<LI>  <a HREF="lg_bytes54.html#general">News in General</A> 
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	<LI>  <a HREF="lg_answer54.html">The Answer Guy</A> , <EM>by James T. Dennis</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="lg_tips54.html">More 2-Cent Tips</A> 
	<LI>  <a HREF="betancourt.html">0800-LINUX: Creating a Free Linux-only ISP</A> , <EM>by Carlos Betancourt</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="collinge.html">HelpDex</A> , <EM>by Shane Collinge</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="correa1.html">What are Oracle's plans to boost and support the Linux platform?</A> , <EM>by Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="correa2.html">General Graphics Interface Project (GGI)</A> , <EM>by Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="ferrari.html">Creating A Linux Certification Program, Part 9</A> , <EM>by Ray Ferrari</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="frost.html">CAD Programs for Linux</A> , <EM>by Keith Frost</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="nielsen.html">First Attempt at Creating a Bootable Live Filesystem on a CDROM</A> , <EM>by Mark Nielsen</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="okopnik.html">Introduction to Shell Scripting</A> , <EM>by Ben Okopnik</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="pramode.html">Special Method Attributes in Python</A> , <EM>by Pramode C E</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="sevenich.html">A Laptop with Linux Preinstalled</A> , <EM>by Richard Sevenich</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="stoddard.html">Building a Secure Gatway System</A> , <EM>by Chris Stoddard</EM>
	<LI>  <a HREF="lg_backpage54.html">The Back Page</A> 
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		<LI>  <a HREF="lg_backpage54.html#authors">About This Month's Authors</A> 
		<LI>  <a HREF="lg_backpage54.html#notlinux">Not Linux</A> 
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<I>Linux Gazette</I><img alt="[tm]" src="../gx/tm.gif">, 
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<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>  
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The Mailbag!</a> </H2>
Write the Gazette at <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com"> gazette@ssc.com</A>
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<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="#help">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</a>
<li><a HREF="#gen">General Mail</a>
</ul>
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<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</font></H3></center>
<P> 
Answers to these questions should be sent directly to the e-mail address of
the inquirer with or without a copy to gazette@ssc.com. Answers that are
copied to <I>LG</I> will be printed in the next issue in the Tips column.

<P> <STRONG>Before asking a question, please check the
<A HREF=../faq/index.html><I>Linux Gazette</I> FAQ</A> to see if it has been
answered there.</STRONG>






<hr>

<p><em><strong>Viddy these well, little bruthers, viddy well. It
would seem that our friends 'ere, like, ave a problem with their
Linux boxes. If thou woulds't be so kind as to, like, give them a
little 'and, I'm sure they would love it, real horror-show like.
But first me little droogies, an introduction mabye in the
necessary. My name is </strong></em><a
href="mailto:iamalsogod@hotmail.com"><em><strong>Michael Williams</strong></em></a><em><strong>
and I live in the UK (Wales). As of now, I will be helping to
format the mailbag's columns. What's with all the blurb you ask?
Do we all speak like that it Wales. No! I'm actually basing my
character on Alex from &quot;A Clockwork Orange&quot;.</strong></em></p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><a name="redhatlit"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">Fri, 5 May 2000 12:49:43 +0200</a></p>

<p>From: Joseph Simushi &lt;<a
href="mailto:jsimushi@pulse.com.zm">jsimushi@pulse.com.zm</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: New User - Help</p>

<p>Hi,<br>
I am a new user of Linux and is running Red hat version 6.1.1
operating system. I am asking for your help in finding Materials
(Books, websites, CD-write-ups) on Linux to help me in the
Administering of this system. Regards,<br>
<br>
Simushi Joseph<br>
LAN Administrator<br>
PULSE Project<br>
P.O. Box RW 51269<br>
Lusaka<br>
Zambia. </p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><br>
<img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="45" height="36"> Fri, 5 May
2000 15:24:48 +1000</p>

<p>From: Eellis &lt;<a href="mailto:abacus2@primus.com.au">abacus2@primus.com.au</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Prepress Rip software<br>
<br>
Hi i like to find out is there any 3rd party or shareware
rip-software to use on postscript and pdf files instead of using
scitex or adobe rip.</p>

<p>Many Thanks From Down under.<br>
<br>
Ezra Ellis</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><br>
<img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35"> Thu, 04 May
2000 20:35:28 -0400<br>
From: Raul Claros Urey &lt;<a
href="mailto:raul@upsaint.upsa.edu.bo">raul@upsaint.upsa.edu.bo</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Help<br>
<br>
I'm using linux red hat, kernel 2.5.5 and when it is booting this
report the fallowing errors:</p>

<pre>RPC: sendmesg return error 105
Unable to send; errno = no buffer space available
NFS mountd: neighbour table overflow
Unable to register (mountd, 1, udp)
portmap: server localhost not responding, time out</pre>

<p>And I can't do anything the message &quot;neighbour table
overflow&quot; appears every time. do you know something about
it?<br>
<br>
Atte.<br>
Raul Claros Urey</p>

<hr>

<p><!--====================================================================--></p>

<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35"> Thu, 4
May 2000 04:34:58 EDT<br>
From: &lt;<a href="mailto:ERICSTMAUR@aol.com">ERICSTMAUR@aol.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Password recovery for equinox database<br>
<br>
Do you know if I can find a software which recovered my password
on a equinox database? </p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35"> Mon, 01
May 2000 20:22:18 +0800<br>
From: 61002144 &lt;<a href="mailto:61002144@snetfr.cpg.com.au">61002144@snetfr.cpg.com.au</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: resolution<br>
<br>
My comuter under linux redhat xwindow will only run 300x200
graphics. Even if I hit <font color="#000000">CTRL ALT +</font> ,
it wont change. I have a SiS620 Card with 8mb. Can you please
help. I have spent a lot of time on the internet, It seems other
people have the same problem but no one can help.<br>
<br>
Rudy Martignago </p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif"> Sat, 29 Apr 2000 01:09:12 +0100<br>
From: Andy Blanchard &lt;<a
href="mailto:andyb@zocalo.demon.co.uk">andyb@zocalo.demon.co.uk</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Help wanted - updating a Linux distro's ISO image </p>

<p>While downloading the newly posted kernel updates to RedHat
6.2 the following question arose in my mind the answer to which
might be of use to anyone who has to build numerous Linux boxes.
If one were to replace arbitrary RPM (or DEB, or ...) files on
the distro with updated versions and burn a new CDROM - would it
still install cleanly? If I understand this correctly the answer
to this is &quot;yes&quot; if the installer runs:<br>
<pre>rpm -install kernel-doc</pre>
But will be &quot;no&quot; (unless you can frig the install
script) if it runs:<br>

<pre>rpm -install kernel-doc-2.2.14-12.i386.rpm</pre>
Can anyone give me an answer? An inquiring mind wants to know...<br>
<br>
Andy.</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Sat, 6
May 2000 13:08:20 +0200<br>
From: Drasko Saric &lt;<a href="mailto:doktor@beotel.yu">doktor@beotel.yu</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: trouble with full partitions...<br>
<br>
Hi, I have a problem and I hope you'll help me. I have Linux SuSe
6.1 and WIN98 on one machine. Linux partition of 800MB is full
now, and I wish to add (if it's possible) an extra 800 MB to my
exisiting Linux partition from WIN98part, but I don't know how.
Can you help me? </p>

<p>Thanx in advance. Drasko,<br>
Belgrade, Yugoslavia </p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">Sun, 07 May 2000 00:35:12 -0500<br>
From: edge or &lt;<a href="mailto:edge-op@mailcity.com">edge-op@mailcity.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Help in setting up Red Hat as a dial-up server -- LG#53</p>

<p align="left">I have searched and searched for 2 months now and
can not get any info on how to set up a server for customers to
dial into and access the internet with mail accounts and such. I
have been to every news group and discussion I can find. No one
will give any information on how to set this up. The ONLY help or
answer I get is...:&quot;why do you want to be an ISP,<br>
they are to expensive to set up?&quot; Please have a
&quot;How-To&quot; for the beginner<br>
to set up an ISP for the first time? <br>
<br>
Thanks in advance.</p>

<h3>A reader writes:</h3>
<p>First, I hope you've received better answers in the
meantime. Second, I<br>
hope the following links helps (apologies for the mailcity
redirection<br>
stuff):<br>
<br>
<a href="http://alpha.greenie.net/mgetty/">http://alpha.greenie.net/mgetty/</a><br>
<br>
Notice about midway down the page there are links
specifically related to<br>
your question. This will get your callers connected to your
box.<br>
<br>
<a
href="http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/fetchmail/index.html">http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/fetchmail/index.html</a><br>
<br>
This is nice for grabbing the mail and handing it off to
sendmail for<br>
local delivery.<br>
<br>
As for sendmail configuration, I'm clueless.</p>
<h3>Alex comments:</h3>
<p>You could also check out the this howto </em><a
href="http://www.linuxdocs.org/ISP-Setup-RedHat.html">http://www.linuxdocs.org/ISP-Setup-RedHat.html</a>.
It's meant for Red Hat systems, but I'm sure it could easily
be adapted for another distribution with little difficulty.
</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Mon, 8
May 2000 11:22:19 +0100 <br>
From: Steven Cowling &lt;<a
href="mailto:steven.cowling@sonera.com">steven.cowling@sonera.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: bread in fat_access not found (error from Redhat 6)<br>
<br>
The following error was scrolled down the screen: </p>

<pre>bread in fat_access not found </pre>

<p>We are running Redhat version 6 on a PC and it has been
running fine for about 6 months. The latest work done has been to
start using CVS which was installed with the initial installation
of Redhat. CVS has been working fine for about a week. Since the
bread error appeared we are unable to login either at the console
or remotely using telnet from windows. Every time we try to login
the &quot;login incorrect&quot; error appears. We have tried all
user names and root. The strange thing is that we can still use
CVS from our Windows machines using WinCVS 1.0.6 to login and
check files in and out. Basically we can't login normally at all.
Has any body seen this before? Or know what 'bread' is? Any help
or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Steve Cowling</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Mon, 8
May 2000 13:50:15 -0500 <br>
From: &lt;<a href="mailto:Stephen.W.Thomas@Nttc-Pen.Navy.Mil">Stephen.W.Thomas@Nttc-Pen.Navy.Mil</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: High Availability Hosting<br>
<br>
In you latest issue of Linux Gazette you have an article titled
&quot;Penguin power credited for 100.000% network
availability&quot;. This article mentions about different Classes
of Web Hosting based on Uptime. Where on the net can I find a
definitive source for these different classes?<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
Steve. </p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Wed, 10
May 2000 09:49:25 -0400<br>
From: Ruven Gottlieb &lt;<a href="mailto:igadget@earthlink.net">igadget@earthlink.net</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Redirecting kdm output from console to file<br>
<br>
Hi,<br>
<br>
I've been trying to figure out how to redirect console output
from tty1 to a file when starting kdm. <br>
<br>
I use an alias: 
<pre>startx=&quot;startx &gt;&amp; /root/startx.txt&quot;</pre>
with startx to send output to
/root/startx.txt, but I can't figure out what to do to get the
same thing to happen with kdm.<br>
<br>
I'm suprised this isn't the default anyway. You can't read the
console output when starting kdm, and if you have mc or something
running on tty1, it gets trashed when kdm starts up.<br>
<br>
Thanks for your help.<br>
<br>
Ruven Gottlieb</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Tue, 09
May 2000 23:22:52 +0530<br>
From: &quot;pundu&quot; &lt;
<a href="mailto:pundu@mantraonline.com">pundu@mantraonline.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: calculate cpu load<br>
<br>
Hi,<br>
<br>
I would like to know how one can calculate cpu load and memory
used by processes as shown by 'top' command. It would be nice if
anyone can explain me how you could do these by writing your own
programs, or by any other means. </p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif">Mon, 8 May 2000 10:32:25 +0000
(GMT)<br>
From: Jimmy O'Regan &lt;<a href="mailto:jimregan@litsu.ie">jimregan@litsu.ie</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Is There a Version of PC/NFS for Linux? <br>
<br>
<br>
I have the O'Reilly book Managing NFS and NIS and there is a
section in the back of the book called PC/NFS describing a Unix
utility that enables a PC DOS machine to access a Unix machine
using the NFS file system as an extended DOS file system. I am
wondering if there is a Linux version of this available? </p>

<p>J.</p>

<blockquote>
    <p><em>[As far as I was aware, that program is an NFS client
    for the PC - it runs<br>
    on DOS, and lets you use NFS from a remote UNIX box. If I'm
    right, the<br>
    standard version should work with Linux.<br>
    <br>
    You'd be better off setting up Samba though. It does what
    you're looking<br>
    for - makes Linux look like an MS server. This would be
    better for Ghost,<br>
    as Ghost works on MS shares. -Alex.]</em></p>
</blockquote>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">Mon, 1 May 2000 08:57:32 -0700<br>
From: lisa simpson &lt;<a href="mailto:rflores@pssi-intl.com">rflores@pssi-intl.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Mandrake and tab<br>
<br>
When you hit the TAB key under a shell in Mandrake, it gives a
list instantly unlike in Redhat where you have to hit tab twice,
if there are several similar entries. How do I disable that
behavior? <br>
</p>

<blockquote>
    <p><em>[Look in the shell manual page under the options
    section. There are<br>
    options you can set that control this behavior. I don't
    remember<br>
    the names offhand, and it's different for each shell. -Ed.]</em>
    </p>
</blockquote>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Thu, 11
May 2000 08:47:38 -0700<br>
From: &lt;<a href="mailto:agomez2@axtel.com.mx">agomez2@axtel.com.mx</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Installation of Linux using an HP 486/25NI<br>
<br>
Hello,<br>
I hope that you can help me, Im new to linux and Im trying to
install it using an HP 486 25 MHz.<br>
The BIOS does not has the capability to recognize a second IDE
drive. (I have upgraded the BIOS to the latest available version
from HP website support)<br>
The Motherboard has an integrated NIC, (I also have a 3COM
3c509).<br>
I can not find the way to start the installation, since I have
Linux Mandrake as well as Turbolinux on CDROM.<br>
I have tried doing it using the CDROM of my second PC running
windows 98, with cisco TFTP server and a local LAN between both
PCs using a coax. 10 base2 cable.<br>
Where can I find a detailed explanation with some suggestions to
my problem? The manuals included with my linux flavours are not
detailed enough, they assume that I have a CDROM for linux
installation<br>
How about an installation from a FTP site?, where can I find some
DETAILED information about that?<br>
<br>
Thanks in advance for your help!<br>
<br>
Sincerely,<br>
<br>
Alex </p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Thu, 11
May 2000 08:36:27 -0700<br>
From: NANCY Philippe &lt;<a href="mailto:Philippe.NANCY@UCB.FR">Philippe.NANCY@UCB.FR</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Energy star support<br>
<br>
Last year I bought one of these cheap(er) east-asian PC computers
(like many of us ?) with the Energy Star feature (i.e. No more
need to press any button to power off). <br>
<br>
But this feature is implemented with M$ Win... and I've no idea
of the<br>
way they manage the hardware behind this process. <br>
<br>
So, as I recently installed a Corel distribution, I would like to
know if there is any mean to power off directly from Linux, and
not Shutdown-And-Restart, Open-M$Windows and Quit-From-There (and
Decrease-My-Coffee-Stock ;-} )<br>
<br>
Thank you for your help. </p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Fri, 12
May 2000 07:02:37 -0700 (PDT)<br>
From: Surfer PR &lt;<a href="mailto:SurferPR1@excite.com">SurferPR1@excite.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Help with Voodoo3</p>

<p>I have followed every instruction I could find on how to
install the voodoo3 and MESA and all the 3d tests run just
fine... but when I try to run any game that uses glide or mesa
(quakeII) I try all the renderes but it does not work and
continues to use the very lame software.... I have all my
resolutions set... I am mainly having problems with the
glide2x.so or something like that.. everything else in Linux
(Mandrake 7.0) is fine... </p>

<p>Please help me.</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">Mon, 15 May 2000 08:53:49 -0700<br>
From: &quot;VanTuyl, George&quot; &lt;<a
href="mailto:George.VanTuyl@voicestream.com">George.VanTuyl@voicestream.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Backup to a CD- Re-Writeable drive<br>
<br>
I have been asked to put together a backup strategy for the
company's Red Hat 6.1 Linux gateway server. The backup medium
chosen &quot;not by this individual&quot; is a HP 9200I parallel
port CD re-writeable drive /burner. <br>
<br>
I would like to here some reflections and recommendations on this
strategy please.<br>
<br>
Thanks gvt.<br>
<br>
</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">Mon, 15 May 2000 12:33:44 +0100<br>
From: &lt;<a href="mailto:marco.brouwer@nl.abb.com">marco.brouwer@nl.abb.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: image<br>
<br>
Hi,<br>
<br>
Do you know where I can get the &quot;Dont fear the Penguis&quot;
logo names : linux-dont-f.jpg Or can you send it me...<br>
<br>
cu<br>
</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">Wed, 17 May 2000 13:15:28 -0400<br>
From: &quot;Jeff Houston&quot; &lt;<a
href="mailto:jhouston42@worldspy.net">jhouston42@worldspy.net</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Video help<br>
<br>
Howdy I have 2 problems. First and foremost I believe is when I
boot up linux none of my window managers will work. In my old
computer they did but not in my new one. I think it is because my
graphics card is not compatible but not sure about that I know
that it is not listed in setup but neither was my graphics card
in my other computer. Anyway I went to the website of my graphics
card and they had a file to supposedly add support for my card to
linux but how do i go about installing it? It is gzipped and to
be honest I have no clue where I am or what I am doing once I get
logged in to linux without any of the window managers. I have
only had redhat about 3 days now:) Anyway I have the file I
supposedly need on a floppy, but dont have any idea what to do
with it now. Alos after I installed RedHat for some reason Win98
became EXTREMELY slow and is giving me probs and a lot of
programs not responding any idea why this is?<br>
Thanks for any and all help you can give me.<br>
<br>
signed, NEWBIE</p>

<blockquote>
    <p><em>[It would seem that you are -extremely- confused here
    Jeff. It would appear you have no idea how to use the BASH
    prompt. Obviously, you need to read up upon the subject - </em><a
    href="http://www.linuxdoc.org"><em>http://www.linuxdoc.org</em></a><em>
    has a variety of tutorials and howtos for Linux. Have you
    tried running 'Xconfigurator' (remember folks, it's case
    sensative)? See if your graphics card is listed there. To
    unzip a file that's gzipped, use the 'gunzip' command. That's
    about as much as I can tell you, since you do not provide
    enough information. As for your Win98 slowdown problem, I
    really see no link between installing Linux and that type of
    problem. Mabye I'm wrong, or mabye it's just you being a bit
    paranoid :) -Alex.] </em></p>
</blockquote>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50" height="35">Wed, 17
May 2000 10:12:38 -0700<br>
From: &quot;Jeffrey X&quot; &lt;<a
href="mailto:krixsoft@hotmail.com">krixsoft@hotmail.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: &quot;run of input data&quot; error<br>
<br>
I recently compiled the RedHat kernel 2.2.12-20. Everything <br>
went well and I can start new kernel from lilo. Lilo.conf<br>
looks like:
....<
<pre>image=/boot/vmlinuz
label=linux
root=/dev/hda5
<br>
image=/usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage
label=new
root=/dev/hda5
....</pre>
The problem I ran into is that I copied &quot;bzImage&quot; to
&quot;/boot/vmlinuz&quot;, ran lilo, and rebooted the system.
When I tried to start new kernel with label &quot;linux&quot;,
the system halted with the following messages:<br>
<pre>&quot;Loading linux.....&quot;
&quot;Uncompressing Linux......&quot;
ran out of imput data&quot;
&quot;-- System halted&quot;</pre>
Why? Where is the problem ? I had a 128MHz phsical RAM and 256MHz
/swap.<br>
Please help out.<br>
<br>
Tahnks!<br>
<br>
Linux Newbie<br>
<br>
</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">17 May 2000 13:12:55 -0000<br>
From: &quot;narender malhan&quot; &lt;<a
href="mailto:malhan@rediffmail.com">malhan@rediffmail.com</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: linuxsoftwareraid HELP<br>
<br>
Dear Sir,<br>
<br>
I want to configure my linux box for mirroring(RAID1) with SCSI
cards. I<br>
want help or HOWTO documents regarding this.<br>
<br>
Hope u 'll reply soon,<br>
<br>
waiting for an early reply,<br>
<br>
yours,<br>
singh.<br>
</p>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">Mon, 22 May 2000 11:56:08 +0200<br>
From: REVET Bernard &lt;<a href="mailto:bmrevet@igr.fr">bmrevet@igr.fr</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: VIRUSES on the Net !!!<br>
<br>
Many articles have been written in the press concerning the virus
&quot;I love You &quot; and similar one<br>
It would be appreciated to have a general article in the Linux
Gazette about the problem of viruses as many computers have both
Microsoft Windows and Linux installed . What are the protections
of Linux against virus intrusions ? What<br>
differentiates Microsoft OS from Linux concerning this problem?
Is it safe or reasonable to continue to use Microsoft Windows as
it costs so much to the community to get rid of these viruses? To
these financial worries one can add updating systems 95 Versions,
98, Millenium , plus WWW browser plus bugs plus plus.</p>

<p align="left">Bernard<br>
</p>

<blockquote>
    <p><em>[I'm sure it's been said before, many, many times.
    But, just for the point of clarity, I'l say it again. Virii
    (viruses) are virtually a non-issue in Linux, especially
    those like the love bug. I myself have never expereinced that
    particular virus, but I've read about Linux users who have,
    and, after using a bit of common sense, I've come to the
    conclusion that it could not affect a Linux box. Why? The
    love bug is a Visual BASIC script designed to run on Windows
    computers. Under Linux, you could just download the script
    and read it, without it doing any damage to your system. Most
    virii will have little affect on Linux, most are
    Windows-centric, and only designed to run under the
    aforementioned GUI. There are virus scanners available for
    Linux, and true, there are Linux specific Virii. However, I
    wouldn't waste the time of the download if I was you - the
    odds of you getting one are -extremely low-. Thankyou, and
    goodnight. -Alex.]</em></p>
</blockquote>

<hr>
<!--====================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/envelope.gif" width="50"
height="35">Sat, 20 May 2000 12:02:59 -0500 (COT)<br>
From: Servicios Telematicos &lt;<a
href="mailto:servicios@r220h253.telecom.com.co">servicios@r220h253.telecom.com.co</a>&gt;<br>
Subject: Missing root password<br>
<br>
Hello<br>
I use linux red hat 6.1 but my friend Fabian change the lilo
configurations and the root password. Please help me. <br>
<br>
I need change the lilo configuration and root password.<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
victoriano sierra<br>
Barranquilla <br>
Colombia</p>


<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Thu, 11 May 2000 13:19:41 -0500
<BR>From: Juan Pablo &lt;<A HREF="mailto:j_pablo18@yahoo.com">j_pablo18@yahoo.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Linux

<P> Hello, I want to know if there is books, texts, etc. of linux in spanish
. Where explains HOW TO USE it?
Thanks!!!


<BLOCKQUOTE> <EM>
[See below about an upcoming Spanish translation of the </EM>Gazette<EM>.  Also,
the </EM>Linux Journal<EM> site has a section listing the Linux Users Groups in
many countries.  Perhaps you can find one near you.  Where are you located?
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/glue">http://www.linuxjournal.com/glue</A> . -Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>


<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Thu, 11 May 2000 13:19:41 -0500
<BR>From: Warren &lt;<A HREF="mailto:warren@guano.org">warren@guano.org</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Spiro Linux

<P> Were you ever contacted by someone at Spiro Linux?  I am searching for
information on the distribution, but the published website,
<A HREF="http://www.spiro-linux.com">http://www.spiro-linux.com</A>, is not
answering.

<H3>The Editor wrote:</H3>

<P> No, I haven't.  The domain doesn't exist now.  You can try a search
engine.  I'm printing this in case one of our readers knows.

<H3>Warren responded:</H3>

<P> I called the number for SPIRO-Linux, +1 (402) 375-4337, and an automated
attendent identified the company as "Inventive Communications".

<P> Web searches turn up a lot of reviews, but no news on what happened to
the company.


<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Thu, 11 May 2000 13:19:41 -0500
<BR>From: &lt;<A HREF="mailto:jshock@linuxfreemail.com">jshock@linuxfreemail.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Windoze 98 under WINE

<P> I know wine is meant for running windows applications, but
is it also possible to just run windows 98 from within
linux using Wine?  I tried to run win.com with wine, but
i got a dosmod error of some sort.  If it is possible to
run windoze 98 under linux WINE then please tell me how;
thanx in advance.


<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Thu, 11 May 2000 13:19:41 -0500
<BR>From: Eric Ford &lt;<A HREF="mailto:eford@eford.student.princeton.edu">eford@eford.student.princeton.edu</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: read-only -&gt; read/write

<P> Back when I ran NetBSD, there was a way I could mount (or link?) a directory
from a read-only medium (CD-ROM, NFS that I only have read permission for,
etc.) to a directory on my hard disk as read-write.  If I added a file
to the directory, it would be stored on my hd.  If I modified a file,
then it would save my version on my hd and transparently use that version
rather the version on the ro medium.  If I deleted a file, it stored
something locally so it knew to make it appear as if that file wasn't
there.

<P> Can I do this in Linux?  If so, how?


<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Thu, 11 May 2000 13:19:41 -0500
<BR>From: Amrit Rajbansh &lt;<A HREF="mailto:amrit_101@rediffmail.com">amrit_101@rediffmail.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: remote login methods

<P> My workstation has presently a damaged hard disk is there any provision
that i can directly boot from the server using a linux bootable floppy,instead
of installing a new hardisk in the work station

<P> waiting eagerly for your reply







<a name="gen"></a>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">General Mail</font></H3></center>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sat, 29 Apr 2000 13:02:46 +0200
<BR>From: Jan-Hendrik Terstegge &lt;<A HREF="mailto:helge@jhterstegge.de">helge@jhterstegge.de</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Linux Gazette - German translation

<P> Hi folks.

<P> I love the Linux Gazette, but the last time I think there are more and more
Linux users in Germany who didn't speak english (yes it's possible to use
Linux without speaking English. The SuSE does a very good translation) or have
really problems to speak it.
I think most of them want to learn a lot about Linux, but there are not so much
german-languaged Pages.
So I think if would be nice if there are some guys speaking english and german
very well who help me to translate the Linux Gazette.

<BLOCKQUOTE> <EM>
[As you know, we very much like to see versions of the Gazette in other
languages.  If you can translate a few articles per issue and put them
up on a web site, that will be a start.  Perhaps seeing the articles
there will encourage some other people to offer to help.  Remember to add
your site to our mirrors list using the form at the bottom of
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/mirrors.html">http://www.linuxgazette.com/mirrors.html</A>-Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>




<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Wed, 3 May 2000 08:33:41 -0700
<BR>From: Karin Bakker
<BR>Subject: Re: Linux gazette in a German version

How can I get the gazette in  a German version ?

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[A German-speaking reader or group will have to translate it and host it
on their web site.
This is how all our foreign-language mirrors work.

<P> Just this week I get a letter from somebody who may be willing to
translate part of it but he's looking for others to do some of the
work.  Let's see if I can find his e-mail address...
Here it is:
Jan-Hendrik Terstegge &lt;<A HREF="mailto:helge@jhterstegge.de">helge@jhterstegge.de</A>&gt;

<P> Would you like to speak with him and see if you guys can figure out
how to get a translation off the ground? -Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>


<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sun, 30 Apr 2000 10:14:36 -0400
<BR>From: usrloco &lt;<A HREF="mailto:usrloco@userlocal.com">usrloco@userlocal.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: userlocal.com

<P> I just wanted to thank you for listing my site 
(<A HREF="http://userlocal.com">userlocal.com</A>) in the May 
issue of Linux Gazette. 



<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Mon, 1 May 2000 21:58:34 -0500
<BR>From: Brad Schrunk &lt;<A HREF="mailto:schrunk@mediaone.net">schrunk@mediaone.net</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: SuSE Linux and Microsoft medialess OS

<P> Dear Linux Supporters:

<P> I have started playing around with SuSE Linux and am impressed with the
product. I have been a died in the wool Microsoft user for the last
eight years.  I have seen them step on a lot of folks and that is part
of business. I have also put up with their mindless CD keys that make  a
network administrators life miserable. Not copy protected is what it
said on all of their software. That was until they controlled the market
now everything is copy protected.

<P> But the latest rumor or plan that Microsoft has put me over the edge. I
read the an article in the May 1, 2000 issue of  INFO WORLD that
Microsoft now wants to jam a "medialess OS" down our throats.  The
article is entitled "Users find Microsoft's medialess anti piracy play
hard to swallow" explains their latest attempt to stop software piracy. 
 This is it for me. 

<P> I have been an ardent supporter up till this.  I want to convert to
something else. The problems are my word, access and other apps that use
MS apps.  Is there a way to continue to use these apps without Microsoft
OS. Or is there a way to emulate win apps or is there other apps that
transparently use their files?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.






<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Wed, 3 May 2000 21:02:05 +0200
<BR>From: Alan Ward &lt;<A HREF="mailto:award@mypic.ad">award@mypic.ad</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: RE: Here comes another article

<P> Just a line to mention I liked a lot the new look.
You also did well to put the programs in separate
files.




<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sat, 06 May 2000 01:53:15 -0400
<BR>From: Charlie Robinson &lt;<A HREF="mailto:crrobin@iglou.com">crrobin@iglou.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: New Logo

<P> Sir,

<P> I am very excited about Linux and the work that you and your staff
perform. Because I am very much a "newbie", I turn to your web site
religiously every month. Thanks for all of the hand holding and the
impressive looking new logo - I like it.





<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Thu, 18 May 2000 11:28:04 +0100
<BR>From: Paul Sims &lt;<A HREF="mailto:psims@lombard.co.uk">psims@lombard.co.uk</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: new logo

<P> Nice new logo - well done!



 

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Mon, 08 May 2000 16:42:12 +1200
<BR>From: Linux Gazette &lt;<A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Rsync

Ewen McNeill &lt;<A HREF="mailto:ewen@catalyst.net.nz">ewen@catalyst.net.nz</A>&gt;
and others wrote in about difficulties mirroring <EM>LG</EM> after we installed
wu-ftpd.  In response, we have installed anonymous <CODE>rsync</CODE> also.  
Many people 
find <CODE>rsync</CODE> more convenient to use than <CODE>mirror</CODE>, and
it also has the advantage that it transfers only the changed portions of files,
saving bandwidth.  

<P> Hints for using <CODE>rsync</CODE> with <EM>Linux Gazette</EM> are in the
<A HREF="../faq/index.html#rsync"><EM>LG</EM> FAQ, question 14</A>.

-Ed.




<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Tue, 09 May 2000 01:46:50 -0500
<BR>From: Felipe E. Barousse &lt;<A HREF="mailto:fbarousse@piensa.com">fbarousse@piensa.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Spanish translation of Linux Gazette

<P> Sirs:

<P> I noticed on your
<A HREF="http://download.dnttm.ro/lg/mirrors.html">
mirrors list</A> that there are "none known"
translations to Spanish of Linux Gazette.

<P> We are a Linux consulting firm based in Mexico City and with operations
all across Latin America and the Caribbean.

<P>  We would like to take the task of translating LG into Spanish.  We are
able to coordinate a team of technical translators, Linux / Unix
specialized and, eventually, when translated, host those pages in our
web site.

<P> I would like to know your opinion about this idea and, if approved,
make all required arrangements for this to happen. We are also open to
discuss any other outstanding issues to accomplish this project.

<P> Hoping to hear from you soon.

<BLOCKQUOTE> <EM>
[The translation is expected to go live on June 1 at
<A HREF="http://www.piensa.com">http://www.piensa.com</A>.  The site has
been added to the mirrors list. -Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>






<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Wed, 10 May 2000 13:50:05 -0400
<BR>From: Aurelio_Mart&iacute;nez_Dalis &lt;<A HREF="mailto:aureliomd@cantv.net">aureliomd@cantv.net</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Suscribing Information

<P> 	My Name is Aurelio Martinez (aureliomd@cantv.net).I am a linux
beginner, and I have access to Internet only by e-mail. Is it possible
to receive Linux Gazzete in HTML format by e-mail ? Thanks.



<BLOCKQUOTE> <EM>
<P> [Quoting from the 
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/faq/index.html">LG FAQ</A>:

<P> The Gazette is too big to send via e-mail. Issue #44 is 754 KB;
the largest issue (#34) was 2.7 MB. Even the text-only version of #44 is
146 K compressed, 413 K uncompressed. If anybody wishes to distribute
the text version via e-mail, be my guest. There is an announcement
mailing list where I announce each issue; e-mail
lg-announce-request@ssc.com with "subscribe" in the message body to
subscribe. Or read the announcement on comp.os.linux.announce. 

<P> You'll have to either read the web version or download the FTP
files.  

<P> I asked our sysadmin whether we could set up a mailing list for the
</EM>Gazette<EM> issues themselves, and he was unwilling, again because of the
size issue.  Many mail transport systems are configured to reject messages
larger than 1 or 1.5 MB.  "And I don't want my sysadmin mailbox stuffed chock
full of bounced 4M emails."


</EM><H4>Note to mirrors:</H4><EM>
<P> We receive at least one request a month to send the </EM>Gazette<EM> via
e-mail.  So there is definitely reader demand for it.  If you wish to offer
</EM>Gazette<EM> via e-mail, you would need to send out the current issue's
FTP file along with <STRONG>lg-base-new</STRONG> (the changed shared files)
every month.  Users would somehow need access to <STRONG>lg-base</STRONG>
(all the shared files) when they subscribe and whenever they reinstall the
<STRONG>Gazette</STRONG>.  I don't know how you would handle changes to the
FTP files later (i.e., corrections to back issues).  -Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>




<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Wed, 17 May 2000 10:23:37 +0300
<BR>From: Shelter-Afrique &lt;<A HREF="mailto:info@shelterafrique.co.ke">info@shelterafrique.co.ke</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Compliments

<P> Thanks 4 maintaining this great magazine - its been really helpful!

<P> D. S. Daju


<BLOCKQUOTE> <EM>
[Thanks for the vote of encouragement. -Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>







<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Mon, 22 May 2000 09:11:22 EDT
<BR>From:  &lt;<A HREF="mailto:LFessen106@aol.com">LFessen106@aol.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Kudo's

<P> Hello!
My name is Linc Fessenden and I first want to congratulate you on an 
outstanding magazine!  I also happen to run a Linux User Group (Lehigh Valley 
Linux User Group) in eastern Pennsylvania.  We were wondering if you might be 
willing to donate any promotional item(s) that we could give away at a 
meeting to help increase Linux enthusiasm and awareness, and also to promote 
the Gazette?  Please let me know, and keep up the great work!

