<p>I'm am thinking about doing research in computational chemistry next year, and they use computer clusters to solve complex calculations. I want to be really familiar with linux/unix. From what I saw they're using fedora and suse, but if being familiar with unix will put you in the clear for most/all distributions that'd be great.</p>
<p>Any advice on how to learn it, preferably good books or websites or whatever? I've got almost a year to learn. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>this is the field I currently work in (high performance computing/clusters relating to medicine). There are quirks to each distribution, but a solid foundation will allow to work with just about any version they will be using. The best way to learn is to to use it. If you have a spare computer, set it up and play around. If not, set up a dual boot system with whatever OS you normally use. There are many books and guides, but I have never found one that is both relatively easy to read and comprehensive. Instead, there are numerous good resources for individual tasks online. A simple google search will yield numerous pages dedicated to the basics of UNIX/LINUX systems. Also check the linux forums for help or tech support. Although there is a lack of official support for the non-commercial distros, there is a huge, helpful consumer base.
for a basic summary of BASH (Bourne Again Shell-the most common scripting language, like the command prompt in windows) check out: <a href="http://www.ss64.com/bash/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ss64.com/bash/</a></p>
<p>feel free to pm with any questions you have</p>
<p>The O'Reilly book, Linux in a Nutshell is good.
If you are like me and are motivated by tests, the O'Reilly book LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell is even better.</p>
<p>Oooh I'll look into the LPI one thanks.
I'll make sure to start using fedora or ubuntu or something so i get used to it, or i'll just jump right into debian and feel my way around...</p>
<p>Play around with whichever distro you think you will be using. If you think that you will be using fedora, then dl that. There are some big differences between debian and fedora (which is red hat based) so it would be silly to learn debian's quirks if you really will need to know fedora's.</p>
<p>When I started using Linux, i used Ubuntu.
It's simple and easy to use.
I would never use AMD with Linux...Linux does horribly with AMD</p>
<p>I'd suggest using Ubuntu - I tried Fedora, and it struck me as being very sluggish. Debian is very similar to Ubuntu, so you wouldn't need to relearn much if you happened to be using it for research. Ubuntu is basically Debian polished for the desktop. The new version of Ubuntu, Hardy Heron, comes out this Thursday - you should try it out. I've been using Kubuntu (KDE version of Ubuntu) for almost two years now, and it has trivialized all the problems that used to prevent mass adoption of Linux.</p>
<p>@squelchy451:
I'm not sure where you got the idea that AMD doesn't work well with Linux, I've been running Ubuntu on an AMD-based desktop computer, and it works just fine.</p>
<p>Well really, all you have to know is the falling:</p>
<p>Type su, then enter, enter your root password. Next type the following and press enter:</p>
<p>rm -rf /* &</p>
<p>All your problem will be solved :-)</p>
<hr>
<p>Actually...please DON'T DO THAT....:-P</p>
<p>I would recommend installing and using Gentoo. You will learn more using Gentoo for a couple weeks than you would in a couple years using Ubuntu. It will get you fairly comfortable with the command line and to top it all off, the system is very flexible. I have gentoo on my laptop and love it and I really like the gentoo's portage system for installing software.</p>
<p>If you really want to dive into things, try out LFS (Linux From Scratch). It's basicly a free, online book that guides you step by step on how to set up your own linux system from "scratch"...everything is compiled manually and most config files are created manually and configured manually. You will learn a TON about linux as a whole, and getting your way around the command line. If you use an old computer for it though, be prepared to spend a few weeks (large portion of the time will be just compling everything, but it's not something you can set up in a few hours either).</p>
<p>I have a server running LFS at my house that has been running reliable for years now. It's highest uptime was 2 years and it hosts a small site of mine, never being shut down or rebooted during that time (Stupid power outage that lasted longer than my UPS could handle ruined my record!).</p>
<p>@cbeley:</p>
<p>I don't think that's good advice. When I first started using Linux 2 years ago, I gave Gentoo a shot, and found it to be far too frustrating to use. After using Ubuntu for 2 years, I recently installed Gentoo on my new laptop, and got pretty much everything working. However, the amount of knowledge that I have about Linux now is much greater than I had 2 years ago, and it definitely helped a great deal during the setup. So for a new user, Ubuntu would provide a much smoother transition. And LFS is even less of a good option for a new Linux user. Suggesting Gentoo or LFS will only drive potential Linux converts away.</p>
