Rodolfo J. Paiz wrote:How's that for a starter list?
Well, this is interesting, because, according to your list I'm half and half. Guess I'm either a "new" or a "bie." I can install Linux, but I haven't a clue about compiling the kernel. Not even sure why I'd want to. I can install an rpm package, if I spend 30 minutes with the man page, but I don't know what to do with a source file or how to do whatever you do to a tarball. My ability to make effective use of Linux is limited by these walls I keep butting into.
That's OK. With such a massive amount of choice, we are *all* still learning about something. And with such an incredibly degree of customizability, you almost *never* have to know everything about anything. I've never compiled a kernel either, and honestly have no intention of ever doing so. I refuse to use tarballs or compile from source since (a) it sidesteps the neat and wonderful RPM mechanism and breaks some upgrades while leaving all sorts of cruft in my system, (b) I don't understand it, (c) I don't want to install all sorts of compilers and debuggers and tools on my systems. So I use *only* RPM. If it's not in RPM format, it doesn't go on my system. (I may later become more flexible about that, but so far in 8 years I have never *needed* to install a tarball.
So hey, don't feel bad. A lot of what you don't know, I don't know either. And neither of us needs to know it. <grin> Now in reference to needing the RPM man page, allow me to suggest the most common usages right here:
-qa List all packages on the system
-qi bind List information about the bind package
-qf /etc/named.conf Tell you which package owns this file
-Uvh bind-9.23-1.noarch.rpm Upgrade the bind package (if installed) to this version if it's newer. Install this version if bind was not previously installed. Or do nothing if the installed bind is equal to or newer than this one. This is much more comfortable than "-ivh" (install) since it's more intelligent.
-Fvh bind-9.23-1.noarch.rpm Same as -U but ***only*** upgrade the package if it's already installed.
-e bind Remove a package.
-ql bind List all files in a package.
-qd bind List all documentation files in a package
That should cover 95% to 99% of the use you'll ever give RPM.
I'd really be disinclined to label myself a non-newbie because I'd feel like a fool otherwise. I'm guaranteed to ask a very newbie like question at any moment. Like, "What's a grep?"
<laugh> So join the club. See my "Traffic shaping... don't understand the instructions!" thread (started yesterday) for a perfect example of me learning something new, failing miserably at my first few attempts, and flailing around for help because I really *don't* understand the instructions.
I've been on Linux for at least 8 years if not more (likely 10 or so), I've run public Internet servers (web/mail/DNS/etc) for at least the last 6 years, I've run ISP companies since 1995, and I am *not* a newbie. But every week or so I bump into something I want to do and I ask questions like "what's a grep?" Every week.
It's the idiots who call themselves experts who think they have no more to learn who are dangerous. You will always be a newbie at *something* so don't worry about it. Newbie is more of a mental condition of either real (due to lack of knowledge and experience) or perceived (due to insecurity or foolishness) helplessness. People cease to be real newbies when they start taking control of their systems and start actually accomplishing things with them... the mindset changes when they start saying "hey, I can actually do this."
I always figured a non-newbie was someone who has a fairly versatile grasp of the whole package, i.e., has a fairly good handle on the big picture so that s/he has a pretty good base from which to diagnose failures or otherwise to figure things out.
Good God, no... anyone who has a "fairly versatile grasp of the whole package" is a full-blooded expert. :-) Maybe I should have added another point to my "no longer a newbie when" steps:
5. He has figured out the basics of troubleshooting (checking the logs, knowing which logs to check, testing one thing at a time, etc.) such that he is not utterly helpless when faced with any one thing having broken and not knowing even how to ask for help, let alone help himself.
Maybe I try to make the class so large that you won't get angry at me for asking something which, according to your judgment, I darn well ought to know....
You don't "darn well ought to know" anything, it's that simple. It's when you refuse to even attempt to try finding an answer on your own, or when you don't respond well to people who are trying to help you, that you get cussed out. But the best experts keep asking questions; that's how they *stay* experts.
Would it be useful to create an intermediate category of earnest and well-intentioned adopters who have gaping holes in their grasp of the fundamental concepts? A "Wannabie?"
Yes, if it helps you to more narrowly focus on the newbie you want to help. Just keep in mind that this intermediate group is going to cover 90% of our population.
-- Rodolfo J. Paiz rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.simpaticus.com
