PHY102 - Linux Help
The computers in
room BPS1240 are dual boot systems and can run either the
NT operating system or the Linux operating system. Linux
is a new form of the Unix operating system and it is
becoming extremely popular, mostly because it works
well and it is FREE. Unix is the most widely used operating
system on workstations, whereas MS Windows is the the most
widely used system on pc's. However Linux also runs on
pcs and is eroding the monopoly of the windows system
on that platform(thank God!!).
Your account
You have been assigned an account under the linux
operating system of the computers in rm 1240. Your account name
and initial password will be given to you by your TA.
This week you need to:
Change your password
To start a ``terminal'' click the ``foot'' on the control panel
at the bottom of your screen (after logging in). At the prompt
type:
yppasswd
Then answer the prompts.
Run mathematica
Click the word ``Applications'' on the lower left end
of your toolbar. Under the list of applications, you
will see mathematica. Click it and it will launch
a Mathematica window. You are then ready to
read the
Mathematica introduction. After reading the introduction you are ready
to
first worksheet.
Save your worksheet
Click ``save'' which is under ``file'' in mathematica
toolbar. It will save the
file to your home directory under the linux operating system
(give it a better name that ``untitled''!!). To
ensure that you have succeeded, return to your ``terminal''
window and type ``ls'', which lists the files in the directory.
When you do this you same your worksheet on the machine that
you are working on. If you want to access this file
from another machine in BPS1240, you need to remember which
machine you saved your file on. A better way to work is
to save your file on the server. To do this log in
to the server by entering:
ssh gauss.pa.msu.edu
You will be prompted for a password. Enter the password
that you used on the local machine.
Everything looks the same, except you are now able to save onto
the server hard drive, which is more convenient if you do
not use the same machine in BPS1240 each week.
Print your worksheet
To print you file, Click ``print'' under ``file''
in the mathematica toolbar. Then choose
``file''. This will save your file as a postscript file
(again give it a better name that ``untitled'').
Then return to the terminal window and type ``ls''
to check that it is there. Now type ``lpr filename.ps''
and your file will be printed on the printer in rm346G.
Besides the above you should explore the linux operating system e.g.
``man'' (for manual) is the unix help facility. You can
launch a window-based help system from the applications menu.
You will need to learn quite a bit
about the unix operating system and a nice
unix manual is available online.