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“Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first”

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  “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-06-02 22:18 +0000
    Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” TheLastSysop <thelastsysop@dev.null> - 2026-06-02 22:20 +0000
    Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-06-02 23:58 +0100
      Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-06-03 01:50 +0000
    Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” Farley Flud <ff@gnulinux.rocks> - 2026-06-03 01:04 +0000
      Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-06-03 11:40 +0100
        Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-06-04 00:56 -0400
    Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” Borax Man <boraxman@geidiprime.invalid> - 2026-06-03 11:07 +0000
      Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-06-03 12:39 +0100
        Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-06-03 18:44 +0000
          Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-06-03 20:18 +0100
      Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2026-06-03 18:00 +0000
        Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-06-03 18:47 +0000
      Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-06-03 18:39 +0000
      Re: “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first” Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-06-04 03:45 +0000

#87391 — “Want to be a Linux pro like me? Master these 8 skills first”

Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux
concepts worth mastering
<https://www.zdnet.com/article/things-you-need-to-master-to-become-a-linux-pro/>.

Yes, you can do a lot of things through the point-and-click GUI. But
that is mostly just a bunch of front-ends on command-line/scripting
tools that do all the actual work. Also, GUIs vary a lot from one
distro to another, or even one distro installation to another, whereas
the core command-line functionality tends to be much more homogeneous.

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#87392

>On Tue, 2 Jun 2026 22:18:25 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence
>=?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?= <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux
>concepts worth mastering
><https://www.zdnet.com/article/things-you-need-to-master-to-become-a-linux-
>pro/>.
>
>Yes, you can do a lot of things through the point-and-click GUI. But
>that is mostly just a bunch of front-ends on command-line/scripting
>tools that do all the actual work. Also, GUIs vary a lot from one
>distro to another, or even one distro installation to another, whereas
>the core command-line functionality tends to be much more homogeneous.

One thing I would add to that list is learning the local documentation trail
before reaching for a web search.

A practical habit is:

man command command --help info command        # where the project still
maintains info pages /usr/share/doc/PACKAGE/ journalctl -u NAME  # for systemd-
managed services

That usually tells you the exact version and packaging assumptions for the
machine in front of you.  Web examples are useful, but they often mix
distributions, init systems, shell dialects, and decade-old advice in the same
search result.

The other useful "pro" skill is getting comfortable reading scripts with set -x
in mind: environment, quoting, exit status, and where stdin/stdout are going.  A
lot of Linux troubleshooting reduces to those basics.

-- 
TheLastSysop <thelastsysop@dev.null>
"I survived the great rm -rf / rehearsal and all I got was this .signature."

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#87393

On 2026-06-02, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:

> Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux
[...]

AGAIN!? Is it at least new content or just another recycling?



-- 
Nuno Silva

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#87395

On Tue, 02 Jun 2026 23:58:59 +0100, Nuno Silva wrote:

> On 2026-06-02, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
> 
>> Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux
> [...]
> 
> AGAIN!? Is it at least new content or just another recycling?

Give the poor guy a break. He has to generate content to justify his 
paycheck so rehashing his greatest hits is inevitable. 

I am not a pro. If I ever got my fingers dirty with sed and awk it was 
decades ago and I never bothered to learn bash scripting after leaving 
tcsh.

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#87394

On Tue, 2 Jun 2026 22:18:25 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:

> Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux
> concepts worth mastering
> <https://www.zdnet.com/article/things-you-need-to-master-to-become-a-linux-pro/>.
> 

This is a very troubling issue.

Since GNU/Linux is dominating the computing world more and more,
the issue becomes a definition of the "true" Linux.

Linux certification is now offered by several entities, but what
exactly does this mean?  Certification in systemd?  Certification
in Wayland?

There are many possible varieties and configurations for GNU/Linux
and not any one can officially claim to be the one-and-only true
Linux.

But that won't stop such entities such as IBM/RedHat from presenting
itself as the true Linux.  After all, that was the whole idea behind
systemd and wayland.

If enough corp enterprises accept the claim of IBM/RedHat, and they
most likely will, then IBM/RedHat will become the de facto standard
of GNU/Linux. 

I am sorry to say, but no Linux developer beyond Torvalds himself
will have the "balls" to resist.


