this post was submitted on 06 May 2025
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Play around in a virtual machine so you don't have to worry about messing anything up. Start with the basics such as navigating through directories and creating, editing, and moving files. If you break something, just restore a snapshot.
Or just use Time Shift or a similar tool. I broke my first linux install like a dozen times, and I learned so much about how my computer operates in the process.
The way I usually start teaching using the console to my (very much non-tech) students is set up a safe container and then let them type whatever, invariably generating a lot of error messages. Then I challenge them to generate different error messages, "gotta catch em all" style. Then we talk about the error messages and what they might mean. After this exercise they usually get the basic idea of command -- response, what to look out for and how to compose valid commands.
That's clever