megamaced said:
...Also, I am after information on the file system/structure of Linux. What are the equivalents to 'Program Files' and 'Windows' folders? What are the common file types assiociated with Linux?...Does anyone know of a good guide/resource on the net?
Linux/UNIX is not kept in a single monolithic folder such as C:/Windows; it is distributed in many folders by content type. In other words, /bin, /usr/bin, and /usr/local/bin are all places binary executables are kept (or symbolic links to them), and they are in the user's path. The latter is for user-added software to be kept, so that it is still in the user's path yet it is neatly seperated from system-installed software. Likewise /lib, /usr/lib, and /usr/local/lib is where shared libraries are kept, the latter being for user-installed libraries. To give you a practical example, I install 3rd-party and commercial games in the directory /usr/local/games/. If this concept seems a little confusing, don't worry. UNIX file and directory structures make a
lot more sense than say Windows or old-world Mac directory structures (OS X Mac is UNIX-based, so it uses UNIX directory structures now), so it's easier to learn that you might think.
Concerning filetypes, perhaps you misunderstand. A .JPG in Windows is a .JPG in Linux. Then again, perhaps
I'm misunderstanding. Do you mean filetypes that are commonly found in the Linux world that are rare in the Windows world? In that case, RPM files are Red Hat Package Manager files. They rely on a Red-Hat-like system's RPM package manager to install them, containing all of the information necessary to install and remove cleanly. You see, in Linux, software installation and removal is typically not handled by the
program itself (hint: spyware does this in Windows, do you trust it to successfully uninstall yourself? You have no choice!), but by a package manager. In other words,
the system manages the software, the software doesn't manage the OS. Different distros use different package managers, for instance Debian-like systems use apt-get (associated with .DEB files), Red Hat-like systems use .RPM.
As for literature, that's a good idea. UNIX directory structure makes a whole lot of sense once you understand the core concepts. Everything has a ryme or reason, unlike learning a certain other operating system where the answer to "
why is everything just thrown together in the system32 folder" is, "
why not?" I am hosting some free literature on one of my home servers, which can be found here:
http://anti-trend.homelinux.org It's an older book, about 5 years old now. Although some of the statements made in this book are outdated (e.g. the maximum supported memory of a Linux kernel has increased vastly), the basic concepts are definately still valid. It's a good place to start, and it makes a very handy reference in a pinch.
