What does ... mean?

arctic · October 20, 2005

ALSA

The Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) provides audio and MIDI functionality to the Linux operating system. Refer to http://www.alsa-project.org/ for more information.

Anaconda

Anaconda is the installation program mainly used with Fedora Core /Red Hat based dstributions. During installation, Anaconda identifies and configures the system's hardware, and creates appropriate file systems. Anaconda also allows the user to install the operating system software on the system. Optionally, it upgrades existing e.g. Red Hat Linux, Fedora, Vidalinux (and other) installations. Anaconda runs in a fully interactive text or graphical mode, or in a kickstart mode, which allows the owner or administrator to automate installation for unattended operation. Refer to http://fedora.redhat.com/projects/anaconda-installer/ for more information. Anaconda requires at least 64 MB RAM on your system

apt

The apt (Advanced Package Tool) utility is a dependency tool developed for use with Debian Linux dpkg packages. The apt-rpm utility extends apt for use with RPM packages. There are many alternatives to apt like yum, urpmi or packman.

BitTorrent

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing which downloads from multiple channels at once. Refer to http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/ for more information.

Bugzilla

Bugzilla is an online database for recording flaws, or bugs, in software, documentation, and other projects. When you encounter a problem with a Linux distribution like Mandriva, you can help the community fix the problem by making a record in Bugzilla. This procedure is called "entering a bug."

CPU

The Central Processing Unit, or CPU, is the "brain" of a computer. The rest of the computer is organized around the CPU, so people often refer to computer systems by the type of processor inside. Examples of CPUs include Duron, Athlon, Transmeta, Pentium-4, Athlon64, and PowerPC.

cron

The cron system executes automatic jobs on behalf of the system or an individual user on a schedule. An example of a system cron job might include running an update manager nightly to update the system.

CUPS

The Common UNIX Printing System, or CUPS, is a cross-platform printing solution for all UNIX-type environments, including Linux and Macintosh OS X. It is based on the Internet Printing Protocol and provides complete printing services to most printers. CUPS drivers are available at http://www.cups.org/windows/ which allow Windows systems to use printers shared from Linux systems. Refer to http://www.cups.org/ for more information about CUPS.

eth0

The eth0 name represents the first discovered Ethernet interface in a Linux system. If your Mandriva system has more than one such interface, the others will be numbered eth1, eth2, and so on.

Ethernet

Ethernet is the most common type of network technology for small computer networks.

ethtool

The ethtool utility is a Linux network driver diagnostic and tuning tool for a Linux 2.4 or later kernel. The ethtool utility obtains information and diagnostics related to media, link status, driver version, bus location, and more.

ext3

The ext3 file system is a method of organizing data on storage devices. It is based on the older but still vital ext2 Linux file system. Most users do not need to understand file system internals because Linux translates this system into understandable concepts such as files and folders. Refer to http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net/, however, for more information on ext2 and ext3.

FAQ

A FAQ is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. It will help you feeling comfortable with your new operating system.

FDL

The GNU Free Documentation License (FDL) is a means of ensuring freedom for program documentation. As is the case with all freedoms, the FDL carries both rights and responsibilities. You have the right to modify and redistribute FDL materials, or create other works based on them. You then have the responsibility of licensing any such material under the FDL as well. In this fashion the FDL guarantees that documentation cannot be made less free by a recipient.

FHS

The File Hierarchy Standard, or FHS, is a collaborative document that defines the names and locations of many files and directories on a Linux system. The FHS also sets standards for the types of files that should inhabit specific system directories. Refer to http://www.pathname.com/fhs/ for more information about the FHS.

fsck

The fsck utility is a command line tool used to check and repair file systems. It is normally used with Linux file systems such as ext3, but also has the ability to make repairs on some Windows file systems.

fsh

Remote command execution via a cryptographically strong method such as lsh or ssh is often slow, especially if either of the involved computers is slow. The process is slow because the client and the server must perform a series of complex calculations during connection establishment.

The fsh utility uses lsh or ssh to establish a secure tunnel to the remote system. This process takes as long as a normal connection establishment. Once the tunnel is established, however, fsh reuses it to start new sessions on the remote system almost instantaneously. With this process, fsh combines the security of ssh and the speed of rsh.

