Symbolic Links Help

[Anti-Trend]

[ot]

I'd recommend SuSE to new users because it is easy to use. The documentation is great and the eyecandy is nice. However, the more I learned about Linux, the more I realised just how inefficient SuSE is.

That and YaST blows, and the whole system seems to revolve around it. YaST may be better than the "Windows Control Panel" or whatever, but it's not as good as the other Linux system tools I'm used to. Plus it's just about impossible to find any decent software repositories for Suse, which is why I try not to recommend it to new users. Still, I'd take Suse (or any other *nix distro) over Windows any day of the week. :)[/ot]

 

[Anti-Trend]

[ot]

Is compiling a kernel as simple as ./configure > make > make install?

Almost, but not quite.

#[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Configure your new kernel. ([I]"?"[/I] is your friend!)[/COLOR]
[B]make menuconfig[/B]
[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]#Move the .config and clean up the kernel source[/COLOR]
[B]mv .config ..[/B]
[B]make clean && make mrproper[/B]
[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]#Move the .config back[/COLOR]
[B]mv ../.config .[/B]
[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]#Edit the Makefile to describe your new kernel.
#For help editing the Makefile, see my example below.[/COLOR]
[B]vi Makefile[/B]
[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]#Now it's time to build your new kernel.
#We'll do it all in one, long command line so we can go get a 
#cup of java and let the CPU do all the work.[/COLOR]
[B]make && make bzImage && make modules && make modules_install && make install[/B]
[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]#Reboot to the new kernel. In case you made a mistake someplace,
#DO NOT remove the entries for your old kernel from your bootloader
#until you are quite sure you built your new kernel correctly![/COLOR]

Here's that example of editing the Makefile:

VERSION = 2
PATCHLEVEL = 6
SUBLEVEL = 12
EXTRAVERSION = [COLOR="Red"]-22_k7_4gb_01[/COLOR]
NAME=Woozy Numbat

As you can see, I edited the EXTRAVERSION section to give my kernel a custom, descriptive name for my own benefit. I also append a two-digit number to the end in case I need to build multiples of the same kernel version.[/ot]

 

[megamaced]

[ot] The lack of repositories was the no.1 reason I ditched SuSE. I am sure you remember my countless posts about circular dependencies and so on! I haven't experienced anything like that now I use (K/X)ubuntu.

YaST is okay, but it's very slow and cumbersome. Besides, these days I prefer to edit the actual configuration file in the terminal then use a GUI :) SuSE on the whole is very slow [/ot]

 

[megamaced]

[ot]Almost, but not quite.

[SIZE="3"]#Configure your new kernel. ([I]"?"[/I] is your friend!)
[B]make menuconfig[/B]
#Move the .config and clean up the kernel source
[B]mv .config ..[/B]
[B]make clean && make mrproper[/B]
#Move the .config back
[B]mv ../.config .[/B]
# For editing the Makefile, see my example below.
[B]vi Makefile[/B]
#Now it's time to build your new kernel.
#We'll do it all in one, long command line so we can go get a 
#cup of java and let the CPU do all the work.
[B]make && make bzImage && make modules && make modules_install && make install[/B]
#Reboot to the new kernel. In case you made a mistake someplace,
#DO NOT remove the entries for your old kernel from your bootloader
#until you are quite sure you built your new kernel correctly!

Here's that example of editing the Makefile:

VERSION = 2
PATCHLEVEL = 6
SUBLEVEL = 12
EXTRAVERSION = [COLOR="Red"]-22_k7_4gb_01[/COLOR]
NAME=Woozy Numbat

As you can see, I edited the EXTRAVERSION section to give my kernel a custom, descriptive name for my own benefit. I also append a two-digit number to the end in case I need to build multiples of the same kernel version.[/SIZE]

Yeah, I think it's pretty important to know how to compile a kernel, so I'll give it a go.

Okay, I noticed that VI was used in there somewhere. Now what i'd like to know is how important is VI in the Linux world? The Linux+ book I bought has a whole chapter devoted to VI. Compare VI to say Nano? What makes VI so special and why should I learn it?[/ot]

 

[Anti-Trend]

[ot]

Okay, I noticed that VI was used in there somewhere. Now what i'd like to know is how important is VI in the Linux world? The Linux+ book I bought has a whole chapter devoted to VI. Compare VI to say Nano? What makes VI so special and why should I learn it?

