[6] This quote is from Pitr of UserFriendly fame. It is one of the few
comics that I read on a daily basis.
Copyright © 2000, Sean Lamb
Published in Issue 49 of Linux Gazette, January 2000
"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"
Linux Site O' The Month: Portico.org
What's This?
This article is the the current installment in an ongoing series of site
reviews for the Linux community. Each month, I will highlight a Linux-related
site and tell you all about it. The intent of these articles is to let you
know about sites that you might not have been to before, but they will all have
to do with some aspect of Linux. Now, on with the story...
Errata
Before I start into the LSOTM for this month, a reader of the premiere
LSOTM wrote in a correction for last month's article. Linuxnewbie.org (LNO)
does have a search engine, just one that isn't the most obvious to spot. When
you are in the Discussion area, there is a Search link at the top of each of
the pages that make up the bulletin board. This search is limited to the
Discussion area, and is included as part of the Ultimate Bulletin Board
software that powers the Discussion area. Thanks to Keith Johnson for the tip.
Portico.org - "The source for Linux tips"
So you've got Linux installed and playing nice with all your hardware. The
problem is that there are all these little things that are getting in the way
of truly using Linux the way that you want to; little things like not being
able to use the tab key to autocomplete the subject of a man query, or that you
want to rename your current workspace in WindowMaker.
You could spend hours scouring countless HOWTOs, man pages, newsgroups and
mailing lists, but try Portico first. While the number of tips and tricks here
isn't overwhelming (yet!), there are enough there for it to be a useful
resource. Each of the tips presented here is reduced to only as much
information as is necessary to convey the tip, making reading and using the
tips very easy.
The tips available on this site run the gamut of useful information and
applications. The default page view shows the 15 most recently added tips on
the start page. Each tip is categorized with a link to the tip's category,
which will display the 15 most recently added tips for that category. You can
also get a list of all the categories through the Categories link at the bottom
of the page.
A nice feature of this page (albeit one that still needs a little refining)
is the Random Tip link. At the bottom of each page is a Random link that will
present one of the tips out of the database at random. This random tip feature
is also available as a link that can be incorporated into other web pages at
portico.org/random/ and
portico.org/random/ascii.php3.
The first link will present the tip alone on a page that looks like Portico's
main page, the second will present the tip as a plain text file. The only
problem that I've found with this feature is that the randomizer isn't very
random. When I tried these links, each of the three links presented exactly
one tip regardless of how many times I clicked on them.
This site does have a search engine on each page. Searching on "vi", for
example, produced 129 results, and searching on "kde" produced 1 result. At
the time of this writing, there are 306 tips in Portico's database. But, the
Add Tip link at the bottom of each page makes increasing this number relatively
painless.
Portico may be a small site compared to other Linux sites, but the
information is valuable. With more users adding tips and tricks, the site can
only become more valuable.
Copyright © 2000, Sean Lamb
Published in Issue 49 of Linux Gazette, January 2000
"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"
Linux Humor
[The following was passed on to us by
David Baker. -Ed.]
Linux Hors d'Oeuvres
Here is a recipe for the
cutest hors d'oeuvres, perfect for a Linux lunch or reception.
Slice a raw carrot into 1/8" thick discs. Cut a triangular wedge pie
shape out of it and save the wedge. The disc becomes the feet and the
wedge is the beak. Slice a Jumbo sized black olive lengthwise on one
side, open it slightly and sutff cream cheese so that it shows about
1/4" wide. Stick a toothpick through it and into the carrot disc. This
makes the body of the penguin. Slice a Large sized black olive
crosswise, deep enough to stick the beak into and assemble it on the
tooth pick for the head.
Our penguin factory can produce one in about two minutes using mass
production. Make a big plateful because they sure go fast.
[The following was contributed by
silkythreads@home.com. -Ed.]
Twas the Night before Y2K
Twas the night before Y2k, and all through the nation
We awaited "The Bug", the Millennium sensation.
The chips were replaced in the computers with care,
In hopes that ol'Bugsy wouldn't stop there.
While some folks could think they were snug in their beds,
Others had visions of dread in their heads.
And Ma with her PC, and I with my Mac
had just logged on the Net and kicked back with a snack.
