Linux operating system related tips

1. Adding a new locale (eg. Arabic).
2. Adding a keyboard indicator to the panel (or system tray).
3. Adding more languages to the keyboard indicator to enable the keyboard to produce the alphabet of other languages (eg. Arabic).
4. Linux & Windows talking and understanding each other.
5. Showing hidden folders (directories).
6. Sound level adjustments .
7. Building playlists in kmplayer.
8. Setting up printers.
9. Starting database programs: MySQL, Firebird & Postgres (psql).
10. Building a playlist manually that later can be opened (loaded and played) by Totem, kmplayer or RealPlayer.
    
    
    To get to know how-to regarding the above points, click here to download the file in .odt format.

Script languages

Introduction: The script languages that have interpreters operating under Linux OS (eg Mepis, OpenSUSE, Mandriva, Ubuntu, PCLOS) and will be covered, here, in this section are: perl, python, tcl, tk, ruby, rexx (regina) and haskell. In order to prepare scripts in different languages and have them run in the terminal (konsole) window, it is suggested to first set up the appropriate icons and folders on the desktop as follows:

1. Right click the mouse (i.e. click the right btton on your mouse), then choose Create new and then click folder from the subcontext menu that will appear on the screen.
2. Enter the folder name, example My scripts. Double-click the folder you have just created and start adding the links to applications.
3. Right-click your mouse, then choose Create new and click Link to application. In the dialogue box that will appear (under the general tab), type the name of the script language, eg. my perl scripts. Click the Application tab, then go to the Work path field, click on the icon to the left of the field then click on the folder having you scripts (in our example would be perl scripts). Then go to the command field and type konsole, then click the OK button in the dialogue (tab) box.
4. Now you have an icon in the scripts file (on your desktop) for perl ones, you can have additional ones for python, tcl, ruby,...etc.
5. When you click this icon a shell session will start in the scripts directory that you want, eg. perl. You can get a list of files in the directory (by typing dir or ls at the prompt), then you can start your perl scripts by typing perl followed by a space and the file name (having the script) with .pl extension. If you have the sha-bang in your script (this special first line is #!/usr/bin/perl), then you run your script with ./ and the file name with its extension (with no space between ./ and the file name). The same applies to the other scripting languages mentioned here.

To read more, click here.

Programming languages

Introduction:
The programming languages that have compilers operating under Linux OS distributions (eg. openSuse, Mepis, PCLOS, Mandriva, Ubuntu ) and will be coverd here in this section are: C++, fortran77, gfortran, pascal (free pascal), SmallEiffel, ADA, Haskell, Ocaml and Java.
To read more, click here.

A step-by-step method to install Linux distro side-by-side with Windows XP

1. Click the device (eg. C:\) with the left mouse button.
2. It will be highlighted.
3. Click it with the right mouse button.
4. A menu will appear, from which choose (click with the left mouse button) Properties.
5. Click the Tools tab in the window that appeared on the screen.
6. When the Tools tab content appears click Defragment and wait until this process is over.
7. Insert the CD (or the USB) having the Linux distribution (PCLOS, Ubuntu, SimplyMEPIS or any other distro) that has to be tried and/or installed onto the hard drive in the CD drive (or the USB port).
8. Restart the machine (netbook, laptop,..etc), hit the function key (eg. F12) that provides the user the choice of booting the machine (from the hard drive, USB or CD drive).
9. Choose the drive having the Linux OS (using the up/down arrows) then hit Enter.
10. Play & try the OS, to install on the hard drive, click install me and follow the installation wizard that is composed of few screens..
11. After the installation is complete, a prompt will advise the user to remove the CD and then hit the Enter key. Now you can start your machine.
12. The screen that will be displayed would give the user the option to boot into Windows OS or the Linux distro installed.

The Linux page

Introduction:
If you are new to Linux operating system, like me, then this page is for you. I had a personal computer (desktop) with Windows 98 and Windows XP installed on it (dual booting). I was able to convert it into a multiple boot machine i.e. Windows98, Windows XP, Ubuntu (a distribution of Linux operating system) and simplyMEPIS (another flavour or distribution of Linux). An HP notebook (laptop), pavilion dv4000 with Windows XP, home edition (40 GB hard drive) was converted into a dual boot sytem, UBUNTU and Windows; after-which it was converted into a multi-boot machine (Windows XP in 15 GB hard drive partition, PCLOS 2007 with updates- in 5 GB hard drive partition, UBUNTU 6.06 LTS with updates in about 7 GB and openSuse with updates- in about 10 GB). Another notebook (Asus F5 series, model F5R) was converted into an only Linux multiple boot machine with the following distributions installed on it: simplyMepis, openSUSE, Mandriva and PCLOS. The 2 laptops (ASUS and HP) were connected together through the Ethernet card and socket to form a peer-to-peer 2-computer LAN, with Asus acting as printer server and HP as internet gateway, as shown in the following sketch:
 To read more, click here.