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[Thanks for the feedback.  We do not currently have any Gazette-specific
merchandise.  I have forwarded your request to our GLUE coordinator
(GLUE = Groups of Linux Users Everywhere,
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/glue">http://www.linuxjournal.com/glue</A>)
who can give you further info. -Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>



<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sat, 20 May 2000 12:55:34 +0200
<BR>From: Maciej Jablonski &lt;<A HREF="mailto:maciekj@pik-net.pl">maciekj@pik-net.pl</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: a comment about page

<P> On Polish version version of on-line Linux Gazette there are empty sides,
for example: Accessing Linux from DOS!?

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[Could you please send me some URLs that have the wrong behavior so I
can see what the problem is?  The 
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue01to08/linux_gazette.html#ext2tool">master copy</A>
(all the way back in issue #1) is coming up fine.

<P> Each mirror is responsible for its own site.  We do not update the mirrors
centrally. -Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>



<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sun, 30 Apr 2000 06:14:54 +0200
<BR>From: Meino Cramer &lt;<A HREF="mailto:user@domain.nospam.com">user@domain.nospam.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Moonlight-Atelier 3D ... sigh

<P> Dear Editor!

<P>  In on one of the articles of issue 53 of the Linux Gazette
  Moonlight Atelier 3D is mentioned as a 3D-modeller and raytracer.

<P>  Unfortunately this program has been taken from the WEB for
 what reason ever.

<P>  Please take a look at 
<A HREF="http://www.moonlight3D.org">www.moonlight3D.org</A>.

<P>  I have used this program before its "shutdown" and I am really sad,
 that there is neither suppport nor any updates any more.

<P>  May be you can achieve some informations about this case ?

<P>  Thank you very much for your help and for the <EM>Linux Gazette!</EM>





<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>
This page written and maintained by the Editor of the <I>Linux Gazette</I>.
Copyright &copy; 2000, <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->

<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
<HR>

<center>
<table cellpadding=7><tr><td>
<IMG SRC="../gx/bytes.gif" border=1  ALT="News Bytes">
</td><td>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="#distro">Distro News</A>
<li><a HREF="#general">News in General</a>
<li><a HREF="#software">Software Announcements</a>
</ul>
</td></tr></table>
</center>



<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->

<center><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="gx/cover74.jpg" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=268></center>
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
June 2000 <I>Linux Journal</I>
</font>
</H3>
<P> 
The June issue of <A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"><I>Linux
Journal</I></A> is on newsstands now.  This issue focuses on People Behind
Linux.

<P> <I>Linux Journal</I> has articles that appear "Strictly On-Line".
Check out the Table of Contents at
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue74/index.html">
http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue74/index.html</A> for articles in 
this issue as well as links to the on-line articles. 
To subscribe to <I>Linux Journal</I>, go to <A
HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/subscribe/index.html">
http://www.linuxjournal.com/subscribe/index.html</A>.

<P> 
<font color="green">
For Subcribers Only</font>: <I>Linux Journal</I> archives are available 
on-line at 
<A HREF="http://interactive.linuxjournal.com">
http://interactive.linuxjournal.com/</A> 


<a name="distro"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Distro News</font></H3></center>

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->


<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Best
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> <A HREF="http://bestlinux.net">Best Linux 2000 R2-Moscow</A> is a
Russian-language version of the Best Linux distribution, which is also
available in English, Swedish and Finnish.



<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->


<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Bluetooth
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> Las Vegas, NV  May 9, 2000  Today at Networld+Interop (N+I), Axis 
Communications is demonstrating a new wireless solution that provides 
broadband access to the Internet and LANs for a wide range of emerging 
wireless devices. General availability is 
expected in the fourth quarter.
The Bluetooth Access Point will be used to create local "hot spots," areas 
where instant wireless broadband access to the Internet or a network is 
available to Bluetooth enabled devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, laptops 
and emerging Webpads. These hot spots will enable new and innovative 
services for a variety of user environments, in the office, home, hotels, 
retail establishments and other public places such as the airport.

<P> In the hotel of the future, while you check into your room, your laptop 
checks into the office - retrieves e-mail, voicemail and accesses corporate 
Intranet services - all with broadband speed. Phone calls will be routed 
automatically via telephony services to your personal mobile phone, 
providing one number simplicity and lower-cost phone bills. The hotel will 
offer new conveniences: such as easy wireless faxing and printing from 
anywhere in the hotel to the business center, poolside food service 
ordering and streamlined checkout payment all from your PDA.

<P> The Bluetooth Access Point from Axis is the first to support both data and 
voice services. The product platform is based on Axis' integrated 
system-on-a-chip technology and embedded Linux, which includes a Bluetooth 
stack for Linux developed by Axis and recently released under GNU General 
Public License (GPL) to the open source community.






<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Newlix
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> OTTAWA, Ontario - May 2, 2000 - Newlix Corporation announced today a 
strategic relationship with 3D Microcomputers Wholesale and 
Distribution to market its Newlix OfficeServer, a Linux-based network 
operating system.

<P> Newlix is focusing on building an outstanding array of 
'set-and-forget' performance features into a reliable, cost-effective 
network operating system, which runs on standard Intel-based 
hardware. The company's flagship product, Newlix OfficeServer, is a 
robust network operating system which features plug-and-play software 
installation coupled with easy-to-use, web-based configuration tools.

<P> 3D Microcomputers is the largest Canadian-owned manufacturer of 
computer systems. The company provides products and services to 6,000 
computer resellers across Canada. 

<P> Ottawa, ON - May 3, 2000 - Newlix Corporation and Look Communications 
Inc. today announced a marketing partnership to promote the use of 
Newlix OfficeServer, a turnkey Linux-based network operating system 
for small and mid-sized businesses looking for secure, company-wide 
Internet access.

<P> Look Communications is a leading wireless broadband carrier and one 
of the largest Internet Service Providers in Canada. The Newlix 
OfficeServer will be included in a host of Web-based applications 
Look offers to support business Internet requirements.

<P> Newlix Corporation (<A HREF="http://www.newlix.com">www.newlix.com</A>) is
a privately funded company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario and founded in
1999. Corel Corporation (Nasdaq: CORL; TSE: COR) is an investor in the company.
Newlix develops software for an easy-to-use Linux-based network operating
system that meets the networking and internetworking needs of small to
medium-sized businesses and provides OEMs, VARs and other partners with the
essential building blocks to custom tailor networking solutions. The company's
flagship product, Newlix OfficeServer, provides a robust, worry-free,
'set-and-forget' communications and networking platform, designed to be
delivered in partnership with hardware vendors, connectivity providers and
application service providers.



<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Red Hat
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> <A HREF="http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2000/19/ns-15448.html">Red Hat releases 64-bit Itanium Linux</A> (ZDnet article)<BR>
(<A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/about/2000/press_itanium-alpha.html">
Official press release from Red Hat</A>)


<P> RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--April 25, 2000--Red Hat, Inc.,
 announced today that it is now taking orders for 
developer tools and services for the embedded Linux market. 
The Red Hat Embedded DevKit (EDK) begins shipping immediately and answers 
the demand for open source software and tools in the growing
embedded space, which includes Internet appliances and handhelds.

<P> The Red Hat EDK provides an integrated development environment (IDE) to 
deliver software developers everything needed to quickly and easily create 
embedded Linux applications on a wide spectrum of pervasive computing 
platforms. The targeted markets include manufacturers who are building 
Internet infrastructure appliances and consumer Internet appliances, 
as well as the traditional telecom, datacom, industrial and embedded
enterprise markets.

<P> The Red Hat Embedded DevKit is a completely open source software package 
and is sold via redhat.com with varying levels of services starting 
at $199.95.


<P> A key advantage to the Red Hat Embedded DevKit is access to the premium
support services that Red Hat has pioneered in the open source space. Red Hat
Support customers receive assistance on the usage of the Embedded DevKit and
response to questions about embedded Linux. In addition, customers are entitled
to priority response on corrections to any EDK or kernel problems they submit.
This ensures that customer projects stay on schedule.

<P> For EDK, Red Hat offers two types of premium support:

<P> Incident support for small workgroups, and Platinum Support for larger 
development teams. Incident packages provide the customer with priority 
response on a fixed number of requests. Platinum packages provide priority 
response on an unlimited number of requests, but are based on the number 
of software developers using the EDK.

<P> <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/store">www.redhat.com/store</A>





<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">LuteLinux
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> A distribution from Vancouver, Canada.

<P> <A HREF="http://www.lutelinux.com">www.lutelinux.com</A>




<a name="general"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">News in General</font></H3></center>


<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Filesystem Hierarchy Standard 2.1
</FONT>
</H3> 


<P> FHS 2.1 is done!

<P> I'm pleased to announce the release of FHS 2.1, a updated version of the
Filesystem Hierarchy Standard for Linux and other Unix-like operating
systems.  FHS is part of the draft Linux Standard Base specification,
which will soon be updated to reflect FHS 2.1.

<P> FHS 2.1 supersedes both FSSTND 1.2 and FHS 2.0.  There have been some
significant improvements and bug fixes since FHS 2.0.  Please see the
FHS web site for details.  (It has been a few years since the last
official release, so check it out if you're using a previous version
of FHS or FSSTND.)

<P> What is FHS?

<P> FHS defines a common arrangement of the many files and directories in
Unix-like systems (the filesystem hierarchy) that many different
developers and groups have agreed to use.  See below for details on
retrieving the standard.

<P> The FHS specification is used by the implementors of Linux distributions
and other Unix-like operating systems, application developers, and
open-source writers.  In addition, many system administrators and users
have found it to be a useful resource.

<P> FHS or its predecessor, FSSTND, is currently implemented by most
major Linux distributions, including Debian, Red Hat, Caldera, SuSE,
and more.

<P> FHS 2.1 and other FHS-related information is available at
<A HREF="http://www.pathname.com/fhs/">http://www.pathname.com/fhs/</A>

<P> Information on the Linux Standard Base is available at
<A HREF="http://www.linuxbase.org/">http://www.linuxbase.org/</A>

<P> Daniel Quinlan &lt;quinlan at pathname.com&gt;<BR>
FHS editor<BR>
Linux Standard Base chair




<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Upcoming conferences &amp; events
</FONT>
</H3> 


<table cellpadding=10 border=3 width=100%>

<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>Strictly eBusiness Solutions Expo</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
June 7 &amp; 8, 2000<BR>
Minneapolis Convention Center<BR>
Minneapolis, MN<BR>
Visit <A HREF="http://www.strictlyebusinessexpo.com" target=_blank>www.strictlyebusinessexpo.com</A>
<P>
</td></tr>

<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>USENIX</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
June 19-23, 2000<BR>
San Diego, CA<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.usenix.org/events/usenix2000/" target=_blank>www.usenix.org/events/usenix2000/</A>
<P>
</td></tr>

<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>LinuxFest</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
June 20-24, 2000<BR>
Kansas City, KS<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxfest.com" target=_blank>www.linuxfest.com</A><BR>
<P>
</td></tr>

<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>PC Expo</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
June 27-29, 2000<BR>
New York, NY<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.pcexpo.com" target=_blank>www.pcexpo.com</A><BR>
<P>
</td></tr>


<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>LinuxConference</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
June 27-28, 2000<BR>
Z&uuml;rich, Switzerland<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.linux-conference.ch" target=_blank>www.linux-conference.ch</A><BR>
<P>
</td></tr>


<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>"Libre" Software Meeting #1<BR> (Rencontres mondiales du logiciels
libre)</b>, sponsored by ABUL (Linux Users Bordeaux Association)<BR>
<td valign=top>
July 5-9, 2000<BR>
Bordeaux, France<BR>
French: 
<A HREF="http://lsm.abul.org/lsm_fr.html" target=_blank>
lsm.abul.org/lsm-fr.html</A><BR>
English: <A HREF="http://lsm.abul.org/" target=_blank>
lsm.abul.org</A>
<P>
</td></tr>


<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>Summer COMDEX</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
July 12-14, 2000<BR>
Toronto, Canada<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.zdevents.com/comdex/" target=_blank>www.zdevents.com/comdex</A><BR>
<P>
</td></tr>
           

<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>* O'Reilly/2000 Open Source Software Convention</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
July 17-20, 2000<BR>
Monterey, CA<BR>
<A
HREF="http://conferences.oreilly.com/convention2000.html" target=_blank>
conferences.oreilly.com/convention2000.html</A><BR>
<P>
</td></tr>
           
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>Ottawa Linux Symposium</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
July 19-22, 2000<BR>
Ottawa, Canada<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.ottawalinuxsymposium.org" target=_blank>www.ottawalinuxsymposium.org</A><BR>
<P>
</td></tr>
           

<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>IEEE Computer Fair 2000</b><BR>
Focus: Open Source Systems
<td valign=top>
August 25-26, 2000<BR>
Huntsville, Alabama<BR>
<A 
HREF="http://www.ieee-computer-fair.org" target=_blank>
www.ieee-computer-fair.org</A><BR>
<P>
</td></tr>
           

<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>Atlanta Linux Showcase</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
October 10-14, 2000<BR>
Atlanta, GA<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxshowcase.org" target=_blank>www.linuxshowcase.org</A><BR>
<P>
</td></tr> 


<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>Fall COMDEX</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
November 13-17, 2000<BR>
Las Vegas, NV<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.comdex.com" target=_blank>www.zdevents.com/comdex</A>
<P>
</td></tr> 
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<b>USENIX Winter - LISA 2000</b><BR>
<td valign=top>
December 3-8, 2000<BR>
New Orleans, LA<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.usenix.org" target=_blank>www.usenix.org</A>
<P>
</td></tr> 


</table>



<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">News from the E-Commerce Times
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> The E-Commerce Times has a Linux section:
<A HREF="http://www.ecommercetimes.com/linux/">http://www.ecommercetimes.com/linux/</A>

<P> Caldera sponsors Linux Professional Institute's (LPI) 
exam-based certification program, TurboLinux partners with Computer
Associates for Unicenter, WordPerfect hits the 1-million-download mark.
<BR><A HREF="http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000517-tc.shtml">http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000517-tc.shtml</A>


<P> One Year Ago: Penguin and Linux Taking Center-Stage.  
(An article originally published in May 1999.)
For Linux, 1998 was kind of like the year its voice broke....
<BR><A HREF="http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000503-tc.shtml">http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000503-tc.shtml</A>

<P> The End of Linux Hysteria?  2000 could be the year that Linux comes fully
into its own....
<BR><A HREF="http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000509-1.shtml">http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000509-1.shtml</A>

<P> IBM and Linux: A Test of Metal
<BR><A HREF="http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000522-1.shtml">http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000522-1.shtml</A>


<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Cobalt news
 ONS
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> NAMPA, Idaho and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., - May 17, 2000 - HostPro, Inc.,
(<A HREF="http://www.hostpro.net">www.hostpro.net</A>), a Web hosting subsidiary of Micron Electronics 
, and Cobalt Networks, Inc., (<A HREF="http://www.cobalt.com">www.cobalt.com</A>)today announced an
alliance to expand HostPro's Web hosting programs by offering dedicated
server solutions on Cobalt RaQ 3 server appliances. The arrangement enables
HostPro to offer direct sales and support to its dedicated Web hosting
customers by using a server appliance platform specifically designed by
Cobalt Networks for dedicated hosting.    


<P> Orlando, Florida, May 22, 2000 - Cobalt Networks, Inc. today announced
Cobalt StaQware, a high availability clustering solution that ensures the
uptime of business critical Web sites and applications.  StaQware, which runs
on Cobalt's RaQ 3i server appliances, offers 99.99 percent availability and
requires no customization or modification to applications. 


<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">RAID solutions for Linux
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> Hello!

<P> I read several of your Linux Gazette issues.  Just to let you know- my
company sells a line of RAID products that are Linux compatible.

<P> Our address is <A HREF="http://www.raidweb.com">www.raidweb.com</A>

<P> The advantages of our products are that we sell systems utilizing either
SCSI or IDE hard drives.
Also, our RAIDs are O/S independent--useful if your readers are utilizing
multiple-boot or different operating systems.




<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">NetMax products
</FONT>
</H3> 


<P> Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 8, 2000 - 
<A HREF="http://www.cybernet.com/">Cybernet Systems Corporation</A> today
announced two new product releases with enhanced features for its popular
Linux-based NetMAX Internet appliance software line, providing consumers
with more capabilities and flexibility at the same low cost and in the
same easy, 15-minute installation format.  The NetMAX Internet Server
Suite now includes the ability to host multiple domains on a single IP
address, and improvements to the NetMAX FireWall Suite include a proxy
server with 100 MB of cached storage to speed network performance.

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Computer I/O streaming telecom server
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> Santa Clara, CA -- May 22, 2000 -- Computer I/O Corporation, a provider of
communications servers, embedded software and services, announced the Easy I/O
(TM) T1/E1 Streaming Server, a high-performance communications server 
specifically designed for data insertion, capture and analysis applications.

<P> The Linux-based T1/E1 Streaming Server functions as a communictations probe
enabling client applications to directly access T1/E1 DS0 channels from the 
LAN environment.

<P> <A HREF="http://www.computerio.com">http://www.computerio.com</A>




<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">LinuxMall and EBIZ (TheLinuxStore) to merge
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> DENVER-- LinuxMall.com Inc. and EBIZ Enterprises Inc.,
announced today both parties have executed a letter of intent (LOI) to merge.
The merger of <A HREF="http://www.linuxmall.com">LinuxMall.com</A> 
and <A HREF="http://www.TheLinuxStore.com">TheLinuxStore.com</A>, a division of
EBIZ Enterprises, will position the combined entity as the largest
vendor-neutral Linux shopping mall and destination on the Internet. The
resulting company will offer the most comprehensive selection of Linux products
and solutions, information and services. The companies' combined prior fiscal
year revenues were more than $25 million. 

<P> Under terms of the agreement, the new corporation will be known as
LinuxMall.com. Today, LinuxMall.com is the No. 1 e-commerce site for the Linux
community and was recently listed the No. 1 shopping destination in Linux
Magazine's "Top One Hundred Linux Sites." The rise of the Linux operating
system has been one of the top technology stories of the year as companies are
adopting this system within their enterprises. TheLinuxStore.com Web site will
become a store within the LinuxMall.com collection of online stores.

<P> The new Company intends to apply for NASDAQ listing after successful
completion of the proposed merger.






<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Software Carpentry Design Competition Finalists
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> The Software Carpentry Project is pleased to announce the selection of
finalists in its first Open Source Design Competition.  There were
many strong entries, and we would like to thank everyone who took the
time to participate.

<P> We would also like to invite everyone who has been involved to contact
the teams listed below, and see if there is any way to collaborate in
the second round.  Many of you had excellent ideas that deserve to be
in the final tools, and the more involved you are in discussions over
the next two months, the easier it will be for you to take part in the
ensuing implementation effort.

<P> The 12 entries that are going forward in the "Configuration", "Build",
and "Track" categories are listed at the URL below.  The
four prize-winning entries in the "Test" category are also listed,  we are
putting this section of the competition on hold for a couple of months while we
try to refine the requirements.
You can inspect these entries on-line at
<A HREF="http://www.software-carpentry.com/first-round-results.html">
http://www.software-carpentry.com/first-round-results.html</A>





<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Stalker: StrongARM  version of CommuniGate Pro
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> From the Big Iron down to a Pocket Server.
Stalker Announces a Linux StrongARM version of the CommuniGate Pro Mail Server

<P> MILL VALLEY, CA - May 15, 2000 - Just two weeks after the successful release
of the AS/400 version of CommuniGate Pro, Stalker Software, Inc. today
announced the Linux StrongARM version of their highly scalable, carrier-grade
messaging server.

<P> CommuniGate Pro was initially designed to be a highly portable messaging
system that can effectively use the resources of any operating system on any
hardware platform. Current installations include small to mid-size ISPs on up
to the extra large ISPs and Fortune 500 companies.

<P> With this release, Stalker expands the number of supported Linux 
architectures: besides the "regular" Intel-based systems, CommuniGate Pro can
be deployed on PowerPC, MIPS, Alpha, Sparc, and now StrongARM processors
running the Linux(r) operating system.

<P> The highly scalable messaging platform can support 100,000 accounts with an
average ISP-type load on a single server, and the CommuniGate Pro unique
clustering mechanisms allow it to support a virtually unlimited number of
accounts.

<P> For office environments and smaller ISPs, CommuniGate Pro makes an ideal
Internet appliance when installed on MIPS-based Cobalt Cubes(r) and, now,
Rebel.com's NetWinder(r) mini-servers.

<P> The CommuniGate Pro Free Trial Version is available at
    <A HREF="http://www.stalker.com/CommuniGatePro/">http://www.stalker.com/CommuniGatePro/</A>.



<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">First UK Linux Conference Set to Challenge IT in Business
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> First UK Linux Conference Set To Challenge IT In Business 
SuSE Linux Ltd, Europe's leading Linux distributor, will be hosting the first UK Linux Conference on 1st June at the Olympia 
Conference Centre in London. The Conference, in association with IBM, is set to position Linux as a viable option for the 
corporate desktop, whilst preserving its traditional role of powering many corporate servers. Leading industry figures, 
including Larry Augustin of VA Linux, Alan Cox of Red Hat, Dirk Hohndel of SuSE Linux and Vice President of the Xfree86 Project, 
and John Hall from Linux International,  will discuss issues ranging from the origins and direction of Linux, to the increasing 
relevance it has in the business environment today. 

<P> <A HREF="http://www.suse.com">http://www.suse.com</A>
 
 
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Magic Software news
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> IRVINE, CA (May 17, 2000) - Magic Software Enterprises announced completion
of two key acquisitions.  Magic purchased a majority interest in Sintec Call
Centers Ltd. (Sintec), a Magic Solutions Partner that is the developer of the
leading call center management software in Israel.  Magic plans to market and
sell the Magic-based solution -- which already has been implemented extensively
in Israel -- worldwide under the brandname, "Magic eContacit"  Magic also has
acquired ITM, another Magic Solutions Partner with expertise in the development
and implementation of e-commerce projects.


<P> IRVINE, CA (May 22, 2000) - Magic Software Enterprises (Nasdaq: MGIC), a
leading provider of state-of-the-art application development technology and
business solutions, announced today that it has signed a deal with Compass
Group PLC, a major worldwide foodservice organization, to deliver an
e-procurement solution.  The e-procurement solution, which is being developed
and implemented by Magic's French subsidiary at Compass Group France, will be
built using Magic's award-winning business-to-business e-commerce solution,
Magic eMerchant.   The new application is expected to become operational in
June 2000.

<P> "We chose Magic over Oracle and IBM because they were able to provide us a
competitive, fixed-price solution that could be implemented much more quickly
and efficiently than the other two, and would adhere exactly to our specific
data model," said Ludovic Penin, Compass Group's IS director in France.

<P> <A HREF="http://www.magic-sw.com">http://www.magic-sw.com</A>







<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Solemates chooses Lutris Technologies
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P>  SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - May 22, 2000 - Lutris Technologies, Inc., an Open
Source enterprise software and services company, today announced that its
Professional Services group was chosen to deliver the interactive customatix
(<A HREF="http://www.customatix.com">www.customatix.com</A>) Web site for
Solemates.  Customatix.com is an interactive E-commerce site that enables
customers to design and build their own shoes click-by-click from the sole up.

<P> Solemates, the company behind customatix.com, relied on Lutris Technologies'
Professional Services group to develop a site capable of delivering the
three billion trillion combinations of custom shoe designs that only a
Web-based business could offer customers.  Visitors to customatix.com can
select from a vast assortment of shoe design elements, including sole
heights, materials, colors, laces, and other options to build a uniquely
individual pair of shoes.

<P> Lutris made customatix.com come to life quickly.  Using Enhydra
(<A HREF="http://www.enhydra.org">www.enhydra.org</A>), a leading
Open Source Java(tm)/XML application server, the Professional Services group
built a complex, multi-faceted application, architecting a solution that
integrates seamlessly with Solemates' partners, including UPS, Cybersource,
and FaceTime.  The Enhydra Open Source application server decreased
Solemates' time-to-market to a fraction of what it could have been using
closed source, proprietary software.

<P> Using Enhydra XMLC, Lutris was able to deploy Solemates' business in five
months-roughly half the time it would have taken without this innovation,
and at a cost of approximately one-third of what a pioneering site typically
costs, according to recent GartnerGroup survey data.  Enhydra XMLC separates
HTML design and coding from business logic, allowing interface designers and
Java programmers to work simultaneously yet independently.  Since a core
benefit of customatix.com's vision lay in allowing customers to view their
creations in real-time, Enhydra XMLC provided the precise technology to
support such an inventive business strategy.  




<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Linux Links
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> LinuxMall's <A HREF="http://www.linuxmall.com/forum/">Ask Linus forum</A>.

<P> <A HREF="http://www.protonmedia.com">Proton Media</A> specializes in 
creating multimedia web presentations using Flash 4.0.  The same presentation
may be used as a trade-show kiosk and also given away as a "CD-ROM business 
card".  (This URL requires Macromedia's Shockwave Flash plug-in.  A link to the
Linux version is available at the site.)

<P> <A HREF="http://www.thelinuxexperts.com">TheLinuxExperts.com</A> sells
Linux servers in North America and installs office LANs.

<P> <A HREF="http://Firstlinux.com">Firstlinux.com</A>  
"I've installed Linux: What Next?" is a series of articles aimed at helping 
you realise the full potential of Linux.

<P> 
<A HREF="http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2000/05/05/magazine/PalmLinux.html">Making the Palm/Linux Connection</A> (O'Reilly article)

<P> <A HREF="http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS3482923136">
Universal Device Networking -- the Future is Here</A>
(LinuxDevices.com article)

<P> <A HREF="http://www.anchordesk.co.uk/anchordesk/commentary/columns/0,2415,7102622,00.html">
AnchorDeskUK article</A> about Red Hat's default login mishap

<P> <A HREF="http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2000/20/ns-15518.html">
ZDNetUK article</A>: "Linux took another major stride towards corporate
acceptance last week, with IBM's announcement that IBM Global Services would
support S/390 versions of Linux from SuSE and TurboLinux."

<P> <A HREF="http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2000/20/ns-15522.html">
Can Linuxcare stay afloat?</A> (ZDNetUK article)
"The real story behind a potential open-source disaster."

<P> 
<A HREF="http://www.anchordesk.co.uk/anchordesk/commentary/columns/0,2415,7102682,00.html">
Browser Wars: the Future Belongs to the Dinosaurs</a>





<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">MS Kerberos, "medialess" OS, hypocracy, Gnutella, and overenthusiastic open-source enthusiasts
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> Most of these are linked directly or indirectly from the indicated
OSOpinion articles.

<P> <A HREF="http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/EskoWoudenberg/EskoWoudenberg7.html">How to publish a trade secret</A>
 (Microsoft's Keberos specification)

<P> <A HREF="http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/StephenVanEsch/StephenVanEsch16.html">
Microsoft's Gamble of a Lifetime</A> 
(switching from selling software to on-line
subscription services).
<UL>
	<LI> <A HREF="http://www.theregister.co.uk/000512-000020.html">http://www.theregister.co.uk/000512-000020.html</A>
	<LI> <A HREF="http://www.theregister.co.uk/991014-000022.html">http://www.theregister.co.uk/991014-000022.html</A>
	<LI> <A HREF="http://www.theregister.co.uk/981120-000001.html">http://www.theregister.co.uk/981120-000001.html</A>
	<LI> <A HREF="http://www.theregister.co.uk/991014-000026.html">http://www.theregister.co.uk/991014-000026.html</A>
	<LI> <A HREF="http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/XavierBasora/XavierBasora72.html">http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/XavierBasora/XavierBasora72.html</A>
</UL>

<P> Open source is (so far) a road to nowhere
<UL>
	<LI><A HREF="http://www.zdnet.com/eweek/stories/general/0,11011,2555159,00.html">http://www.zdnet.com/eweek/stories/general/0,11011,2555159,00.html</A>
	<LI><A HREF="http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/EskoWoudenberg/EskoWoudenberg8.html">http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/EskoWoudenberg/EskoWoudenberg8.html</A>
	<LI><A HREF="http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2560523,00.html">http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2560523,00.html</A>
	<LI><A HREF="http://www.zdnet.com/eweek/stories/general/0,11011,2567827,00.html">http://www.zdnet.com/eweek/stories/general/0,11011,2567827,00.html</A><BR>
"What we have here is enormous hypocracy.  The first thing to do is to
separate the two open-source camps.  One is a group that develops software
for the greater good.  Then there are the people who wrote me."

	<LI>
<A HREF="http://www.anchordesk.co.uk/anchordesk/commentary/columns/0,2415,7102552,00.html">http://www.anchordesk.co.uk/anchordesk/commentary/columns/0,2415,7102552,00.html</A><BR>
I have a bone to pick with enthusiasts: John Taschek defends his recent attack
on open source by stating that Open software is just as buggy or as good as
anything else. Companies are hopping on the bandwagon although there is one
difference -- there are no open-source leaders.
</UL>


<P> <A HREF="http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/GarethBarnard/GarethBarnard17.html">Microsoft - The Penguin's Buddy</A>
(some more ways MS is shooting itself in the foot)

<P> Napster and Gnutella

<UL>
	<LI> <A HREF="http://newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/st/a20415-2000may27.htm">The Noisy War Over Napster</A> (Newsweek article)

	<LI> <A HREF="http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2000/20/ns-15544.html">
UK adds voice to Napster Linux row</A> (ZDNetUK article)
"Napster could be used to distribute open source software,
says British Linux kernel programmer Alan Cox, adding his voice
 to the current dispute over the technology."


	<LI> <A HREF="http://gnutella.wego.com/">Gnutella</A>
</UL>


<P> 
<A HREF="http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/00/05/01/000501opfoster.xml">
Infoworld article about the "medialess" OS</A>





<a name="software"></a>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Software Announcements</font></H3></center>

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">new release of BORG
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> We would like to announce that the next version (v0.2.20) of BORG (BMRT
Ordinary Rendering GUI) is now available for download at
<A HREF="http://www.project-borg.org">www.project-borg.org</A>.
BORG is now running on most of the BMRT supported platforms including
LINUX, WinNT, SOLARIS.  (Requires Java 1.1.7 or higher.)



<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Linux Accounting
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> I would like to announce the availability of AccountiX for LINUX.  this is
a full featured, modular accounting package.  The source code is available in
order to provide customization to fit an end-users needs.  Information on the
package is located at 
<A HREF="http://www.accountixinc.com">www.accountixinc.com</A>.

<P> Frank Quirk, President<BR>
AccountiX, Inc.



<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Loki: Heavy Gear II
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> With "Heavy Gear II" Loki Entertainment Software is
opening the door to new dimensions in the Linux world: with 3D audio effects
and joystick support, a further step has been taken towards the acceptance of
Linux by the home user.

<P> With the release of the first "big" Linux game, "Civilization: Call To 
Power" (awarded the "Best End User Product of 1999" by Linux Journal), 
Loki Entertainment has already made a name for itself. Just like its 
successors, "Heavy Gear II" makes optimal use of the qualities of Linux 
in the network, whereby multi-player games based on rounds, or real-time, 
are possible. Due to its success, it is no surprise that around a dozen 
more titles are planned on being ported to Linux for the year 2000.

<P> Loki is currently placing its main emphasis on 3D sound support by means 
of OpenAL. "OpenAL represents a milestone for Linux," realizes Scott 
Draeker, president of Loki Entertainment Software. "Until now, 3D audio 
features in games were reserved for users of other platforms. This has 
all changed now."

<P> OpenAL, entirely in the tradition of the Open Source community, is issued 
under the LPGL license (GNU Library Public License).

<P>  Loki released 7 front-line Linux game titles in 1999, and 
plans 16 titles for 2000. For more information, visit 
<A HREF="http://www.lokigames.com">www.lokigames.com</A>. 




<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Loki: Quake III Arena Editor
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> We proudly announce the beta release of Linux SDK for use with Quake III 
Arena.

<P> The full version of Linux SDK will benefit Linux enthusiasts and aspiring 
game developers alike by allowing them to create maps and game code 
modifications under Linux. Windows users have had this capability since 
the release of the original Quake game.

<P> Linux SDK offers Linux users a toolchain for content creation. It 
combines software for image processing, conversion and editing with a 
fully-featured map editor compatible with the Quake III engine. The 
features include custom texturing, lighting, patches, shaders, entities 
and more. It is based in part on the QERadiant code from id Software, Inc.

<P> Download the <A HREF="ftp://ftp.lokigames.com/pub/beta/q3sdk">unsupported beta version</A>.







<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Other software
</FONT>
</H3> 

<P> Public demo of <A HREF="http://www.drbob42.com/kylix">Kylix</A>, Borland's
Delphi for Linux.

<P> <A HREF="http://www.aestiva.com">Aestiva HTML/OS</A> is a simple way to
build a database designed for the web.  

<P> CRiSP is a programmer's editor 7.0 including file compare, FTP
client, GUI and text modes, vi/emacs emulation, and much more.  
(<A HREF="http://www.vital.com/download.htm">21-day evaluation copy</A>)

<P> Cybozu Office 3 is an English version of Cybozu's 
Japanese office suite.  Includes ten applications.  Dowload the 60-day trial at
<A HREF="http://cybozu.com/download/index.html">http://cybozu.com/download/index.html</A>

<P> Canvas 7 Linux Beta 2 by Deneba provides vector drawing, diagramming,
technical illustration, creative drawing, image editing, web graphics and
page layout features in one powerful application.  Download the beta from
<A HREF="http://www.deneba.com">Deneba's web site</A>.

<P> MontaVista real-time scheduler for the Linux kernel.  (For embedded
applications.)  Download source and documentation at
<A HREF="http://www.mvista.com/realtime/rtsched.html">http://www.mvista.com/realtime/rtsched.html</A>

<P> <A HREF="http://www.eicon.com">EiconCard Connections</A> for Linux, when
combined with an EiconCard network interface card, provides the wide area
communications needs for an easy-to-use, low-cost, and easy-to-manage
communications server. The flexibility of the EiconCard, when combined with
this software, provides powerful IP Routing over various WAN protocols, making
it ideal for applications such as Web Servers or Thin Server Appliances. In
addition, many Linux-based embedded systems, such as point-of-sales, can use
the X.25 connectivity built into the software.  It will be available in June.