When over the server, there arose such a clatter
I called help-support to see what was the matter.
But the support line line was busy, so I flew like a flash
Off to my bank to withdraw all my cash.
Then what do my wandering eyes chance to see ?
My good ol'Mac looked awfully sick to me.
The hack of all hackers was looking so smug,
I knew that it must be the Y2K Bug !
His image downloaded in no time at all,
He whistled and shouted "Let all systems fall!"
"Go Intel! Go Gateway! Now HP! Big Blue!
Everything Compaq! and Pentium too!
All processors big, all processors small,
Crash away! Crash away! Crash away all!
All the controls that planes need for their flights,
All microwaves, trains, and all traffic lights!"
As I drew in my breath and was turning around,
Out through the modem, he came with a bound.
He was covered with fur, and slung on his back
Was a sackful of virus, set for attack.
His eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
As midnight approached, though, things soon became scary.
He had a broad little face and a round ugly belly
filled with nasty moving things, which quivered like jelly.
His little bug face was perpetually grinning,
I laughed when I saw him, though my hard drive had stopped spinning.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know a whole lot of dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work;
He changed all the clocks, the turned with a jerk.
With a twitch of his nose and a quick little wink,
All things electronic soon went on the blink.
He zoomed through my system, to the next folks on the line,
He caused such a distruption. Could this be a sign?
Then I heard him exclaim with cheery delight
"Happy Y2K to you, on one helluva night!"
Copyright © 2000, Mike Orr
Published in Issue 49 of Linux Gazette, January 2000
"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"
Using SWIG to interface scripting languages with C/C++
Introduction
Scripting languages like Perl, Python and Tcl are receiving a lot of attention nowadays - mainly because
these languages facilitate Rapid Application Development and Prototyping. It has been shown
time and again that using a language like Python cuts down development time drastically - with the added
advantage that you get highly robust and flexible code. But there are situations in which a
pure scripting approach does not work, typical examples being scientific applications which require high
speed math and graphics routines or applications which need to control and coordinate hardware devices
on a real time basis. What we need is a mixed-language paradigm in which traditional systems languages
like C/C++ do the 'dirty' low-level work while the Scripting language acts as the overall supervisor. This
article focuses on using an excellent program called the Simplified Wrapper and Interface Generator (SWIG)
to integrate code written in C/C++ with the popular scripting language Python. The code fragments in this article have
been tested on a Red Hat Linux (5.2) machine running Python ver 1.5.1.
Getting and Installing SWIG
SWIG is being developed by Dave Beazley and can be downloaded from www.swig.org.
Installation is straightforward, just run ./configure and then make. Currently, SWIG supports Perl, Python,
Tcl and FSF Guile.
A simple example
Let us say we have a C function called add(a, b) which returns the sum of two numbers passed to it as
arguments. We will see how the add function can be made Python-callable.
We will create a file called arith.c which contains the following code:
int add(int a, int b)
{
return a+b;
}
Let us now execute the following command:
swig -python -module arith arith.c
We see that SWIG has created two new files, arith_wrap.c and arith_wrap.doc. We should now compile both arith.c and
arith_wrap.c to produce object files, the command being:
gcc -I/usr/include/python1.5 -c arith.c arith_wrap.c
The object files arith.o and arith_wrap.o should now be combined to produced a shared object called arith.so:
ld -shared -o arith.so arith.o arith_wrap.o
If everything goes well, we will have a file called arith.so in our current directory. Here is a sample
interaction using the arith module:
import arith
>>>arith.add(10, 20)
30
>>>arith.add(10, -10)
0
>>>
Does using C improve speed?
We will find out! Let us add one more function to our arith.c file and then rebuild arith.so:
int fact (int n)
{
int f=1;
while (n > 1){
f = f * n;
n = n - 1;
}
return f;
}
Let us make a similar function in Python (store it in a file fact.py):
def fact(n):
f = 1
while n > 1:
f = f * n
n = n - 1
return f
We will now write a crude profiling program, profile.py:
#!/usr/bin/python
import fact, arith, time
pyfact = fact.fact
cfact = arith.fact
# Measuring speed of cfact
start = time.time()
for i in range(1,100000):
cfact(10)
end = time.time()
print 'C factorial function used', end-start, 'seconds'
start = time.time()
for i in range(1,100000):
pyfact(10)
end = time.time()
print 'Python factorial function used', end-start, 'seconds'
Here is the output on our old Pentium box:
C factorial function used 1.29531896114 seconds
Python factorial function used 8.22897398472 seconds
The proper way of using SWIG
SWIG generates wrappers not by looking at how your C code works internally, but by seeing the interface
specification. Here is how we should have proceeded.
