Re: The Process of Learning
From: pacifican (none_at_given.org)
Date: 11/13/03
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Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 05:26:14 GMT
Static Discharge wrote:
> So much to learn...
>
> I don't understand what a kernel is. Something about it being the main
> program. Actually, I don't understand programming in general. This
> will have to be my focus. I will never feel comfortable using this
> operating system and not knowing how to program. It just feels wrong,
> no sense of control, a feeling of powerlessness.
>
Snicker, you are far more powerless with Windows. Linux gives you a great
deal of controll. Perhaps the feeling of discomfort comes from not having
the TRUE power of a computer hidden from you by MS products.
> One of the biggest challenges when I try to teach myself something new
> is discerning which knowledge I believe to be extraneous. What I want
> to avoid is spending too much time commiting something to memory when my
> energy could probably be better spent elsewhere. Doing this is a skill
> some are more capable of then others. I have made a career out of doing
> this, but I'm no natural. The proper mindset I've discovered, is to
> approach things with loads of patience. Tiny, tiny steps.
>
> It's a game of searching for clues.
>
All the above is your problem, we do not really need to know this.
> My current focus, as I wrote earlier, is programming. As I understand
> things, programs are first written using a text editor, then, these
> programs are compiled and an executable file is created. I've noticed
> that when I click the red hat (what's this thing called? I know in
> Windows it's referred to as the "Start Menu". Is it called the same
> thing in linux?) in the bottom left hat corner of my screen there is a
> menu option for programming. Within this menu is Emacs and more
> programming tools consisting of Bug Report, Glade, and Memory Profiler.
>
> Emacs seems to be an archaic text editor designed for systems predating
> the GUI. This is one of those things I wonder whether I should be
> getting knowledgeable about or whether I should just use a more
> user-friendly text editor. Anybody got suggestions?
>
Getting to know the basics of at least one command line editor, emacs, vi or
something else is a good idea. Unlike the other OS, Linux does not depend
on a Windowing system to operate. This means that Linux can be fixed even
if the windowing system corrupt. That said any program that can save the
file as ASCII text can be used to write a program. Many (and I think emacs
does) will have context highlighting.
> Now, if I really am serious about making a program, do I then use the
> 'make' command to create an executable program, or am I way out in left
> field? The make command does seem to be a popular utility, so I'm going
> to definitely look into its uses.
>
If you want to learn programing, try going to google and doing a search on
"c program tutor". When you first begin you probably will not need to use
make.
> The other programs in the programming menu don't seem to be relevant at
> this point. I'll explore them later.
>
> Comments are always appreciated.
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