GIMP

The GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program and the most widely used image manipulating software in Linux. The GIMP is graphics software suitable for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. The GIMP will read and write graphics files in a variety of formats, including JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF. It will also import some proprietary image formats from other graphics programs. Refer to http://www.gimp.org/ for more information about the GIMP.

glibc

The GNU C library, or glibc, is used as the C library in Fedora. Most software programs for your system rely on glibc for basic common functions. Refer to http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/libc.html for more information about glibc.

GNOME

GNOME is the short name for the GNOME Desktop, a product of the GNOME Project. GNOME is a complete, free and easy-to-use desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems and the default desktop in systems like Fedora, Ubuntu or Novell. It is also a powerful application development framework for software developers. GNOME provides a complete set of human interface guidelines, which means that GNOME strives to have a consistent look and feel for all its applications. Read more about GNOME at http://www.gnome.org/.

GNU

GNU is an acronym that stands for "GNU's Not UNIX," and is pronounced "guh-NOO." GNU was originally intended to be a complete UNIX-like operating system. It has become a broader term describing free software licensed under the GPL. Because the kernel and much of the other software in a Linux system are licensed under the GPL, many people call that system GNU/Linux.

GnuPG (GPG)

GnuPG, the GNU Privacy Guard, is a complete and free replacement for PGP, Pretty Good Privacy. GnuPG software allows you to digitally sign or encrypt data using public key encryption methods. GnuPG is OpenPGP compliant, so data signed or encrypted by GnuPG can be exchanged with almost any computer user. Refer to http://www.gnupg.org/ for more information about GPG.

GPL

The GNU General Public Licence, or GPL, is a software license designed to preserve users' rights to share and modify software. The GPL does this by restricting anyone from denying you those rights. Use of software is usually subject to the terms under which it is licensed. Many software licenses restrict you from copying, sharing, or even examining the software they cover. The terms of the GPL, however, allow you very broad rights to share, modify, and redistribute software. In return the GPL requires you to give others those rights if you share the results. The GPL encourages software programmers to learn and contribute to each other's work. Refer to http://www.fsf.org/licenses/licenses/gpl.html for more information about the GPL. For a FAQ about the GPL, refer to http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl-faq.html.

GRUB

The GNU GRand Unified Boot Loader, or GRUB, is a program which enables the user to select an operating system or kernel to boot. It also allows the user to pass arguments to the kernel. Refer to http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/ for more information about GRUB.

i386 (i486, i586, i686)

The entire set of computer processors that are compatible with the Intel x86 platform, including Intel Pentium and Celeron, AMD Athlon and Duron, and VIA C3 CPUs, are commonly referred to as i386. The i386 term is often used as shorthand for the distribution set of files meant for this line of computers or processors. Just like i386, i486, i586 and others are a reference to the architecture type of processors and corresponding software. Some systems can run from i386 upwards (very compatible), while some systems require at least an i586 processor (like a Pentium II, thus limited compatibility).

IM

Instant messaging, or IM, is a real-time, text-based form of communication. You can use IM to have conversations with individuals or groups. America Online, an Internet service provider, popularized IM in the 1990's, but many other providers such as Yahoo and Google offer similar services. Most distributions have programs such as gaim that allow you to use IM to communicate with other Internet users.

Inkscape

Inkscape is a vector graphics illustration program. It uses SVG as the default file format. For more information about Inkscape, refer to http://www.inkscape.org/.

See Also Sodipodi.

IRC

Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, is a real-time, text-based form of communication. You can use IRC to have conversations with individuals or groups. IRC is very similar to IM, and offers many of the same capabilities, but predates IM by many years.

ISO

ISO is an acronym that stands for International Standards Organization. It is also used as an abbreviation for the ISO-9660 format of a standard data CD-ROM. Most Linux distributions offer installation CDs as downloadable files on the Internet, in the form of CD image files sometimes called ISO files. These files can be burned directly to CD media using a CD-Recordable drive, and the resulting CD will contain all the files on the original Linux distribution media.

