UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I'd like to start learning UNIX. Where should I begin? I have a desktop PC running Windows XP, but I don't use it for much since I got my Macbook. I was going to install Windows on my Mac, but I quickly noticed that I have absolutely no need for it.

I'm just starting to learn my terminal commands, and I only have weekends to devote serious time into my learning. I thought it would be best if I had some goals in mind, so I could learn toward something. So, I'd like to setup a website and a forum, using my desktop as the server. I've got a lot to learn about everything, so any hints, suggestions, tips, advice, whatever about anything would be greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I guess my specific questions are:

Where should I start?
Which 'version' of UNIX would be best for me?
What should I prepare before installing?
What questions should I be asking?

This seems to be a great guide for setting up what I'd like to do, but with Fedora Core Linux. Would this be the same, or similar with UNIX?

Which 'versions' should I be looking for / are there?
Does anyone know of a similar guide for any UNIX versions?

Thanks

hi there. When i was in a similar position to you, i found this book invaluable:

Unix Unleashed from SAMS Publishing

There are a couple of different versions, not sure if you get all the chapters in the one i linked to. Anyway, this book does not assume any one type of *ix system, and everything in it should be platform independent. Given that it starts at the basics and covers just about everything, it really is invaluable to a newcomer, in my opinion.

If you haven't got a *ix on your PC, i would recommend using fedora or ubuntu to start with, or if you don't mind a steeper learning curve, use slackware. Slackware has fewer distro-specific commands and so in my opinion, it reflects "unix" better than the other two, but slackware is quite frustrating for the uninitiate, there's the tradeoff. You could also try one of the *BSDs or, Sun has finally made a "free" version of Solaris for PC if you want to be a bit exotic. You may not be aware but very few systems actually run "UNIX" as such these days, though it depends if you count Solaris, AIX, HP/UX and *BSD as Unix, since none of them actually are UNIX, but they can all trace their parentage back to it. Linux, on the other hand, is a from-scratch UNIX clone, which uses large amounts of software from GNU, which is a project which intends to provide a suite of software which clones UNIX software, but which is available for anyone to use, modify and redistribute. There are volumes of reading you could do on this, if interested, i would say, start here and i suppose i should mention this by way of balance.

Also, you have a head start in using *ix if you have MacOSX since it is a very distant descendent of UNIX (although i am sure somebody will "correct" me by elaborating!). I haven't really tried MacOSX, but i would be interested to hear how your experiences compare between it and other *ix systems.

Thanks for that great reply. Well, it definitely answers my main question of where to begin. The links to Unix Unleashed Internet Edition and The Cathedral and the Bazaar will prove invaluable resources no doubt. Thanks again!

I'll do a bit a reading over some coffee and hopefully that will help me decide which to try. I'm quite interested in Slackware, but Ubuntu would be an easier way to start. I just wonder if easy is better at this stage, or will I learn 'bad' habits that slow me down later. You didn't seem to recommend FreeBSD, I don't know its advantages/disadvantages at all.

I'll try downloading Solaris, Slackware and Ubuntu and perhaps try each of them to get a feel from the installation of which would be the one to stick with for a while, while I learn.

Thanks again and I hope i'm able to give you some good feedback pretty soon.

About MAC OS X, it is very easy to install, setup and use. Plus, it just looks pretty. As a user, I have had no issues at all with it (It's going to be a while, before I can give you an answer that's more in depth than that).

Thanks again for the great info. I've been doing a lot of reading and checkied out Solaris and Ubuntu. I've decided that Ubuntu Server will be a good starting place for me, simply because I 'can' do it.

It might be a little easier than the others, but I have decided that building the habit of relying on ease of use/setup/etc... will be better than spending a lot of time being frustrated in the beginning stages.

Ubuntu Server has Automatic Lamp (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP). I think that'll help me just jump in.

Again, thanks a lot for the help. I'll let you know how it goes.

brilliant! glad to hear you're getting into it. i think ubuntu is a good choice because it is based on, and is very similar to, Debian, which is well known for being a secure and versatile operating system. Debian and Slackware are the oldest surviving Linux based systems as well which i always think is a good sign.