First, create an interface file, arith.i. The file should contain the following
lines:
%module arith
extern int add(int a, int b);
extern int fact(int n);
Now generate the wrappers by running swig -python arith.i, compile into object files and use ld to create
arith.so.
A low-level interfacing example
The PC's parallel port can be used to perform some very amusing hardware interfacing
experiments. On Linux, we have functions like inb(), outb() etc which can be used to access I/O ports.
Here is a C program which writes to the printer port:
#include <asm/io.h>
int main()
{
iopl(3);
outb(1, 0x378);
}
The program should be compiled as cc -O2 io.c and it should be executed with superuser privilege. The iopl
call is required to make the IO ports accessible to user programs. How do we write a Python version of this
program? Simple. Use SWIG to make Python callable versions of outb(), inb() and iopl(). Here is an io.c module
tailored for SWIG:
#include <asm/io.h>
int py_iopl(int level)
{
return iopl(level);
}
void py_outb(unsigned char val, int port)
{
outb(val, port);
}
unsigned char py_inb(int port)
{
return inb(port);
}
Run SWIG and generate the io.so file. Here is a sample interaction (remember, you should run the
Python interpreter as root):
>>>import io
>>>io.py_iopl(3)
>>>io.py_outb(10, 0x378)
>>>io.py_inb(0x378)
10
>>>
Accessing C variables
Global variables declared in your C module can be accessed from Python. We create a module example with
two variables foo and baz:
int foo = 10;
int baz = 20;
The variables foo and baz are accessible in Python through an object called cvar:
>>>import example
>>>example.cvar
Global variables { foo, baz }
>>>example.cvar.foo
10
>>>example.cvar.baz
20
>>>example.cvar.foo = 100
>>>example.cvar.foo
100
>>>
Accessing C++ Classes
Accessing C++ classes is a bit tricky. Let us first create a header file with a simple class
declaration. We call this zoo.h:
class Zoo{
int n;
char animals[10][50];
public:
Zoo();
void shut_up(char *animal);
void display();
};
Now we create an interface file zoo.i:
%module zoo
%{
#include "zoo.h"
%}
class Zoo{
char animals[10][50];
int n;
public:
Zoo();
void shut_up(char *animal);
void display();
};
We generate the Python wrappers by running the command:
swig -python -c++ zoo.i
Here comes our source file zoo.cc:
#include "zoo.h"
#include <stdio.h>
Zoo::Zoo()
{
n = 0;
}
void Zoo::shut_up(char *animal)
{
if (n < 10) {
strcpy(animals[n], animal);
n++;
}
}
void Zoo::display()
{
int i;
for(i = 0; i < n; i++)
printf("%s\n", animals[i]);
}
We create the object files by running:
g++ -I/usr/include/python1.5 -c zoo.cc zoo_wrap.c
And finally, we create the module zoo.so:
ld -shared -o zoo.so zoo.o zoo_wrap.o /usr/lib/libg++.so.2.7.2 /usr/lib/libstdc++.so
Here is an interactive Python session with our zoo module:
Script started on Mon Dec 13 14:31:26 1999
[pce@bhim] ~/src/writings/swig/src/shadow$ python
Python 1.5.1 (#1, Sep 3 1998, 22:51:17) [GCC 2.7.2.3] on linux-i386
Copyright 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam
>>> import zoo
>>> dir(zoo)
['Zoo_display', 'Zoo_shut_up', '__doc__', '__file__', '__name__', 'new_Zoo']
>>> z=zoo.new_Zoo()
>>> zoo.Zoo_shut_up(z,'Tiger')
>>> zoo.Zoo_shut_up(z,'Lion')
>>> zoo.Zoo_display(z)
Tiger
Lion
>>> z2=zoo.new_Zoo()
>>> zoo.Zoo_shut_up(z2,'Python')
>>> zoo.Zoo_display(z2)
Python
>>>
The constructor in our class Zoo has been mapped to a function called new_Zoo. Similarly, the
member functions shut_up and display have been mapped to Zoo_shut_up and Zoo_display.