<P> <A HREF="http://www.opera.com">Opera</A> has signed a deal with RSA to use
RASFE Crypto-Ci 1.0 encryption software in its Opera web browser.

<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>
This page written and maintained by the Editor of the <I>Linux Gazette</I>.
Copyright &copy; 2000, <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->

<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
<center>
<H1><A NAME="answer">
	<img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" alt="(?)" 
		border="0" align="middle">
	<font color="#B03060">The Answer Guy</font>
	<img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif" alt="(!)" 
		border="0" align="middle">
</A></H1> 
<BR>
<H4>By James T. Dennis,
	<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a><BR>
	LinuxCare,
	<A HREF="http://www.linuxcare.com/">http://www.linuxcare.com/</A> 
</H4>
</center>

<p><hr><p>
<!--  endcut ======================================================= -->
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<dl>
<dt><a href="#tag/greeting"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)" border="0" 
	align="middle"><strong>Greetings From Jim Dennis</strong></A>
<dd>plus <a href="#tag/hgreeting"
	><strong>&para;: Greetings From Heather Stern</strong></A></dl>

<DL>
<!-- index_text begins -->
<dt><A HREF="#tag/1"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>LILO hangs --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/1"
	><strong>LILO Hangs in Switzerland</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/2"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>question on rm command --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/2"
	><strong>Homework Answer: All about 'rm'</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/3"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Suse Linux telnet problem --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/3"
	><strong>Can't telnet to Linux server</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/4"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>question on trees --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/4"
	><strong>Another Homework Assignment from Hotmail</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/5"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Telnet --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/5"
	><strong>Can't Telnet: Another possibility</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/6"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>>>>> HELP ! Name of the 1st GUI used by original AOL software ??? --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/6"
	><strong>A GEM of a Question?</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/7"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Win4Lin nand NT = nil --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/7"
	><strong>Win4Lin's Limitations: VMWare's Strength?</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/8"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>login script --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/8"
	><strong>"Unary Command Expected" in Shell Script</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/9"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>linux --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/9"
	><strong>Step through a Program</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/10"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Question from a quasi Novice... --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/10"
	><strong>Linux is {Now|Not} UNIX</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/11"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Thanx for -->Re: hanging the IFS to newline --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/11"
	><strong>Embedding Newlines in Shell and Environment Values</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/12"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Home partition sizes --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/12"
	><strong>Sizing the Home Directories: Quotas and Partitioning</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/13"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>calculate cpu load --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/13"
	><strong>Use the Sources, Dude!</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/14"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Scheduling 3rd party services --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/14"
	><strong>Cron</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/15"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>a quick question --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/15"
	><strong>DIR <TT>/S</TT></strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/16"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Shared Libraries --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/16"
	><strong>Limiting "Public Interfaces" on Share Libraries</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/17"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Passwords problems --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/17"
	><strong>Corel Linux and Blank Passwords</strong></a>

<dt><A HREF="#tag/18"
	><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
	  alt="(?)" border="0"
	></a>Dual Boot Questions. --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/18"
	><strong>Windoze [sic] on 2nd Hard Drive</strong></a>

<!-- index_text ends -->
</DL>
<!--     .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.     -->
<A NAME="tag/greeting"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(!) " border="0"
	>Greetings from Jim Dennis</H3>
<!-- begin greeting -->
<P>I had a great time this weekend at an annual science fiction conference
named <a href="http://www.baycon.org/">Baycon</a>.  Heather and I were staff
in their first terminal room, sponsored by <a href="http://www.redhat.com/"
	>Red Hat</a>, <a href="http://www.linuxcare.com/">LinuxCare</a>, 
	and <a href="http://www.valinux.com/">VA Linux Systems</a> and it was
	a rousing success.  Other SF conventions are looking forward to doing
	the same.
</P><P>
 Good news: Heather, my wife and principle editor,
 will be taking over the Answer Blurb.  She's refined her 
 'lgazmail' PERL script to the point where she can take up the
 slack and has graciously agreed to take over responsibility
 for the monthly blurb as well.
</P><P>
 Long time readers may recall that early Answer Guy columns
 had no blurbs.  They also had no HTML formatting.  The URLs
 weren't even wrapped in links!  I'd been frustrated by this
 for some time --- from about the time that I realized that
 Marjorie (then the editor of LG) was publishing my responses
 as a column, (and that she had dubbed me with as "The Answer 
 Guy" --- a title that still makes me nervous).  
</P><P>
 Heather agreed to step of to the plate and do the formatting.  
 She tried a few mail-to-web utilities like MHOnArc, and
 John Callendar's Babymail, etc.  Then she decided to derive
 her own from a Babymail source.  So her script reads "Jim's
 e-mail markup hints" and converts it to reasonable HTML.
</P><P>
 Heather also designed and drew the new Answer Guy Wizard (TM?)
 with its distinctive Question Crystal Ball and Answer Speak Bubble
 --- which visually refer to the question and answer speak bubbles
 throughout the column.  (She's also added the pilcrow bubble
 for editorial comments).
</P><P>
 In other words, Heather went way beyond just "wrapping the URLs
 in links" and completely overhauled the visual look of our
 column.
</P><P>
 I should also note that Heather is no slouch technically.  She
 has often helped me find answers to questions --- including the
 answers that I've published here.
</P><P>
 When we did that overhaul I also decided to add the "blurbs"
 The idea was to say things of interest that were not in response
 to any questions.  (I suppose I could've use a shill to jury rig
 the desired questions, but that would be cheating!).
</P><P>
 The blurb has sometimes been editorial (commenting on the
 Mindcraft/Microsoft fiasco and the wonderful Linux community
 anti-FUD response).  Sometimes it's been a summary and commentary
 on the sorts of questions we got in the previous month, feedback
 that we got from my answers, and any trends that we were seeing,
 etc.  
</P><P>
 For awhile I tried to identify a specific person and 
 forum every month --- to recognize them with the "Answer Guy's
 Support Award."  I wanted to point out where other individuals
 were providing lots of technical support in more specific forms
 of support in various fora.  For instance in May I wanted to
 recognize Ben Collins of the Debian-SPARC mailing list.  He
 seems to respond to most of the questions that show up there.
 (Unfortunately I was too much of a flake to keep that up for 
 long.  It's hard to dig up a really good new selection every month).
</P><P>
 Of course there have also been the two April Fool's hoax blurbs
 and a few others that weren't really there.
</P><P>
 The sad fact is that I don't have enough time to conceive and compose
 articles for this column every month.  It is much easier for me to
 answer questions (react) than to write from scratch.  (I tend to
 digress enough when there IS a question at hand.  I'm a regular
 attention deficit train wreck when left to my own devices!).
</P><P>
 Let me reassure everyone that I'm not leaving the "Answer Guy" 
 column.  I'm somewhat compulsive about answering technical questions,
 and I used to make a hobby out of USENet netnews before the
 advent of LG ensured that I get a 100 or so diverse Linux questions 
 every month in my inbox.  I sometimes still make it out to
 USENet --- though I dropped the uucp netnews feed that used to
 fill the disk on antares on a semi-regular basis!  (Now I just
 telnet out to a shell account at my ISP, or use my $NNTPSERVER
 environment setting to get to his news server).
</P><P>
 I'll also probably still insert a few comments to supplement 
 Heather's.  
</P>
<!-- end greeting -->
<!--              . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              -->
<A NAME="tag/hgreeting"><HR WIDTH="40%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/hbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(&para;) " border="0"
	>Greetings from Heather Stern</H3>
<!-- begin hgreeting -->
<P>
Hi everybody.  I suppose I don't have to introduce myself now.  I will
also be taking on some deeper organizational features -- in the next few
months we'll see a revamp of how Tips, the Mailbag, and Answer Guy messages
are formatted -- though I think they won't look all that different.
</P><P>
Also, we'll have more Wizards joining us.  Jim had from the early days 
conveived of this as The Answer Gang -- he was just helping an editor with
a few technical notes, a role which anyone can play.  The Mailbag and Tips
is popular and more gurus are around, now.  If you'd like to join The 
Answer Gang as a regular, let us know what your specialties are.  
</p><p>
I'll have something more "Blurb"ish next month.  On to the answers!
</p>
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<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>LILO Hangs in Switzerland</H3>


<p><strong>From Tom on Fri, 05 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
LILO Hangs in Switzerland
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi Jim (or James? Is Jim short for James?)
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Jim is short of James.  I tend to go by Jim.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
First let me thank you for the work you're doing in the LG. I've
read it for about 2 years now and have seen lots of tips. Even the
AnswerGuy section is interesting, sometimes amusing... But let me
come to the point now 
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";-)" 
		height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have Suse Linux 6.3, Kernel 2.2.13, with NCR SCSI and 2
disks. With fdisk I set Boot=Y on <TT>/dev/sda1.</TT>
</STRONG></P>

<p><strong>mtab looks like:</strong></p>
<pre><strong>/dev/sda1 /boot
/dev/sda2 /
/dev/sdb1 /home
</strong></pre>
<P><STRONG>
But mtab will be processed <EM>after</EM> LILO has loaded the kernel, right?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
<TT>/etc/mtab</TT> is the file which contains a list of currently
mounted filesystems.  <TT>/etc/fstab</TT> is the list of filesystems
which are "known" to the system.  <TT>/proc/mounts</TT> is a virtual
file, it is a dynamic representation of the kernel's mount
table.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<TT>/etc/mtab</TT> might be out of sync with you <TT>/proc/mounts</TT> in cases
where the system is in single user mode <TT>---</TT> and the root filesystem
is mounted read-only, or under other add circumstances.  <TT>/proc</TT>
might not be mounted in some other cases.  The structure of the
two files is similar, but not quite identical.  I've experimented
with making <TT>/etc/mtab</TT> a symlink to <TT>/proc/mounts</TT> (and adjusting a
few startup scripts to cope with that).  It seems to work.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The main commands that use <TT>/etc/mtab</TT> are the 'mount' command (when
used with no arguments, to display the list of currently mounted
filesystems) and the 'df' command (which displays the currently
available free space on each mounted fs).  Personally I think these
(and any others that need this info) should be adjusted to use
<TT>/proc/mounts</TT> in preference to <TT>/etc/mtab</TT> <TT>---</TT> since this would be one
step that might allow us to mount <TT>/</TT> in read-only mode.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course that should be abstracted through a library and it should
still be able to use <TT>/etc/mtab</TT> for cases where <TT>/proc</TT> isn't
available (particularly on some sorts of embedded systems).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
But I digress.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>lilo.conf looks like:</strong></p>
<strong><pre>
initrd = /boot/initrd    # exists
boot = /dev/sda          # put the Bootstrap code here
#-#-#-#-#
image = /boot/vmlinuz    # exists
root = /dev/sda2         # the device holding /
label = lx               # short but unique :-)
</pre></strong>
<p><strong>
When running lilo, it shows
<br><code>Addes lx *</code>
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
When rebooting the system, it hangs after printing LI. I've read the
lilo-README. It says that this is caused by "geometry mismatch" or having
moved "<TT>/boot/boot.b</TT> without running the map installer."
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Uuuuh?!? What's the problem? I just don't get it ... Please help me. - Thank
you!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Tom
<br>Greez from Switzerland!
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Try adding the "linear" directive to the global section of
your <TT>/etc/lilo.conf.</TT>  That would be the part before the
first "image=" directive.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Try running <TT>/sbin/lilo</TT> <TT>-v</TT> <TT>-v</TT> (should give more verbose output).
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>LILO: linear Directive</H3>


<p><strong>From Tom on Mon, 08 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
LILO: linear Directive
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hello Jim
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thank you for your quick response!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
Try adding the "linear" directive to the global section of
your <TT>/etc/lilo.conf.</TT>  That would be the part before the
first "image=" directive.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I've done that and ... it works! Why does it? Is there a general problem
with SCSI-drive(r)s and the old style adressing C/H/S? AFAIK "linear" means
that the sectors on a disk are counted from 0 to n, as the SCSI does itself
on block devices. But now I'm digressing 
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";-)" 
		height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks again!
Tom
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
The failure mode you described (the LILO loader stops at just LI)
is described in their documentation ("tech.dvi" or "tech.ps" depending
on your distribution/source).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Basically the boot loader prints the letters LILO one at a time,
and each at a specific point in its boot process.  This is useful
for debugging and troubleshooting.  LI says the the first stage
boot loader completed, and the second stage boot loader was found,
but the mapping data (used to find the kernels, etc) was not.
This is usually due to a problem where the BIOS and the LILO loader
are using incompatible blocking addressing modes.  (One is using
CHS <TT>---</TT> cylinder/head/sector <TT>---</TT> while the other is using LBA/linear).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Sometimes SCSI expect linear addressing, some SCSI controllers or
controller/drive combinations emulate the old WD1003 (ST506)
interface closely enough that CHS addresses will do.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Sometimes you need to switch your CMOS/BIOS to use UDMA/LBA modes
and/or add the "linear" to your <TT>/etc/lilo.conf</TT> <TT>---</TT> sometimes you
need to just take the "linear" directive out of <TT>/etc/lilo.conf</TT> (and
re-run <TT>/sbin/lilo</TT>, of course).
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<!-- begin 2 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Homework Answer: All about 'rm'</H3>


<p><strong>From The Phantom on Mon, 01 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Homework Answer: All about 'rm'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hello,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I'm wondering if you can answer a few questions on the UNIX rm command.  I
need a response before May 3rd if possible.  Your assistance on this matter
is greatly appreciated.  Thank you for your time and service.  Here's the
questions
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Hmm.  Wouldn't want this assignment to be late for the prof,
heh?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Well, at least you had the brights to use a hotmail account
rather than sending this from your 
	<em>flunkme</em>@<em>someuniv.edu</em> address.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
The rm unix command lowers the link of an inode.  When the link count goes
to zero the inode is made available to the system and cleared of extraneous
information.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
The 'rm' command is basically a parser and wrapper around the
<TT>unlink()</TT> system call.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
BTW: This definition is an oversimplification.  When the link count
is less than 1 AND THERE ARE NO OPEN FILE DESCRIPTORS ON THAT FILE
then the system does some sort of maintenance on the inode and any
data blocks that were assigned to it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Exactly what the filesystem does depends on what type of fs it is,
and on how it was implemented for that version of that flavor of
UNIX.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Usually the inode is marked as "available" in some way <TT>---</TT> so that
it can be re-used for new files.  Usually the data blocks are added
to a free list, so that they can be allocated to other files.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(It is possible for some implementations to mark and reserve these
to allow for some sort of "undelete" process <TT>---</TT> and it would
certainly be possible to have "purge" and "salvage" features for
some versions of UNIX).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
1) Explain link count?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
The link count is one of the elements (fields) of the inode
structure.  An inode is a data structure that is used to
manage most of the metadata for a file on a UNIX like filesystem.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
On UNIX filesystems a directory entry is (usually) a link to an inode.
(On some forms of UNIX, on some types of filesystems there may be
exceptions to this.  Some filesystems can store symbolic link data
directly in their directory structures without dereferencing that
through an inode; some of them can even store the contents of small
files there.  However --- in most cases the directory entry is a
link to an inode.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This allows one to have multiple links to a file.  In other words
you can have many different names for a file --- and you can have
identical names in different directories.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It turns out that most filesystems use this feature extensively
to support the directory structure.  Directories are just inodes
that are mostly just like files.  Somewhere you have a parent
directory.  It contains a link to you.  Each of your subdirectories
contains a ".." link to its parent (you).  Thus each directory
must contain a link count that is equal to it's number of sudirectories
plus two (one for . and another for <TT>../somelink.to.me</TT>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note: On most modern forms of UNIX there is a prohibition against
creating additional named hard links to directories <TT>--</TT>  this is
apparently enforced in order to make things easier for fsck).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
2) Explain why the name of the command is called remove (rm)?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
It seems pretty self explanatory to me.  You're removing a link.
If that link is the last one to that file, then you've remove the
file as well.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
3) What hapens to the blocks referenced by the inode when the
link count goes to zero?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Normally the data block would be returned to the free list.
The free list is another data structure on UNIX filesystems.
I think it is usually implemented as a bitmap.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note: On some forms of UNIX the filesystem driver might
implement a secure deleted feature which might implement
arbitrarily complex sets of overwritting the data with
NULs, with random data, etc.  There is a special feature in
Linux which is reserved for this use <TT>--</TT> but which is not yet
implemented.  You might find similar features in your favorite
form of UNIX.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
4) What data is present in these blocks after the inode has been
cleared?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
That depends on the filesystem implementation.  It usually would
still contain whatever data was laying around in those blocks at
the time that they were freed.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you're thinking:  "Ooooh!  That means I can peek at other
people's data after they remove it!"  Think again.  Any decent
UNIX implementation will ensure that those data blocks are
clear (zero'd out) as they are re-allocated.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
5) How does the removal of an inode which is a symbolic link
change the answer to 3) and 4)?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Symbolic links may be implemented by storing the "data"
in the directory entry.  In which case the<TT> unlink()</TT> simply
zeros out that directory entry in whatever way is appropriate
to the filesystem on which it is found.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Symbolic links may also be implemented by reference to an
inode --- and by storing the target filename in the data
blocks that are assigned to that inode.  In which case they
are treated just like any other file.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that removing a symbolic link with 'rm' should NEVER affect
the target file links or inodes.  The symbolic link is completely
independent of the hard links to which they point and the inodes
to which those refer.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Thank you for your help.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
As I'm sure you noticed this sounds to me like a "do my homework"
message.  However, I've decided to answer it since it is likely
to be of interest to many of my readers.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You may also have noticed that I was a bit vague on a number of
points.  Keep in mind that there is quite alot of this that depends
on which version of UNIX you're using, which filesystem your talking
about (Linux, for example supports over a dozen different types of
local filesystem), and how you've configured it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course you could learn quite a bit more about it by reading
the sources to a Linux or <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A> kernel 
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";)" 
		height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Can't telnet to Linux server</H3>


<p><strong>From kd on Mon, 01 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Can't telnet to Linux server
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I recently installed Suse Linux on a machine to be a server, but I
cannot telnet to the linux server from my other machines. can you help?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
~kelly
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Short answer: Probably TCP Wrappers and the old "double reverse lookup
problem."  Try adding an entry in <TT>/etc/hosts</TT> to refer back to your
client(s) and make sure that your <TT>/etc/nsswitch.conf</TT> and <TT>/etc/hosts.conf</TT>
are configured to honor "files" over DNS and NIS.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You could have been a bit more vague.  You could have
left out the word "telnet" 
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";)" 
		height="24" width="20" align="middle">?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When asking people technical support questions you have to ask:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
How many possible causes are there to this problem?
How many of them have I eliminated?
How have I eliminated them?
Can I eliminate some more?
What is the error message I'm getting (if any)?
What was I expecting?
What happened that didn't match that/those expection(s)?
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For example:  Can you ping the server from the client system?
(That eliminates many IP addressing, routing, firewall and
packet filtering questions).  Can you telnet from that client to
any other server?  (That eliminates most of the questions that
relate to proper client software/system configuration and function).
Can I access any other service on this client? (Web server, file
or print services, etc.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Then you ask:  What did I expect to happen when I telnetted to that
system?  I'd expect to get a set of responses something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
Trying 123.45.67.89
Connected to myserver.mydomain.not
Escape character is '^]'.
<A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> GNU/Linux 2.2 myserver.mydomain.not
myserver login:
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, what did you get.  Did you see the "Trying"  line?  That would
mean that the telnet DNS or other hostname lookup returned something.
Did the IP address in the trying line match that of your new server?
That would mean that your DNS is correct!  Did you get the "connected
to" line?  That suggests that the routing is correct.  Did it just
sit there for a long time?  How long?  What if you wait for five or
ten minutes?  Does it eventually connect?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It sounds like you have the old "double reverse DNS" problem.  You
are probably using DNS and you probably don't have proper reverse
DNS (PTR) records for you client system(s).  Do a search in the
Linux Gazette archives for several discussions on this.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When you are getting free software and free support, it's important
to do your homework.  I typically will put about 10 hours into
trying to solve a problem before I'll write up a question to post
to the newsgroups, mailing lists, authors/maintainers, etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course I can understand part of the problem you might be
facing.  It sounds like you have little or no Linux experience,
or at least little or no experience in setting up Linux networking.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You probaby don't know all of the elements that go into
"telnetting into your server."  Here's the basic rundown:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
You have to have a client (telnet command).  That has to be on a
system with TCP/IP installed, configured and working.  It must
have an IP address and a route to your server.
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
You have to have a server (in.telnetd).  It would normally be
launched on demand by a dispatch program (inetd) which would be
reading configuration out of a configuration file (<TT>/etc/inetd.conf</TT>).
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
On Linux systems the <TT>/etc/inetd.conf</TT> is usually configured to run
most programs under an access control and logging utility called
"TCP Wrappers" (<TT>/usr/sbin/tcpd</TT>).  That utility refers to a couple of
configuration files (<TT>/etc/hosts.allow</TT>, and <TT>/etc/hosts.deny</TT>) and it
does some "paranoid" consistency checking to try and ensure that the
client "is who he claims to be."   The specifics of this paranoid
checking are referred to as a "double reverse DNS lookup."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This requires that the client system's IP address somehow be
registered in some sort of naming service that the server is configured
to query.  The easiest of these in most cases is to simply add the
appropriate IP address (and some arbitrary name) int the <TT>/etc/hosts</TT>
file.  A better way is to add an appropriate PTR record to your
DNS zone.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux uses a modular name services resolution system.  Newer
versions of Linux use the <TT>/etc/nsswitch.conf</TT> files to control the
list of name services that are used for each name space (users/accounts,
groups, hosts and networks, services, mail aliases, file server maps,
etc).  In most cases you wouldn't have to modify the nsswitch.conf
to make it look at the <TT>/etc/hosts</TT> file.  In other cases you might.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In previous months I've gone into greater detail about how to
troubleshoot problems in accessing TCP services on Linux systems.
Look for references to tcpdump and strace to find out more.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Summary:  You can replace the entry in <TT>/etc/inetd.conf</TT> with a
wrapper script that runs 'strace' on the program, thus logging
what the program is trying to do in great detail.  You can also
run 'tcpdump' on any machine on the local LAN segment, seeing
the traffic between your client and server in great detail).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Unfortunately these tools are rather advanced, very powerful
and coresponding difficult to use effectively.  (You can
probably get the information from them pretty easily <TT>--</TT> the
problem is to configure them to provide just the info you
need and in parsing and understanding what they tell you).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Hopefully I've guessed correctly on what you problem is.
Otherwise search through my back issues and the FAQ and
do lots of troubleshooting.  Ask a more detailed question.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Another Homework Assignment from Hotmail</H3>


<p><strong>From Milton bradley on Tue, 02 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Another Homework Assignment from Hotmail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hello,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Don't really know if you'll answer my questions but it doesn't hurt
to give it a try.  If you can all I can say is thanks.  Well here
goes
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
the situation is this
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
You and your friends have decided that e-mail is the easiest
way to get your homework done for you?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
[I got another question from a different address at Hotmail
yesterday.  It had a similarly "Do my homework for me" tone
to it.]
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Directory tress can include large numbers of files.  Referencing a
file by full path name can be burdensome on the user.  Consequently
in UNIX there is an environment variable $PATH
(e.g. .:/bin:/usr/bin) which directs the system for the directories
it is to search for an executable file.  All non-executable files
are looked for only in current working directory(.).
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Actually this set of propositions is full of minor inaccuracies.
First the $PATH environment variable is not a feature of UNIX
per se.  It is not unique to UNIX, and it is not necessitated
by UNIX.  However it is a widely used convention <TT>---</TT> and it's
probably required by POSIX in the implementation of shells and
possibly some standard libraries.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Non-executable files are found according to the semantics
of the program doing the opening. Usually this is a
path (either an absolute path from the root directly or one
that is relative to the current working directory or $CWD).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The main flaw in your propositions is that the PATH exists
primarily for convenience.  There is actually a more
important reason for things to use the PATH.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
questions are
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
1) Why shouldn't other non-executable file be referenced by this
mechanism?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Why should they.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
2) SuperUsers are cautioned that the shell should not look in the
current working directory first (e.g. <TT>/bin:/usr/bin:.</TT>) for security
reasons. Why?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
All users are cautioned that adding . (CWD, the current working
directory) to their PATH carries some risk.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Let's say that you put . on your path.  If you put it at the
beginning of your path you've implemented a policy that any
executable in the current directly takes precedence over any
other executables by that name.  So I'm an evil user and I
just create a program name 'ls' which does "bad things(TM)"
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(I'll leave the exact nature of "bad things(TM)" to your
imagination).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When 'root' or any other user then does a 'cd' into my directory
and types 'ls' (a very common situation) then my program runs
in their security context.  I effectively can do anything that
they could do.  I can access any file they can access.  I can
completely subvert their account.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Doh!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So let's put that . at the end of the PATH.  That's solve the
problem.  Now the <TT>/bin/ls</TT> or <TT>/usr/bin/ls</TT> will be executed
in preference to my copy of 'ls.'
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So now the user "evil" has to get more clever.  He makes a number
of useful links to his "bad things(TM)" script.  These are
carefully crafted strings like:  "sl" and "ls-al" (common
typos that the hurried user might make make while visiting my
directory).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Quod erat demonstratum.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
3) The c-shell creates a hash table of the files in $PATH on
start-up.  Give one advantage of this scheme:
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	><BLOCKQuote>
The hash tables is basically an index of all executables on
the path.  Thus one can find, in O(logN) time if an executable
exists and where it is.  (Look up "theta notation" in any
text book on "computational complexity analysis to understand
that "big Oh" notation).
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
4) Give one disadvantage of the above mentioned scheme:
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	><BLOCKQuote>
I'll give two.
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<ul>
<li> The shell will need to malloc more memory than a
non-hash version would require.  It needs to build
the hash table and keep it in core.  Moreover this
data is not shareable memory --- it is private to
each instance of the shell.
<li> The hash table may get out of sync with the real list
of executables on the disk.  Some additional binaries
may be added and the shell has no way of detecting
it.  (Shells that support PATH hashing generally also
offer some command to update their hash table ---
'<tt>rehash</tt>' and '<tt>hash -r</TT>' are common).
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
5) Since the system can easily maintain a list of files referenced
in teh course of a login session, one could also maintain a
REFERENCE FILE TABLE and use it as part of a scheme to locate files.
Give one advantage of this scheme:
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	><BLOCKQuote>
Hmm.  MU!
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Which "one" could do this?  Would this be a new API?  What programs
would support it?  How?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Ergo I unask your question.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
6) Give one disadvantage of this scheme:
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	><BLOCKQuote>
Commands with the same name are presumed to provide compatible
semantics.  Ambiguity among data files is likely to have severe
consequence.
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One could use expressions like `locate foo` in each case where one
wished to refer to "the first file named 'foo' on my data search
path."  One could certainly implement an API that took filenames,
perhaps of the form: <TT>././foo</TT> and resolved them via a search
mechanism.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note: GNU systems, such as Linux, often have the "updatedb" or
"slocate" packages installed.  These provide a hashed index of all
files on the system which are linked through publicly readable
directories.  Thus the `locate` command expression could be used
already <TT>---</TT> though the user wouldn't be able to implement a policy
over how many and in which order the file names were returned.  It
would a simple matter of programming to write one's own shell
function or script which read a DPATH environment variable, called
the 'locate' command and search the return list for matches in a
preferential order).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
BTW: Some shells implement a CDPATH environment setting.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Here's an excerpt from the 'bash' man page:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>       CDPATH The search path for the  cd  command.   This  is  a
              colon-separated  list  of  directories in which the
              shell looks for destination  directories  specified
              by the cd command.  A sample value is &quot;.:~:/usr&quot;.
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As I see it the man reason for UNIX to implement support for
executable search PATH is to allow scripts to be more portable,
while allowing users and administrators to implement their own
polices and preferences among multiple versions of executables by
the same name.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Thus when I use 'awk' or 'sed' in a script I don't care which 'awk'
or 'sed' it is and where this particular version of UNIX keeps its
version of these utilities.  All I care about is that these
utilities provide the same semantics as the rest of my scripts and
commands require.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If I find that the system default 'awk' or 'sed' is deficient in
some way (and if I'm a "mere mortal user") I can still serve my
needs by installing a personal copy of a better 'awk' (gawk or mawk)
and/or a better 'sed' (such as the GNU version).  PATHs are the
easiest way to accomplish this.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, the disadvantage of implement some sort of "data path" feature
into the UNIX shells and libraries would basically be:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
IT'S A STUPID IDEA!
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>

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<!-- begin 5 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Can't Telnet: Another possibility</H3>


<p><strong>From Walter Ribeiro de Oliveira Jr. on Tue, 02 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Can't Telnet: Another possibility
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I read a question about not being able to use telnet to connect to a
linux box... you complained about very few information, I agree with
you, but I have a suggestion: isn't the problem about trying to make a
telnet as the root user, and in the file <TT>/etc/securetty</TT>  the remote
terminals not permiting so ?
I mean, for make a telnet as the root user, you need to edit
<TT>/etc/securetty</TT> to allow it...
Hugs, see ya
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Of course that is a different possibility. However,
editing <TT>/etc/securetty</TT> is a very bad way to do this.  You'd
have to add all of the possible psuedo-tty device nodes
to that list <TT>---</TT> which would be long and pretty silly.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If one really insists on thwarting the system policy of
prevent direct root logins via telnet, then it's best to
do so by editing the <TT>/etc/pam.d/login</TT> configuration
file to comment out the "requisite pam_securetty.so"
directive:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre># Disallows root logins except on tty's listed in /etc/securetty
# (Replaces the `CONSOLE' setting from login.defs)
auth       requisite  pam_securetty.so
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... assuming that you are using a PAM based authentication
suite <TT>--</TT> as most new Linux distributions do.  As noted in
the excerpted comments from my <TT>.../pam.d/login</TT> file (as
installed by <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A>/Potato) there is an applicable setting in
<TT>/etc/login.defs</TT> if you're using JF Haugh's old shadow suite
without PAM.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Better Answer:  use 'ssh'!
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<A NAME="tag/6"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 6 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>A GEM of a Question?</H3>


<p><strong>From John K. Straughan on Tue, 02 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
A GEM of a Question?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I have a question stuck in my head which is keeping me up at night!
What was the name of the very first GUI program that the original AOL
software was based upon?  This would have been around 1987,1988,1989.
It was prior to MS Windows.  AOL wasn't the only company to use it.  It
never really evolved, but there were some applications written for it.
I'm thinking it was GEO something, or something GEO.  It was for PC,
MS-DOS systems.  Please help so I can sleep!!!  Thanks <TT>-</TT> John
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
(Note: it's a bad idea to include HTML attachment/copies of your
e-mail to most people.  I'd suggest doing that only in cases where
you know that the correspondent involved prefers that particular
format).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I don't know what package you're thinking of.  As far as I remember
the original AOL client software was purely for Apple Macintosh
systems.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, it sounds like you're talking about some version
that might have run on GeoWorks Ensemble.    GeoWorks Ensemble was
actually a predecessor of MS Windows <TT>---</TT> but it did run on 8086
(XT class) computers on which MS Windows was never supported.
If I recall correctly GeoWorks orginally released GEOS, an
operating system and graphical environment for the Commodore
64?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Geoworks Inc. has gone on to focus on things like cell phones
and WAP.  There as a <TT>/.</TT> (<A HREF="http://www.slashdot.org"
	>http://www.slashdot.org</A>) thread about
their recent attempts to use U.S. and Japanese patents which
may stifle the deployment of free WAP and WML packages.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Meanwhile the desktop software that was part of Geoworks Ensemble
appears to have been licensed out or spun off to a company called
"New Deal Inc." (<A HREF="http://www.newdealinc.com"
	>http://www.newdealinc.com</A>).  The specifically
mention compatibility with Linux <A HREF="http://www.dosemu.org/">DOSEMU</A> on their web site.  This
might make an interesing application suite <TT>---</TT> though a native
version for Linux would be nicer.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There was also the GEM graphical environment by Digital Research.
This was the GUI on which Ventura Publisher was originally based.
I think that GEM was basically a clone of the Xerox PARC look-and-feel
<TT>---</TT> very similar in appear and behavior to the Xerox 820 and to the
original Macintosh finder software.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Since DR was eventually sold to <A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A> by Novell, and spun
off again as "Caldera Thin Clients."  Meanwhile GEM was released
under the GPL and it seems that the canonical site for ongoing
GEM development on the net would be at: <A HREF="http://www.deltasoft.com/news.htm"
	>http://www.deltasoft.com/news.htm</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Hope that helps.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<A NAME="tag/7"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 7 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Win4Lin's Limitations: VMWare's Strength?</H3>


<p><strong>From Charles Hethcoat on Thu, 04 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Win4Lin's Limitations: VMWare's Strength?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I was excited to find out about Win4Lin and went straight to their
web page for more details.  There I read that they only work with
Windows 95 and 98.  They explain why in their white paper, and the
reasoning is, well, reasonable.  But I don't think I will be able to
use Win4Lin where I work.  Here's why.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
My company sees to it that my computer runs NT.  This was done
because NT is far more stable than 9X.  Not perfect, but pretty
stable.  But I would much prefer to use Linux, and I do have <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A>
installed on my computer.  I boot it via a boot disk, and don't fool
with lilo.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Since I don't have Windows 95, I can't use Win4Lin.  Pity.  I could
make good use of it.  I wonder how many other people are in my
position?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Charles Hethcoat
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Try VMware (<A HREF="http://www.vmware.com"
	>http://www.vmware.com</A>) instead.  It does
run a full hardware system emulation and can run
NT.  It can even run a copy of Linux under Linux or
Linux under NT (though that seems like a horrible waste).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You might also watch the free virtual machine project
(which is not ready for production time) called Plex86
(at <A HREF="http://www.freemware.org"
	>http://www.freemware.org</A>).  That's based on the
work of Kevin Lawton (Bochs) and is apparently now sponsored
by Mandrakesoft (<A HREF="http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en"
	>http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course there's still <A HREF="http://www.winehq.com/">WINE</A> (<A HREF="http://www.winehq.com"
	>http://www.winehq.com</A>).  That
will run some of your MS Windows applications natively under
Linux.  There's also still the opportunity to access some
of your applications remotely through VNC.  You'd run the
VNC server on one of your (other) NT systems and access it
via the Linux native VNC client (or the Java client, if you
really wanted to).
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<!-- begin 8 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>"Unary Command Expected" in Shell Script</H3>


<p><strong>From J.Keo Power on Fri, 05 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
"Unary Command Expected" in Shell Script
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi Jim,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
My name is Keo. I have been trying to write a script that provides a
salutation to the user, though that is different depending on who logs
in. There are only three of us logging in on the system, and I want to
have a little fun with them by putting in some cool messages.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
So far, I have attempted to write a script in vi named intro and placing
the file in my home directory. I have "chmod to ugo+x intro". Then going
to the <TT>/etc/bashrc</TT> file and putting in the path of the executable intro
file in my home directory.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The bashrc is trying to run the executable, but is returning the message
"unary command expected". I am not sure what that means!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
If you could give me a little guidance on if my methodology is correct
as far as the files I am manipulating, and possibly an outline of the
script to write. here is what I have attempted (last time):
</STRONG></P>

<pre><strong> #! intro
 # test of login script

 name=$LOGIN
 if [ $name = keo ]
 then
     echo "Whats up mano?"
 else
     if [ $name = dan ]
     then
         echo "Lifes a peach, homeboy."
     else
          if [ $name = $other ]
             then
                 exit
          fi
     fi
 fi
 exit
</strong></pre>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks for any help.
Keo
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
I've been trying to clean out my inbox of the 500 messages
that have been sitting unanswer and unsorted for months.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This is one of them that I just couldn't pass up.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
First problem with this script is right at the first
line.  That should be a "she-bang" line --- like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
#!/bin/sh
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... which is normally found at the beginning of all scripts.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The "she-bang" line is sometimes called "hash bang" -- so-called
because the "#" is called a "hash" in some parts, and the "!"
is often called a "bang" among hackers, it's also short for
"shell-bang" according to some.  It looks like a comment line
--- but it is used by the system to determine where to find an
interpreter that can handle the text of any script.  Thus you
might see 'awk' programs start with a line like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
#!/usr/bin/gawk -f
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... or PERL programs with a she-bang like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
#!/usr/local/bin/perl
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... and programs written using the 'expect' language (a
derivative of TCL) would naturally start with something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
#!/usr/local/bin/expect -f
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
After you fix that here are some other comments that I've
inserted into your code (my comments start with the ##
-- double hash):
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre> #! intro
 # test of login script

 name=$LOGIN
##  should be quoted:  name="$LOGIN" in case $LOGIN had
## any embedded whitespace.  It shouldn't, but your scripts
## will be more robust if you code them to accept the most
## likely forms of bad input.

