Chapter 5. Getting Started with SUSE Linux

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Logging In to SUSE Linux

• Working with the Linux File System

• Essential File System Commands from the /bin and /sbin Directories

• Using the /boot and /dev Directories

• Editing Configuration Files in the /etc Directory

• Where All the Good Stuff Goes: Your /home Directory

• Finding Desktop Programs in /opt

• Where Most of the Programs Go: The /usr Directory

• Variable Data: The /var Directory

• Changing User Information and the Finger Program

• Choosing and Using a Shell

• Editing Text

• Why Can't I Edit This File? How Permissions Work

• Working as Root

In the days before the X Window System made things a little more soft and cuddly, Unix was labeled the most userunfriendly operating system known to humanity.

There was the cold, forbidding command-line interface (CLI) with seemingly millions of obscure commands to learn. Today both Unix and Linux have an assortment of terrific graphical interfaces to give you point-and-click ease for your computing tasks, but even if you use them all the time, it is good to have access to and an understanding of that command line (usually called the shell or console). When you want something done quickly, or want to understand what's going on under the hood when you ask Linux to do something, the shell is the place to go.

In this chapter, you will learn the basics of interacting with SUSE Linux, from logging in to understanding the file system to dealing with file permissions.

You'll pick out the best shell for your working style and play with some text editors, too. By the end of the chapter, you'll be able to handle the power of being the Root user and know when and how to wield that power.

Read this chapter in particular if you are transitioning from a proprietary OS (even more so if that OS was Windows 98 or earlier, which had no conception of logging in multiple users and dealing with security via file permissions). Read this chapter whether you are the administrator (Root user) of your system, have some administrative privileges (via sudo), or are just an ordinary user in an office with an IT staff. If you are more experienced using Unix or another Linux distribution, you may still find some new tricks, or just get a refresher on the basics.