Shadow classes
It is possible to create Python classes which act as 'wrappers' around C++ classes. Here is a Python
wrapper class for the C++ Zoo class:
from zoo import *
class Zoo:
def __init__(self):
self.this = new_Zoo()
def shut_up(self, animal):
Zoo_shut_up(self.this, animal)
def display(self):
Zoo_display(self.this)
Now, we can very easily write:
>>> z = Zoo()
>>> z.shut_up('Tiger')
>>> z.shut_up('Lion')
>>> z.display()
Tiger
Lion
>>>
It is even possible to request SWIG to generate Python shadow classes automatically!
Conclusion
SWIG is a useful tool, easy to learn and easy to apply. Though we have only examined SWIG in the
context of Python scripting, usage with other languages like Perl and Tcl is very similar. The
SWIG Home Page is the definitive source for more information.
Copyright © 2000, Pramode C.E and Gopakumar C.E
Published in Issue 49 of Linux Gazette, January 2000
"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"
Developing Web Applications - Part II
As I promised, I was going to give you guys another example of a php3 program.
This program is a very simple program, and yet somewhat useful.
One night, I was at the university working and I tried to call home to
talk to my wife. Unfortunately, I had left my computer connected that day,
and could not get through. So, since my computer was running Apache, I
decided to scan through the IPs of my ISP , and find out which computer
was my computer, so I could telnet to it, and remotely disconnect it.
The fastest, and simplest way to do this was either through php3 or java,
but since I am not very fond of java applets, I decided to do it in php3.
//Opens socket and goes through a bunch of sequential IPs, and
//it returns all the address that have a web server running.
// This loop will go through all addresses in the block 10.0.0.x
// The 10.0.0.x series is a fictional example, these IPs are normally
// for intranet addresses, I am just trying to keep my ISP safe from
for($i=1; $i < 256; $i++)
// $path is the variable that will hold the URL you are testing.
$path = "http://10.0.0.".$i;
// Opens socket on server PAI, port 80.
$fp = fsockopen("pai", 80, &$errno, &$errstr);
// Sends the HTTP request that returns the info we need to know.
fputs($fp,"GET $path HTTP/1.0\n\n");
set_socket_blocking($fp, false);
// This is the string we wait for as a reply to the HTTP request.
$str2 = "HTTP/1.0 200 OK";
// Gives the program 2 seconds to try to connect to the server.
// Captures the line from the
HTTP request.
// If str2 is the same line, then we have a match, and there is a web
// server running. Then go ahead and show me the name of the server with
if (strcmp($line, $str2) == 0)
echo "<A HREF=".$path.">".gethostbyaddr($pathhost)."</a><br>\n";
One important observation, this process is very simple, but it is very
inefficient, since for every IP you check you will wait a maximum of 2
seconds. So, don't abuse this script, because you will probably get a time
out operation from your web server, or you will be stuck waiting for all
the iterations for a long time.
But still, it is a good example of what you as a home user can do with
php3.
Next month, I will write yet another example of php3 program, this time
I will show you how to create your own guest book, using php3 and mySQL.
Copyright © 2000, Anderson Silva
Published in Issue 49 of Linux Gazette, January 2000
"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"
Emulators for Linux
I spent a lot of time during the last few days searching, compiling, and fixing some emulators for some old classic platforms on my computer. One thing that I thought was interesting was that I found an emulator for all the video games platform, and some old computers I looked for available under Linux.
So, I decided to share with the rest of you a small list of links with the emulators I found this week. The emulators I have found were a Sega Genesis Emulator, an Atari Emulator, a Sega Master System Emulator, a MSX Emulator, and TRS80 Emulators all for Linux.
I just want to explain one thing, many of you probably already know that these emulators exist, but a lot of you don't. So, if you do know them, I appreciate you bearing with me, and if I say anything that you don't agree, please feel free to email me.