## Also I don't think $LOGIN is defined on most forms of
## UNIX.  I know of $LOGNAME and $USER, but no $LOGIN

## Finally, why assign this to some local shell variable?
## Why not just use the environment variable directly
## since you're not modifying it?

 if [ $name = keo ]
 then
     echo "Whats up mano?"
## That can be replaced with:
##     [ "$name" = "keo" ] &amp;&amp; echo "What's up mano?"
## Note the quotations, and the use of the &amp;&amp; conditional
## execution operator
 else
## don't need an else, just let this test drop through to here
## (the else would be useful for cases where the tests were expensive
## or they had "side effects."
     if [ $name = dan ]
     then
         echo "Lifes a peach, homeboy."
## [ "$name" = "dan" ] &amp;&amp; echo "Lifes a peach, homeboy."
     else
          if [ $name = $other ]
             then
                 exit
          fi
     fi
 fi
 exit
## $other is undefined.  Thus the [ ('test') here will give
## you a complaint.  If it was written as: [ "$name" = "$other" ]
## then the null expansion of the $other (undefined) variable
## would not be a problem for the 'test' command.  The argument
## would be there, albeit empty.  Otherwise the = operation
## to the 'test' command will not have its requisite TWO operands.

## All eight of these trailing lines are useless.  You can just
## drop out of the nested tests with just the two 'fi' delimiters
## (technically 'fi' is not a command, it's a delimiter).
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Here's a more effective version of the script:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>#!/bin/sh
case "$LOGNAME" in
     jon)
	echo "Whats up mano?" ;;
     dan)
	echo "Lifes a peach, homeboy."
       *)
       # Do whatever here for any other cases
       ;;
esac
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This is pretty flexible.  You can easily extend it for
additional cases by insering new "foo)" clauses with
their own ";;" terminators.  It also allows you to
use shell globbing and some other pattern matching like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>#!/bin/sh
case "$LOGNAME" in
     jon|mary)
	echo "Whats up mano?" ;;
     dan)
	echo "Lifes a peach, homeboy."
     b*)
	echo "You bad, man!"
       ;;
esac
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that this sees "Jon" or "Mary" in the first clause,
Dan in the second and anyone whose login name starts with a
"b" in the last case.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Any good book on shell scripting will help you with this.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<A NAME="tag/9"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 9 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Step through a Program</H3>


<p><strong>From Bubba44hos on Fri, 05 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Step through a Program
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I have a question and I can't seem to find the answer anywhere.  My
question is "sttep through a p[rogram being loaded into the system".
If you could help, that would be great.  Thank you for your time,
Brian
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Argh!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
What does this mean?  First "step through a program being loaded
into the system" is not a question; it's a directive.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Does this (instructor?) want you to explain how to "single step"
through a program (using a debugger like 'gdb')?  Does he or she
want you to explain the process of how programs get "loaded into"
(installed and configured) a system?  Does he or she want to
hear about how programs are loaded (executed) by a shell?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway those are all interesting and vastly different topics.
None of them have simple answers since they depend a lot on
what sort of system, who is doing the "loading," and and what
sort of "program" we are talking about.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Linux is {Now|Not} UNIX</H3>


<p><strong>From Mark Hugo on Fri, 05 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Linux is {Now|Not} UNIX
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Jim:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><BLOCKQuote>
I hope this doesn't make me sound too ignorent. Is it possible to
get a Unix system (Not a Linux) on a PC?
</BLOCKQuote></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have a potential job opportunity if I have some Unix
"experience". Is there a simulator available for a PC? Are Linux and
Unix similar enough to learn on RedHat Linux? Or are they too
different?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Mark Hugo, Mpls, MN
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Linux is the best UNIX "simulator" for the PC.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux is similar enough to other forms of UNIX for over 90%
of the work you would do as a sysadmin and over 80% of what
you'd be doing in the course of normal (applications level)
programming.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can also get a variety of other forms of UNIX for the
PC: <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A> (<A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org"
	>http://www.freebsd.org</A>) and its ilk (<A HREF="http://www.netbsd.org/">NetBSD</A>
<A HREF="http://www.netbsd.org"
	>http://www.netbsd.org</A>, BSDI/OS <A HREF="http://www.bsdi.com"
	>http://www.bsdi.com</A>, and
<A HREF="http://www.openbsd.org/">OpenBSD</A> <A HREF="http://www.openbsd.com"
	>http://www.openbsd.com</A>),  Solaris/x86 (<A HREF="http://www.sunsoft.com"
	>http://www.sunsoft.com</A>)
and SCO "OpenDesktop" and Unixware (<A HREF="http://www.sco.com"
	>http://www.sco.com</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Most of these are free.  All have versions that are "free for
personal use."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
BTW: The fact that your experience is limited to PCs is more
likely to be a problem than the fact that you only have Linux
experience.  PCisms are worse in many regards then the differences
between PCs and other forms of UNIX.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Also note that Linux is not just for PCs anymore.  There are
versions that run on Alpha, PowerPC (Macintosh and other),
SPARC and other platforms.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Embedding Newlines in Shell and Environment Values</H3>


<p><strong>From Mark Chitty on Mon, 08 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Embedding Newlines in Shell and Environment Values
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi Jim,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks for the solution. I had gone down a different path but this has
cleared up  that little conundrum !! I seems obvious now that you point it
out.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Your reply is much appreciated.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Oh yes, if you ever write a book let me know. I'll buy it !!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
cheers,
mark
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Actually I have written one book <TT>---</TT> it's _Linux_System_Administration_
(New Riders Publishing, 1999, with M Carling and Stephen Degler).
(<A HREF="http://www.linuxsa.com"
	>http://www.linuxsa.com</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, I might have to write a new one on shell scripting.  Oddly
enough it seems to be a topic of growing interest despite the ubiquity
of PERL, Python, and many other scripting languages.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In fact, one thing I'd love to do is learn enough Python to write a
book that covers all three (comparatively).  Python seems to be a very
good language for learning/teaching programming.  I've heard several
people refer to Python as "executable psuedo-code."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Despite the availability of other scripting languages, the basic shell,
AWK, and related tools are compelling.  They are what we use when we
work at the command line. Often enough we just want our scripts to
"do what we would do manually" <TT>---</TT> and then to add just a bit of
logic and error checking around that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Extra tidbit:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
I recently found a quirky difference between Korn shell ('93) and
bash.  Consider the following:
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
echo foo | read bar; echo $bar
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... whenever you see a "|" operator in a shell command sequence
you should understand that there is implicitly a subshell (new
process) that is created (forked) on one side of it or the other.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course other processes (including subshells) cannot affect
the values of your shell variables.  So the sequence above
consists of three commands (echo the string "foo", read something
and assign it to a shell variable named "bar", and echo the
value of (read the $ dereferencing operator as "the value of")
the shell named "bar").  It consists of two processes.  One
on one side of the pipe, and the other on the other side of the
pipe.  At the semicolon the shell waits for the completion of
any programs and commands that precede it, and then continues
with a new command sequence in the current shell.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The question becomes whether the subshell was created on the
left or the right of the | in this command.  In bash it is
clearly created on the right.  The 'read' command executes in
a subshell.  That then exits (thus "forgetting" its variable
and environment heaps).  Thus $bar is unaffected after the
semicolon.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In ksh '93 and in zsh the subshell seems to be created to the
left of the pipe.  The 'read' command is executed in the
current shell and thus the local value of "bar" is affected.
Then the subsequent access to that shell variable does
reflect the new value.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As far as I know the POSIX spec is silent on this point.  It
may even be that ksh '93 and zsh are in violation of the
spec.  If so, the spec is wrong!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It is very useful to be able to parse a set of command
outputs into a local list of shell variables.  Note that
for a single variable this is easy:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
bar=$(echo foo)
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
or:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
bar=`echo foo`
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... are equivalent expressions and they work just
fine.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, when we want to read the outputs into several values,
and especially when we want to do so using the IFS environment
value to parse these values then we have to resort of inordinate
amounts of fussing in bash while ksh '93 and newer versions of
zsh allow us to do something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
grep ^joe /etc/passwd | IFS=":" read login pw uid gid gecos home sh
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note the form: 'VAR=val cmd' as shown here is also a bit
obscure but handy.  The value of VAR is only affected for
the duration of the following command <TT>---</TT> thus saving us the
trouble of saving the old IFS value, executing our 'read'
command and restoring the IFS).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
BTW: If you do need to save/restore something like IFS
you must using proper quoting.  For example:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
OLDIFS="$IFS"
<BR># MUST have double/soft quotes here!
<BR>IFS=:,
<BR># do stuff parsing words on colons and commas
<BR>IFS="$OLDIFS"
<BR># MUST also have double/soft quotes here!
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, I would like to do some more teaching in the
field of shell scripting.  I also plan to get as good
with C and Python as I currently am with 'sh'.    That'll
take at least another year or so, and a lot more practice!
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<!-- begin 12 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Sizing the Home Directories: Quotas and Partitioning</H3>


<p><strong>From Hank on Wed, 10 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Sizing the Home Directories: Quotas and Partitioning
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I understand that under Linux you can set the home directories to a
certin size.  Either I am not looking in the right place or for the
right thing, but I can't seem to find any info on this.  I run Mandrake
v7.0, and I am just trying to learn about Linux as best I can.  I love
the Linux on a floppy distributions, I can show everyone I know how well
Linux runs now.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks for your help,
Hank
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
It depends on what you mean by "set ... to a certain size."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
First you home directories under Linux, or any form of UNIX can be
any normal directory tree.  Normally the home directory for each account
is set via a field in the <TT>/etc/passwd</TT> file (the main repository for
all user account information <TT>---</TT> ironically the one vital bit of account
data that is normally no longer stored in <TT>/etc/passwd</TT> is the user's
password hash; but that's a long story).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Under Linux is is common to have all of the user home directories
located under <TT>/home.</TT>  This should be on it's own filesystem (partition)
or it should be a symlink to some directory that is not on the root
filesystem.  Actually the whole issue of how filesystems should be laid
out is frought with controversy among sysadmins and techies.  There is a
relatively recent movement that says: "just make it all one big
partition and forget about all this fussing with filesystems."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, you are free to configure your filesystems pretty much any
way you want under Linux.  You can have several hard drives: two per
IDE channel (<TT>/dev/hda</TT> and <TT>/dev/hdb</TT> for the first controller, <TT>/dev/hdc</TT>
and <TT>/dev/hdd</TT> for the next, and so on), 7 for each traditional SCSI host,
and 15 for the "wide" controllers (<TT>/dev/sda</TT>, <TT>/dev/sdb</TT>, etc).  Each hard
drive can have up to four primary partitions (<TT>/dev/hda1</TT>, <TT>/dev/hda2</TT>, etc)
one of which can be an "extended partition container" (actually there
are apparently now TWO types of "extended container" partition types,
so you can have one of each).  The "extended container" partitions
can hold a number of additonal partitons.  I've heard that you can have
upto 12 partitions on a drive (I don't think I've ever gone beyond
10).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Unfortunately you have to make these decisions early on (when running
'fdisk' during your Linux installation.  There is an 'ext2resize'
program floating around the 'net.  I haven't tried it yet (maybe
on my next "sacrificial" system).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, you can limit the size of the whole home directory tree by
simply putting <TT>/home</TT> on its own filesystem (and sizing it as you
need).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To limit how much space individual users can consume (under their
home directories or on any other filesystems) you can use the Linux
"quotas" support.  This involves a few steps.  You much ensure that
the "quotas" feature is enabled in your kernel (I suspect that
Mandrake ships with this setting).  Then you want to read the
instuctions in the Quota mini-HOWTO at
<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Quota.html"
	>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Quota.html</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Once the kernel support is there basically you do the following:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
*) Create a couple of (initially empty) files at the
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
root of each partition (fs) on which you wish to enforce
quotas.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
*) Edit your <TT>/etc/fstab</TT> file to add the usrquota and/or
grpquota mount options to each these filesystems
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
*) Run the command 'edquota' (with the <TT>-u</TT> or <TT>-g</TT> option
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
for user or group quotas respectively) and create a
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
series of text entries to describe your quota policies
in the appropriate syntax.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
*) Ensure that the "quotaon" command is run by your
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
system startup scripts (the init or "rc" scripts).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(This is probably also already being managed by
your distribution).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that the mini-HOWTO is good, but you must follow it
carefully.  Be particularly carefull about the syntax you
use in these quota files.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The whole affair is further complicated by the existence of
both hard and soft quotas.  Bascially you can set two different
limits on each user or group's utilization of the space on each
of your filesystems.  The "soft quota" marks a point at which
the users will start to get warnings while the hard quote marks
a point at which attempts to create files or allocate more blocks
to existing files will fail.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Read Mr. Tam's mini-HOWTO <TT>---</TT> it's pretty old, but it has the
details you need.  It also shows some techniques for using
on users quota configuration as a template <TT>---</TT> so you can clone
those settings to other users quickly and automatically without
having to manually edit your quota files all the time.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<A NAME="tag/13"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 13 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Use the Sources, Dude!</H3>


<p><strong>From pundu on Wed, 10 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Use the Sources, Dude!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I would like to know how one can calculate cpu load and memory
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
used by processes as shown by 'top' command. It would be nice if any
one can  explain me how you could do these by writing your own
programs , or  by any other means.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Why don't you download the sources to 'top' and 'uptime'
and read them?  On a reasonably modern <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> system you could
just issue the command 'apt-get source procps' to have your system
find, fetch, unpack and patch those.  ('top', 'uptime',
'kill' and a number of other process management commands are in
the  "procps" package <TT>---</TT> since these are all tools that implement
process management and reporting using the <TT>/proc</TT> kernel support.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Technically there were/are other ways to do these sorts of process
management things, in cases where you don't have <TT>/proc</TT> enabled <TT>---</TT>
but they are no widely used anymore.  There is a <TT>/proc</TT> alternative
that's implemented as a device driver <TT>---</TT> for embedded systems, and
there's some old techniques for doing it by reading some of the
kernel's data structures though <TT>/dev/kmem</TT> <TT>---</TT> basically by using root
level read access to wander around the kernels memory extracting and
parsing bits of it from all over).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Your distribution probably came with sources (maybe on an extra CD)
or you could always wander around Metalab (formerly known as Sunsite)
<A HREF="http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux"
	>http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux</A> to find lots of source code for
lots of Linux stuff.  You might also look at Freshmeat
(<A HREF="http://www.freshmeat.net"
	>http://www.freshmeat.net</A>), Appwatch (<A HREF="http://www.appwatch.com"
	>http://www.appwatch.com</A>) and
even ExecPC's LSM (Linux Software Map) at <A HREF="http://www.execpc.com/lsm"
	>http://www.execpc.com/lsm</A>
(You can even get 'appindex' a little curses package which can help
you find apps from Freshmeat and the LSM by downloading RSS files
from each of them on demand).
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<p><em>[ As of publication time, there's another one, called IceWALKERS
	(<a href="http://www.icewalk.com/">www.icewalk.com</a>)
-- Heather ]</em></p>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another good site to find the sources to your free software is
the "Official GNU Web site" (<A HREF="http://www.gnu.org"
	>http://www.gnu.org</A>) and at the
old GNU master archive site: <A HREF="ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/gnu"
	>ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/gnu</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course you could always compare these sources to those from
another free implemention of UNIX.  Look at the FreeBSD web site
(<A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org"
	>http://www.freebsd.org</A>) and its ilk (OpenBSD 
	<A HREF="http://www.openbsd.org"
	>http://www.openbsd.org</A>
and NetBSD <A HREF="http://www.netbsd.org"
	>http://www.netbsd.org</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course I realize that you might not have realized that the source
code was available.  That's one of the features of Linux that you may
have heard touted in the press.  That "open source" thing means you
can look at the sources to any of the core systems and packages (from
the kernel, and libraries, through the compilers and the rest of the
tool chain, and down into most of the utilities and applications).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I also realize that many people have no idea how to find these
sources.  Obviously the first step is to find out what package the
program you what to look at came from.  Under any of the RPM based
systems (<A HREF="http://www.suse.com/">S.u.S.E.</A>  <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>, <A HREF="http://www.turbolinux.com/">TurboLinux</A>, <A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A> OpenLinux, etc) you
can use a command like 'rpm <TT>-qf</TT> <TT>/usr/bin/top</TT>' to find out that 'top'
is part of the procps package.  Under Debian you could install the
dlocate package, or use a command like 'grep <TT>/usr/bin/top</TT>
<TT>/var/lib/dpkg/info/*.list</TT>' or one like 'dpkg <TT>-S</TT> bin/top' (note I
don't need a full path in that case).  All of these will give you a
package name (procps in this case).  Then you can use the techniques
and web sites I've mentioned above to find the package sources.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Incidentally the canonical (master) URL for procps seems to be:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
<A HREF="ftp://people.redhat.com/johnsonm/procps/procps-2.0.6.tar.gz"
	>ftp://people.redhat.com/johnsonm/procps/procps-2.0.6.tar.gz</A>
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... according to the Appindex and LSM entries I read).
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<A NAME="tag/14"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 14 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Cron</H3>


<p><strong>From Drew Jackson on Sun, 14 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Cron
~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Dear sir:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><BLOCKQuote>
I have recently installed an anti-virus software program that is
</BLOCKQuote></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
executed from the command-line.  I would like for this service to run at
regular intervals.  (i.e. every 2 hours)
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I am using a <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> 5.2 based platform without GUI support.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thank you for your time and effort.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Sincerely,
Drew Jackson
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Short answer: use cron (the UNIX/Linux scheduling daemon/service).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The easiest way to do this would be use a text entry to
the <TT>/etc/crontab</TT> file that would look something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>0   */2	   *    *    *		root	/root/bin/vscan.sh
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Obviously you'd replace the filename <TT>/root/bin/vscan.sh</TT> with
the actual command you need to run, or create a vscah.sh
shell script to contain all of the commands that you want
to run).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This table consist of the following fields: minute, hour,
day of month, month, day of week, user, command.  Each of
the first five fields is filled with numerics, from one or
zero.  So the minutes field is 0-59, from the first to the
last minute within any hour.  The "*" character means "every"
(like in filename globbing, or "wildcard matching").  The
hours are 0-23, the dates are from 1-31, etc.  The syntax of
this file allows one to specify ranges (9-17 for 9:00 am to
5:00 pm for example), lists (1,15 for the first and fifteenth
--- presumably one you'd use for dates within a month), and
modulo patterns (such as the one in my example, which means
"ever other" or "ever even").  So, to do something every
fifteen minutes of every other day of every month I'd
use a pattern like: '<tt>*/4 * */2 * * user command</tt>'.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The day of week and the months can use symbolic names
and English abbreviations in the most common versions
'cron' utility (by Paul Vixie) that are included with
Linux distributions.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can read the crontab(5) man page for details.
Note that there is a 'crontab' command which has
its own man page in section one.  Since section
one (user commands) is generally searched first
--- you have to use a command like: 'man 5 crontab'
to read the section five manual page on the
topic.  (Section five is devoted to text file
formats --- documenting the syntax of many UNIX
configuration files).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This system is pretty flexible but cannot handle some
date patterns that we intuitively use through natural
language.  For example: 2nd Tuesday of the month
doesn't translate directly into any pattern in
a crontab.  Generally the easiest way to handle that
is to have a crontab entry that goes off the minimal
number of times that <EM>can</EM> be expressed in crontab
patters, and have a short stub of shell code that
checks for the additional conditions.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For example, to get some activity on the second
Tuesday of the month you might use a contab entry
like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>* * * * 2 joe /home/joe/bin/2ndtuesday.sh
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
which runs every Tuesday.  If we used a pattern
like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>* * 7-13 * 2 joe /home/joe/bin/2ndtuesday.sh
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... our command would run on every Tuesday <EM>and</EM> on
each of the days of the second week of the month
(from the 7th through the 13th).  This is NOT what
we want.  So we use the former pattern and have a
line near the beginning of our shell script that
looks something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>#!/bin/bash

# Which week is this?
weeknum=$[ $(date +%e) / 7 + 1 ]
## returns 1 through 5
[ "$weeknum" == 2 ] || exit 0

# Rest of script below this line:

</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course that could be shortened to one expression like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>[ "$[ $(date +%e) / 7 + 1 ]" == 2 ] || exit 0
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... which works under 'bash' (the default Linux command
shell) and should would under any recent version of ksh
(the Korn shell).  That might need adjustment to run
under other shells.  This also assumes that we have
the FSF GNU 'date' command (which is also the default
under Linux).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course, if you were going to do this more than a few
times we'd be best off writing one script that used
this logic can calling that in all of our crontab entries
that needed it.  For example we could have a script
named 'week' that might look something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>#!/bin/bash
## Week
##  Conditionally execute a command if it is issued
##  during a given week of the month.
##  weeks are numbered 1 through 5

[ $# -ge 2 ] || {
  echo "$0 requires least two args: week number and command" 1&gt;&amp;2
  exit 1
  }

[ "$(( $1 + 0 ))" == "$1"  ] &amp;&gt; /dev/null || {
  echo "$0: first argument must be a week number" 1&gt;&amp;2
  exit 1
  }

[ "$[ $(date +%e) / 7 + 1 ]" == "$1" ] || exit 0
shift
eval $@
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... or something like that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(syntax notes about this shell script: '[' is an alias for the
'test' command; '$#' is a shell scripting token that means
"the number of arguments"; '||' is a shell "conditional execution
operator" (means, if the last thing returned an error code,
do this); '1&gt;&amp;2' is a shell redirection idiom that means "print
this as an error message"; '$[ ... ]' and '$(( ... ))' enclose
arithmetic expressions (a bash/ksh extension); '$@' is all
of our (remaining) arguments; and the braces enclose groups of
commands, so my error messages and exit commands are taken
together in the cases I've shown here).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So this shell script basically translates to:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
If there aren't at least 2 command line arguments here,
complain and exit.  If the first argument isn't a number
(adding 0 to any number should yield the same number)
then complain and exit.  If the week number of today's
date doesn't match the in the first argument then
just exit (no complain).  Otherwise, forget that first
argument and treat the rest of the arguments as a
command.
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note: cron automatically sends the owner of a job
e-mail if the command exits with a non-zero (error) value
or if it produces any output.   Normally people write
the cron job scripts to avoid generating any normal output
<TT>---</TT> they either pipe the output into an e-mail, redirect
it to <TT>/dev/null</TT> or to some custom log file; and/or possibly
add 'logger' commands to send messages to the system logging
services ('syslog').  E-mail from 'cron' consists of some
diagnostics information and any output from the job).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In some fairly rare cases it would be necessary to wrap
the target command, or parts of it in single quotes to get it
to work as desired.  Those involve subtleties of shell syntax
that are way beyond the task at hand.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
A more elaborate version of that shell script might allow
one to have a first argument that consisted of more than
one week number.  The easiest way to do that would be to
require that multiple week numbers be quoted and separated
with spaces.  Then we'd call it with a command like
'week "1 3" $cmd' (note the double quotes around 1 and 3).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That would add about five lines to my script.  Anyway,
I don't feel like it right now so it's left as an exercise
to the reader.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, 'cron' is one of the most basic UNIX services.  It
and the related 'at' command (schedule "one time" events)
are vital system administration and user tools.  You should
definitely read up on them in any good general book on using
or administering UNIX or Linux.  (I personally think that they
are woefully <EM>underused</EM> judging from the number of "temporary"
kludges that I have found on systems.  Hint: every time you
do something that's supposed to be a "temporary" change to
your system --- submit an 'at' job to remind you when you
should look at it again; maybe to remove it).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
BTW: I'd suggest that you seriously consider upgrading to a
newer version of Linux.  Red Hat 5.2 was one of the most stable
releases of Red Hat.  However, there have been many security
enhancements to many of the packages therein over the years.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<!-- sig -->


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<!-- begin 15 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>DIR <TT>/S</TT></H3>


<p><strong>From Romulus Gintautas on Sun, 14 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
DIR <TT>/S</TT>
~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
First off, thank you for your time.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I did a man on ls but did not find what I was looking for.  I'm
looking for a linux equivalent of dir <TT>/s</TT> (DOS).  Basically, I am
looking for a way to find how much data is stored in any specific
dir in linux (red hat 6.0).  As you know, in dos, all you do is
enter the dir in question and just do dir <TT>/s.</TT>
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Under UNIX we use a separate command for that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You want the 'du' (disk usage) command.  So a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
du -sck foo bar
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... will give you summaries of the disk usage of all the files
listed under the foo and bar directories.  It will also give a
total, and the numbers will be in kilobytes.  Actually "foo" and
"bar" don't have to be directory names; you can list files and
directories <TT>---</TT> basically as many as you like.  Of course you can
mix and match these command line switches (<TT>-s</TT> <TT>-c</TT> <TT>-k</TT>, and many
others).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To work with your free disk space you can use the 'df' (disk free)
command.  It also has lots of options.  Just the command 'df'
by itself will list the free disk space on all of your currently
mounted regular filesystems. (There are about a half dozen
psuedo-filesystems, like <TT>/proc</TT>, devpts, the new devfs and shmfs
and some others that are no listed by 'df' <TT>---</TT> because the
notion of "free space" doesn't apply to them).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, read the man pages for both of these utilities to
understand them better.  Read the 'info' pages to learn
even more.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Incidentally <TT>---</TT> if you want to get more detailed information
about a list of files than 'ls' can provide, or you need the
meta information in custom format then you usually want to
use the UNIX/Linux 'find' command.   This is basically a small
programming language for "finding" a set of files that match
a set of criteria and printing specific type of information
about those files, or executing commands on each of them.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In other words 'find' is one of the most powerful tools on a
UNIX system.  As a simple example, if I want to find the
average file sizes of all of the "regular" files under a
pair of directories I can use a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote><pre>      find foo bar -type f -printf "%s\n" | awk '{ c++; t+= $1 }; END { print "Average: ", t/c }'
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The 'find' command looks at the files/directories named "foo" and
"bar" finds all of them that are of type "f" (regular files) and
prints their sizes.  It doesn't print ANYTHING else in this case,
just one size in bytes, per line.  The 'awk' command computes
the average (awk is a little programming language, simpler than
PERL).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To find all of the files older than one week in the current directory
you can use a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
find . -ctime +7
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... for those that are newer than a week:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
find . -ctime -7
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... (BTW: UNIX keeps three timestamps on its files,
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
ctime is the timestamp on the "inode" <TT>---</TT> when the file's
meta-data was modified, the mtime is the timestamp for the
file's data when the data blocks <EM>OR</EM> meta-data were touched
and atime is the last "access" (read) time).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I think the current version of GNU 'find' has about 60 options
and switches (including support for <TT>-and</TT>, <TT>-or</TT>, and <TT>-not</TT> for
combining complex expressions) and the <TT>-printf</TT> and <TT>-fprintf</TT>
directives support about 25 different "replaceable parameters"
and a variety of formatting options within some of those.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
About the only bit of 'stat' information I can't get write
from 'find' is the "device number" on which a file resides.
(Under UNIX every file can be uniquely identified by the
combination of device number and inode.  inodes are unique
within any given device).  'find' also doesn't (yet) give
me the ability to print or test some special "flags" (BSD UFS)
or "attributes" (Linux ext2).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I've been meaning to write a custom patch to add those features.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
I apologize if this is a simple question.  I am just starting in
Linux and hope to learn a lot more.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Rom
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
That's O.K.  I'm too tired to do hard questions at the moment.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

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<A NAME="tag/16"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 16 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Limiting "Public Interfaces" on Share Libraries</H3>


<p><strong>From Rik Heywood on Mon, 15 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Limiting "Public Interfaces" on Share Libraries
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I am trying to create a shared library that my other programs can load and
use. I have managed to get this to work and all is well. However, I am
trying to limit the functions that the library exports to just the ones I
want. On win32 there are numerous ways of achieving this (eg listing the
functions you want to export in a .def file, adding __dllexport to the
function definition). I feel sure it will be possible in Linux, but so far I
have been unable to figure it out.
Any ideas?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Rik Heywood.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
I don't know why you'd do such a thing.  It can't possibly be used
for any security purpose (either someone or some program has
read/execute permission to the whole shared library, or not).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
From what I gather you "export" a C function from a library by
documenting its interface in a header (.h) file.   Frankly even
if the feature exists I think it would be of dubious value.  If
you limit access to some function you must make the programmer
re-implement it in their space (goes against code re-use).  If
the do that then they've forked to functionality and any
refinement of the function(s) must now be done in multiple
places (bad for maintainability).  If you are simply trying to
discourage the use of some internal interfaces (since they may
change and you don't want to be saddled with backward compatabilty
responsibilities in those particular areas) then just comment
and document them as internal (in your sources) and separate
their prototypes into a different set of header files (which
are not installed into the public include directory tree).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, I'm not an expert.  In fact I don't even consider myself
to be a professional programmer (though I've done a bit of it here
and there).  So it's certainly possibly that everything I've
just said is idiotic gibberish.  (Of course that would be possible
even if I was a recognized expert).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As for the fact that this "feature" exists in Microsoft DLLs and
programming tools <TT>---</TT> it sounds like it's probably primarily useful
if you need to create binary products that take advantage of
"hidden" (undocumented) private interfaces which you plan to keep
from your competitors.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<!-- sig -->


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<!-- begin 17 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Corel Linux and Blank Passwords</H3>