Unfortunate aside: Of course, this will be of no concern to the
GNU/Linux distro slaves who will blindly and blithely accept whatever
is thrown to them.



-- 
Gentoo/LFS: Is there any-fucking-thing else?

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#87423

On 03/06/2026 02:04, Farley Flud wrote:
> Unfortunate aside: Of course, this will be of no concern to the
> GNU/Linux distro slaves who will blindly and blithely accept whatever
> is thrown to them.
What is the one True Intel or AMD processor that is 'certified', plz?
-- 
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's 
too dark to read.

Groucho Marx

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#87476

On 6/3/26 06:40, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 03/06/2026 02:04, Farley Flud wrote:
>> Unfortunate aside: Of course, this will be of no concern to the
>> GNU/Linux distro slaves who will blindly and blithely accept whatever
>> is thrown to them.

> What is the one True Intel or AMD processor that is 'certified', plz?

   Even if there ARE some, new models will come out
   next year ....

   It's always a moving target.

   As for 'accepting distros' ... given the embarassing
   SIZE/COMPLEXITY of Linux distros now you kind of just
   HAVE to go with the flow. Only a VERY VERY few will
   have the skill/energy/obsession to "roll their own"
   kinda from scratch. Cudos TO such people, we need them,
   but they're always going to be the VERY few from now on.

   I could maybe write a basic CP/M from scratch - OK, COULD,
   when I was younger - but not an -IX. That's too "next
   level".

   Note for the hyper-skilled ... as noted in another thread
   it looks like "child protection laws" MIGHT be used to
   ruin Linux/Unix. Expect M$/Apple lawyers/lobbyists were
   busy in all that. Work on ways to FOOL/CORRUPT/MISDIRECT
   such schemes.

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#87430

On 2026-06-02, Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
> Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux
> concepts worth mastering
><https://www.zdnet.com/article/things-you-need-to-master-to-become-a-linux-pro/>.
>
> Yes, you can do a lot of things through the point-and-click GUI. But
> that is mostly just a bunch of front-ends on command-line/scripting
> tools that do all the actual work. Also, GUIs vary a lot from one
> distro to another, or even one distro installation to another, whereas
> the core command-line functionality tends to be much more homogeneous.

I get these people need to make a living, but it annoys me to no end to
see article after article after article after article which just
rehashes the same stuff over and over and over again.  Slop.


I look forward to the next "new" article on how to use "find".

Next, an article on how you can put butter on toast.

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#87437

On 2026-06-03, Borax Man wrote:

> On 2026-06-02, Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>> Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux
>> concepts worth mastering
>><https://www.zdnet.com/article/things-you-need-to-master-to-become-a-linux-pro/>.
>>
>> Yes, you can do a lot of things through the point-and-click GUI. But
>> that is mostly just a bunch of front-ends on command-line/scripting
>> tools that do all the actual work. Also, GUIs vary a lot from one
>> distro to another, or even one distro installation to another, whereas
>> the core command-line functionality tends to be much more homogeneous.
>
> I get these people need to make a living, but it annoys me to no end to
> see article after article after article after article which just
> rehashes the same stuff over and over and over again.  Slop.
>
>
> I look forward to the next "new" article on how to use "find".
>
> Next, an article on how you can put butter on toast.

At this rate, I propose a lossy compression algorithm for magazine and
newspaper articles, along the lines of LenPEG [1].

If the input is an article by Jack Wallen, return the empty string,
otherwise compress it with LZMA.

Decompressors will implement decompression of empty strings by
outputting one of the versions of his articles, possibly randomizing the
location of the several parts and possibly also their presence or
absence.

If there are more than one series of articles to consider, this can
always be extended by using arabic numberals to denote the series being
compressed, but thus increasing compression complexity.

[1] <https://www.dangermouse.net/esoteric/lenpeg.html>

-- 
Nuno Silva

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#87455

On Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:39:53 +0100, Nuno Silva wrote:

> Decompressors will implement decompression of empty strings by
> outputting one of the versions of his articles, possibly randomizing the
> location of the several parts and possibly also their presence or
> absence.

Isn't that what Claude and friends do? They aren't 'hallucinating'; they 
were trained on bullshit and spew bullshit. The trend as the AI companies 
try to monetize the products makes it expensive bullshit.