Here are the list of sites:
Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) - http://www.humboldt1.com/~ognir/dgen-sdl.html
dgen is the emulator for the Sega Genesis, and I have to tell you that I was pretty impressed with its speed and sound performance (it kicked MS Windows butt). Don't think I had any problems compiling it, and running it.
Sega Master System - http://www.komkon.org/fms/MG/
mg is the emulator for the Sega Master System, and you may only download the binary for its latest version. It works like a charm though.
Stella - http://www4.ncsu.edu/~bwmott/2600/
xstella is the emulator for the Atari System, it is also a very nice piece of software.
MSX - http://www.komkon.org/fms/fMSX/
fmsx is an emulator for the MSX Computer. The MSX computer was really big in Brazil in the 80's, and it was actually my first computer.... It brought back some memories. If you have never heard of it here in America (it did not do very well here, as far as I know), I am sure that there are people all over the world that had one of them. Anyway, fmsx is working fine, but I did have some problems compiling it. I had to disable sound to get a working binary.
TRS80 - http://members.aol.com/trs80emul/
xtrs is the emulator for TRS80 Model I and III, but I have not been able to run it successfully on my computer. I have tried both the RPMs, and compiling from my computer, and all it does it freezes my Xwindow. If you do get this baby to compile, please let me know, I would like to get it running sometime.
These emulators were very fun to find, compile and play with it a little, but I would strongly suggest you would read the warnings on some of the sites, since some of their parts, and games are copyrighted. I also want to thank every single programmer that was involved in the development of each emulator for Linux.
Just for a last point of reference, I am running these emulators on a AMD K6-2 400 Mhz, with 256 MB RAM and running RH Linux 6.1.
Copyright © 2000, Anderson Silva
Published in Issue 49 of Linux Gazette, January 2000
"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"
The Penguin and Me
The first time I booted into Windows 95 to find MS-DOS in My Briefcase and .mid files on the desktop I smelled a future filled with trouble. I wasn't to be disappointed. Although I knew nothing about computers, operating systems or machine language, I knew there had to be a better system. I just needed to find it.
The following years of fustration with Windows was the driving force that compelled me to learn much more about computers than I ever wanted to know. In retrospect I should have bought a word processor. However the entire DOS-Windows chapter of my life was a necessary learning experience as it prepared me for a date with the Penguin and my new operating system.
I'd like to say I'm brilliant and did it on my own. The fact is, I am an average home user with no formal computer training who entered the field later in life; I was over fifty and I needed help. Fortunately I met John during those very early days when I wrote to inquire why I couldn't play the Ragtime
music on his site. The chance introduction evolved into an education in Windows plus an enduring friendship.
Fate is indeed a strange bedfellow for a few years later I was introduced to Linux via a rather circuitous route. My local ISP, GCIS, is family owned and operated. Scott is the tech with whom I had the most contact. What began as my grousing about Windows instability and constant crashes ended with Scott introducing me to the server side of FreeBSD. It was an exciting and heady feeling that I never forgot.
We spent months talking about Linux and finally Scott said, "Go do it. Just go do it!" Oh Lord where do I begin? I'm too old to learn a new OS much less the language. Scott interupted my thoughts, " Look, I'll send you some URL's. If you're really serious find a group."
I immediately thought of the age old conundrum: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The modern-day version isn't any more clear. Which comes first, the users group or the Linux distribution?
I was mulling the question over in my mind when I began to surf Linux web
sites. I didn't just find Linux, I found Linux distributions too. Good grief!
I have to choose a distribution and join a support group. I could just
imagine the thrill of driving 300-miles once a week to meet with a group. (The
nearest Linux group is in Tulsa,Ok.) How badly do I really want this new
operating system? Before I could answer my own question I lost the master drive
which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I replaced both the Master and
Slave drives to be on the safe side.
Now I had 12 gigabytes of empty space, and a burning desire. The more I toyed with the idea, the more determined I was to create a single drive dual boot system.