<h4 align="center">Repairing Lost and Broken Passwords: A Redux</h4>

<p><strong>From Charles Gratarolli on Mon, 15 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Corel Linux and Blank Passwords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Hi,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
After a few crashes I managed to install a Corel Linux in my machine(Pemtium
II 450, IDE Drive, 96 MB of memoy). When the system asked me for a login and
password, it didn"t recognize and gave me the following messsage:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><BLOCKQuote>
COREL LINUX 1.0(tty1)
</BLOCKQuote></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Login:XXXXX(I gave it in the insyalation beggining)
Password:
Incorrect login
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
This is fairly difficult to read and I'm not sure of the context.
I think you are saying: "After I installed Corel Linux and rebooted
the system, I tried to enter the same name and password at its
login prompt that I had entered during the installation process."
(I've only installed Corel Linux a couple of times I don't remember
the exact sequence of installation dialogs).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Normally you'd have been prompted to create a password for 'root'
(the system administration account) and you would have been
offered a chance to create one or more user accounts <TT>---</TT>
which involve selecting at least a user name and initial
password for each account.  (Usually there's also a chance
to fill in a full name, change the account's "home directory"
and "login shell" settings, set the account's primarly group
membership and possibly add that account to a list of other
groups).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
What happens if you use the name 'root' (all lower case,
no capital letters) at the "Login:" prompt and enter your
password for that account?  (BTW: It's a good idea to keep
those passwords different.  It's a wretched idea to login
as 'root' when you want to run "normal" applications like a
web browser, mail program etc).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
I left the password blank, as was said in the manual
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
Did the manual really suggest that you should leave a password
blank?  That's irresponsible.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For situations when you really want to have a service accessible from
the console with no password, it is better to configure the system to
skip the password request than to set the password to be empty.
Basically a username/password combination can potentially be used to
access any service on a Linux/UNIX system.  Usernames are fairly easy
to find for a system, so it is almost impossible to enforce any
security policy on an account with no password.  If you want a
service or program to be accessible without a password it's almost
certain that you want to limit the access to specific files
(i.e. just your HTML files in your document root directory tree),
through specific means (i.e. just through the web server, for
read-only access), etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, many Linux systems are configured to forbid blank passwords.
Thus, it may be that the installation program let you leave the
password blank while the login program(s) are enforcing this common
policy.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
How can i change it now?  considering I am a newbie.....
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thank you
Charles G.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
It depends.  Is this a user account?  Does logging in as 'root'
work?  If so, then just login as the root user (and open a
"terminal" or "xterm" window if you've logged into a GUI)
so you can type in commands.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
First you need to know if the account you created exists.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Let's say you created your account name using your initials
"cg."  So you might use a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
grep cg: /etc/passwd
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... if that doesn't pop-up a line that looks something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
cg:x:0:0:Charles G:/home/cg:/bin/bash
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... then you don't have a user account (or you mistyped
something <TT>---</TT> possibly when you created the account, or whatever).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can create a user account using a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
useradd -m cg
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... the <TT>-m</TT> tells 'useradd' to "make" a home directory for the new
account.  There are many options to the 'useradd' command.  You can
read more than you want to know about them by typing:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
man useradd
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Once you've created the account you can set the password using a
command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
passwd cg
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... which, if done as 'root' will simply prompt you for a new
password and ask you to repeat it.  If you can type in the
same string twice consecutively <TT>---</TT> you will have successfully
changed or set the password for that account.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can also use the passwd command to change your own password
by simply typing it (with no parameters or arguments).  In that
case it will require you to type your old password, and then
repeat your new password twice.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that sometimes the 'passwd' command will complain that a
password is "too short" or "too weak" or that it is "based on a
dictionary word."  The Linux 'passwd' command tries to enforce some
"best practice" policies about your users password selections in
order to make the system more secure.  Basically anyone who cracks
into a user account on a system has a pretty good chance of using
that to take control of the whole system eventually.  (Also they can
do quite a bit of damage to that user's files and quite a bit of
snooping about in that users e-mail etc. even if they don't manage to
disrupt other users or the system itself).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I realize that you may not care about all this "security stuff" as a
new Linux user.  After all, you're probably adopting Linux after
years of using MS Windows, which has no concept of users and makes no
effort to protect the system from "normal users" or to protect any
one users stuff from any other.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, it's a good idea to take a lesson from Microsoft's mistakes.
You may want to considering having one account on your system for
reading mail, a different on for doing your web browsing, another for
playing games, and yet another for any of your important work.  (With
a little practice it's possible for these to share data without too
much inconvenience while limiting the damaged that a trojan horse
(such as the ILOVEYOU e-mail virus) could do to your other work.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Of course Linux systems are unaffected by ILOVEYOU, Melissa and all
of the other e-mail trojan/viruses so far.  However, such a problem
might eventually affect some Linux users.  Luckily there are many
different e-mail packages in widespread use under Linux <TT>---</TT> any
bug that could be used to exploit one is very unlikely to affect
more than a small fraction of the total population.  This
"technodiversity"  (analogous to the "biodiversity" that we need
in our ecosystems) does protect us somewhat <TT>---</TT> since the infection
can't spread quickly or easily unless there is a critically high
percentage of "monoculture" applications users).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(I could write a long article on the pros and cons of technodiversity
vs. standardization and code re-use.  However, I have a feeling that
it not be of much immediate interest to you).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Getting back to your problem.  If you don't have a working root
password then the job is a little more difficult.  Basically you need
to boot up the system in "rescue mode" or from a "rescue disc or
diskette" mount the root filesystem, possibly mount a "<TT>/usr</TT>"
filesystem on top of that, run the 'passwd' command, unmount the
filesystems that you brought up, and restart the system from its hard
drive.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Whoa!  Did you get all of that?  I didn't think so.  Here's the
same sequence again, with a little more explanation:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li>Boot up the system in a "rescue mode" from a
"rescue disc or diskette"
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you see the "LILO:" prompt while you're booting
up the system you can usually hit the [Caps Lock] or
the [Scroll Lock] key or just start typing to force
the boot loader to pause at this point.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
From there you can tap the [Tab] key to see a list of
boot image "labels" (usually one will be named "Linux"
or "linux").
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
From this prompt you can type a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
linux init=/bin/sh rw
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... to bring up the system in a "rescue mode."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This will bypass the whole normal startup sequence
and prevent the system's normal initialization program
(init) from spawning the 'getty' processes that
take over the console and force you to login.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
BTW: It's possible to set another password
on your LILO boot loader (adding a line to your
<TT>/etc/lilo.conf</TT>) that would prevent this trick from
working.  That password, if set, would not
convey any other access to the system, it would
only allow one at the console during the boot up
cycle to select and over-ride the boot settings.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The "rw" at the end is a convenience to make
sure that the main (root) filesystem is brought
up (mounted) in a read/write mode.  Normally a
UNIX/Linux system comes up with the root filesystem
mounted read-only so that it can be checked and
repaired.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li> ... or from a "rescue disc or diskette"
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You might have been offered a chance to make a
custom rescue diskette during your installation.
If you were wise you did.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you system can boot from a CD drive then your
distribution's CD usually can act as a "rescue disc."
So you act as though you're going to re-isntall, but
you use the keys [Alt]+[F2] (hold down the [Alt] key
and hit the [F2], second function, key).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If that doesn't work, boot the system up under some
other operating system or use a different computer
and look for a "rescue diskette" image.  Hopefully
the instructions for that will be listed somewhere
in your manual or on the web site for your favorite
distribution.  (Of course Corel's site is basically
impossible to navigate if you're looking for technical
support information specifically about their product.
I doesn't seem to have a search engine and I don't see
a link to a simple "Corel Linux FAQ").
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Failing that look at Tom Oehser's site for his
"Root/Boot" floppy (<A HREF="http://www.toms.net/rb"
	>http://www.toms.net/rb</A>)
Unfortunately this is NOT a package for newbies.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li> (maybe) mount the root filesystem,
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you booted from a rescue diskette you'd
normally be running from a RAM disk.  So you have
to find your main (root) filesystem and mount it up.
On a typical Linux system that would involve a
command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
mount /dev/hda1 /mnt
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You need to know what type of hard drive you have
(<TT>/dev/hd*</TT> for IDE, <TT>/dev/sd*</TT> for SCSI), which one
it is (a for the first drive on the primary controller,
and letters b, c, d, etc for others), and which partition
it's one (1 through 4 for the primary partitions, and
5-12 or so for any logical drives in an extended partition).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Once you done that you should change into that directory
(<TT>/mnt</TT> in my example and in most cases) and make that
the "virtual" root directory using the following commands:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
cd <TT>/mnt</TT>
chroot . <TT>/bin/sh</TT>
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li> possibly mount a "<TT>/usr</TT>" filesystem on top of that
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Even if you booted from the hard drive using the
init=/bin/sh trick, you may have to bring up another
filesystem.  The 'passwd' command is usually in the
<TT>/usr/bin</TT> directory, and the <TT>/usr</TT> directory is often
separated unto its own filesystem.  (It's traditional
though there are good reasons for this as well).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Here's the command to do that:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
mount /usr
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li> run the 'passwd' command,
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Finally you should be able to run the 'passwd' command
to set a new password for yourself.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you get some sort of error about a "read-only"
filesystem then you probably forget the rw option at
your LILO prompt.  Use the following command:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
mount -o remount,rw /
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
and try again.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li> unmount the filesystems that you brought up,
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If that was successful then you should be able to
unmount any filesystem that you mounted:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
umount /usr
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... and if you were booted from a rescue diskette
or CD:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
exit; umount <TT>/mnt</TT>
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... or if you were booted from the hard drive:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
mount -o remount,ro /
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This sets up all of the filesystems so that they are
"clean" and can be used immediately after the next
step without a time-consuming consistency check.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li> restart the system from its hard drive.
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Finally you should be able to reboot.  This is
actually a bit trickier than you'd think when you've
booted into this "rescue mode."  (If you booted
from a diskette or CD, just pull that out and
hit the reset switch).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you've booted from your hard drive using the
init=/bin/sh trick (what I call "rescue mode" then
you should shutdown and restart the system with the
following command:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
exec <TT>/sbin/init</TT> 6
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... this is because the various sorts of 'shutdown'
and 'reboot' commands usually are just sending a
"signal" and performing some IPC (interprocess
communications) with the 'init' program.  In other
words, normally only the init program does a reboot
or a system halt (or changes "runlevels" <TT>---</TT> operational
modes).  However, we bypassed the normal process
and we're running a command shell instead of init.
The shell isn't programmed to respond to signals by
reading the <TT>/dev/initctl</TT> pipe (FIFO) for messages.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
We can't just "run" init like a normal program.
init detects what process ID it is running under and
only assumes system control if it is process ID
number 1 (PID ==1).  If not then it acts as a
messenger, trying to pass signals and commands to
the "real" init process.  However, our shell
is running as PID 1 <TT>---</TT> so we need to tell the
shell to "chain over" or "replace its code with"
that of init.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I realize that all of that was pretty complicated. You don't have to
understand the inner workings of init in order to run this last
command or to follow most of this procedure.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It won't even be the end of the world if you just hit the red switch
and reboot the system.  However, I've tried to make this set of
instructions simple enough and general enough that it will work on
most Linux systems.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you get too stuck, call tech support.  I see that Corel offers
a fee-based North American telephone technical support option at
about $50 per incident (I guess that would be in U.S. dollars).
Of course my employer Linuxcare (<A HREF="http://www.Linuxcare.com"
	>http://www.Linuxcare.com</A>) also
offers per incident fee-based support as well.  You could call
them at 1-888-LIN-GURU for details.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There are also many Linux consultants that might be able to
help you, possibly in person.  Look at the Linux Consultants HOWTO
(<A HREF="http://www.linuxports.com/howto/consultants/Consultants-HOWTO.html"
	>http://www.linuxports.com/howto/consultants/Consultants-HOWTO.html</A>)
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<!-- sig -->


<!-- end 17 -->
<!--     .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.     -->
<A NAME="tag/18"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 18 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" 
	height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
	>Windoze [sic] on 2nd Hard Drive</H3>


<p><strong>From Anthony Kamau on Tue, 16 May 2000  
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Windoze [sic] on 2nd Hard Drive
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I have Linux installed on the 1st hard drive and want to boot to
windoze on the 2nd hard drive.  I read somewhere that I could fool
windoze into thinking that it is on the first harddrive by changing a
few parameters in the "lilo.conf" file.  Would you happen to know what
I need to add to the this file in order to have it dual boot.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks,
Anthony.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
	HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
	>
I don't know.  But I don't recommend this way of doing things.
MS Windows and other Microsoft products are somewhat brittle
and it's a bad idea to try to fool them.  Even it it works for
some situations, for awhile, it can break as the situation
changes and whenever you upgrade any of their products.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, I'd really suggest putting Linux on the second drive and
letting MS Windows have the first drive.  Linux is very flexible
and is far less likely to break something like this from one
upgrade to the next (and you'll always have the Linux sources
to fix anything that we do break).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Remember, if you have any problems with LILO on a system where
you are running any sort of MS-DOS derivative <TT>---</TT> take the
easy way out and run <TT>LOADLIN.EXE.</TT>  It's often much easier then
fussing with boot records.  In the worst case, use a SYSLINUX
or LILO floppy and boot Linux from that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<!-- sig -->


<!-- end 18 -->
<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <hr> <P> 

<!-- QUICK TIPS SECTION ==================================================  -->
<center>
<H1><A NAME="tips"><IMG ALIGN=MIDDLE ALT="" SRC="../gx/twocent.gif">
More 2&#162; Tips!</A></H1> <BR>
Send Linux Tips and Tricks to <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">
gazette@ssc.com
</A></center>

<!-- BEGIN tips -->

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<a name=""></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Getting the most from multiple X servers - in the office and at home
</FONT> </H3>
Fri, 19 May 2000 10:31:27 +1000
<BR>From: Bob Hepple &lt;<A HREF="mailto:bhepple@bit.net.au">bhepple@bit.net.au</A>&gt;

<P> I wonder how many people know how to get the most from the power of X -
it really sets Unix apart from simple windowing PC's. Here is a tip that
I've been using for years - maybe it will be news to others as it's not
really documented anywhere for the average user, it's rather buried in
the man pages.

<P> To set the scene, poor old dad often has to stand aside to let the rest
of the family read their email, do their homework etc. This is a bit of
a fag on certain well known proprietary windowing systems as you would
have to 

<P> save your work
exit all applications, 
log out, 
let them play through, 
log them out, 
log back in
restore all applications

<P> Rather than do all this, I simply create a new X session with the
following command:

<P> X :1 -query raita &amp;

<P> where 'raita' is the name of my computer. A new X server starts up and
the visitor can log in and do their stuff. We can flip between their
session and my own with Ctrl-Alt-F8 and -F7. When they are finished,
they simply hit Ctrl-Alt-BackSpace or log out and I warp back to my own
workspace with Ctrl-Alt-F7.

<P> No loss of data, no messy loging in and out.

<P> You need to be running an XDMCP session manager (e.g. xdm, gm or kdm)
for this to work. You are using XDMCP if you get a graphical logon at
bootup. If you have a text-mode logon and run X with startx then you
might need to modify this approach.

<P> I also use this neat feature of X at work - we have many Unix systems
that I need to log into from time to time - Linux, Solaris and UnixWare.
I could use rlogin, rsh or xrsh but for some jobs nothing beats a full X
session.

<P> I can flip from one system to another by creating new X sessions on my
Linux workstation. Normally at work I use a slightly modified command:

<P> X :1 -indirect dun &amp;

<P> ... where dun is runnning an XDMCP server (like xdm, gdm or kdm). It
then gives me a chooser that I can use to pick which system to log into.

<P> I often have many such sessions at once - just increment the display
number for each and they map to different 'hotkeys':

<P> X :1 -indirect dun    .... Ctrl-Atl-F8
X :2 -indirect dun    .... Ctrl-Atl-F9
X :3 -indirect dun    .... Ctrl-Atl-F10

<P> with Ctrl-Alt-F7 being the default X display :0

<P> Another ploy is to use Xnest in a similar way. Instead of getting an
extra X server, Xnest runs a new X session in a window. I use this:

<P> Xnest :1 -indirect dun &amp;

<P> or, if I want to use a full-sized screen I use:

<P> Xnest -geometry 1280x1024+0+0 :1 -indirect dun &amp;

<P> There are some minor issues with font sizes when using a smaller window
but generally not too bad.


<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<a name=""></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Starting and stopping daemons
</FONT> </H3>
Fri May 26 16:13:11 PDT 2000
<BR>From: Mike Orr &lt;<A HREF="mailto:mso@mso.oz.net">mso@mso.oz.net</A>&gt;

<P> If you get tired of typing "/etc/init.d/apache reload" every time
you change your Apache configuration, or if you frequently start and stop
squid (e.g., to free up memory for extensive image editing), use
shell functions to take the tedium out of typing.  

<P> The following functions allow you to type "start daemon", "stop daemon",
"restart daemon", and "reload daemon" to accomplish the same thing.  They
should work on Debian or a
similar system which has a script for each daemon in
<STRONG>/etc/init.d/</STRONG>, where each script accepts
<STRONG>start</STRONG>, <STRONG>stop</STRONG>, <STRONG>restart</STRONG> and
<STRONG>reload</STRONG> as a command-line argument.

<P> I used <CODE>zsh</CODE>, so I put the following in my
<STRONG>/root/.zshrc</STRONG>:

<PRE>
function start stop restart reload {  /etc/init.d/$1 $0  }
</PRE>

This creates four functions, each with an identical body.  $0 is the command
name (e.g.; "start"); $1 is the first argument (the name of the daemon).

<P> The equivalent functions in 
<CODE>bash</CODE> look like this:

<PRE>
function start { /etc/init.d/$1 start; }
function stop { /etc/init.d/$1 stop; }
function restart { /etc/init.d/$1 restart; }
function reload { /etc/init.d/$1 reload; }
</PRE>

<CODE>bash</CODE> puts "-bash" into $0 instead of the command name.
Perhaps there's another way to get at the command name, but I just chose to
make four functions instead.

<P> Debian actually puts the name of the package in 
<STRONG>/etc/init.d/</STRONG>; this may be different than the name of the
daemon.  For instance, the <CODE>lpd</CODE> daemon comes from a package 
called <STRONG>lprng</STRONG>.  An enhancement to the functions would be
to recognize <STRONG>lpd</STRONG>, <STRONG>lpr</STRONG> and <STRONG>lp</STRONG>
as synonyms for the easily-forgotten <STRONG>lprng</STRONG>.




<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<a name=""></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Disabling the console screensaver
</FONT> </H3>
Fri May 26 16:13:11 PDT 2000
<BR>From: Jim Dennis &lt;<A HREF="mailto:jimd@starshine.org">jimd@starshine.org</A>&gt;

<P> Shane Kennedy &lt;<A HREF="mailto:skenn@indigo.ie">skenn@indigo.ie</A>&gt;
asked the Answer Guy:

<BLOCKQUOTE>
How do I switch off the shell screensaver?
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<PRE>
setterm -blank 0
</PRE>

<P> It's a feature of the Linux console driver, not the
 shell.

<!-- END tips -->

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<H4><font color="maroon">
Tips in the following section are answers to questions printed in the Mail
Bag column of previous issues.  These tips were compiled with help from
<A HREF="mailto:iamalsogod@hotmail.com">Michael Williams</A> (Alex).
</font></H4> 

<!-- BEGIN tips.answers -->

<hr>
<!--================================================================-->
<p align="center">&nbsp;</p>
<!--================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/lil2cent.gif" width="126" height="51"> 
<a
name="kernelsplit"><font color="#000080"><strong>Linux Kernel Split</strong></font></a></p>

<p>Thu, 04 May 2000 08:34:09 -0500<br>
From: Christopher Browne &lt;<a href="mailto:cbbrowne@hex.net">cbbrowne@hex.net</a>&gt;<br>
<br>
<br>
This can refer to to things:<br>
<br>
a) The fact that Linux kernel releases are split into
&quot;stable&quot; and &quot;experimental&quot; releases.<br>
<br>
Thus, versions numbered like 1.1.n, 1.3.n, 2.1.n, 2.3.n represent
&quot;experimental&quot; versions, where addition of new
functionality is solicited, whilst those numbered 1.0.n, 1.2.n,
1.4.n, 2.0.n, 2.2.n, 2.4.n represent &quot;stable&quot; versions,
where changes are intended to only be made to fix problems.<br>
<br>
Occasionally, &quot;experimental&quot; functionality gets
backported to the &quot;stable&quot; releases, but this is not
the norm.<br>
<br>
b) There is a theory that, at some point, development of Linux
could &quot;split&quot; to multiple independent groups.<br>
<br>
For instance, there are some people working on functionality
intended to support big servers (e.g. - SMP, various filesystem
efforts). And there are others building functionality supportive
of tiny embedded systems (Lineo, Embeddix, ...)<br>
<br>
The theory essentially goes that since their purposes are
different, there may be some point at which the needs may diverge
sufficiently that it will not make sense for there to be a single
point of contact (e.g. Linus Torvalds) to decide the direction of
development of _THE_ official<br>
Linux kernel.<br>
<br>
What might happen is that a group would take a particular version
of the Linux kernel source code, and start developing that quite
independently of another.<br>
<br>
For instance, there might be a &quot;split&quot; where the
embedded developers start developing the kernel in a way attuned
to their needs.<br>
<br>
This is _essentially_ what happened when OpenBSD
&quot;split&quot; off of the NetBSD project; the developers
concluded that they could not work together, and so a new BSD
variant came into being.<br>
<br>
The use of the GNU General Public License on the Linux kernel
does mean that it would be legally permissible for a person or a
group to perform such a &quot;split.&quot; <br>
<br>
It would, however, be quite _costly_, in that it would mean that
the new group of developers would no longer have much benefit
from the efforts of people on the other side of the split. It is
a costly enterprise (whether assessed in terms of money, or,
better, time and effort) to keep independent sets of source code
&quot;in sync&quot; once they are purposefully taken out of sync.<br>
<br>
Hope this helps provide some answers to the question...</p>

<p align="center">&nbsp;</p>

<hr>
<!--================================================================-->
<p align="left"><img src="../gx/lil2cent.gif" width="126"
height="51"> <a name="128ram"><font color="#000080"><strong>Incorrect
Tip....</strong></font></a></p>

<p align="left">Date: Sat, 13 May 2000 15:57:49 -0400<br>
From: Tony Arnett &lt;lkp@bluemarble.net&gt;<br>
<br>
Tip given on Linux systems that do not recognize the total
almount of available ram.<br>
<br>
The tip given was to insert the following param into
&quot;lilo.conf&quot;<br>
<br>
<strong>append=&quot;ram=128M&quot;</strong><br>
<br>
I had no such luck with this param. I think the proper param to
use is:<br>
<br>
<strong>append=&quot;mem=128M&quot;</strong><br>
<br>
This worked for me on my Gentus Lunux 1.0 System.<br>
<br>
Here is my entire<font color="#FF0000"> <strong>lilo.conf</strong></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<strong>boot = /dev/hda<br>
timeout = 50<br>
prompt<br>
default = linux<br>
vga = normal<br>
read-only<br>
map=/boot/map<br>
install=/boot/boot.b<br>
image = /boot/vmlinuz-2.2.13-13abit<br>
label = linux<br>
initrd = /boot/initrd-2.2.13-13abit.img<br>
root = /dev/hda5<br>
append=&quot;hdc=ide-scsi hdd=ide-scsi mem=128M&quot;<br>
other = /dev/hda1<br>
label = win</strong><br>
<br>
<br>
I hope this will help someone.<br>
<br>
Lost Kingdom Productions<br>
Tony Arnett<br>
<br>
<!--============================Editor=============================--></p>

<blockquote>
    <p><em>[It is definitely </EM><CODE>append=&quot;mem=128M&quot;</CODE></EM> as you
    say. I use it myself. The only instance of &quot;ram=&quot; I
    could find was in </em><a
    href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue44/tag/46.html"><em>http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue44/tag/46.html</em></a><em>,
    and it is quoted in part of the question, not as the answer.
    If there are any other places where it says
    &quot;ram=128M&quot;, please let me know where and I'll fix
    them immediately.<br>
    <br>
    I looked in the Bootprompt-HOWTO </em><a
    href="http://www.ssc.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/BootPrompt-HOWTO.html"><em>http://www.ssc.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/BootPrompt-HOWTO.html</em></a><em>
    and did not see a &quot;ram=&quot; parameter. There are some
    &quot;ramdisk_*=&quot; parameters, though, but that's a
    different issue. -Ed.]</em></p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<!--================================================================-->
<p><img src="../gx/lil2cent.gif" width="126" height="51"><font
color="#000080"><strong>Re: Command line editing</strong></font></p>

<p><font color="#000000">Wed, 17 May 2000 08:38:09 +0200<br>
From: Sebastian Schleussner </font><a
href="mailto:Sebastian.Schleussner@gmx.de"><font color="#000000">Sebastian.Schleussner@gmx.de</font></a></p>

<blockquote>
<font color="#000000">I have been trying to set
command line editing (vi mode) as part of<br>
my bash shell environment and have been unsuccessful so far. You
might<br>
think this is trivial - well so did I.<br>
I am using Red Hat Linux 6.1 and wanted to use &quot;set -o
vi&quot; in my<br>
start up scripts. I have tried all possible combinations but it
JUST DOES<br>
NOT WORK. I inserted the line in /etc/profile , in my
.bash_profile, in<br>
my .bashrc etc but I cannot get it to work. How can I get this
done? This<br>
used to be a breeze in the korn shell. Where am I going wrong?</font>
</blockquote>

<p align="left"><font color="#000000">Hi!<br>
I recently learned from the SuSE help that you have to put the
line<br>
set keymap vi<br>
into your /etc/inputrc or ~/.inputrc file, in addition to what
you did<br>
('set -o vi' in ~/.bashrc or /etc/profile)!<br>
I hope that will do the trick for you.<br>
<br>
Cheers,<br>
Sebastian Schleussner<br>
</font></p>

<!-- END tips.answers -->



<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>
This page written and maintained by the Editor of the <I>Linux Gazette</I>.
Copyright &copy; 2000, <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">0800-LINUX: Creating a Free Linux-only ISP</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:carlos.betancourt@chello.be">Carlos Betancourt</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<TABLE BGCOLOR="#000000" WIDTH=100%>
  <TR>
    <TD>
      <FONT COLOR="#ffffff">
        <STRONG>The Open ISP Project</STRONG>
      </FONT>
    </TD>
  </TR>
</TABLE>

<ul>
<li>
<a href="#preface">Preface</a></li>

<li> 1.
<a href="#why">Why Linux needs a zero-cost ISP</a></li>

<ul>
<li> 1.1.
<a href="#nurture">Nurture the new Linux minds</a></li>

<li> 1.2.
<a href="#enlightenment">Bring Enlightenment: or how to
expand our user base</a></li>

<li> 1.3.
<a href="#debug">More bugs hunted: more eyes on the source
code</a></li>

<li> 1.4.
<a href="#repository">Provide our community with a unified
local repository of software: faster downloads</a></li>

<li> 1.5.
<a href="#privacy">Give privacy to people</a></li>

<li> 1.6.
<a href="#business">Open new business opportunities</a></li>

<li> 1.7.
<a href="#demands">Fill the demands in the IT world</a></li>

<li> 1.8.
<a href="#ecommerce">Allow more nations to involve/profit
of e-commerce</a></li>
</ul>

<li> 2.
<a href="#creating">Creating a zero-cost LINUX ISP: or how
to raise the money</a></li>

<ul>
<li> 2.1
<a href="#OSfunds">Existing Linux/Open Source funds</a></li>

<li> 2.2.
<a href="#distributors">Linux distributors</a></li>

<li> 2.3.
<a href="#publishers">Linux Publishers</a></li>

<li> 2.4.
<a href="#unix">Other UN*X companies</a></li>

<li> 2.5.
<a href="#integrators">Hardware Integrators</a></li>

<li> 2.6.
<a href="#government">The government</a></li>

<li> 2.7.
<a href="#UN">United Nations</a></li>

<li> 2.8
<a href="#donations">End Users donations</a></li>
</ul>

<li> 3.
<a href="#moving">Moving Forward</a></li>

<li>
<a href="#Links">Links</a></li>

<li>
<a href="#UPDATES">News and Updates on the project!</a></li>
</ul>

<hr width="100%">
<p>
<font size="+1">Preface</font>
</p><a name="preface"></a>


Free Internet access. It's a sentence we hear everywhere.
With the proliferation of ISPs Internet access is getting hot... I mean,
cool. Whatever. Prices are going down everyday even more. But there's a limit.
We always have to pay the Phone Company for our "free" Internet time. In
countries where there is a PSTN Monopoly, usually the end user is abused
from the almighty Phone Company. And in countries where local phone calls
are free, users always have to pay the ISP. Even if you are OK with that,
we all must acknowledge that being Linux users we get marginal support
from our ISPs. Yes, there are a lot of Linux-friendly ISPs, but what about
the power features, like encrypted PPP sessions, or Serial Load Balance?
There's even a new modality: advertisements sponsored ISPs. Just by loading a "bar" which display ads while you use the ISP, you get "free" internet access (phone call charges vary depending on your zone coverage or country). Of course, there is no Linux version of such services, ad even if they existed, would you agree on eating their ads?
In this article, I want to begin a discussion of why the
Linux community needs a truly zero-cost and <u>feature rich </u>ISP, and
how such a project would benefit the entire Linux community, our own countries,
and the IT world in general. To reach this goals, I believe the zero-cost
ISP project should be Linux-Only oriented. Keep on reading, and I'll expose
why.
<p>
There have been efforts all around the world to bring
Internet access costs down, namely "Plain rates"; some have partially succeeded,
some others not. Why? Because <font color="#ff0000">THEY DON'T HAVE THE
COMMUNITY SUPPORT/UNITY WE HAVE</font>.
</p><p>
<a name="why"></a>
<b>
<font size="+1">1. Why Linux needs a zero-cost ISP</font></b>
</p>The need is out there... here is what I believe a zero-cost
ISP can do for Linux and for Nations:
<p>
<a name="nurture"></a>1.1. 
<b>Nurture the new Linux minds:
</b> as
an intelligent species, we nurture the youth to become the next generation
of leaders and supporters of our society. If we provide the means for our
kids and teenagers to learn and develop themselves we will be a successful
society in the long run. Professional Soccer/Baseball clubs have early
leagues where kids a grown up enhancing their skills. Those who invest
in the young ones are the ones who survive. I'm not worried about Linux
survival, but it's certain that by now we are still a minority. And in
this new IT era, we need the people to support all the infrastructure we
are building today, ten years from now, even less.
Who in the family are the ones with less <b>priority </b>to
use Internet, the computer or the Phone? Kids. As simple as that. If you
pay the phone by the minute, most parents wouldn't like their kids spend
hours online. And if parents use the computer regularly, the kids must
get away from it. And most parents consider a computer a too expensive
toy to buy a new one for the kids.
If we, as a community, nourish our youth, we are going
to have an inevitable success. Many people discuss, these days, about winning
the desktop war. Give kids Linux and we'll se five years from now.
</p><p>
<a name="enlightenment"></a>1.2.
<b>Bring Enlightenment:
how to expand our user base:</b> people use what they are given to use.
If you buy a new computer, which OS will you get by default? I know this
story is ending, with recent support from Hardware integrators, or, for
instance, the deal between <a href="http://linux.corel.com/news/november_1_1999.htm">Corel
and PC Chips</a>. OK, from now on people will have a choice, although not
so soon. We as a community must develop some strategy to attract people
to our OS. How? Give them free, I mean _free_, Internet access. We have to give people a reason to use Linux. We have lots of ISPs around, each one trying to have new customers using different strategies and features. They distribute Windows-only setup CD-ROMs to
ease the subscription process. And most of them claim "Free Internet Access".
What it really is is a half-truth. You still have to pay the phone call.
There are some others that give you one "free month", and then they charge
you for a maximum amount of time online per month, being the phone call
free. Ok. But what they don't tell you, is that you pay the phone calls
during this "free month". I just feel sick with all those half-truths,
or should I call them "half-lies"? Isn't a half-lie a lie anyway?
Now, imagine, we provide a truly free and unlimited (this
point we have to discuss. Remember, I'm just trying to build a discussion
around this subject) Internet access to anyone who wants, only if they
use Linux. I mean, like M$-Chap (fortunately pppd can deal with that),
we can develop some Linux-Chap, but I don't think it's ethical; or is it?
In case it's not ethical, maybe accepting only ppp-encryption or bsd/slhc compression 
capable clients.
We have to address all this technical details in a forum. But the main
idea is: "Use Linux, and you'll have free unlimited Internet access. Just
by using it on your computer". We already have everything to fill the needs
of end users: Web Browsers, Office Suites, Drawing tools, etc., and more
is coming.
</p><p>
<a name="debug"></a>1.3.
<b>More bugs hunted - more eyes on
the source code:</b> if we bring more people to Linux, we'll get more people
interested on studying it's internals, learning to program, developing
programs. I know not everyone, but if we get just one out of a thousand,
and we get some more millions of new users, it looks pretty sexy, eh? And
if we give them a way to download more source core or binaries per unit
of time, in the long run we'll have more developers and/or bug reports.
Just by reporting bugs, or what they dislike/need from our OS, evolution
is going to accelerate. And remember, we won't have Linus or Alan or thousands
others forever (what a sad life without them). We need to plant the seed
for the new generations to come.
By giving users a free High Quality OS, and free Internet
access, don't you think that someday they will want to give something back
to the community? That's how Linux works: we all are trying to give something
back to the community. Those of you reading these lines, aren't you trying
the same everyday? That's why we have copy parties, mailing lists, newsgroups,
etc. We are a gift community and a bazaar community.
</p><p>
<a name="repository"></a>1.4.
<b>Provide our community with
a unified local repository of software - faster downloads:</b> in many countries
there are not unified national backbones. Academical networks and commercial
ones have not a common backbone, or are in the process of doing so. Around
the world we have hundreds of mirrors of Linux repositories, but when it
comes to a single country, maybe the user and the mirror and in different
networks, thus having slow downloads, although the mirror is in the same
country. I don't pretend to abolish existing mirrors, but to provide by
the zero-cost ISP project a nation-wide ISP with all the necessary Linux
resources. People won't _have_ to use it, it's just a choice, and a fast
choice. The 0800-Linux ISP must be nationwide to achieve this goal. Besides,
the PPP link can be established with extra compression (not just IP headers),
thus giving a phenomenal throughoutput. And let's add to this the chance
to have two phone links using Serial Load Balance (an option in the kernel).
Should this ISP include ISDN/xDSL service? In the beginning maybe not,
due to increased costs, but it's just a matter of counting the demand for
it. It's another issue to discuss in this project.
<br>And last but not least: faster downloads mean efficiency
-then economy- to the Open ISP's budget!
</p><p>
<a name="privacy"></a>1.5.
<b>Give privacy to people:</b>
what is your ISP doing with your data? And your mail? Do you think your
actual ISP protects your privacy? I don't know for sure, but I don't think
so. What about <a href="http://slashdot.org/yro/00/04/21/0927224.shtml">Massive Web Tracking Via ISPs</a>, with technologies as <i>Predictive Networks</i>? Have you ever heard of the <a href="http://www.aclu.org/echelonwatch/index.html">Echelon Project</a>? "The big brother is watching you", remember? The 0800-Linux ISP project can help us reach a decent level
of privacy. How? With encrypted PPP links, educating our users to use PGP/GPG,
giving free web mail <i>a la</i> <a href="http://hushmail.com">hushmail.com</a> or through SSL. It's a very simple way to encourage users to user strong encryption. Which well-known free web mail server provides users with strong encryption? Remember what happened in
Hotmail some time ago, when <a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/99/08/30/1324206.shtml">crackers
published techniques/programs</a> to read any account's mail? If we support
strong encryption this can't happen again.
I also think of, let's say, an encrypted /home file system.
We can think endlessly of new applications.
Well, let's not forget all this is subject to government
permission. There are new project laws in <a href="http://slashdot.org/yro/00/02/09/1445242.shtml">UK
that will consider illegal denying to give decryption keys to the government,</a>
for example.
</p><p>
<a name="business"></a>1.6.
<b>Open new business opportunities:</b>
with a large user base it's impossible not to mention the new (now not
so new) and huge market it will bring. Books, Commercial Software (while
we don't have free replacements we have to buy them. Think about games),
more Distributions sales, support companies, huge demands for Linux-inside
PCs, etc.; everything will grow, exponentially, and even unthinkable new
businesses. We are in a new e-conomic era, and Linux is one of the driving
forces on it. Look at the success of Linux IPOs. And we are a minority!
We just have to pull the trigger. The results will overwhelm us.
</p><p>
<a name="demands"></a>1.7.
<b>Fill the demands in the IT world:</b>
lots of nations are now making plans to fill the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_688000/688138.stm">huge demand for IT professionals</a>. It's a problem of all developed and developing countries. The projections for IT workers shortage for the years to come is alarming.  I think the Open-ISP project can play a major role in reversing this proccess: it will bring the free software community spirit to thousands of new individuals, stimulating colaborative development and user-to-user support. The more people gets access to computers and Internet, the more skilled the population.
</p><p>
<a name="ecommerce"></a>1.8.
<b>Allow more nations to involve/profit
of e-commerce:</b> most of European nations are worried
about the advantage the US has taken in e-commerce. And in the end, the
final customer is the one who benefits from competition. But to fill the
gap they need the human resources to build and support the infrastructure.
The European Union has launched the <a href=http://europa.eu.int/comm/information_society/eeurope/index_en.htm">"eEurope Initiative"</a>, to develop the course of action to adquire a competitive edge in
ecommerce and new technologies.
</p><p>
<a name="creating"></a>
<b>
<font size="+1">2. Creating a zero-cost LINUX ISP</font></b>
</p><p>
So if a zero-cost Linux ISP can benefit the Linux community,
how can we raise the funds to achieve it?
</p><p>
<a name="OSfunds"></a>2.1. 
<b>Existing Linux/Open Source funds:</b>
the <a href="http://osee.bascom.org">Open Source Equipment Exchange</a>, the <a href="http://www.linuxfund.org">Linux
Fund</a> or Open Source Awards, like the <a href="http://slashdot.org/awards/00/01/03/088248.shtml">Benie
Awards</a> by <a href="http://andover.net">Andover.net</a>
or the <a href="http://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer.html">EFF Pioneer Awards</a>
</p><p>
<a name="distributors"></a>2.2. 
<b>Linux distributors:</b>
if we get this project to work, it is certain that the companies behind
the
 Linux distributions are going to benefit. Nowadays, you can see boxed
Linux
 distributions in well-known stores around Europe and South America,
whereas
 just one and a half year ago you couldn't. Now it's easy to find
bright
 and shiny boxes of SuSE, RedHat, Corel and Mandrake, to name a few.
The main Linux
 distributions have showed along all these
years a firm and sincere support
 for a vast range of projects. And they
know their success depends on the
 user base. We just have to develop a
strong project and they surely are
 going to help.
If this project comes to life, Linux distributors could advertise
 "Free Internet" bundled with the product. You just install Linux, and you
 have free Net Access.
</p><p>
<a name="publishers"></a>2.3. 
<b>Linux Publishers:</b> lots
of publishing houses are having a business around Linux these days. It's
more common to see new Linux books in the shelves at major bookstores.
If they donate a little fraction for the sale of each book to the project,
then we have more funds. We just have to get more people into the community,
and books are going to start flying away from the shelves. It's inevitable.
Houses like O'Reilly are well known for its support and sponsorship of
projects.
</p><p>
<a name="unix"></a>2.4. 
<b>Other UN*X companies:</b> why did
SUN gave StarOffice away for free? If the Linux community succeeds, Un*x
will get exposed to the general public and corporations. It will strengthen
Un*x acceptance. Un*x vendors will keep alive in the game. Even SGI, which
is now embracing Linux instead of IRIX, will win because hardware sales
make more sense to them. If Linux in general has support from this companies,
the 0800-LINUX project benefits indirectly from that support. Now we have
a High Quality Office Suite free to offer to the public, thanks to SUN.
Maybe we can become a Sunsite partner, thus receiving hardware from the
very SUN.
</p><p>
<a name="integrators"></a>2.5. 
<b>Hardware Integrators:</b>
if you sell a computer with free Internet access when you buy it, with
no more headaches to the end user to set it up, just dialing 0800-LINUX,
hey, it's a hell of a good strategy. And if you save users the cost of
the OS, prices are going to be even more attractive. Hardware integrators
can supply a machine with a free OS, free applications, free Office suite,
and FREE Internet access...
Again, the more users we attract, the more hardware gets
sold. V.A. Systems, Penguin Computing, Compaq, Dell, to name just a few,
all of them are in the game. They are just waiting, _waiting_, for demand
to supply Linux already installed. They are tired to pay the M$ tax. They
can instead, save that money and support this project with just a fraction
of that. Whether it's hardware or money, we'll benefit.
</p><p>
<a name="government"></a>2.6. 
<b>The government:</b> in high
developed countries kids have computers at school. They develop their understanding
and attraction to computers from early ages. Until now, the beginning of
the 21st century, all the countries had access to the same kind of technology
and education. Technology was easy and cheap to replicate in every country,
even the poorest. And education more or less the same everywhere, with
no specialization, or a low tech one. Every country has had, more or less,
the same opportunities to develop themselves. Now we enter a new era. The
gap between developed nations and developing ones, is everyday larger.
It's technology, services, specialization, high tech industries, education
and the Internet the turning points in this new era. And I'm not saying
anything new. The more people with access to technology, information, services,
and communications the wealthier the country becomes. And more developed,
in general terms. Where do you think is Linus from? Finland; Cox? UK; Stallman?
US. I know you see the path.
As a non-profit project, the zero-cost Linux ISP, the
government can concede tax deductions to the funds private companies and/or
individuals give to the project. Even the same government could help fund
the project, due to the importance of the results. It's not just Linux;
it's the enlightening of the population by means of Linux, and the long
run results it is going to bring.
</p><p>
<a name="UN"></a>2.7. 
<b>United Nations:</b> (please help
me on this)
</p><p>
<a name="donations"></a>2.8. 
<b>End Users donations:</b> we
can't impose our users to pay a fee for the Internet access; if we do,
we'll just become YAISP (Yet Another ISP), and will add another level of
complexity to the project (manage subscriptions, payment, etc.). Besides,
the goal in our project is to provide an easy way for users to setup their
Internet access: they just dial 0800-LINUX after installing Linux or buying
a brand new computer. Even the distributions can have a pre-setup out of
the box with a list of countries were the 0800-LINUX project is working.
So users just will be one click away the 'Net. In this project we have
to develop all the policies and framework of the ISP, so it will be the
same all around the world. Distributions can ship already set up.
Therefore, when users want to give back to the community,
they just can donate hardware and/or funds to the project. Just with a
tiny fraction of what they pay annually to their respective ISPs and/or
Phone MonopoLIES it will be enough.
<br>&nbsp;
<br>&nbsp;
</p><p>
<a name="moving"></a>
<b>
<font size="+1">Moving Forward</font></b>
</p><p>
If you agree that a zero-cost Linux-only ISP can be beneficial
for the growth of Linux, how do we as a community address the points I made above about creating such a project? I think that as a first step we should create a mailing-list and run a poll to know the percentage of the Linux users in our country that use dial-up Internet access.
</p><p>
Is a Linux-only free ISP project even possible? The first
thing one could think when reading about this project is that it is going
to cost too much money. OK. You have a point. But think it this way: if
we raise the necessary money to have a 0800-LINUX ISP in our country, do
you think it is worth it? We have plenty of choices, and reasons, to find
funds.
</p><p>
We have to find all these answers together. This is a
project that must be born inside the community, not imposed from the outside.
After we find consensus, we must prepare a complete proposal to all the
Linux related companies, to know how much funding we can get.
</p><p>
And for the technical details of the ISP we could create
an "Engineering Task Force". Please, email me at <a href="mailto:carlos.betancourt@chello.be">carlos.betancourt@chello.be</A>
if you believe in the plausibility of this project and would like to participate.
</p><p>
<a name="Links"></a>
<b>LINKS</b>
<br><a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/99/08/30/1324206.shtml">Hotmail
Cracked Badly</a>
</p><p>
<a href="http://slashdot.org/yro/00/02/09/1445242.shtml">UK Decryption
Law Pushed Through</a>
</p><p>
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_638000/638041.stm">Surveillance
bill under fire</a>
</p><p>
<a href="http://slashdot.org/yro/00/02/23/1315248_F.shtml">'Echelon
Study' Released by European Parliament</a>
</p><p>
<a href="http://www.aclu.org/echelonwatch/index.html">Echelon Watch</a>
</p><p>
<a href="http://208.208.207.44/FMPro?-Token=6150&-DB=htscripts.fp3&-format=/jimhightower/commentary/com_display.html&-lay=enter&-error=/jimhightower/commentary/com_error.html&-RecID=35710&-Find">Echelon
is Listening to You</a><a href="http://208.208.207.44/FMPro?-Token=6150&-DB=htscripts.fp3&-format=/jimhightower/commentary/com_display.html&-lay=enter&-error=/jimhightower/commentary/com_error.html&-RecID=35710&-Find"></a>