KDE

KDE is a free and open desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems such as Mandriva (where it is the default choice). KDE also offers a complete development framework for writing graphical applications, as well as an office application suite. Refer to http://www.kde.org/whatiskde/ for more information about KDE.

kernel

A kernel is the core of an operating system, responsible for managing memory and conducting hardware operations. The Linux kernel is free and open source software, originally written by Linux Torvalds. Many computer scientists and programmers from around the world now contribute to its development.

kickstart

Many system administrators prefer to use an automated installation method to install Linux systems on their machines. With kickstart, a system administrator can create a single file containing answers to all the questions asked during an installation. It is used very often for Fedora and Red Hat servers. Refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Anaconda for more information about kickstart.

kudzu

The kudzu utility usually runs at boot time. The kudzu utility detects changes in the system's hardware configuration, and configures the devices for use with the software.

LDAP

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, or LDAP, is a standard for hierarchically organizing and accessing collections of information. This information may be practically anything, but LDAP is most often used to collect information about organizations, including personnel and resource information. Most Distros include support for OpenLDAP, which is a free and open source implementation of LDAP. For more information about OpenLDAP, refer to http://www.openldap.org/.

LILO

The LInux LOader, or LILO, is a basic system program which boots your Linux system. LILO loads the Linux kernel from a floppy or a hard drive, boots the kernel and passes control of the system to the kernel. LILO can also boot other operating systems.

LSB

The Linux Standard Base, or LSB, is a project that develops and promotes a set of standards to increase compatibility among Linux distributions. For more information about LSB, refer to http://www.linuxbase.org/.

lspci

The lspci utility displays information about all PCI buses in the system and all devices connected to them. It is frequently used to diagnose problems with hardware recognition or driver compatibility.

md5sum

The md5sum utility computes a 128-bit message digest hash value for any specified files. A hash value is a "fingerprint" for a given file, created by a computation that makes it very unlikely that any two files will create the same hash value.

Download mirrors for a Distro ISO image files also include a related MD5SUMS file which contains the hash values for the ISO files. Run md5sum against the downloaded files to verify the hash value. If a file's hash value does not match, you should not use that file to burn a CD. Try downloading the file again.

To download an MD5 hash program for Windows operating systems, refer to http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/.

MCC (Mandriva Control Center)

Like YAST, the MCC is a centralized tool for configuring a Mandrivalinux system. Every major administration task can be done with its graphical tools. It is considered to be one of the most userfriendly administration interfaces in Linux.

memtest86

Knoppix, Mepis, Fedora Core and other systems include a memory testing utility called memtest86. To perform memory testing before you install a new distro, or to diagnose a RAM problem, enter memtest86 at the boot: prompt. The tests continue until you press the Esc key.

mirror

A mirror is a complete copy of an online resource. System administrators of computers connected to the Internet often create and provide mirrors for public use. If a resource has one or more mirrors, many more users can access its content without overloading the original resource.

mount

To use a disk device such as a CD, USB drive, or floppy diskette, you must first mount it. Linux systems use a single unified file system for all attached devices. Windows systems, on the other hand, use a "drive letter" for each disk device, such as A: or C:. When you mount a disk device, its file system becomes part of the unified file system. The device is mounted on a mount point, which is a directory that points to that device, such as /media/floppy. You must also unmount the file system before you eject or remove the disk, to insure all file information is safely written to the device.

Since these functions are often handled through user-friendly helpers, you may perform all mounting, unmounting, and file browsing through the graphical desktop interface. For instance, if you use the GNOME Desktop, the Nautilus file management utility makes it easy to perform these tasks.

Mozilla

The Mozilla Project produces several user applications such as the Firefox web browser and the Thunderbird email client. These programs are designed for standards compliance, performance and portability. For more information about Mozilla software, refer to http://www.mozilla.org/.

Nautilus

The GNOME desktop environment includes a file manager called Nautilus which provides a graphical display of your system and personal files. Nautilus also allows you to configure your desktop, browse your photo collection, access your network resources, and more, all from an integrated interface. In essence, Nautilus becomes a shell for your entire desktop experience. Insert link to Nautilus resource here.

package

Users often refer to a RPM file as a package.

Sign In

What does ... mean?

Recommended Posts

arctic

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Browse

Activity