In case you are wondering why I didn't use the second hard drive for Linux the answer is somewhat complicated. First, I was asked to beta test W2000. Second, W98 was running well and I didn't want to chance a conflict. Third, I know absolutely nothing about NT aka W2000, so I opted to load it on the second drive. I knew that either Linux would boot or it wouldn't, and even if it didn't, it would not foul my machine-a guarantee I could not make about W2000. If I continued as planned, I would have three fully functional, yet independent, operating systems, residing on two drives in the same computer. The thought was delicious, but would it sorely test the resources of my machine?
I went to a national bookstore chain to search for Linux specific media. I walked through several aisles of unrelated software titles and just when I was ready to conclude Linux media didn't exist I found 8-feet of shelf space devoted to 'other' computer systems. I privately wondered how long it would take this store to eliminate the books. The selection was pathetically limited, but not without virtue. Based on information I previously read about Caldera, Red Hat and KDE I chose Linux Third Edition by Richard Petersen which covers each subject extensively and included CD's for Caldera and Red Hat. Just to be on the safe side I grabbed a copy of Linux For Dummies to get me started and crossed my fingers for luck. As it turns out I needed it.
I was headed for the check out counter when I passed the magazine rack. There I discovered the first release of the Maximum Linux magazine which promised a complete review of the top five Linux distributions plus a step-by-step installation guide to Linux-Mandrake 6.0. A CD with the full-install version of the Mandrake was included. (I learned December 13th that the CD is no longer supported by Maximum Linux.) I ended my buying spree by picking up a systems reference book. I was smug. For the grand total of $50 I had snagged three Linux distributions and enough information to build or up grade to a pure Linux box. That high lasted until the first time I tried to load Linux.
It was a full two months between the time that I purchased the books until I actully tried the installation. I was primed and ready for action, but I still hadn't made a decision about which distribution to load. (We Libra's can't make an important decision without a prolonged and weighty internal debate.)
Armed with a plethora of URL's thougthfully included in the Third Edition, I mounted an assault on the Linux web sites. Each site led to more sites. I started out thinking I knew enough to make an informed decision and finished more confused than ever, but wiser for the experience. I narrowed my choices to Caldera and Mandrake, but did not totally discount SuSE or Debian. After reading about SuSE's monster 1300 packages and being advised by Tom at Motherboard X that Debian was just a bit advanced for a newbie I opted for my original choices.
For the record, my final selections were based on: information posted on each web site; information provided by experienced Linux users and technicians; information provided on the packaged software; manufacturer support and shelf price. Downloading from the web is convenient but I learned from experience that there isn't anything that will replace the real thing in time of crisis.
As each Linux web site offers excellent information, my next search was for the illusive support group. I reasoned it would be foolish to load software that didn't have a good user support system for all levels of experience. I might add that my previous adventures with Windows compliant software taught me to be more than a little wary of promised help, especially when money is involved.
Format was also an issue. I ultimately decided on the e-mail format due to vision problems. The first group I joined was composed of newbies with hot tempers and no manners. I received 200 e-mails the first day-most of which were flames. I unsubscribed and prayed that other groups were not quite as verbose. They aren't.
Several days passed as I examined the user group lists. I was specifically interested in the type of questions posed and the quality of response. I joined a second group, but this time I opted for a level other than a beginner group. For the next few weeks I read the messages and asked questions privately while I continued to examine the individual Linux web sites.
I liked the look of Caldera Open Linux and the installer is reputed to be superb. I was suprised to learn that it supports Partition Magic and Boot Magic which I use. Unfortunately I found it is an add-on purchase for Caldera 2.2. The Caldera support page is awesome, but the bottom line for me is real people supporting real people in a timely manner and I chose Linux-Mandrake
Steve, Benjamin, and Dennis, members of the Mandrake group, were instrumental in getting me past my stage fright and into the actual install process. It was no easy task even though I am a Windows veteran with three multi-partitioned hard drives. I was just plain scared. I knew I could not hurt my machine, but in the back of my mind the idea of a total reformat was very disquieting.
Partition Magic is particularly useful for W95 users as it recognizes hard drives larger than 2GB as well as 26 partitions. (I reclaimed 1.5 GB when I first installed it.) However, Windows names partitions as A,C,D.. whereas Linux does not. Ergo, the concept of Linux partitions were particularly hard for me to understand. (Of course, now that I've seen hda9 (my Linux boot sector) it makes perfect or, uh..better sense.)