Vi (or Vim, which is what I actually use to replace Vi) is ubiquitous in the *nix world due to the fact that it's lightweight, efficient, and extremely powerful. What it is *not* is user-friendly, which is why Vi comes with a little tutorial. Once you learn some of the basics, it's a great little text editor which can be found on just about every UNIX-derivative there is.[/ot]

 

[megamaced]

[ot]So what can VIM do that Nano (or any other text editor) can't? [/ot]

 

[Anti-Trend]

[ot]

So what can VIM do that Nano (or any other text editor) can't?

Too much to list here, try it and find out. Besides, even if you don't care for it, it's the default CLI text editor on nearly every UNIX variation on the planet. It's good to know![/ot]

 

[megamaced]

[ot] it's not that I don't care for it, it's just that i've never used it before and I was wondering what made it so special.

I need to go through the Linux book I bought, but at the moment I need to concentrate on the MCSE material. It's been really hard to revise so far. I find myself cringing at every line in the Microsoft book. Like 'Microsoft Windows XP Firewall makes your computer safe from attackers'. Ah. like :swear: it does! The book is full of FUD and propaganda. [/ot]

 

[megamaced]

[ot]In fact, I like Xubuntu 6.06 so much I'd consider running it on some systems if only it wasn't for the STUPID sudoers faux pas. If they reform that, I'll recommend it a lot more than I currently do

Actually Xubuntu is much better then I remembered it to be. I last tried it in it's Dapper Beta form and I noticed quite a few bugs. But they seem to be ironed out now. BTW, is it just me, or is XFCE turning into a GNOME clone?[/ot]

 

[Anti-Trend]

[ot]

...BTW, is it just me, or is XFCE turning into a GNOME clone?

It does look quite a bit more like Gnome these days, but it's still super-light, and the Thunar file manager kicks @$$. Plus, the new default theme is shiny and slick in contrast to Gnome's dull & drab look.[/ot]

 

[Addis]

[ot]Heh after a bit if guidance from AT I've been pumpin' out custom kernels by the minute. All with 100% success. Really isn't that hard once the basics are known. :)

As for Vi, I love it. Its a bit hard to use at the beginning, especially the whole 2 modes thing. But I now use it for every text editing job in the CLI.

Oh and for the Mandriva flaws. I despise Kat. Period.

I gave away my Ubuntu CDs, but friend has never even tried the LiveCD yet. He went into an exam, and emptied his pockets which had the CD in. "Ummmm, yea thats a Linux distro. You can try it if you want, theres a live CD there".[/ot]

 

[Anti-Trend]

[ot]

Heh after a bit if guidance from AT I've been pumpin' out custom kernels by the minute. All with 100% success. Really isn't that hard once the basics are known. :)

Congrats. :) I've noticed that when I set the big kernel lock, CPU-specific optimisations and memory size in the kernel, the performance (especially multitasking) is noticably increased.

As for Vi, I love it. Its a bit hard to use at the beginning, especially the whole 2 modes thing. But I now use it for every text editing job in the CLI.

Vim gets the job done and doesn't get in my way, so it's good enough for me in most cases. I like the color-coded tags for web editing; that's what I use to edit my web site.

Oh and for the Mandriva flaws. I despise Kat. Period.

Kat sucks. It's immature and not incredibly useful, so I strongly believe it should not have been running by default on new profiles. Easy enough to remedy though:

urpme kat

I gave away my Ubuntu CDs, but friend has never even tried the LiveCD yet. He went into an exam, and emptied his pockets which had the CD in. "Ummmm, yea thats a Linux distro. You can try it if you want, theres a live CD there".

Yeah, some people just aren't cut out for Linux. As part of my job, I work with people in high-level IT positions every single day, and many of them don't even know the bare basics of networking or even their own Windows desktop. I can't even picture people like that who "fake it" through life trying and liking a serious OS like Linux. If it didn't work, they'd have nobody to blame but themselves! Not to sound elitist, but I honestly think most people fit into that category. [/ot]

 

[megamaced]

[ot]

Kat sucks. It's not a Mandriva-specific app, but a KDE one. Still, it's immature and not incredibly useful, so I strongly believe it should not have been running by default on new profiles. Easy enough to remedy though:

urpme kat

What is Kat?[/ot]

 

[Anti-Trend]

[ot]

What is Kat?

Kat - Home[/ot]

 

[megamaced]

[ot]Oh right.

To be honest, I find little use in desktop search applications. I think they are all overrated. Maybe it's because I don't have many documents on my computer. I just find them to be a waste of resources [/ot]