</p><p>
<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/stories/main/0,5594,2341488,00.html">Hotmail
Hole Exposes Users to Security Exploits</a>
</p><p>
<a name="UPDATES"></a>
<b>UPDATES!</b>
</p>
<b>March 24th:</b><br> 
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_689000/689410.stm">EU looks to e-job bonanza</a>
<br>
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12077-2000Mar24.html">EU to Push Growth in Innovation, Technology</a>
</body>
</html>




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Carlos Betancourt<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">HelpDex</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:shane_collinge@yahoo.com">Shane Collinge</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<IMG ALT="racingstripes.jpg" SRC="gx/collinge/racingstripes.jpg" 
	WIDTH="750" HEIGHT="299">
<BR CLEAR="all">

<IMG ALT="arrrs.jpg" SRC="gx/collinge/arrrs.jpg" 
	WIDTH="750" HEIGHT="302">
<BR CLEAR="all">

<IMG ALT="shoe.jpg" SRC="gx/collinge/shoe.jpg" 
	WIDTH="750" HEIGHT="299">
<BR CLEAR="all">

<IMG ALT="slashdot.jpg" SRC="gx/collinge/slashdot.jpg" 
	WIDTH="750" HEIGHT="299">
<BR CLEAR="all">

<IMG ALT="beepboop.jpg" SRC="gx/collinge/beepboop.jpg" 
	WIDTH="750" HEIGHT="305">
<BR CLEAR="all">

<P> More <EM>HelpDex</EM> cartoons are on Shane's web site,
<A HREF="http://mrbanana.hypermart.net/Linux.htm">
http://mrbanana.hypermart.net/Linux.htm</A>.




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Shane Collinge<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">What are Oracle's plans to boost and support the Linux platform?</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:frc@linux.com.br">Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a</a><BR>
Originally published at
<A HREF="http://www.olinux.com.br/interviews/14/en">http://www.olinux.com.br/interviews/14/en</A><BR>
(Follow this link for more OLinux interviews)
</H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->








<P> <EM>Mr. Pradeep Bhanot is the Senior Marketing Director for Linux at
Oracle.</EM>

<P> <b>Olinux: Can you tell us about yourself and your carrier. How long have you been working for Oracle?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: I am the head marketing for Linux at Oracle. I have been with Oracle 11 years starting in Oracle as a
technical Consultant in pre-sales followed by post sales. In have been in the US for 8 years. Three years as
a technical manager in the San Francisco Bay Area managing customers such as Wells Fargo Bank, Cisco,
Netscape, SGI and HP. In recent years I did marketing with IBM followed by Dell. Prior to Oracle I worked in
technical systems roles for the UK government and British Telecom for 10 years. I hold a BSc in Computer
Science from Greenwich University in London.

<P> <b>Olinux: Shortly, what is the secret behind its success?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: Great people and products. Oracle's recent success due to the focus on internet based solutions and
marketing.

<P> <b>Olinux: Tell us the background, facts, visions, events, decisions and master moves (toward internet) explain Oracle extreme success?</b>
Oracle lead the shift to client-server computing on Unix in the 1990's. Three years ago Oracle bet it's
business on the internet. We  moved all out products from character based and client-server windows GUI to a
web browser based UI. This bet paid off. Some companies such as IBM are really good at articulating customer
requirements such as SQL databases, repository based development, cross platform common user interfaces and
e-business. Oracle is really good at adapting it's software products and people to deliver on that vision.
Larry saw the emergence of Unix, Windows and the Internet and made sure we produced products that lead those
markets.

<P> <b>Olinux: How Larry Elison leadership has guided Oracle?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: Larry is our visionary. Larry is very consistent in his vision.  He goal has been to manage all kinds of
information, both structured and unstructured with very high integrity and in great volume.  This has been
delivered in various products in several forms over the years including Oracle Video Server, Oracle Universal
Server and today as Oracle8i Release 2.  On the business side Lary drives our $1B infrastructure savings,
product consolidation and web based sales programs.

<P> <b>Olinux:How does Oracle analyze Linux growth for past few years? Is it aconsistent
 growth in your opinion? In what extent Oracle wants Linux to succeeded as an alternative operating system to server and desktop?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: Oracle's primary focus is on Linux as a server OS.  Oracle wants to see Linux succeed as an OS as it offers
customers openness and superior TCO. There is strong developer and customer demand for Linux. There have been
over 200,000 downloads of Oracle products on linux from our developers site at
http://www.technet.oracle.com.  Oracle has always been successful on open platforms. Highly proprietary
platforms such as AS/400 with built in data management do not enable Oracle to offer it's benefits to the
same extent as Linux.

<P> <b>Olinux: Oracle defines as an internet and ecommerce company. Linux was born and is
 currently maintained via Internet. Are there any convergence/relation between Oracle
 internet strategy  and a large deploy and support of linux platform?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: Today according to IDC linux is more of a middle tier platform than a database platform. Oracle is working
with distributors such as Red Hat to add database friendly features into Linux such  as 4GB RAM support, raw
I/O and 64-bit file addressing to make it a better third-tier OS. I expect Oracle to increase it's focus on
Linux as a middle tier OS for it's internet based solutions.

<P> 
 <b>Olinux: Oracle8 was available Linux compatible long time ago. Can you
 describe Oracle plans towards making other products as Developer 2000 available to companies that
 already use Linux? Can you list those products or where user can find information about them?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: Oracle plans to make most of it's products available on Linux. Today there as the Oracle8i R2 database in its
third revision on Linux, Oracle Application Server in the middle tier and WebDB as the development
environment. You can expect to see Developer6i, Oracle Parallel Server and the Oracle e-business suite being
available this year.
Product availability information is at http://www.platforms.oracle.com/linux

<P> 
<b>Olinux: What is Oracle marketing strategy for Linux?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: Oracle wants to be the number one ISV on linux as well as the number on e-business solution on linux. Linux
is an integral component of the majority of it's marketing programs. You won't see Oracle advertising Linux
solutions as it gets better value investing in marketing solutions such as the dot-com suite and it's
e-business suite as deployment solutions on Linux.

<P> <b>Olinux: What are  its key alliances including Linux companies and organizations to support this platform?</b>

<P> Oracle has alliances with the major distributions such as Red Hat, SuSe, Caldera and Turbo. We work with
Intel and major OEMs such as Compaq and Dell as well as distributors such as Keylink and Hallmark.

<P> <b>Olinux: Can you detail the relation between Oracle and Linux International?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: We are on the board.

<P> <b>Olinux: What are the main sites that are sponsored or companies that Oracle has investments?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: Oracle is not sponsoring any Linux specific sites today. Oracle venture fund has invested in several Linux
vendors including Red Hat and Turbo Linux.

<P> <b>Olinux: We recently announced at Olinux that Oracle launched in Japan a new
company called Miracle Linux Corporation. Why Oracle has chosen Japan and what are
the plans for this new company?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>:This is an independent initiative by Oracle Japan. Miracle sees the potential to maximize penetration of
Linux in that region by having a domestic product with good national language support. Partnering with NEC
and Turbo Linux will minimize time to market. The demand for a national product is high and Oracle has a
great reputation on delivery which makes Miracle a sound solution for that market.

<P> <b>Olinux: Officially, Oracle offers linux support based upon Red Hat
 distribution. what were the main technical and corporate aspects that lead this decision?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>:Oracle does it's base build on Red Hat Linux. However our products are certified on all the major intel based
distributions which include SuSE, Turbo and Caldera. It would be great to have a certification platform for
all ISV's that is distribution independent as proposed by LSB that would make our certification easier.

<P> 
<b>Olinux: In a meeting in Oracle office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Olinux got
 to know about the recent creation your.COM department and a about a  multi-million
 venture capital fund to invest in internet company. Are there any to
 invest aggressively on linux companies or web sites?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: We have a member of the venture fund team that is dedicate to the Linux and related space.

<P> <b>Olinux: An Oracle top executive said recently that Microsoft old
 fashion desktop style was not needed any longer. Now, President Bill Clinton administration wants to break
 it apart, but his top economist are studying the impact and financial consequences
 of this breakup. What your opinion about the case and what will happen
 in your opinion?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: The government has considered a options including a break up into an OS company and applications company,
open source of windows API's and creating smaller baby companies along the AT&T model. I would bet on the
many smaller companies with the same charter and products which would not kill the monopoly but would slow
down Microsoft enough to enable real competition to exist. The real benefit I would be liking for is
Microsoft being less arrogant would be less likely to crush potential competitors.  I would also be looking
for better compatibility of MS-Office file formats across products like star office and applix.

<P> <b>Olinux: What is faster and performs better technically: Oracle running Linux
 or NT? Can you give some results and indicate resource on the internet or those test results?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: Oracle has spent 8 years optimizing it's NT technology.  Today Linux is close on traditional benchmarks. We
didi some internal testing which make Linux faster on some workloads and NT on others. We plan to do some
Java based testing that I would expect linux to do better in. We have customers such as 1stUp.com that are
doing over 40M database transactions per day on a single VA linux box with  excellent availability.

<P> <b>Olinux: Can you cite some new technologies and services that guide Oracle
project toward future?</b>

<P> <b>Pradeep Banhot</b>: The most exciting technology area for Linux is IA-64.  Oracle8i is a workload that really exploits what a
64-bit OS can offer. I am also looking forward to the Oracle Parallel Server option being available later
this year in a 4-node configuration which will reinforce that great availability Linux already has coupled
with transparent database scalability beyond a single box.




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">General Graphics Interface Project (GGI)</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:frc@linux.com.br">Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a</a><BR>
Originally published at
<A HREF="http://www.olinux.com.br/interviews/14/en">http://www.olinux.com.br/interviews/14/en</A><BR>
(Follow this link for more OLinux interviews)
</H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<P> <b>Olinux: Please, introduce yourself and our workgroup.</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> I am working with the General Graphics Interface Project (GGI).
The GGI Project is developing a suite of libraries, that should allow
applications to output graphics using a common Application Programming
Interface no matter what the actual underlying mechanism (target) is.
For instance, you can run GGI applications directing output to
an X window, but also run the same application fullscreen using
output to SVGAlib, frame buffer devices etc.
I am mainly working on design and implementation of the Kernel
Graphics Interface (KGI), a part of GGI. KGI should provide the 
neccessary Operating System services to allow several applications 
to share the graphics hardware safely.

<P> <b>Olinux: Where did you graduate and live?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> I received my Diplom in Phyiscs from the Chemnitz University of 
Technology and live in Chemnitz.

<P> <b>Olinux: What is GGI?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> A general graphics interface. Strictly speaking it is a set of 
libraries that allow you to write programs that can do graphics 
output on any so-called target. A target is a generalized output 
device that is capable of doing graphics output.
This way you may for instance run the same program in an X11 window,
fullscreen using SVGAlib or fullscreen using fbdev.
Also, there are so-called wrappers which translate other
application programming interfaces into GGI, so that you may
- for instance - run SVGAlib programs on any target GGI supports.
        
<P> <b>Olinux: When and how did it start?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> The first ideas were developed in 1995, at that time known as scrdrv, then it grew bigger and became what is known as the GGI
project.

<P> <b>Olinux: Was it a group?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Yes, it is. I can hardly image both GGI and KGI become what they are
now without the input from all the people that contributed to this
effort.

<P> <b>Olinux: Were you unsatisfied or willing to innovate?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Both. In 1995 I got my first computer capable of running Linux.
I had trouble getting XFree86 running. It crashed from time to time,
preferably when I switched between X and virtual consoles or started
a SVGAlib application. Mostly this action resulted in hard-locking the
machine so I could only reset and reboot. I tried to understand why 
this happened, and found several implementation details that -- if
done different -- would have prevented the troubles I had.
So I looked around for projects that had similar concepts and
came about an early version of scrdrv, and got involved.
However, I had no idea how difficult this effort would be.

<P> <b>Olinux: What are the most important innovations and future in all GGI projects?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> As far as I know the ability to run the same application in any environment, from a simple terminal window to a full
screen video wall is unique to GGI.
As far as the kernel part is concerned, I think we could claim
to have done some important steps towards a flexible console system 
the first time. There have been a lot of controverse discussions 
about the approach we have taken, but the latest developments of 
the console subsystem show that these approaches were at least not
as wrong as believed by some people.

<P> <b>Olinux: What were the main ideas ands plans involved?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Originally, the basic idea to overcome the troubles mentioned was
to have one an only one driver responsible for coordinating 
access to the hardware by different applications.
Considering the traditional UNIX operating system design, 
the most natural place of this driver would be as a part 
of the kernel. However, this implies that one should not
prescribe any drawing operations or hardware models specific
to a particular API, but rather provide a 'virtual graphics card'
that should have most or all capabilties of the real hardware.
We soon realized that this in turn makes it neccessary to have 
some library that does convert the actual drawing routines into
'hardware commands', which is pretty much independent of the kernel
part. This way libGGI and KGI became the two main components
we are working on.

<P> <b>Olinux: How the project is divided?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> For the reasons mentioned above, development may be divided into the following parts, though all might be seen as an integrated
effort:
<UL>
	<LI> development of a set of very flexible graphics libraries, 
mainly libGGI and it's target drivers;
	<LI> development of wrappers to allow other applications to 
run on targets supported by libGGI, e.g the SVGAlib
and ggiMesa libraries
	<LI> development of a X server (XGGI) that uses libGGI directly
	<LI> development of KGI, the kernel graphics interface to
allow libGGI to take full advantage of the hardware present.
</UL>

<P> <b>Olinux: Does it involve universities or any other gnu/linux organizations?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Except for the fact that some developers are students, and that
the universities implicitly provide infrastructure to do development, 
there is no active involvement in terms of research projects etc.
There is no GNU/Linux organization involved.

<P> <b>Olinux: How is GGI integrated with GNU/Linux community?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> As much as the community likes it. All enhancements to existing 
GNU/Linux programs we have done are available to the community,
but we will not force anybody to use it.

<P> <b>Olinux: Are there any sponsors helping and funding the project?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> The Freiberger Linux Users Group, 3Dlabs Incorporated and 
AEON Technologies donated development hardware, but beside that
there is no sponsoring or funding of the project except by the 
developers themselves. As much as we would a preciate it sometimes.

<P> <b>Olinux: How many people are involved?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> All in all probably 10-20 active developers.

<P> <b>Olinux: How far the project has gone?</b>
        
<b>Steffen Seeger:</b> libGGI is pretty much useable already. Currently my main effort
is to get the next generation of KGI delivered so that we can
work on a improved version of XGGI.

<P> <b>Olinux: What can be done to improve the project?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> There are lots of things that could be done, mainly active developers
are welcome. But we also need a new webmaster, documentation
writers, etc. I think KGI could most benefit from porting it to
another hardware platform, e.g. PowerPC or Alpha. Unfortunately
an Alpha based system is beyond my budget.

<P> <b>Olinux: Are there any weakness that still disturbs you?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Speaking of KGI, it has advanced quite a lot, but there are still
some deficiencies I would like to fix, mainly it needs to have 
specification and documentation, and further improved backward 
compatiblity.

<P> <b>Olinux: Are there any part of it already available for use?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Yes. LibGGI is useable already. As far as KGI is concerned, the
KGI console subsystem is quite useable already, though there are
still some known bugs, so this part of KGI could be labeled 
being in beta testing state. The KGI drivers, however, are still
alpha or early development.

<P> <b>Olinux: What are the main objectives for this year?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Yes. LibGGI is useable already. As far as KGI is conce
rnedTo deliver the new KGI and get an accelerated X server running
on top of it.

<P> <b>Olinux: Are there any deadlines for GGI apps releases?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Yes. LibGGI is useable already. As far as KGI is conce
rnedToGGI applications are outside the main GGI development (except XGGI).
As for KGI or GGI, we will announce when new versions become available.

<P> <b>Olinux: How GGI project is related with Berlin?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Berlin is a windowing environment, while GGI is a drawing kit.
Berlin may use GGI to draw it's windows and GGI may provide its
drawing to Berlin. Just as GGI provides its drawing to XGGI.
Some GGI developers are also involved in Berlin.

<P> <b>Olinux: Are GGI applications compatible with X or svgalib?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Sure. You are able running GGI applications using the SVGAlib
target and you can run SVGAlib applications on GGI using the
SVGAlib wrapper.

<P> 
<b>Olinux: How Linux graphical interface has evaluate since it began? How will
GGI help Linux interface improvement?</b> 

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> GGI is primarily about a stable and fast graphics output, which is
one thing required for a good user interface. There are much
more areas where current user interfaces need to be improved.

<P> <b>Olinux: What about hand devices: GGI will ever be used in this kind of
technology?<b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> GGI already has been used on the Itsy, a little hand-held computer
using the StrongARM processor. Whenever there is a need for
graphical output, without the overhead involved with running
a full featured X server, GGI can help to ease development.

<P> <b>Olinux: Pick the most interesting and promise new technology for the future in your opinion.</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Optical information processing and storage.

<P> <b>Olinux: What are the web sites that you like most?</b> 

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> I prefer well-structured sites with interesting content.
I do not have that much time to surf the web, and I do not
have particular sites I would prefer.

<P> <b>Olinux: Do you have any other idea that will pursue in future?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> There are quite some ideas I want to try, but first I want
to finish my part on KGI such that it can stand on it's own.

<P> <b>Olinux: What else do you imagine to create or project o be involved with?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> Animation tools, creation of tools for film production and special 
effects...

<P> <b>Olinux: Are there any special personalities or organizations that you
admire. Who is he/she?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> People who have the braveness to think their own thoughts.
Organisations that remain open to input from outside.

<P> <b>Olinux: Send a message for developers dedicated to FS/OS around the world?</b>

<P> <b>Steffen Seeger:</b> If you intend to write free software, write it to solve a problem,
not to please a particular person or organization. Write it such 
that others can re-use your work easily, you can't know everything. 

<P> Abstract:::
Steffen Seeger is leading GGI projects to develop "a suite of libraries, that should allow applications to output graphics using a common Application Programming Interface." He explains what are the other related projects as KGI (kernel Graphic Interface), XGGI (Xserver for GGI) and libGGI (its graphic library).

<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<hr>
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Creating A Linux Certification Program, Part 9</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:rferrari@rainmanintl.com">Ray Ferrari</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal"><FONT SIZE=4><B>   
                               A Call to Action</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: medium"><SPAN STYLE="text-decoration: none"><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><FONT SIZE=2 STYLE="font-size: 11pt">The
Linux Professional Institute(LPI) invites all Linux enthusiasts and
professionals to consider certification as a means of furthering
their career or increasing their earnings potential. Anyone
interested in Linux certification should visit LPI's web site at<A HREF="http://www.lpi.org/">
www.lpi.org</A>. The volunteers and staff of LPI along with their
long list of sponsors, have spent thousands of man hours; as well as
dollars; to bring a non-biased, vendor neutral testing procedure to
the world.</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: medium; text-decoration: none">
<BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: medium"><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><FONT SIZE=2 STYLE="font-size: 11pt"><SPAN STYLE="text-decoration: none">LPI
exams are now available globally in English through Virtual
University Enterprises(VUE) which has 2,200 test centers; these
centers are for testing only. Interested individuals should visit the
LPI web site at <A HREF="http://www.lpi.org/c-index.html">www.lpi.org/c-index.html</A>
for more information. Persons interested in Linux related training
information should visit </SPAN><A HREF="http://www.lintraining.com/">www.lintraining.com</A>.
The format for testing has been changed to simplify the process.
Numerous questions arise, so we have posted these frequently asked
questions at <A HREF="http://www.lpi.org/faq.html">www.lpi.org/faq.html</A>.</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: medium">
<BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: medium"><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><FONT SIZE=2 STYLE="font-size: 11pt">LPI
is currently working on development of their Level 2 certification. A
survey has been organized by professional Linux system administrators
from the U.S., Canada, and Germany for the purpose of allowing as
many volunteers as possible to participate in the structuring of the
Level 2 tests. They need the responses of Level 2 system
administrators to help them formulate the writing of these exams. Any
individual who would like to participate in this phase should contact
Kara Pritchard by e-mailing her at <A HREF="mailto:kara@lpi.org">kara@lpi.org</A>
</FONT></SPAN></SPAN> or <A HREF="mailto:scott@lpi.org">scott@lpi.org</A> .</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Some exciting things have been
happening all around the globe. This year, LPI has participated in
events in France, Germany, Australia, Canada and the U.S. In April,
LPI was in Chicago for the Comdex and Linux Business Expo; see
<A HREF="http://www.comdex.com">www.comdex.com</A>. At this show, almost 200 people took the Level One
tests. These tests were made possible by the cooperation of Linux
International, VUE, Linux Business Expo, and LPI. It was a great
success, and the first time testing was performed at an exhibition.
LPI is looking to further this success by its presence at future
events. Other shows included Advanstar in Toronto,May 16-18(see
<A HREF="http://www.newmedia.ca/">www.newmedia.ca</A>); and Montreal
Skyevents in April, (<A HREF="http://www.skyevents.com/">www.skyevents.com</A>).</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Future events currently scheduled
include a booth in the Olympia Convention Center, London, England on
June 1-2(<A HREF="http://www.itevents.co.uk/">www.itevents.co.uk</A>),
the Linux Business Expo. in Toronto, July 12-14(<A HREF="http://www.zdevents.com/">www.zdevents.com</A>),
and Linux World in San Jose, California, August15-17
(<A HREF="http://www.idg.com/events">www.idg.com/events</A>). Anyone
interested in volunteering to help staff these booths should contact
<A HREF="mailto:wilma@lpi.org">wilma@lpi.org</A>.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">The Linux Professional Institute(LPI)
continues to attract the attention and sponsorship from some of  the
most influential companies and individuals in the world. We
appreciate their guidance and support and are pleased to welcome
Hewlett-Packard, Mission Critical Linux, Psycmet Corporation,
SmartForce Corporation, TeamLinux, and VA Linux Systems among our
ever-growing list of contributors and sponsors. For a complete list
of corporate and individual sponsors, please visit
<A HREF="http://www.lpi.org/a-sponsors.html">www.lpi.org/a-sponsors.html</A>.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">For anyone interested in viewing any
presentations put on by LPI, you can visit 
<A HREF="http://www.lpi.org/library/">www.lpi.org/library/</A>.Also,
for user group information or to find a linux group in your area,
visit <A HREF="http://www.linux.org/users">www.linux.org/users</A> or
<A HREF="http://lugs.linux.com/">http://lugs.linux.com</A>.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">At LPI, we continue to bring you the
latest on testing fundamentals and certification. We invite you to
stand up and be noticed. Put some credentials beside your knowledge,
and create the future in Linux. This is &quot;a call to action.&quot;
We'll see you around the next bend.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">*Linux is a trademark of Linux
Torvalds; Linux Professional Institute is a trademark of the Linux
Professional Institute Inc.</P>




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Ray Ferrari<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">CAD Programs for Linux</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:pfrostie@yahoo.com">Keith Frost</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->








<p>
A discussion on Slashdot in October would have you believe that
there aren't any good CAD programs for Linux. In fact, nothing
could be farther from the truth.
This discussion started with the GPL release of a 2-D CAD
package called Qcad. From there it evolved into what is a
``<tt><I>GOOD</tt></I>
CAD'' and who wanted what commercial package on Linux someday.
<p>
Once and for all I would like to set the record straight. There
are options out there today.
Several different packages are available, each with a different
level of power and capability. Each package fits a different
budget.
<p>
<H3>Qcad</H3>
<p>
Qcad is the first (to my knowledge) working GPL CAD package for
Linux. There are several projects currently listed as
work-in-progress, but Qcad is here now. Qcad has a simple 2-D
editor and uses DXF as it's native format. Qcad gets its name
from the Qt tool kit. For those who do not use KDE, relax; it is
not desktop-dependent. I have used it with both Xfce and
AfterStep and have not seen any problems. With a simple icon menu
it is functional and easy to learn. After a few minutes, I was
working on my daughters new bed design. All the basic functions
are at your finger tips.
<p>
Lines can be drawn by coordinates,
clicking or offsetting an existing line. Circles and arcs can be
created just as easily. Construction geometry can then be trimmed
or extended to clean up the drawing and ready it for detailing.
The font selection did seem to be a little limited. If you are
willing, however, there is a means to create new fonts by
copying an existing font file to a new name and modifying it.
I imported one of my ``OLD'' title blocks and found that it required
very little fixing or tweaking. Again a better selection of fonts
would have helped with this problem.
<p>
I also pulled up several
NACA wing sections none of which were corrupted in any way.
For a final test I edited one of the sections, saved it and then
pulled it up and extruded it with AC3D. For those who use AC3D,
Qcad makes a very nice flat-pattern editor.
<p>
<p>
<center>
<img alt="figure" src="gx/frost/qcad.jpg">
<h4>Figure 1. Qcad</h4></center>

<p>
To find more information or download, the Qcad home page is
at <A HREF="http://www.qcad.org/index.php3">http://www.qcad.org/index.php3</A>.
<p>
<H3>CAM Expert</H3>
<p>
CAM Expert is the commercial big brother to Qcad. It has a
similar interface to Qcad, but with extended features leaning
more towards the creation of NC-programs. These features include
but are not limited to: NC Import, NC Creation, Optimizing way,
Optimization for Cutting Machines, (Cutting Contours From Inside
To Outside), Individual Configuration of the NC Output Format,
CAM Simulation, Regulating Simulation Speed, Smooth Simulation and
Show Rapid Move. I would be interested in hearing from those who
have put this software to use as I do not have the proper
equipment.
<p>
For more information or a trial download, the CAM Expert
home page is at <A HREF="http://www.ribbonsoft.com/">http://www.ribbonsoft.com/</A>.
<p>
<p>
<center>
<img alt="figure" src="gx/frost/expert.jpg">
<h4>Figure 2. CAM Expert</h4></center>

