Hand out Syllabus

Class Format

• Tell who this class is for
• Talk about frustration
• Tell the need for self-learning
• Grades
• The Web Site
• The URL
• Notes always there
• List of what homework is due or next.
  

Terms

• Linux -- A kernel.  A UNIX clone.
• Distribution -- A kernel + a set of utilities and applications.
• RedHat -- A popular distribution.  See www.redhat.com
• Debian -- A popular non-profit distribution.  See www.debian.net
• RPM -- The RedHat package manager.  It's a set of files, an installation script, and a list of dependencies.
• X Windows -- The GUI that almost all UNIX uses.
• X11 -- See X Windows
  
• Gnome -- A look-and-feel for X11 implemented as a set of libraries and applications.
• KDE -- A competitor to Gnome.  Both are equally cool.
• Root -- The superuser
• Deamon -- A program that runs all the time and provides a service, like the web server.
  
• LILO  -- The Linux boot sector creator
• Kernel -- The OS.  Linux is our case
• Device Driver -- A piece of the OS that talks to a device
• IRQ -- The interrup a device uses to get the CPU's attention
• Port -- A data channel between a device and the CPU
• Active Partition -- The partition that the BIOS default boots to.
• Boot sector -- The 1K program that loads and runs the OS
• Partition - A consequtive set of cyllanders that form a logical disk
• Partition table -- The part of the hard drive that tells what partitions exist
• Shell -- The program that implements the command line.  command.com for dos, bash for linux.
• Script -- A program, typically written  in bash or perl.

Describe boot process

• BIOS
• Master Boot Record
• Partition Table
• Boot sector of each partition
• OS Load
• OS Start