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#87460

On 2026-06-03, rbowman wrote:

> On Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:39:53 +0100, Nuno Silva wrote:
>
>> Decompressors will implement decompression of empty strings by
>> outputting one of the versions of his articles, possibly randomizing the
>> location of the several parts and possibly also their presence or
>> absence.
>
> Isn't that what Claude and friends do? They aren't 'hallucinating'; they 
> were trained on bullshit and spew bullshit. The trend as the AI companies 
> try to monetize the products makes it expensive bullshit.

I was imagining this being more about hardcoded blocks of text, with
minimal or no rewording, more hardcoding stuff, no need for LLMs. Just
Wallen's own articles, nothing else.

-- 
Nuno Silva

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#87451

On 2026-06-03, Borax Man <boraxman@geidiprime.invalid> wrote:

> I look forward to the next "new" article on how to use "find".

In my case, if I'm using Unix-like utilities under Windows,
the correct usage is:

    \usr\local\wbin\find ...

in order to keep it from finding Windows' brain-dead grep equivalent.

> Next, an article on how you can put butter on toast.

Send money to the "butter" utility provider and sign up
for monthly rental payments.

-- 
/~\  Charlie Gibbs                  |  Growth for the sake of
\ /  <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid>      |  growth is the ideology
 X   I'm really at ac.dekanfrus     |  of the cancer cell.
/ \  if you read it the right way.  |    -- Edward Abbey

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#87456

On Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:00:11 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

> On 2026-06-03, Borax Man <boraxman@geidiprime.invalid> wrote:
> 
>> I look forward to the next "new" article on how to use "find".
> 
> In my case, if I'm using Unix-like utilities under Windows,
> the correct usage is:
> 
>     \usr\local\wbin\find ...
> 
> in order to keep it from finding Windows' brain-dead grep equivalent.

That is annoying. At least there is no was 'ls' is going to invoke 'dir'

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#87454

On Wed, 3 Jun 2026 11:07:49 -0000 (UTC), Borax Man wrote:

> On 2026-06-02, Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>> Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux concepts
>> worth mastering
>><https://www.zdnet.com/article/things-you-need-to-master-to-become-a-
linux-pro/>.
>>
>> Yes, you can do a lot of things through the point-and-click GUI. But
>> that is mostly just a bunch of front-ends on command-line/scripting
>> tools that do all the actual work. Also, GUIs vary a lot from one
>> distro to another, or even one distro installation to another, whereas
>> the core command-line functionality tends to be much more homogeneous.
> 
> I get these people need to make a living, but it annoys me to no end to
> see article after article after article after article which just
> rehashes the same stuff over and over and over again.  Slop.
> 
> 
> I look forward to the next "new" article on how to use "find".
> 
> Next, an article on how you can put butter on toast.

The gun magazines got a couple of decades of copy debating which is 
better, 9 mm or .45 ACP. I've noticed another pattern in print magazines, 
regardless of the technology. They start with articles appealing to n00bs. 
As time goes on the articles become more focused on intermediates, and 
eventually advanced users. They hit a wall where there is little left to 
say, so they cycle back to n00bs, 

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#87467

Borax Man <boraxman@geidiprime.invalid> wrote:
> On 2026-06-02, Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>> Jack Wallen makes some good points in this list of basic Linux
>> concepts worth mastering
>><https://www.zdnet.com/article/things-you-need-to-master-to-become-a-linux-pro/>.
>>
>> Yes, you can do a lot of things through the point-and-click GUI. But
>> that is mostly just a bunch of front-ends on command-line/scripting
>> tools that do all the actual work. Also, GUIs vary a lot from one
>> distro to another, or even one distro installation to another, whereas
>> the core command-line functionality tends to be much more homogeneous.
> 
> I get these people need to make a living, but it annoys me to no end to
> see article after article after article after article which just
> rehashes the same stuff over and over and over again.  Slop.
> 
> 
> I look forward to the next "new" article on how to use "find".
> 
> Next, an article on how you can put butter on toast.

They are playing to "Today's 10,000" <https://xkcd.com/1053/>

And yes, they are doing this to "make a living".

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