<p>
<H3>SISCAD-P</H3>
<p>
SISCAD-P is a 2-D parametric CAD system from Staedtler.
Installation was a little more complex than for some of the
others (especially for non-SUSE users), but it is well worth the
effort. For those familiar with Sketcher (2-D editor for CATIA), SISCAD-P
reminds me of it only with many more features and a bit
easier to use. The features include: parametrics, variational
geometry, inference sketching, a fully customizable user
interface, constraint-based modeling and feature-based modeling.
Also if all of the smart geometry becomes too overwhelming you
can turn it off and just treat it like a simple 2-D CAD Package
with all the standard line, arc, circle, and text commands that
you'd expect to have at your disposal.
<p>
The downloadable version
is a demo that is limited in the size of a file it will
save. From the menu, I selected the LOAD/DXF and imported the same
bed design I had started in Qcad. After adding some more detail,
I inserted the same title block as I had with Qcad only to
receive a message stating that I had exceeded the limit (of the
DEMO). I would have liked a little more room to play, but it did
give me enough time to see that I should have taken the time to
get this one going sooner.
<p>
My earlier attempts had been on a
Mandrake and various Red Hats. This was my first try with SuSE and
that seemed to make the difference. To download the demo go to:
<A HREF="ftp://tsx-11.mit.edu/pub/linux/packages/cad/">ftp://tsx-11.mit.edu/pub/linux/packages/cad/</A>. There are
instructions on how to register and get a full license in the
documentation, but I've been told that Staedtler is no longer in
the software business and will not support it.
<center>
<img alt="figure" src="gx/frost/SISCAD-P.jpg">
<h4>Figure 3. SISCAD-P</h4></center>

<p>
<H3>ME10</H3>
<p>
ME10 is a 2-D parametric CAD by CoCreate, a subsidiary of
Hewlett-Packard. If an award is given for the fastest learning
curve then this is the winner. I've always preferred a text-based
menu over icons. I think icons only make sense to the person who
creates them. The oversized menu section takes up a lot of the
screen but it makes up for it with the ease you can move
through the commands. Whatever you need, it's right there.
<p>
According to the web page, it features parametrics with a ``parts
concept'': an assembly may contain multiple copies or instances of
a part. When the part is modified all the instances would update
as well. By the same concept, sub assemblies may be inserted as
an instance in other assemblies. This can be repeated creating an
intelligent tree for your part structure.
<p>
ME10 has it's own
internal browser for previewing drawings and symbols. Also
included is a parts library and engineering symbols. Although it
does have an IGES translator, DXF would have been nice. I would
have liked to bring in some of my older geometry, but it's all
DXF. There is a demo available that is well-worth the time to
download. Again, the demo is limited in the size of the file
that it will save. For more information and the demo check out
the home page at
<A HREF="http://www.cocreate.com/english/products/2d/index.htm">http://www.cocreate.com/english/products/2d/index.htm</A>.
<p>
<p>
<center>
<img alt="figure" src="gx/frost/me10.jpg">
<h4>Figure 4. ME10</h4></center>

<p>
<H3>CADDA</H3>
<p>
The CADDA is from DAVEG. I did not find any kind of demo to try
out on the home page, but it appears very nice. In response to my
e-mails I was given the following to share:
<p>
<blockquote>
The CADDA software is a true CAD/CAM solution that offers CAD and
CAM functionality within one user interface. CAD-data can be
imported as 3-D or 2-D models. The CADDA user selects, verifies
and corrects the data during the preparation process. A postprocessor
generates a ready to use CNC-machine program.
<p>
CADDA supports following technologies: 2 1/2-D milling/drilling, 3-D
free form milling, turning, erosion cutting, sink erosion and
grinding. The newest branch of CADDA is the CAD/CAQ-module. It is
working like CADDA CAD/CAM, but the preparation and post-processor
system produces a ready-to-use program for a
CNC-measurement machine. The CADDA application extends 3D-CAD
produced data to become directly processable by the CNC-machine-equipped
factory. If necessary, a direct connection between CADDA
and the CNC-controls is deliverable. As an option, CADDA-CAD/CAM
can include a full 2-D drawing capability to enable the staff with
limited-modelling capabilities.
<p>
CADDA has been under continuous development by DAVEG for 15 years.
HP-UX was the system basis up to 1998. In 1998, DAVEG offered a
first version of a LINUX-based CADDA with PENTIUM II Hardware.
Today DAVEG has installed 300 seats with LINUX: the results
are extremely good. Customers are impressed with performance and
stability.
<p>
</blockquote>
For more information visit their web page at
<A HREF="http://www.daveg.com/index_e.html">http://www.daveg.com/index_e.html</A>
<p>
<H3>Varicad</H3>
<p>
Varicad offers 3-D solids and 2-D drafting at a very nice price.
The user has the options of the icon panels or the pull-down
menus. Although I like the text-based menu (pull down), I did
find the ``Commands'' nested a bit too deep. This makes the
pull-down menus slow. The icon panels work much faster, but the icons
are not always obvious as to their meaning. Also, you can enter
commands at a command prompt.
<p>
Varicad is another one that has
been around for Linux for many years. More people are probably
familiar with Varicad than any of the others. Part of this is
because of a very good article about it in <I>LJ</I> last year.
<p>
Varicad can import and export both DXF and IGS. You can extrude or
revolve 2-D geometry. Other types of solids include: prisms,
cylinders, filled elbows, truncated pyramids, truncated cones,
cone pipe, helix and square to round transitions. In addition to
the standard boolean add (union) and cut (subtraction), you also
have cut save tool, save part, cut save part and tool, and
add cut part. Other additional functions include fillet, chamfer,
hole, milling and groove. A simple intersection would have been
nice. One thing I do appreciate very much was a good undo/redo
that was easy to find. in fact it's hard to miss. Once the
solids have been created they can be analyzed for anything from
distance between objects to center of mass and moment of inertia.
<p>
<p>
<center>
<img alt="figure" src="gx/frost/varicad.jpg">
<h4>Figure 5. Varicad</h4></center>

<p>
There is a non-saving demo which can be downloaded for free. In
addition there is a 30-day trial key which you can obtain to
allow you to save for those 30 days. Varicad has announced that they are
now a member of opendwg. What this means is that varicad will import and
export (read  and write) the AutoCAD DWG format. For the demo and more information go to the Varicad home page at <A HREF="http://www.varicad.com/">http://www.varicad.com/</A>.
<p>
<H3>Microstation</H3>
<p>
Bentley is well known for it's Microstation line of cad products.
Although there is not a commercial version for Linux there is an academic
version. If you venture to the home page
there is also a page where you can ``petition'' for a full
commercial version. Word is they will not go commercial
unless there is more interest. The academic version seems to have
most of the functionality of the regular UNIX version except
there are no Parasolid libraries. Modeler, TriForma and MS/J all
use the Parasolid libraries. So if you're working 3-D, it will be
wireframe and surfaces. Once again, if there is enough interest
to justify the port this may change. All of the 2-D tools to
create, edit and detail geometry are present.
<p>
One of the things
that I have always like about Microstation is that it creates a
very nice RIB file for rendering, with BMRT or other Renderman-compliant
renderers. It also has the ability to render within the
application itself. Try some of the sample files included to get
a better idea of what can be done. There are no demo's or
downloads to my knowledge, but there is a wealth of information on
the Bentley home page at
<A HREF="http://www.bentley.com/academic/products/linux2.htm">http://www.bentley.com/academic/products/linux2.htm</A>.
<p>
<p>
<center>
<img alt="figure" src="gx/frost/mstat.jpg">
<h4>Figure 6. Microstation</h4></center>

<p>
<H3>Varimetrix</H3>
<p>
Varimetrix has been in the Linux CAD market for over three years.
Their previous generation product was renamed VX Classic.
The newest product line from Varimetrix is called Vision. Both
Vision and VX Classic are Commercial applications whose prices
are probably beyond what most people could afford for personal
use. For this reason, the information I have given is based on
their home page, and an article in <I>Cadence</I> magazine.
There is a demo disk for Vision, but don't get your hopes up. I
sent off for it to help me with this article--what I received
was not what I consider a demo. It was a presentation program
that duplicated the information from the web page. If you do
order a copy, don't panic when it says Windows 95 or better, it
works well with Linux/Wine.
<p>
VX Classic is broken down into modules. The first module for VX
Classic is VX modeling. Using their own in-house modeling engine
called Unified Parametric Geometry (UPG), they did not have to
wait for some one else to port it to the platforms they wish
to support. VX Classic offers the choice of 3-D wireframe,
surfaces and solids. In
addition to having the choice of modeling methods, you also have
the ability to transform geometry between types. Solids can be
created by constrained/dimensioned geometry created from its
intelligent sketcher. In addition to the traditional boolean
operations, you can also sculpt the solids with a collection of
spatula functions. For the Perl buffs out there, guess what they
use for user scripting? Hint, it starts with ``P'' and has four
letters. There is also a C interface called OpenVX.
<p>
The Second Module, VX Assembly, allows intelligent positioning of
the details both in relation to other geometry and also with the
bill of materials. Concurrent control of the assemblies is
provided so that multiple designers can work within the same
project without splintering the design. BOMs can be created
automatically. A schematic representation of the BOM tree is also
available. Parts can be analyzed to show CG, overall mass,
moments of inertia, and collision between parts.
The third module, VX Drafting, takes the details and assemblies
created and gives the user all the tools needed to turn these
into engineering drawings. The Drafting module can also work
independently of the other modules. You may use layout templets,
arrays, blocks or multiple instancing of geometry. VX Drafting
provides automatic hidden line removal, and both automatic and
interactive dimensioning. There is also a complete list of 2-D
drafting utilities, all using constraint-based geometry. The list
of features goes on and on and on.
<p>
The final module for VX Classic, VX Manufacturing, is a complete
suite of CAM tools. VX Manufacturing uses the dataset from the
modeling module. All forms of geometry can be used by this module
wireframe, surfaces, and solids. Up to five axes are supported.
Once again the list of features go on and on.
<p>
Vision for Linux should have been commercially available already.
You would never have known this from the web page. The web pages
on Vision never even mention Linux. I had mailed Varimetrix last
year and received a replay saying ``Our new product line called VX
Vision will also be running under Linux soon (mid-summer).
Actually, it runs now but we are still testing.'' There was an
article on Vision in the July/99 issue of <I>Cadence</I> magazine.
Although the article was based on the NT version it does mention
that there is a Linux version. For those who wish to migrate from
NT to Linux this might be a good starting point.
<p>
You can find out
more on VX Classic and VX Vision by going to their home page at
<A HREF="http://www.vx.com/">http://www.vx.com/</A> and clicking on products.
<p>
<H3>Conclusion</H3>
<p>
As I have stated, there are options available ranging from free
GPL to high-dollar commercial products. What may prove even more
interesting are the other projects and products still in the
works. Matra Datavision has released
their Cascade libraries as open source. Keep your eyes on this
one. Check out their web page at <A HREF="http://opencascade.org/">http://opencascade.org/</A>.
<p>
I think it is time we started to recognize and support both the
GPL projects and the Commercial CAD companies that are here and
willing to support us today.
<p>
<h3>Glossary</h3>
<p>
AC3D: 3-D object/scene modeler for Linux
<p>
CAD: computer-aided design
<p>
CAM: computer-aided manufacturing
<p>
CATIA: family of 2-D and 3-D CAD programs from IBM
<p>
CNC: computerized numerical control
<p>
DXF: format for autoCAD
<p>
IGES: initial graphics exchange specification
<p>
NACA: National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
<p>
NC: numerical control
<p>




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Keith Frost<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">First Attempt at Creating a Bootable Live Filesystem on a CDROM</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:mark@tcu-inc.com">Mark Nielsen</a>
<P> If this document changes, it will be available at
<a href="http://genericbooks.com/Literature/Articles/3/cdburn_2.html">
http://genericbooks.com/Literature/Articles/3/cdburn_2.html</a>
</H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<h3>
Contents</h3>

<ol>
<li>
<a href="#Ref">References</a></li>

<li>
<a href="#Intro">Introduction to cdrom burning and bootable cdroms.</a></li>

<li>
<a href="#ext2">Creating an EXT2 cdrom and a bootable floppy disk</a></li>

<li>
<a href="#iso">Creating a bootable installation CDROM using ISO9660 </a>and
Rock-Ridge extensions (for my MILAS project). This is the preferred way
of making CDROMs.</li>

<li>
<a href="#config">Configuring the boot-up process</a> so that the computer
is useable.</li>

<li>
<a href="#conclusions">Conclusions and future articles</a></li>

<li>
<a href="Milas-0_1.pl.txt">A crude Perl script</a> to make a bootable iso9660
formatted cdrom of RedHat 5.1 from my computer.</li>

<li>
<a href="rc.sysinit">My rc.sysinit</a> file for RedHat 6</li>
<li>
<a href="lilo.conf">My example lilo.conf</a> file.</li>
<li>
<a href="fstab">My example fstab</a>.</li>
<li> <a href="Install_pl.txt"> My old Install.pl script.</a> This is where
  MILAS came from. This Perl scripts will eventually be integrated with the 
  bootable cdrom. 

</ol>

<hr><a NAME="Ref"></a>
<h1>
References</h1>

<ol>
<li>
<a href="http://www.guug.de/~winni/linux/cdr/html/">CD-Writing HOWTO</a>
by Winfried Tr&uuml;mper</li>

<li>
<a href="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/LILO.html">Lilo mini-Howto</a></li>

<li>
<a href="http://www.fh-muenchen.de/rz/xcdroast">Xcdroast</a>&nbsp; -- read
about cdrecord with "man cdrecord".</li>
</ol>

<hr><a NAME="Intro"></a>
<h1>
Introduction to cdrom burning.</h1>
First off, you should read the previous article <a href="http://www.tcu-inc.com/mark/articles/cdburn.html">Creating
Installation Cds from various Linux Distributions. </a>This article will
assume you know how to make cdroms using cdrecord. Now the, the next step.
Why make a Live Linux Filesystem for a cdrom?
<br>&nbsp;
<ol>
<li>
You want to make an installation cdrom (like MILAS).</li>

<li>
You want to boot off the cdrom and use it for most of the core files for
your operating system and use your hard drive for other stuff.</li>

<li>
You want to make it real easy to do upgrades. Use a rewritable cdrom and
just swap out the old cdrom with a new one.</li>
</ol>
The long term direction is to use a cdrom to create computers without hard
drives. You use the cdrom for most of the core filesystem, a ramdisk for
/tmp, and NFS for everything else. I really really dislike professional 
network computers that are diskless and hope that creating your own
diskless workstations will be the way of the future. 
<p>STRING NOTE: The perl scripts and methods I use to make bootable cdroms
is NOT NOT NOT very clean yet. I am still working to perfect the process.
I want to have it all run in Python or Perl (preferrably Python). Once
making bootable cdroms is well documented, I am going to merge this with
my MILAS project.

<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br><a NAME="ext2"></a>
<h1>
Creating an EXT2 cdrom and a bootable floppy disk</h1>
For this exersize, we will do something a little strange. We will make
an ext2 formatted cdrom and a floppy disk that is bootable. For people
want to use the easier iso9660 format, skip this section.
<p>What advantages do you have by doing this in my strange way? Well, first,
realize something before I answer that question. Realize that a floppy,
cdrom, or a hard drive partition can be treated the same in most respects.
Okay, now I will answer the question:
<ol>
<li>
You can use a spare partition on your hard drive to test the image you
want to put on your cdrom. If you boot off of a floppy disk, you can point
it to the hard drive partition, and if it works out great, then on the
next floppy disk you make bootable, have it point to your cdrom. Remember
to mount the hard-drive partition read-only to simulate a read-only cdrom.
Hard drive partitions are a good way to test images before you put them
on your cdrom (especially when it is a write-once cdrom).</li>
</ol>


OPTIONAL: First, create an ext2 filesystem (using the hard drive for testing purposes):
<ol>
<li>
Have a spare partition on your hard drive to use for your image for the
cdrom.</li>

<li>
Format the partition as an ext2 format. Example: "mkfs -t ext2 /dev/hda3".
This formats the third partition on your primary hard drive. Make sure
you change the number "3" to the correct number used for your spare partition.</li>

<li>
Copy over all critical directories and configure the files in ROOT/etc
to correctly reflect your new installation.</li>

<li>
Use a ramdisk for "/tmp" and point "/var" to "/tmp/var".</li>

<li>
Make a bootable floppy disk, and either configure it to use the cdrom drive
as "root" or "/" or if you get lilo installed on the floppy drive, you
can type in a command at boottime to use a different partition for "/".
You can do this with the command</li>

<br>lilo root=/dev/hdc
<br>if your cdrom drive is "/dev/hdc". Notice I did not specify a partition
number. There is none.
<br>There are also other ways to make bootable floppies. For my redhat
installation
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Make a copy of the kernel
<br>cp /boot/vmlinuz-2.2.12-32 /tmp/Vmlinuz
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Make the copy boot from the cdrom on /dev/hdc
<br>rdev /tmp/Vmlinuz /dev/hdc
<br>ramsize /tmp/Vmlinuz 20000
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; ### copy the kernel directly to the floppy disk, you might
have to format it first, mkfs -t ext2 /dev/fd0
<br>dd if=/tmp/Vmlinuz of=/dev/fd0</ol>
For examples of how to copy over directories and files, look at the Perl
script at the end of the document.
<br>For examples on how to use a ramdisk, read about this RamDisk article
I wrote a while ago, and also "man lilo.conf".

<p>
Second, either using the files from a partition you were using for testing purposes,
or if you want to start from scratch,


<p>Make an image that is 600 megs but using "dd"
and a loopback device. Then copy this image to your cdrom. How do you make
an image?
<br>Assume that "/mnt/Partition" is the directory you have all the files
that you want to make an image out of.
<p>&nbsp; ## Create a blank file or image
<br>dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/Image bs=1024k count=650
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Format this blank image
<br>/sbin/mke2fs&nbsp; -b 2048 /tmp/Image
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Answer "y" to mkfs if it says that it doesn't recognize
the device
<br>mkdir -p /mnt/CDROM_IMAGE
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Mount the blank formatted image to a directory
<br>mount&nbsp; -t ext2 -o loop=/dev/loop1 /tmp/Image mnt/CDROM_IMAGE
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Copy over the stuff from your hard drive partition
to your image for the cdrom.
<br>tar -C /mnt/Partition -pc . | tar -C /mnt/CDROM_IMAGE -xvp
<br>&nbsp; ### Or just use rsync to copy it over
<br>#&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; rsync -a /mnt/Partition/* /mnt/CDROM_IMAGE
<br>&nbsp; ### Umount the image
<br>umount /mnt/CDROM_IMAGE
<p>OR, if you don't mind using an ISO9660 formatted cdrom, which will work
the same with rock-ridge extensions, enter this command.
<br>mkisofs -aJlL&nbsp; -r -o /tmp/Image /mnt/Partition
<br>NOTE: Making an iso9660 cdrom in one step is a lot easier and is described
in the section below.
<p>Now burn the image located at "/tmp/Image" to your cdrom.
<p>Actually, I was thinking, you can probably just make a hard drive partition
600 megs and copy it over directlly without having to make an image. If
your hard drive partition is "/dev/hda4", then do this.
<p>&nbsp; ### Note, I never tested this yet.
<br>&nbsp; ### Unmount our partition that we copied files to
<br>umount /dev/hda4
<br>&nbsp; ### Make an image of the partition
<br>dd if=/dev/hda4 of=/tmp/Image.raw
<p>Now just take Image.raw and burn it to your cdrom.
<p>For better examples on how to do this, look at my Perl script below.
Anybody want to convert this into a Python Script? Perhaps a Python/TK
script?
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%"><a NAME="iso"></a>
<h2>
Creating an installation CDROM using ISO9660 and Rock-Ridge extensions
(for my MILAS project)</h2>
The big deal about make ISO9660 formatted cdroms with Rock-Ridge extensions
is that fact that you can make cdroms bootable. This is very useful for
creating your own diskless workstations, creating boot-able installation
cdroms, creating a cdrom to fix hard drives, and probably other stuff.
<p>With this section, you don't need a to use a loopback device, you don't
need to use any partitions, you just need a directory somewhere on your
computer and the program "mkisofs". This probably is the easiest way to
create an image that you want to use for a cdrom.
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The key to making a bootable cdrom is the "mkisofs"
program. Here is a typical command that I use,
<br>mkisofs -aJlL&nbsp; -r -o /tmp/Boot_Image /CDROM
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "/CDROM" is the directory that you want to burn
onto a cdrom. To add the boot file,
<br>mkisofs -aJlL&nbsp; -r -b /tmp/Boot.image -o /tmp/Boot_Image /CDROM
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the next section we discuss how to make a bootable
floppy disk that you can put on your cdrom.
<p>The key item to remember is that you need a directory for this program.
This nice thing is, it doesn't grab the empty space on a partition when
it creates its image. You can use a spare
<p>
<hr><a NAME="config"></a>
<h1>
Configuring the boot-up process so that the computer is useable.</h1>
The toughest part about creating a live filesystem is copying over the
critical files and configuring them. You should have the same directory
structure as your Linux filesystem, except the stuff under /usr should
not be critical, but perhaps helpful. Remember to mount a ramdisk to /tmp,
remember that you should point /var to /tmp/var, and remember to configure
the files in /etc correctly. This could be a whole article itself. I try
to do it in the Perl script below. If you combine a live filesytem on a
cdrom with a hard drive or NFS, you will have more options as to what you
can do.
<p>Here is an example of how to copy over files and configure the bootup
process.
<br>Assume the directory you are making an image of is, "/tmp/Boot_Image".
<p>cd /tmp/Boot_Image
<br>mkdir root
<br>mkdir mnt
<br>mkdir proc
<br>mkdir tmp
<br>mkdir home
<br>mkdir misc
<br>mkdir opt
<br>### Yes, tmp/var doesn't exist, but it will after bootime
<br>ln -s tmp/var var
<br>mkdir dev
<br>rsync -a /dev/* dev
<br>mkdir lib
<br>rsync -a /lib/* lib
<br>mkdir bin
<br>rsync -a /bin/* bin
<br>mkdir sbin
<br>rsync -a /sbin/* sbin
<br>mkdir usr
<br>mkdir etc
<br>rsync -a /etc/* etc
<br>mkdir boot
<br>rsync -a /boot/* boot
<p>Now, configure etc/inittab to boot at runlevel "1".
<br>Change
<br>id:5:initdefault:
<br>to
<br>id:1:initdefault:
<br>in the file etc/inittab
<p>Now, change your etc/fstab to this,
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; #### change /dev/hdc to wherever your cdrom is located
<br>/dev/hdc&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; /&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
ext2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; defaults&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
1 1
<br>/dev/fd0&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; /mnt/floppy&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
ext2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; noauto,owner&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 0 0
<br>none&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; /proc&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
proc&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; defaults&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
0 0
<br>none&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; /dev/pts&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
devpts&nbsp; gid=5,mode=620&nbsp; 0 0
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Note, this is using
a swap partition from a hard drive.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; #### Delete this is or change
this
<br>/dev/hda6&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
swap&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
swap&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; defaults
<p>Now, add to the end of etc/rc.d/rc.local the following commands
<p>mkfs -t ext2 /dev/ram0
<br>mount /dev/ram0 /tmp
<br>chmod 777 /tmp
<br>chmod +t /tmp
<p>Now you need to make a bootdisk with a larger ramdisk on it.
<br>&nbsp; ### This makes a bootdisk, put a floppy disk in
<br>mkbootdisk `uname -r`
<br>&nbsp; ### This makes the directory to mount the floppy disk
<br>mkdir&nbsp; /mnt/floppy_test
<br>&nbsp; ### Mount the floppy disk
<br>mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy_test
<br>&nbsp; ### Edit the lilo.conf file and put "ramdisk=35000" in the lilo.conf
file, mine looks like
<p>boot=/dev/fd0
<br>timeout=100
<br>message=/boot/message
<br>prompt
<br>image=/vmlinuz-2.2.12-32
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; label=linux
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Change
/dev/hdc to /dev/hdb or /dev/hdd or wherever your cdrom is
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; root=/dev/hdc
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ramdisk=35000
<br>image=/vmlinuz-2.2.12-32
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; label=rescue
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; append="load_ramdisk=2 prompt_ramdisk=1"
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; root=/dev/fd0
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Now execute the lilo command on the floppy drive
<br>lilo -r /mnt/floppy_test
<br>&nbsp; ### Now umount the floppy disk
<br>umount /dev/fd0
<p>Now you have a bootable floppy disk that uses your cdrom as root.
<br>If you are going to burn the floppy disk image onto your cdrom using
mkisofs, then change lilo.conf to this,
<p>boot=/dev/hdc
<br>timeout=100
<br>message=/boot/message
<br>prompt
<br>image=/vmlinuz-2.2.12-32
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; label=linux
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ### Change
/dev/hdc to /dev/hdb or /dev/hdd or wherever your cdrom is
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; root=/dev/hdc
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ramdisk=35000
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; ### After you umount the floppy disk, make an image of
the floppy disk to burn on a cdrom
<br>dd if=/dev/fd0 of=/tmp/Boot.image
<p>
<hr><a NAME="conclusions"></a>
<h1>
Conclusions and future articles</h1>
I wanted to make it easier to create bootable cdroms with a live filesystem.
From here, I will make an article on how to use a bootable cdrom to
<ol>
<li>
Create installation cdroms to burn your image of an operating system to
your hard drive.</li>

<li>
How to use a bootable cdrom and a hard drive and/or NFS.</li>

<li>
Finish up my MILAS project. My MILAS project started when I needed a way
to configure custom-made computers that I used to sell (and probably will
again someday to help force competitors to do cool things).</li>

<li>
Make a more accurate Perl script to take the version of Linux you have
on your computer and put it on a cdrom. I will probably end up using 
the iso9660 format for the cdrom. </li>
</ol>
I apologize for the roughness of this article. It was a pain in the butt
to figure out how to make bootable cdroms. I imagine other people have
documented it much better than I have. In my next article, I will clean
it up a lot.
<p>
<EM><a href="mailto:mark@tcu-inc.com">Mark Nielsen</a> works for
<a href="http://www.tcu-inc.com">The
Computer Underground</a> as a clerk and as a book binder at <a href="http://www.genericbooks.com">ZING</a>.
In his spare time, he does volunteer stuff, like writing articles for The
Linux Gazette and developing ZING's website.</EM>




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Mark Nielsen<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Introduction to Shell Scripting</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:ben-fuzzybear@yahoo.com">Ben Okopnik</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<BLOCKQUOTE>
Never write it in 'C' if you can do it in 'awk';
<br>Never do it in 'awk' if 'sed' can handle it;
<br>Never use 'sed' when 'tr' can do the job;
<br>Never invoke 'tr' when 'cat' is sufficient;
<br>Avoid using 'cat' whenever possible.
<br><CITE>--Taylor's Laws of Programming</CITE>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p>Last month, we looked at loops and conditional execution. This time
around, we'll look at a few of the simpler "external" tools (i.e., GNU
utilities) that are commonly used in shell scripts.
<p>Something to keep in mind as you read this article: the tools available
to you as a script writer, as you might have guessed from
the above quote, are arranged in a rough sort of a "power hierarchy".
It's important to remember this - if you find yourself continually
being frustrated by the limitations of a specific tool, it may not
have enough "juice" to do the job.
<p>Some time ago, while writing a script that processed Clipper database
files, I found myself pushed up against the wall by the limitations of
arrays in "bash"; after a day and a half of fighting it, I swore a bitter
oath, glued a "screw it" label over the original attempt, and
rewrote it in "awk".
<p> It took 15 minutes.
<p> I didn't tell anyone at the time; even my good friends would
have taken a "clue-by-4" to my head to make sure that the lesson stuck...
<p><b>Don't</b> be stubborn about changing tools when the original one
proves under-powered.

<H2>cat</H2>
<p>Strange as it may seem, 'cat' - which you've probably used on innumerable
occasions - can do a number of useful things beyond simple
catenation. As an example, 'cat -v file.txt' will print the contents
of "file.txt" to the screen - and will also show you all the non-text
characters that might normally be invisible (this excludes the standard
textfile characters such as `end-of-line' and `tab'), in "'^'
notation". This can be very useful when you've got something that is
supposed to be a text file, but various utilities keep failing to
process it and give errors like "This is a binary file!". This capability
can also come in handy when converting files from one type
to another (see the section on 'tr'). If you decide you'd like to see
<u>all</u>
the characters in the file, the `-A' switch will fill the bill -
`$' signs will show the end-of-lines (the buck stops here?), and `^I'
will show the tabs.
<p>'-n' is another useful option. This one will number all the lines (you
can use `-b' to number only the non-blank lines) of a file - <u>very</u>
useful when you want to create a `line selector', i.e., whenever you
want to have a "handle" for a specific line which you would then pass
to another utility, say, 'sed' (which is very happy with line numbers).
<p>'cat' can also serve as a "mini-editor", if you need to insert more
than a line or two into a file during the execution of your script. In
most cases, the built-in 'read' function of 'bash' will take care of that
sort of thing - but it is designed as more of a "question/reply" mechanism;
'cat' is a bit more useful for file input.
<p>Last, but not least, 'cat' is very useful for displaying formatted text,
e.g., the error messages at the beginning of a shell script.
<br>Here are two script "snippets" for comparison:
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%"><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "'guess' - a shell script
that reads your mind"</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "and runs the program
you're thinking about."</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "Syntax:"</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "guess [-fnrs]"</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "-f&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Force mode: if no mental activity is detected,"</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
take a Scientific Wild-Ass Guess (SWAG) and execute."</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "-n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Read your neighbor's mind; commonly used to retrieve"</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
the URLs of really good porno sites."</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "-r&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Reboot brain via TCP (Telepathic Control Protocol) - for</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
those times when you're drawing a complete blank."</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo "-s&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Read the supervisor's mind; implies the '-f' option."</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; echo</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; exit</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; cat &lt;&lt; !</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; 'guess' - a shell script that
reads your mind</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; and runs the program you're
thinking about.</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Syntax:</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; guess [-fnrs]</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; -f&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Force mode:
if no mental activity is detected,</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
take a Scientific Wild-Ass Guess (SWAG) and execute.</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; -n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Read your
neighbor's mind; commonly used to retrieve</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
the URLs of really good porno sites.</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; -r&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Reboot
brain via TCP (Telepathic Control Protocol) - for</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
those times when you're drawing a complete blank.</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; -s&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Read the
supervisor's mind; implies the '-f' option.</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; !</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; exit</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br>Note that everything between the two exclamation points will be printed
to 'stdout' (the screen) as formatted; the only requirement
for "closing" the printable text is that the "!" must be on a line
by itself, which allows the delimiter to be used as part of the text.
Delimiters other than "!" may also be used.
<p>I tend to think of 'cat' as an "initial processor" for text that will
be further worked on with other tools. That's not to say that it's unimportant
- in some cases, it's almost irreplaceable. Indeed, your 'cat' can do tricks
that are not only entertaining but useful... and you don't even need a
litter box.

<H2>tr</H2>
<p>When it comes to "one character at a time" processing, this utility,
despite it's oddities in certain respects (e.g., characters specified
by their ASCII value have to be entered in <b>octal</b>), is
one of the most useful ones in our toolbox. Here's a script using it that
replaces those "DOS-text-to-Unix" conversion utilities:
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; #!/bin/bash</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; [ -z $1 ] &amp;&amp; { echo
"d2u - converts DOS text to Unix."; echo \</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
"Syntax: d2u &lt;file&gt;"; exit }</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; cat $1|tr -d '\015'</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<p>&lt;grin&gt; I guess I'd better take time to explain; I can already hear
the screams of rage from all those folks who just learned about 'if'
constructs in last month's column.
<p><i>"What happened to that nice `if' statement you said we needed at
the beginning of the script? and what's that `&amp;&amp;' thing?"</i>
<p>Believe it or not, it's all still there - at least the mechanism that
makes the "right stuff" happen. Now, though, instead of using
the structure of the statement and fitting our commands into the "slots"
in the syntax, we use the <i>return value</i> of the commands,
and make the logic do the work.&nbsp; Let's take a look at this very
important concept.
henever you use a command, it returns a code on exit - typically 0&nbsp;
for success, and 1 for failure (exceptions are things like the
'length' function, which returns a value). Some programs return a variety
of numbers for specific types of exits, which is why you'd
normally want to test for zero versus non-zero, rather than testing
for `1' specifically. You can implement the same mechanism in your scripts
(this is a good coding policy): if your script generates a variety of messages
on different exit conditions, use 'exit n' as the
last statement, where `n' is the code to be returned. The plain 'exit'
statement returns 0. These codes, by the way, are invisible - they're internal
"flags"; there's nothing printed on the screen, so don't bother looking.
<p>To test for them, 'bash' provides a simple mechanism - the reserved
words `&amp;&amp;' (logical AND) and `||' (logical OR). In the script above,
the statement basically says "if $1 has a length of zero, then the following
statements (<font face="Courier New,Courier">echo... echo...&nbsp; exit</font>)
should be executed". If you're not familiar with binary logic, this may
be confusing, so here's a quick rundown that will suffice for our purposes:
in an '<font face="Courier New,Courier">A &amp;&amp; B</font>' statement,
if 'A' is true, then 'B' will also be true (i.e., if 'B' is a command,
it will be executed). In an
<br>'<font face="Courier New,Courier">A || B</font>' statement, if 'A'
is <u>false</u>, then 'B' will be true (i.e., executed). The converse of
either statement is obvious (a.k.a. "is left as an exercise for the student".)
&lt;grin&gt;
<p>As a comparison, here are two script fragments that do much the same
thing:
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; if [ -z $1 ] then</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
echo "Enter a parameter."</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; else</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; echo
"Parameter entered."</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; fi</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%"><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;[ -z $1 ] &amp;&amp;
echo "Enter a parameter." || "Parameter entered."</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<p>You have to be a bit cautious about using the second version for anything
more complex than "echo" statements: if you use a command in the part after
the `&amp;&amp;' which returns a failure code, <u>both</u> it and the statements
after `||' will be executed! This in itself can be useful, if that's what
you need - but you have to be aware of how the mechanism works.
<br>&nbsp;
<p>Back to the original "d2u" script - note the use of the `\' character
at the end of the second line: this `escape' character "cancels" the `end-of-line'
character, making the following line a continuation of the current one.
This is a neat trick for enhancing readability in scripts with long lines,
allowing you to visually break them while maintaining program continuity.
I put it between the "echo"&nbsp; statement and the text string for a reason:
<i>whitespace</i>
(here, spaces and tabs) makes no difference to a command string but stands
out like a beacon in text, creating ugly formatting problems. Make
sure your line breaks happen in reasonable places in the command
string - i.e., not in the middle of text or quoted syntax.
<p>The "active" part of the script, "cat $1|tr -d '\015'", pipes the original
text into 'tr', which deletes DOS's "CR/Carriage Return"
character (0x0D), shown here in octal (\015). That's the bit... err,
_byte_ that makes DOS text different from Unix text - we use just the "LF/Newline"
character (0x0A), while DOS uses both (CR/LF). This is why Unix text looks
like<font face="Courier New,Courier"></font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
This is line one*This is line two*This is line three*</font>
<p>&nbsp; in DOS, and DOS text like
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
This is line one^M</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
This is line two^M</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
This is line three^M</font><font face="Courier New,Courier"></font>
<p>&nbsp; in Unix.
<p>"A word to the wise" applicable to any budding shell-script writer:
close study of the "tr" man page will pay off handsomely. This is a
tool that you will find yourself using again and again.

