COMP101

TUTORIAL 2 --- LINUX (PART A)

(Week 3 Starting Monday 10 October 2005)




1. OVERVIEW

This tutorial session again takes the form of an interactive session. The tutorial includes the following:

Using the LINUX operating system.
Electronic mail.
 
Creating, compiling and running a Java programs under both Windows XP and Linux.

Commence the tutorial during your official tutorial slot and complete it in your own time.




2. LOGGING ON TO THE LINUX SYSTEM

Commence by logging onto your PC in the same manner as you did last week. Now double click on the UNIX session (Exceed) icon which will look something like the icon presented in Figure 1. After a short pause a "humming bird" window will appear and disappear, and then you will be presented with a list of machines that form part of the "LINUX network" (LINUX is a derivative of UNIX), select one of these machines (the top most one is usually the most appropriate --- the one with the least load) and then follow the login in procedure as guided by the "login window" that will appear next. Note: that when you are requested for your user name and password this is the same username and password that you used to log into windows (you only have one username and password at a time!).

EXCEED ICON

Figure 1: UNIX session (Exceed) icon

Once you have successfully logged on you will be taken to the "Fedora CORE" Desktop Environment (as you will see shortly, you actually have four Fedora desktops!). Note that:

  1. Firstly, you may have a "floating" exceed toolbar displayed on your screen --- close this.
 
  1. The Windows task bar is still present at the bottom of the screen and the Exceed window bar at the top (including the usual iconify, overlap and close icons).
  2. The Fedora desktop is displayed in the Exceed window and also has a tool bar at the top and a task bar at the bottom.
  3. A number of file manager icons (three) will be displayed on the left hand side of the desktop:
    1. My Computer: The System directory (don't worry about the contents of this directory but note that this is where you access the "floppy" drive).
    2. cs4??'s Home: Your home directory.
    3. Trash: For dragging and dropping files into that you wish to delete.
    In each case simply double click on the icon to open the directory.
  4. Along the Fedora tool bar (at the top) you will have listed on the left Applications, Places, Desktop; and a number of icons --- "Web Browser", "Email", "Word Processor" (Open Office), etc. On the right you will see a clock log-out vutto, a clock and so on.
  5. On the right hand side of the Fedora task bar, at the bottom of the screen, there is a panel comprising four rectangles with the left most rectangle "coloured in" blue. The rectangles represent your four Fedora desktops, and the coloured rectangle your current desktop. By clicking on one of the rectangles you will be taken to your second, third or fourth desktop respectively. Try it! but note that at present all your desk tops are empty so they will all look the same!



3. CALLING UP A WWW BROWSER

To access the notes on the WWW click (once) on the Web Browser icon. This will invoke the Fedora Web Browser. This works in much the same way as the Windows Internet Explorer WWW browser (or any other WWW browser for that matter).

To access the notes, where is sais "My portal:" overwute this with the URL:

http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/ ~frans/COMP101/comp101.html

by either typing or cutting and pasting this URL (Universal Resource Locator) in the location window, then find this weeks tutorial WWW page and carry on from there.

 

Remember that the URL must be typed all on one line with no white space characters (i.e. "space", tab, carriage return, etc.). Note also that in Fedora (and many other WWW browsers) "favourites" are called "bookmarks". To add the current WWW page to your bookmarks click on the Bookmarks icon and select the appropriate options.

Now continue to Part B (http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/ ~frans/COMP101/week3/tutorial2cont.html).




Created and maintained by Frans Coenen. Last updated 04 October 2005