Some Core Principals of Linux
OK, so you have installed Linux now, and I am sure you want to know what to do with it, right? Unfortunately, we must first cover some basic philosophies of Linux, which often times are very different than Windows.
One of them is the GUI. In Windows (or at least 2000 and XP), when you boot up to Windows, you see a pretty graphical user interface with a mouse cursor and a pretty login screen. This is because the backend of Windows is tightly integrated with the GUI in Windows, which has a name: Explorer. However, it is possible to use Windows with a modified version of Explorer or even without Explorer. For example, when you first login to Windows, you are actually using a special version of Explorer that restricts many functions. It is tied to WinLogin, the login app. In Linux, however, the core is not tightly integrated with the GUI. The GUI’s found in Linux are often just simplified versions of typing in commands. However, in Linux, a core principal is choice, and there is no shortage of choices for GUI programs. Most of these are designed to emulate the Windows Explorer interface. The two well-known interfaces are Gnome and KDE.
Each of these interfaces is stylized to a certain degree, but they generally look and feel the same. The problem with having multiple interfaces, however, is that each of these uses their own library of GUI functions. In other words, the programs you install may only work on certain interfaces. However, this is all part of the choice you get with Linux.
Another core principal is Do Thyself No Harm, which means that in Linux, you are given very few opportunities to harm yourself by accident. In Windows, you may remember accidentally removing a system file because you didn’t think it was important. In Windows, you are given this sort of ultimate power by default. In Linux, you can also use this power – but only if you explicitly want to. For this type of ultimate power, you must be logged in as root, the super user of Linux (equivalent to the Administrator of Windows). However, it is generally highly discouraged to do your everyday tasks as root. Instead, most people have a user account that can access his/her own folders (/Home/Username) and some generally used programs. Of course, you will want to change settings, access special files, and other stuff that can only be done by root. Luckily, there is a way to do this: a dialogue will come up to ask for your root password. Provided you supply the correct root password, you should be able to do whatever you needed to do. This is accomplished through SU, one way of achieving root permissions through a normal user.
The most important principle, however, is the Open Source movement. Now, not everything in Linux is open source. A lot of commercial software for Linux is not even offered as source code. Yet, for most apps, you will compile them straight from the source. This aspect of Linux gives each piece of compiled software a special “feel,” like it is somehow more of “yours.” Yes, this all sounds pretty nutty, but this is no joke. Therefore, in Linux, there are two ways of installing software: from the source and from binaries. Binaries are like “EXE” files in Windows, except for the fact that you must use a package manager to extract binaries from their archives. Binary files have already been compiled, much like programs in Windows. Source files must be compiled, or “maked” (and yes, I know that is incorrect English). Almost every set of source files can be compiled with only a few simple commands and no knowledge of programming. However, these commands will not be revealed yet because you first need to understand how Linux works.
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