<H2>head/tail</H2>
<p>A very useful pair of tools, with mostly identical syntax. By default
they print, respectively, the first/last 10 lines of a given file; the
number and the units are easily changed via syntax. Here's a snippet that
shows how to read a specific line in a file, using its line number as a
"handle" (you may recall this from the discussion on "cat"):
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%"><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; handle=5</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; line="$(head -$handle $1|tail
-1)"</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br>Having defined `$handle' as `5', we use "<font face="Courier New,Courier">head
-$handle</font>" to read a file specified on the command line and print
all lines from 1 to 5; we then use "<font face="Courier New,Courier">tail
-1</font>" to read only the last line of that. This can, of course, be
done with more powerful tools like "sed"... but we
won't get to that for a bit - and Taylor's law, above, is often a sensible
guideline.
<p>These programs can also be used to "identify" very large files without
the necessity of reading the whole thing; if you know that
one of a number of very large databases contains a unique field name
that identifies it as the one you want, you can do something like
this:
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; for fname in *dbf</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; do</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; head
-c10k $fname|grep -is "cost_in_sheckels_per_cubit" &amp;&amp; echo $fname</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; done</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">(Yes, I realize we haven't covered 'grep' yet. I trust
those readers that aren't familiar with it will use their "man" pages wisely...
or
hold their water until we get to that part. :)
<p>So - the above case is simple enough; we take the first 10k bytes (you'd
adjust it to whatever size chunk is necessary to capture all the field
names) off the top of each database by using 'head', then use 'grep' to
look for the string. If it's found, we print the name of the file. Those
of you who have to deal with large numbers of multi-gigabyte databases
can <u>really</u> appreciate this capability.
<p>'tail' is interesting in its own way; one of the syntax differences
is the '+' switch, which answers the question of "how do I read everything
<u>after</u>
the first X characters/lines?" Believe it or not, that can be a very important
question - and a very difficult one to
answer in any other way... (<i>Also sprach</i> The Voice of Bitter
Experience.)

<H2>cut/paste</H2>
<p>In my experience, 'cut' comes in for a lot more usage than 'paste' -
it's very good at dealing with fields in formatted data, allowing you to
separate out the info you need. As an example, let's say that you have
a directory where you need to get a list of all the files that are 100k
or more in size, once a week (logfiles over a size limit, perhaps). You
can set up a "cron" job to e-mail you:
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ls -r --sort=size $dir|tr -s
' '|cut -d ' ' -f 5,9|grep \</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -E
^'[1-9]{6,} '|mail joe@thefarm.com -s "Logfile info"</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<p>'ls -r --sort=size $dir' gives us a listing of `$dir' sorted by size
in `reverse' order (smallest to largest). We pipe that through "tr -s '
'" to collapse all repeated spaces to a single space, then use "cut" with
space as a delimiter (now that the spaces are singular, we can actually
use them to separate the fields) to return fields 5 and 9 (size and filename).
We then use 'grep' to look at the very beginning of the line (where the
size is listed) and print every line that starts with a digit between 1
and 9, repeats that match 5 times, and is followed by a space.&nbsp; The
lines that match are piped into 'mail' and sent off to the recipient.
<p>'paste' can be useful at times. The simplest way of describing it that
I can think of is a "vertical 'cat'" - it merges files line by line,
<br>instead of "head to tail". As an example, I had a long list of songs
followed by the names of the groups that performed them, and I wanted the
song names to be in quotes. The songs were separated from the names by
tabs. Here was the solution:
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%"><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; #!/bin/bash</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; # Single-use file; no error
checking</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; cut -f 1 $1 &gt; groups&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
# 'Tab' is the default separator</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; cut -f 2- $1 &gt; songs</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; for n in $(seq $(grep -c $
songs))</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; do</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; echo
'"'&gt&gt;quotes</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; done</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; paste -d "" quotes songs quotes
&gt; list1</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; paste list1 groups &gt; list</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; rm quotes songs groups list1</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
So - I split the file in two, with the first fields going into "groups"
and all the rest into "songs". Then, I created a file called "quotes" that
contained the same number of double quotation marks as there were lines
in the "songs" file by using 'grep' to count `end-of-line' characters in
"songs" (the `$' character stands for `EOL' in regular expressions). The
next part was up to 'paste' - the standard delimiter for it is `tab', which
I replaced with an empty string (I wanted the quotes right next to the
song names). Then, I pasted the "groups" file into the result with the
default 'tab' as the separator - and it was done, all except for cleaning
up the temporary
<br>files.

<H2>grep</H2>
<p>The "Vise-Grips" of Unix. :) This utility, as well as its more
specialized&nbsp; relatives 'fgrep' and 'egrep', is used primarily for
searching files for matching text strings, using the 'regexp' (Regular
Expression) mechanism. (There are actually two of these, the 'basic' and
the 'extended', either one of which can be used; the 'basic' is the default
for 'grep'.)
<p><i>"Let's see now; I know the quote that I want is in of these 400+
text files in this directory - something about "Who hath desired the Sea".
What was it, again?..."</i>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Odin:~$ grep -iA 12 "who hath
desired the sea" *</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-Who hath desired the
Sea? - the sight of salt water unbounded -</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-The heave and the
halt and the hurl and the crash of the comber</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
wind-hounded?</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-The sleek-barrelled
swell before storm, grey, foamless, enormous,</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
and growing -</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt:Stark calm on the
lap of the Line or the crazy-eyed hurricane</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
blowing -</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-His Sea in no showing
the same - his Sea and the same 'neath each</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
showing:</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
His Sea as she slackens or thrills?</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-So and no otherwise
- so and no otherwise - hillmen desire their</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Poems.txt-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Hills!</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; Odin:~$</font>
<br>&nbsp;
<p><i>"Yep, that was the one; so, it's in `Poems.txt'..."</i>
<p>'grep' has a wide variety of switches (the "-A &lt;n&gt;" switch that I
used above determines the number of lines of context after the matched
line that will be printed; the "-i" switch means "ignore case") that allow
precise searches within a single file or a group of files, as well as specifying
the type of output when a match is found (or conversely, when no match
is found). I've used 'grep' in several of the "example" scripts so far,
and use it, on the average, about a dozen times a day, command line and
script usage together: the search for the above Kipling quote (including
my muttered comments) happened just a few minutes before I sharpened my
cursor and scribbled this paragraph.
<p>You can also use it to search binary files too, with 'strings' (a utility
that prints only the text strings found in binary files) as a useful
companion: an occasionally useful "last-ditch" procedure for those
programs where the author has hidden the help/syntax info behind some obscure
switch, and 'man', 'info', and the '/usr/doc/' directory come up empty.
<p>Often, there is a requirement for performing some task the same number
of times as there are lines in a given file, e.g., reading in each line
of a configuration file and parsing it. 'grep' helps us here, too:
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; ...</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; for n in $(grep -n $ ~/.scheduler)</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; do</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; LINE=$(head
-$n ~/.scheduler|tail -1)</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DATE=$(echo
"$LINE"|cut -d ' ' -f 1)</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ...</font>
<br><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ...</font>
<p><font face="Courier New,Courier">&nbsp; done</font>
<br>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<p>This is a snippet from a scheduling program I wrote some time ago; whenever
I log in, it reminds me of appointments, etc. for that day.
'grep', in this instance, numbers the lines (this is used in further
processing - not shown) and polls every line for the "end-of-line"
metacharacter ('$') which matches every line in the file. The result
is then parsed into the date and text variables, and the script executes
an "alarm and display" routine if the appointment date matches today's
date.

<H2>Wrapping it up</H2>
<p>In order to produce good shell scripts, you need to be very familiar
with how all of these tools work - at the very least, have a good idea
<br>what a given tool can and cannot do (you can always look up the exact
syntax via 'man'). There are many other, more complex tools that are available
to us - but these six programs will get you started and keep you going
for a long time, as well as giving you a broad field of possibilities for
script experimentation of your own.
<p> Until next month -
<p> Happy Linuxing!
<p>

<H2>"Script quote" of the month</H2>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I used to program my IBM PC
to make hideous noises to wake me up. I
also made the conscious decision
to hard-code the alarm time into the
program, so as to make it more
difficult for me to reset it. After I
realised that I was routinely
getting up, editing the source file,
recompiling the program and
rerunning it for 15 minutes extra sleep,
before going back to bed, I
gave up and made the alarm time a
command-line option.
<BR><CITE>--B.M. Buck</CITE>
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<H2>References</H2>
<UL>
	<LI> The "man" pages for 'bash',
'builtins', 'cat', 'head', 'tail', 'cut', 'paste', 'grep', 'strings'
	<LI> <A HREF="../issue53/okopnik.html">"Introduction to Shell Scripting
- The Basics"</A> by Ben Okopnik, LG #53</font>
	<LI> <A HREF="../issue54/okopnik.html">"Introduction to Shell Scripting"</A>
by Ben Okopnik, LG #54</font>
	<LI> <A HREF="../issue55/okopnik.html">"Introduction to Shell Scripting"</A>
by Ben Okopnik, LG #55</font>
</UL>




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Ben Okopnik<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Special Method Attributes in Python</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:iclabs@vsnl.com">Pramode C E</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<P>
C++ programmers use 'operator overloading' to apply built-in operators to user defined classes. Thus,
a complex number class may have an addition operator which makes it possible for us to use two
objects of type 'complex' in an arithmetic expression in the same way we use integers or floating
point numbers. The Python programming language provides much of the same functionality in a simple
and elegant manner -  using  special method attributes. This is a quick  
introduction to some of the special methods through code snippets which we wrote while trying
to digest the Python language reference. The code has been tested on Python ver 1.5.1.


<H2> Classes and objects in Python </H2>
<p> Let us look at a simple class definition in Python:

<pre>

class foo:
	def __init__(self, n):
		print 'Constructor called'
		self.n = n
		
	def hello(self):
		print 'Hello world'
		
	def change(self, n):
		print 'Changing self.n'
		self.n = n

f = foo(10)  # create an instance of class foo with a data field 'n' whose value is 10.
print f.n    # prints 10. Python does not support member access control the way C++ does.
f.m = 20     # you can even add new fields!
f.hello()    # prints 'Hello world'
foo.change(f, 40)
print f.n    # prints 40

</pre>

The method __init__ is similar to a 'constructor' in C++. It is a
'special method' which is automatically called when an object is
being created. 

<p>We see that all member functions have a 
parameter called 'self'. Now, when we call f.hello(), we are actually calling a method belonging to
class foo with the object 'f' as the first parameter. This parameter is usually called 'self'. Note
that it can be given any other name, though you are encouraged to name it that way by
convention. It is even possible to call <b>f.hello()</b> as <b>foo.hello(f)</b>. C++ programmers will
find some relation between 'self' and the keyword 'this'(in C++) through which the hidden first
parameter to member function invocations can be accessed.


<H2> The special method __add__ </H2>

Consider the following class definition:
<pre>

class foo:
	def __init__(self, n):
		self.n = n
	def __add__(self, right):
		t = foo(0) 
		t.n = self.n + right.n
		return t
		
</pre>

Now  we create two objects f1 and f2 of type 'foo' and add them up:

<pre>

f1 = foo(10)  # f1.n is 10
f2 = foo(20)  # f2.n is 20
f3 = f1 + f2  
print f3.n    # prints 30

</pre>

What happens when Python executes f1+f2 ? In fact, the interpreter simply calls f1.__add__(f2). So the
'self' in function __add__ refers to f1 and 'right' refers to f2. 


<H2> Another flavor of __add__ </H2>

Let us look at another flavor of the __add__ special method:
<pre>

class foo:
	def __init__(self, n):
		self.n = n
	def __radd__(self, left):
		t = foo(0) 
		t.n = self.n + left.n
		print 'left.n is', left.n
		return t
	
f1 = foo(10)
f2 = foo(20)
f3 = f1 + f2  # prints 'left.n is 10'

</pre>

The difference in this case is that f1+f2 is converted into f2.__radd__(f1).


<H2> How objects print themselves - the __str__ special method </H2>

<pre>

class foo:
	def __init__(self, n1, n2):
		self.n1 = n1
		self.n2 = n2
	
	def __str__(self):
		return 'foo instance:'+'n1='+`self.n1`+','+'n2='+`self.n2`
		
</pre>

class foo defines a special method called __str__. We will see it in action if we run the following
test code:
<pre>

f1 = foo(10,20)
print f1    # prints 'foo instance: n1=10,n2=20'

</pre>

The reader is encouraged to look up the Python Language Reference and see how a similar function,
__repr__ works.


<H2> Truth value testing with __nonzero__ </H2>

<p>
__nonzero__ is called to implement truth value testing. It should return 0 or 1. When this method is not defined,
__len__ is called, if it(__len__) is defined. If a class defines neither __len__ nor __nonzero__, all its
instances are considered true. This is how the language reference defines __nonzero__.

<p> Let us put this to test.

<pre>

class foo:
	def __nonzero__(self):
		return 0
		
class baz:
	def __len__(self):
		return 0
		
class abc:
	pass
	

f1 = foo()
f2 = baz()
f3 = abc()
		
if (not f1): print 'foo: false'  # prints 'foo: false'
if (not f2): print 'baz: false'  # prints 'baz: false'
if (not f3): print 'abc: false'  # does not print anything

</pre>


<H2> The magic of __getitem__ </H2>

How would you like your object to behave like a list? The 
distinguishing feature of a  list (or tuple, or what is in general called a 'sequence' type)
is that it supports indexing. That is, you are able to write things like 'print a[i]'.
There is a special method called __getitem__ which has been designed to support indexing
on user defined objects. Here is an example:

<pre>

class foo:
	def __init__(self, limit):
		self.limit = limit
		
	def __getitem__(self, key):
		if ((key &gt; self.limit-1) or (key &lt; -(self.limit-1))):
			raise IndexError
		else:
			return 2*key
			
f = foo(10)       # f acts like a 20 element array 
print f[0], f[1]  # prints 0, 2
print f[-3]       # prints -6
print f[10]       # generates IndexError

</pre>

There are some additional methods available like __setitem__, __delitem__, __getslice__, __setslice__,
__delslice__ .


<H2> Attribute access with __getattr__</H2>

 __getattr__(self,name) is called when attribute lookup fails to find the attribute
whose name is given as the second argument. It should either raise an AttributeError exception
or return a computed attribute value.

<pre>

class foo:
	def __getattr__(self, name):
		return 'no such attribute'
		
f = foo()
f.n = 100
print f.n     # prints 100
print f.m     # prints 'no such attribute'

</pre>

Note that we also have a builtin function getattr(object, name). Thus, getattr(f, 'n') returns 100
and getattr(f,'m') returns the string 'no such attribute'.

It is easy to implement stuff like delegation using getattr. Here is an example:

<pre>

class Boss:
	def __init__(self, delegate):
		self.d = delegate
		
	def credits(self):
		print 'I am the great boss, I did all that amazing stuff'
		
	def __getattr__(self, name):
		return getattr(self.d, name)
		
	
class Worker:
	def work(self):
		print 'Sigh, I am the worker, and I get to do all the work'
		
	
w = Worker()	
b = Boss(w)
b.credits()  # prints 'I am the great boss, I did all that amazing stuff'
b.work()     # prints 'Sigh, I am the worker, and I get to do all the work'

</pre>


<H2> Further Reading </H2>

The Python distribution comes with excellent documentation, which includes a
tutorial, language reference and library reference. If you are a beginner to
Python, you should start by reading Guido's excellent 
<A HREF="http://www.python.org/doc/current/tut/tut.html">tutorial</A>. Then you
can browse through the 
<A HREF="http://www.python.org/doc/current/ref/ref.html">language reference</A>
and 
<A HREF="http://www.python.org/doc/current/lib/lib.html">library reference</A>.
This article was written with the help of the language reference.




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Pramode C E<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">A Laptop with Linux Preinstalled</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:rsevenic@netscape.net">Richard Sevenich</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<p>Those who use Linux and occasionally travel in their work are highly
motivated to purchase a laptop. I did s in September of 1999 and thought it
worthwhile to share my experience. Now it is becoming easier to install Linux
on a laptop, but at that time I was leery of purchasing a machine and finding
some of the hardware to be incompatible with Linux. After some searching I
found a reasonably priced laptop with Linux preinstalled, the Nflux, from <a
href="http://www.thelinuxstore.com/">theLinuxStore</a> (now part of EBIZ).
Here are the advertised specs:</p>

<table border="1">
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">CPU</th>
      <td>AMD K6-2 3D 300</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">Display</th>
      <td>13.3" XVGA (1024x768) TFT Color LCD</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">RAM</th>
      <td>64 Mbyte</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">graphics card</th>
      <td>Neomagic NM2160 128-bit, 2MB RAM</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">Hard drive</th>
      <td>4.3 Gbyte</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">Mouse</th>
      <td>touchpad ps/2-compatible</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">cdrom</th>
      <td>24X</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">3.5" floppy</th>
      <td>1.44</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">sound</th>
      <td>16-bit, microphone, speakers</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th ALIGN="left">external ports</th>
      <td>monitor, parallel,
        Fasr irda, usb, etc.
      </td>
    </tr>
</table>

<p></p>

<p>I also ordered PCMCIA cards for modem and ethernet capabilities and an
extra battery. By the time the dust cleared, I was still under $1800 - quite
reasonable. The laptop was ordered on September 30, promised after 5 working
days, and appeared in mid October, quite normal slippage for 'email order'
hardware, in my experience. The delivered machine worked fine; I was very
pleased with its capabilities and functionality. I separately purchased a
cheap ps/2 mouse, preferring that to a touchpad. For home use, a printer was
easily configured. I was up and running immediately, but there were two
shortcomings.</p>
<ul>
  <li>It was delivered with 32 Mbyte RAM, instead of the advertised 64
  Mbyte.</li>
  <li>The partitioning scheme was not optimal</li>
</ul>

<p>The latter shortcoming I could and did deal with myself.</p>

<p>I called theLinuxStore for the missing 32 Mbyte of RAM and after a bit of a
delay a RAM chip appeared, but it was the wrong one (adding 8 Mbyte, rather
than 32 Mbyte). So I called, got an RMA number, and shipped it back.
Eventually another chip appeared, 128 Mbyte this time - unfortunately it was
incompatible with my machine. So I called, got an RMA number, and shipped it
back (note how I could cut and paste that sentence from above). The third time
was the charm - I received a compatible chip, installed it, and the laptop was
finally up to spec. It was now mid March, 2000, approximately 6 months after
the initial order. Part of the 6 month interval was due to my travel, but most
to vendor latency.</p>

<p>However, during this entire time period I was able to happily use the
machine, hand carrying it carefully on two business trips. It was incredibly
useful and productive to have it along. These were training course trips where
I presented a low level, beginning Linux device driver course. In the evenings
after the day of training, I was able to check various things out that came up
during the day - really handy.</p>

<p>I received cheerful and responsive service through this rather
disconcerting 32 Mbyte RAM scenario (thanks to Tiffany Johnson at
theLinuxStore). Further, with 32 Mbyte of RAM the machine was serviceable
enough for my needs. It would have been worse if the machine was not usable -
unfortumately that came next. The panel display went out! The laptop was now
unusable! So I called, got an RMA number, and shipped it back (cut and paste,
again). UPS tracking indicated that it was received by theLinuxStore on April
17. Several weeks later I called theLinuxStore and was able to determine that
theLinuxStore shipped the machine back to its hardware vendor, but could get
no other information.. Currently it is May 23 and my calls to theLinuxStore
inquiring when the machine might be returned remain unanswered. I need it for
an upcoming trip - I hope it shows up.</p>

<p>Laptop functionality is really wonderful to have, if you need it, and I do.
This machine performed well, but was not delivered as specified and ultimately
broke. In my case, the seller was not the ultimate hardware vendor - so there
can be an extra step in the problem resolution process, adding time and
uncertainty to returns. The verdict is really not in yet, but the summary is
not encouraging:</p>
<ul>
  <li>machine ordered on September 30, 1999</li>
  <li>up to advertised specification by mid March, 2000</li>
  <li>returned to theLinuxStore for display repair, April 17, 2000</li>
  <li>return date from repair unknown, inquries currently receiveing no
    response</li>
</ul>

<p>I'll share the resolution in a subsequent submission to <EM>Linux
Gazette</EM>.

<BLOCKQUOTE> <EM>
	[Readers, use the <STRONG>Talkback</STRONG> button below to discuss
	your experiences using Linux laptops from this vendor or other vendors. 	-Ed.]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Richard Sevenich<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Building a Secure Gatway System</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:cstod@vvm.com">Chris Stoddard</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

<!-- END header -->




<H2>Introduction</H2>
<P> In issue 51 of the Linux Gazette, the article titled 
<A HREF="../issue51/nielsen.html">"Private
Networks and RoadRunner using IP masquerading"</A>, explains how to
setup a Linux based gateway with good security in mind.  The
authors suggest starting with a clean install of Linux, which
is an excellent idea, as security starts with a secure install,
and that is what this article is about.  When finished this will
be a very lean install, weighing in at about 130 MB plus swap,
there will be no X Windows, though I like to install Midnight
Commander for file management.  

<P>   I'm going to make a couple of assumptions here, first, you
know how to install Linux and are familiar with its use.  Second
I assume you are setting up a gateway computer permanently
attached to the internet be it by cable modem, DSL or whatever
and will not be used for anything else like a ftp, telnet or web
server. 

<H2>What you will need</H2>
<P> My machine is an old Dell Optiplex 466/MXe, it is a 486 DX2 66,
with 16 MB of RAM, a 512 MB Hard Drive, a sound card and a
4X IDE CDROM.  I acquired this one for $50 and upgraded it to a
486DX4 100, 40 MB of RAM, I removed the sound card and added 2
network cards, a SCSI card and installed a 320 MB SCSI hard
drive, all of which I had in spare parts.  The minimum system
you will need, is a 486 (any flavor), 16 MB of RAM, 200 MB
hard drive, two network cards and either a CDROM or the ability
to do a network install.  You will also need a copy of RedHat
Linux 6.x.  Although any distribution will work just fine, I
will only cover RedHat.  The system will only need a monitor
during the install, after that it can run headless and can
be administered remotely using Openssh.

  <P> Before you begin, go to 
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.redhat.com">ftp://ftp.redhat.com</A>, download and
copy to floppy disks, the following;

<UL>
    <LI> e2fsprogs-1.17-1.i386.rpm
    <LI> initscripts-4.63-1.i386.rpm
    <LI> lynx-2.8.2-3.i386.rpm
    <LI> pam-0.68-8.i386.rpm
</UL>
  
  <P> If you are using RedHat 6.2, the previous files are unnecessary.
Go to 
<A HREF="ftp://thermo.stat.ncsu.edu/pub/openssh-usa">ftp://thermo.stat.ncsu.edu/pub/openssh-usa</A>
and again, download and copy to disk; 

<UL>
     <LI> openssh-1.2.3-1us.i386.rpm
     <LI> openssh-clients-1.2.3-1us.i386.rpm
     <LI> openssh-server-1.2.3-1us.i386.rpm
     <LI> openssl-0.9.5a-1us.i386.rpm
</UL>

<H2>Installing and configuring Linux</H2>
  <P> I will only be covering the items which deviate from the
default settings. 

<OL>
    <LI> Choose a custom install.  When Disk Druid comes up, make
    the following  partitions.
     
<PRE>
<STRONG>Partition     Minimum size     % of total        Mine</STRONG>
/                    40 MB            10%       75 MB
/boot                 5 MB            5 MB       5 MB
/home               100 MB            25%      200 MB
/tmp                 40 MB            10%       75 MB
/usr                220 MB            45%      320 MB <SUP>1</SUP>
/var                 40 MB            10%       75 MB
swap                 64 MB         2X RAM       80 MB <SUP>2</SUP>
</PRE>
    
    <P> <SUP>1</SUP> For simplicity I used the entire SCSI drive
    
    <P> <SUP>2</SUP> In reality you could make the swap partition size
equal to your RAM size
    or even smaller.  I suggest larger in case you
    want to setup a web or ftp site later.
     
    <P>  This chart shows roughly how to divide up your Hard Drive,
    The minimums are just that, if your hard Drive is larger then
    512 MB, then use the percentages after the swap and /boot sizes
    have been taken out.  If your drive is smaller than 512 MB,
    then just make a swap partition and a root partition.  By
    doing this, if an intruder does get in, he will not be able
    to fill up your hard drive by writing large files to either
    the /tmp or the /home directories.  It also lets you do some
    Interesting things in /etc/fstab, like set nosuid and nodev
    on /tmp and /home.  Some people will ask why I dedicate such
    a large chunk of drive space to the /home partition, when in
    theory, this system won't have many, if any real users. The
    answer is, room for transferring files to and from remote
    locations, like sharing MP3's or work files.  <P>
     
    <LI> When selecting the components to install, only choose    
    Networked Workstation, Network Management Workstation,       
    Utilities and Select Individual Packages.  If you are using
    RedHat 6.2 and did not download the updated RPM's, select
    Lynx, so it is installed.

     <P> Deselect the following packages:
     git, finger, ftp, fwhois, ncftp, rsh, rsync, talk, telnet
     ghostscript, ghostscript-fonts, mpage, rhs-printfilters
     arpwatch, bind-utils, knfsd-clients, procinfo, rdate, rdist,
     screen, ucd-snmp-utils, chkfontpath, yp-tools, XFree86-xfs,
     lpr, pidentd, portmap, routed, rusers, rwho, tftp, ucd-snmp,
     ypbind, XFree86-libs, libpng, XFree86-75dpi-fonts, urw-fonts
<P>

    <LI> After the system reboot, log in as root and type in the  
    following command line, to clean out the packages the install
    program doesn't let you deselect.
     
<PRE>
rpm -e --nodeps pump mt-st eject bc mailcap apmd
kernel-pcmcia-cs getty_ps setconsole setserial raidtools
rmt sendmail
</PRE>

    <P> You may also want to consider removing Linuxconf, kudzu,
    kbdconfig, authconfig, timeconfig, mouseconfig, ntsysv and
    setuptool, depending on your skill level.  All of the above
    packages are either security risks, such as rsh or not needed
    like XFree86 fonts.<P>
     
    <LI> Copy all the rpm's you downloaded from RedHat to a
    couple of floppies, take it to the newly installed machine and
    mount the floppy drive with  mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
    then install the files by typing rpm -Uvh /mnt/floppy/*.rpm <P>

    <LI> Copy all the Openssh files to a floppy disk and again
    take it to the newly installed system and mount the floppy
    disk by typing mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy and type
    rpm -ivh /mnt/floppy/open* .  Change into the /etc/ssh
    directory and open sshd.config and look for"PermitRootLogin
    yes" and change it to no. This will cause the system to deny
    access to anyone trying to log onto the system as root from
    a remote system.  If you need to logon as root remotely,
    logon as a normal user, then use the su command to get
    root access.
</OL>

<H2>Final Notes</H2>
  <P> I am not going to go into detail about setting up a good
firewall, "Private Networks and RoadRunner using IP Masquerading"
does an excellent job of that, however I have a couple of suggestions.

  <P> I believe for security purposes DNS services should not be
placed on the firewall system, either each client should be setup 
individually to use your internet service provider for DNS or a
different machine on the network should be configured to act as
a DNS server.  Futher, I feel no inetd services from should be
run on the firewall machine either, the only port which should be
open is port 22, the ssh port.  I as a rule will delete the
inetd.conf file and replace it with an empty one, using
"touch /etc/inetd.conf".

  <P> If you have more than two or three users on the system, you may
want to consider using Squid, which is a web proxy/caching program.
This speeds things up by keeping copies of often visited web sites
on the local machine.  It can also be used to block web sites, which can
be useful if there are under age users in the house.  If you decide
to use Squid, I recommend at least 1 GB hard drive, 32 MB of RAM and
a 486DX2/66 processor.  Squid can be installed off the RedHat CD.
Alternately, you can install Junkbuster, which is also a proxy
program, it does not cache web sites and therefore will not require a
larger hard drive, more RAM or a faster processor, what it does is
blocks ad banners, which depending on the sites you visit will speed
things up and keep these companies from gathering information about you.
Junkbuster can be downloaded from
<A HREF="http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster">http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster</A>.

  <P> For easy firewall construction, you should download either
<A HREF="http://seawall.sourceforge.net">Seawall</A> or 
<A HREF="http://www.pointman.org">pmfirewall</A>,
these are ipchains based firewall programs designed for simplicity, I have
tried both and they work as promised and will save you the trouble of learning
ipchains.  Seawall is harder to setup, but has more configuration options,
pmfirewall is easier to setup, but has less options.


<H2>Finished</H2>
  <P> Now go back to "Private Networks and RoadRunner using IP Masquerading"
and finish configuring the gateway.  Please remember this is not the
end all and be all of Linux security, this simply give you a solid
starting point.  For a masters tutorial on Linux security download, see
<A HREF="http://packetstorm.sercuify.com/papers/unix/Securing-Optimizing-RH-Linux-1_2.pdf">
http://packetstorm.sercuify.com/papers/unix/Securing-Optimizing-RH-Linux-1_2.pdf</A>.

 This document is massive at 475 pages, but the first two chapters alone
are worth the read.




<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P --> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>

Copyright &copy; 2000, Chris Stoddard<BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <hr> <P> 

<H1><font color="maroon">The Back Page</font></H1>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="#authors">About This Month's Authors</a>
<li><a HREF="#notlinux">Not Linux</a>
</ul>

<a name="authors"></a>
<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--======================================================================-->

<center><H3><font color="maroon">About This Month's Authors</font></H3></center>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--======================================================================-->

<!-- BEGIN bio -->

<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Carlos Betancourt</H4>
Carlos is a young Venezuelan Linux and GNU philosophy advocate since 1996.
Working as a research student for the University of Tachira's (UNET) Network
development laboratory (CETI) since 1995, he has been involved in the
development of the University's network infrastructure and services. In a
University with no Unix roots, Carlos was part of the research team of students
in charge of learning, testing, teaching, supporting and implementing Unix (by
means of Linux, Solaris and HP-UX) technologies to the UNET's new computer
infrastructure, as well as assistant administrator of internet services.  His
hobbies involve Astronomy, Electronics, Reading Science Fiction, Classical and
Political literature, [Astro]Photography and Poetry.  He currently live in
Brussels, Belgium, where he has recently married.

<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Shane Collinge</H4>
Part computer programmer, part cartoonist, part Mars Bar. At night, he runs
around in a pair of colorful tights fighting criminals. During the day... well,
he just runs around.  He eats when he's hungry and sleeps when he's sleepy.                                           

<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Fernando Correa</H4>
Fernando is a computer analyst just about to finish his 
graduation at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Now, he has built
with his staff the best 
<A HREF="http://www.olinux.com.br">Linux portal</A> in Brazil and have further 
plans to improve services and content for their Internet users.


<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Ray Ferrari</H4>
I am a new linux enthusiast who has been following the trend for over a
year now. I have successfully installed Debian and participate in
helping bring Linux to more people. I have been working with computers
for seven years on my own, learning as much as possible. I currently am
looking for a sales position within the Linux community. Talks are under
way with VALinux; my dream company. I have been a volunteer for both
Debian and LPI.


<p> 
<h4><img align=bottom alt="" src="../gx/note.gif">Mark Nielsen</h4>
Mark founded The Computer Underground, Inc. in June of 1998. Since then,
he has been working on Linux solutions for his customers ranging from custom
computer hardware sales to programming and networking. Mark specializes in Perl,
SQL, and HTML programming along with Beowulf clusters. Mark believes in the
concept of contributing back to the Linux community which helped to start his
company. Mark and his employees are always looking for exciting projects to do.

<p> 
<h4><img align=bottom alt="" src="../gx/note.gif">Krassimir Petrov</h4>
Krassimir has a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Ohio State University.  He
also has an MA in Economics and a BA in Business (Finance, Accounting,
Management).

<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Ben Okopnik</H4>
A cyberjack-of-all-trades, Ben wanders the world in his 38' sailboat, building
networks and hacking on hardware and software whenever he runs out of cruising
money. He's been playing and working with computers since the Elder Days
(anybody remember the Elf II?), and isn't about to stop any time soon.


<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Pramode C.E and Gopakumar C.E</H4>
Pramode works as a teacher and  programmer while
Gopakumar is an engineering student who likes to play with Linux
and electronic circuits.

<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Richard Sevenich</H4>
Richard is a Professor of Computer Science at Eastern Washington University in
Cheney, WA and also teaches occasional introductory
Linux device driver courses in the commercial sector for UniForum.
His computer science interests include device drivers, Fuzzy Logic,
Application-Specific Languages, and State Languages for Industrial Control. He
has been an enthusiastic user of Linux since 1993.


<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Chris Stoddard</H4>
I work for Dell Computer Corporation doing "not Linux" stuff.  I have been
using computers since 1979 and I started using Linux sometime in 1994,
exclusivly since 1997.  My main interest is in networking implementations,
servers, security, Beowulf clusters etc.  I hope someday to quit my
day job and become the Shepard of a Linux Farm.

<!-- END bio -->

<a name="notlinux"></a>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->

<center><H3><font color="maroon">Not Linux</font></H3></center>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--======================================================================-->
<P>

<!-- *** BEGIN Not Linux *** --->

<P> I really should change the title of this column, because most of the
material <EM>is</EM> about Linux....

<P> I'm really happy with how the Answer Gang is turning out.  Thanks also to
Michael "Alex" Williams for helping to format the Mailbag and 2-Cent Tips
starting this month.

<P> <EM>Linux Gazette</EM> is now available via anonymous rsync.  This is good
news for our mirrors, because it decreases their update bandwidth.  See
<A HREF="faq/index.html#rsync">the FAQ, question 14</A> for instructions.

<P> I've got a new title now, <STRONG>Chief Gazetteer</STRONG>.  This was
invented by our sysadmin assistant Rory Krause.

<P> Michael Orr<br>
Editor, <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/"><i>Linux Gazette</i></A>, <A
HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>
<BR CLEAR="all">

<!-- *** END Not Linux *** --->

<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<H5 ALIGN=center>
This page written and maintained by the Editor of the <I>Linux Gazette</I>.<BR>
Copyright &copy; 2000, <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR> 
Published in Issue 54 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->


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