/boot Huh?? What goes in which partition? Is Linux smart enough to know where the Kernel resides? What's
LILO? Will it work on a dual boot? Is 2 GB enough space? What about /user? Do I create the /? files? Steve fielded the questions and replied in a down-to-earth manner. Detailed, but easy to understand, instructions are critical for the novice as we don't know the jargon. (I still don't, but I'm learning.)
As I was familiar with the Windows version of Partition Magic I was confident I could easily create a Linux partition. The information thoughtfully provided by Power Quest reminded me that once selected, Windows would not recognize the Linux partition. I was also reminded that Linux did not recognize Windows FAT files. Great, the two systems will ignore each other!
When I attempted to install Mandrake, well.. that's when I fell flat on my face. The installation process failed. No available space was the message I read and reread. NO available space!! What went wrong?
"Ah hem..You need to create a boot partition and swap space first," Steve replied. "Make a 10M boot partition in ext2, a swap file of 128M, and leave the balance of the disk in ext2. Be sure to select custom install. Also, install LILO to /boot and NOT in the Master Boot Record."
I later learned that Linux uninstalls like windows but with one caveat. If LILO is installed to the Master Boot Record, it does not automatically uninstall with the Fdisk command. An additional step must be used to remove LILO from the MBR. With the prospect of three operating systems in my future, it was not a risk I wanted to take.
Armed with the new information, I created the three partitions with a minimum of fuss and breathed a sigh of relief. I was ready!
I dropped the CD-ROM in the drive, opened Maximum Linux to page 33, rebooted and expected to see the Linux-Mandrake welcome screen. I painfully watched Windows load. I was frustrated and disgusted.
Fifteen hours later I concluded I have a problem that probably stems from the age/type/drivers/? of the CD unit. I tried various tricks such as downloading the latest drivers, changing the drive letter position in DOS and Windows as well as the position of CD in BIOS. My efforts drew blanks. The bottom line is the auto-install mode of Linux-Mandrake 6.0 doesn't work on my machine. It was 5 a.m., and I went to bed.
Maximum Linux provided one sentence of instructions on how to create a bootable floppy using the rawrite program included on the Mandrake CD. In retrospect I should have done this immediately. The entire process, from formatting the floppy to installing the required utilities and images, took less than 5 minutes.
Everything I've ever read about installing Linux very clearly states you should know your machine intimately from drivers to printer model, RAM, modem, video card, sound card, size of drives, ISP submask, and more. It is no idle request, for Linux probes. When presented with an unrecognized entry you need to provide the correct information. Like a good scout, be prepared. If you happen to have a Linux/Windows conflict you'll need to know IRQ's too.
I shoved the boot floppy into the drive, and prayed while I watched the start-up routine. Since my 8x CD-ROM is slow to engage I used TweakUI, a Microsoft utility, to disable the splash screen and GUI which in turn causes boot to pause at the C:/> prompt in DOS and wait for a command.
Nothing happened. Did Windows crash again? I glanced at the floppy drive, saw a flash of green light and breathed a deep sigh of relief. A few minutes later I saw the promised welcome screen!
I watched as Linux probed and selected the correct options for my machine and when asked I chose the custom install. Mandrake installed 317 software packages in less than 7 minutes-just enough time to grab a cup of mud and find the loo. I was prompted to define passwords. Be careful here. One of the Linux features is it does not print passwords. When entering the password nothing happens. You won't see a thing on the screen. When asked where to install the bootloader, (Warning! If you are installing Linux on a single drive dual-boot system with Windows 9x DO NOT select Master Boot Record. It is possible that if you do, Windows will not start.) I selected /boot, the 10M partition that had been created specifically for my situation.
The rest of the install went smoothly. The defaults selected were perfect except for the monitor. Although it is listed as suported by Linux, it isn't listed on the Mandrake 6.0 CD. I took the default and prayed. At this point I didn't attempt to set up the PPP connection because I did not understand the questions. I skipped it. Windows DUN and Linux PPP Internet connection set up, are about as much alike as a cow and a boat. Don't say you weren't warned.