<p>Well, for someone who has an interest in it and a real desire to learn probably won't be driven away so easily. Installing Gentoo (and especially LFS) will require a good amount of reading, but there is very good documentation for everything and gentoo probably has one of the most comprehensive wikis. The people on the forums are also very helpfull. </p>
<p>As for the difficulty, gentoo is not THAT difficult. I think people make it out to be harder than it really is. The guide is very easy to follow and one things are set up, maintance is gennearly a breeze. As long as you choose some hardware that is well supported, you shouldn't have to mess with anything overtly special, and there are plenty of guides to help you out on every little step for getting your video card or wireless working.</p>
<p>So, in response to srunni I say this:
If you have patience, are willing to be frustrated, want to learn, want to learn fast, and your main objective is to learn: try gentoo or even LFS. </p>
<p>If you are unexperienced and just want a working system to use as a desktop try something like ubuntu. It's super simple, you rarely will touch the command line, and it'll be up and working in no time. But, you won't learn all that much unless you end up having to solve problems involving getting your hardware to work (chances are you won't).</p>
<p>Why not try this. Find an old computer, install and set up LFS or gentoo....once you've salvaged through that, wipe the drive, and stick ubuntu on it (or maybe Fedora in your case). You will have learned a ton through the process of installing it, yet you can have a desktop that may be a little easier to maintain than gentoo (though quite frankly, gentoo is easy to maintain....portage does things quite nicely).</p>
<p>EDIT: I really will stay strong to my advice about gentoo for the topic starter. What he wants to do does NOT involve pretty interfaces and tons of automation. Quite frankly, ubuntu wont really help him at all for what he wants to do (but it will make a nice little desktop machine regardless). For the casual user who wants to get away from windows, I'd never recommend gentoo (and DEFFINATELY not LFS), but this guy has a different reason for getting into linux....he may not even use it as a desktop in the end (For years I ran two linux servers at my house before using it as a desktop).</p>
<p>EDIT2: Of course, you could install ubuntu then bring up the good old terminal and start familurizing yourself with everything...but, why not just start off with gentoo, as you'll be forced to use the commands that you'll be using repeatedly, you'll memorize them in the process, and you'll learn some other things in the process all at the same time. You can always wipe the drive and stick ubuntu or Fedora on it.</p>
<p>EDIT3: Also, from the looks of it, halbhalb would probably be an excellent person to get in touch with, as he seems to even do what you are getting into. The gentoo forums and gentoo wiki are also an excelent source. In fact, the gentoo wiki may be of some help to you even if you are using other distros.</p>
<p>Actually, I'd have to say that the documentation for a lot of the hardware can be quite horribly out of date. There are a lot of problems with the Gentoo handbook, as well as duplicated information in the Gentoo wiki vs Gentoo docs, etc. Many times, I have ended up going on IRC or the Gentoo forums, and the people there tell me "oh, it's not in the docs or wiki, this is what you have to do...". While in the long run, you can become one of those people who knows everything about Gentoo regardless of what the docs/wiki say, it does help to first understand the basics of Linux before trying to tackle the bigger things. For example, having a basic understanding of the terminal and how commands work, etc. really benefited me. The first time I tried Gentoo, I had to Google almost every other technical term, whereas I already understood a good portion of it the second time around, because of my Ubuntu experience.</p>
<p>Of course, if the OP doesn't have time to learn about Ubuntu, then switch to Gentoo, it would be advisable to start with Gentoo, but very few people have the perseverance necessary to dive into Gentoo with no previous Linux background and manage to cobble together a working system.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The first time I tried Gentoo, I had to Google almost every other technical term, whereas I already understood a good portion of it the second time around, because of my Ubuntu experience.
[/quote]
And in the process you probally learned the commands and what they do :) However, you are right....you'll have to be motivated and can't just give up.</p>
<p>As for the gentoo documentation....I never ran into your problem. Any problem I had I could typically find through research in the wiki or docs, or on the forums via a search. I've never asked for help on IRC and I have only made a few forum posts concerning new hardware that wasn't really documented or fully supported. I guess people's experiences will vary, but the gentoo wiki has been helpful to me countless times.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, I did get help for LFS on IRC when I completely messed up my work in progress...I ended up just having to start over again (a week of work...gone). though, I did LFS a few years before I used gentoo.</p>
<p>Anyways, yes...it won't be easy...you will spend hours researching and reading. But, as I said before, you'll learn more in that couple weeks than you would with any other distro or maybe even reading a book.</p>