One of the things that I like very much about Linux is the flexibility. Windows demands that the installation be very orderly: 1,2,3.. or it aborts, whereas once Linux has the basic information it is okay to skip what you don't understand. (Detailed instructions later provided by Steve, John, Benjamin and Civileme helped me to correctly set up KPPP, the Linux version of PPP under KDE, and change the monitor setting.)
I was done. The total install time was less than an hour. I removed the CD and floppy, rebooted and waited to finally greet the Penguin! Instead I sat in stunned silence as I watched Windows boot once more. What the...??
I quickly skimmed through the media to be reminded that I could boot from the rescue floppy. I did and this time my dream came true. I was greeted with the Mandrake login. Fifteen characters later I was looking at my new KDE Desktop.
The Mandrake developers thoughtfully included everything I needed to make the new learning process as painless and as pleasant as possible starting with KDE, a Windows 'look and feel' GUI desktop with icons. The default packages included Netscape, e-mail, word processor and note pad, graphics programs, scientific calculator, wallpaper, dozens of games, and much more.
I only have one real criticism. Nothing I read prior to the installation explained how to select an option. The same infomation seemed to be missing on the CD too. Windows users are accustomed to point and click. Oops! Linux doesn't support this function during intallation.
Use the tab key and up/down keys to move through the options. Don't be in a hurry. Linux is patient. When the preferred option is highlighted hit the SPACE bar. That's right! The space bar will leave the star character inside brackets [*] indicating it is the chosen element to install. Point and click are ignored as are the Y, N, * and X key strokes.
Was it worth it? Every minute! I am now one step closer to running a pure Linux box and I am excited! The days of costly hardware and software upgrades to run bloated and buggy software are quickly and thankfully fading into an unpleasant memory. Once I load Star Office I will be doing exactly what I was doing a year ago except I'll be doing it in a stable and more secure invironment, and without help from the House of Redmond. The bonus is I won't have to worry about Microsoft engineers doctoring Windows code to cause browsing problems or security risks.
Trial Finding #172 Size:404K. I can doctor my own system!
Here are a few tips to help make the transition to Linux a little less daunting:
READ THIS FIRST!
- Linux-Mandrake is a true 32 bit multi-tasking operating system. A Pentium processor, or better, is required. It will not install on a 386 or 486 machine.
- When it comes to entering a password Linux shoots blanks. You cannot see what you type, and unlike Windows, there are no characters dislayed either.
- Not every motherboard supports dual boot systems.
- If you intend to install a dual W9x/Linux system- partition, set up your Windows system first and leave space at the end of the drive for Linux-Mandrake; 2 GB is recommended. After W9x is installed and you are satisfied with its functionality, load Linux. Unless you are an experienced Linux user, do not install LILO in the Master Boot Record. I can not stress this enough.
- I highly recommend Partition Magic for a dual boot system. It allows the user to merge or convert file types, as well as add, remove or change partition size on-the-fly without losing data, provided you stay within the stated limits. Supported systems include DOS, W9x, NT, W2000, Linux and OS/2.
- LOOK before you load! Linux-Mandrake may be the only distribution that currently supports dual systems on a single drive.
MORE TIPS...
A FEW LINKS...
My intent is to avoid redundancy by including general information I consider helpful. Every Linux site provides a wealth of subject specific links.
Linux-Mandrake 6.0 was installed on a clone with the following components: Asus Motherboard; Intel MMX200 CPU;
64RAM; Digiview HR70 CRT; Sound Blaster 16AWE; AOPEN video card with 2MG RAM on board; USRobotics Sportster 56.k external modem; HP-600Deskjet printer; 8X Mitsumi ATAPI CD-ROM; WDCaviar 8.4GB, WDCaviar 3.2GB
and Seagate .850MB Hard Drives plus Genius ColorPage-EP Scanner.
Partition Magic and Boot Magic are tradmarks of Power Quest Corporation. Windows, MS-DOS, W95, W98, NT and W2000 are trademarks of Microsoft. Metscape is a trademark of AOL. Maximum Linux is a trademark of Imagine Media,Inc. MotherboardX is a trademark of Motherboard Express,Inc. All others products are registered to their respective companies.
Copyright © 2000, P.J. Wessel
Published in Issue 49 of Linux Gazette, January 2000
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