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diff --git a/misc/slackbook/html/glossary.html b/misc/slackbook/html/glossary.html new file mode 100644 index 00000000..efdb6323 --- /dev/null +++ b/misc/slackbook/html/glossary.html @@ -0,0 +1,647 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org" /> +<title>Glossary</title> +<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7" /> +<link rel="HOME" title="Slackware Linux Essentials" href="index.html" /> +<link rel="PREVIOUS" title="Booting ZipSlack" href="zipslack-booting.html" /> +<link rel="NEXT" title="The GNU General Public License" href="gpl.html" /> +<link rel="STYLESHEET" type="text/css" href="docbook.css" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> +</head> +<body class="GLOSSARY" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" +alink="#0000FF"> +<div class="NAVHEADER"> +<table summary="Header navigation table" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" +cellspacing="0"> +<tr> +<th colspan="3" align="center">Slackware Linux Essentials</th> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td width="10%" align="left" valign="bottom"><a href="zipslack-booting.html" +accesskey="P">Prev</a></td> +<td width="80%" align="center" valign="bottom"></td> +<td width="10%" align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="gpl.html" +accesskey="N">Next</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<hr align="LEFT" width="100%" /> +</div> + +<div class="GLOSSARY"> +<h1><a id="GLOSSARY" name="GLOSSARY"></a>Glossary</h1> + +<dl> +<dt><b>Account</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>All of the information about a user, including username, password, finger information, +UID and GID, and home directory. To create an account is to add and define a user.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Background</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Any process that is running without accepting or controlling the input of a terminal +is said to be running in the background.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Boot disk</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A floppy disk containing an operating system (in our case, the Linux kernel) from +which a computer can be started.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Compile</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>To convert source code to machine-readable “binary” code.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Daemon</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A program designed to run in the background and, without user intervention, perform a +specific task (usually providing a service).</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Darkstar</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The default hostname in Slackware; your computer will be called darkstar if you do not +specify some other name.</p> + +<p>One of Patrick Volkerding's development machines, named after “Dark Star”, +a song by the Grateful Dead.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Desktop Environment</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A graphical user interface (GUI) that runs atop the X Window System and provides such +features as integrated applications, cohesive look-and-feel between programs and +components, file and window management capabilities, etc. A step beyond the simple window +manager.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Device driver</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A chunk of code in the kernel that directly controls a piece of hardware.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Device node</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A special type of file in the <tt class="FILENAME">/dev</tt> filesystem that +represents a hardware component to the operating system.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>DNS</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Domain Name Service. A system in which networked computers are given names which +translate to numerical addresses.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Domain name</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A computer's DNS name, excluding its host name.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Dot file</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>In Linux, files which are to be hidden have filenames beginning with a dot ('.').</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Dotted quad</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The format of IP addresses, so called because it consists of four numbers (range 0-255 +decimal) separated by periods.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Dynamic loader</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>When programs are compiled under Linux, they usually use pieces of code (functions) +from external libraries. When such programs are run, those libraries must be found and +the required functions loaded into memory. This is the job of the dynamic loader.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Environment variable</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A variable set in the user's shell which can be referenced by that user or programs +run by that user within that shell. Environment variables are generally used to store +preferences and default parameters.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Epoch</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A period of history; in Unix, “The Epoch” begins at 00:00:00 UTC January +1, 1970. This is considered the “dawn of time” by Unix and Unix-like +operating systems, and all other time is calculated relative to this date.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Filesystem</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A representation of stored data in which “files” of data are kept +organized in “directories”. The filesystem is the nearly universal form of +representation for data stored to disks (both fixed and removable).</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Foreground</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A program that is accepting or controlling a terminal's input is said to be running in +the foreground.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Framebuffer</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A type of graphics device; in Linux, this most often refers to the software +framebuffer, which provides a standard framebuffer interface to programs while keeping +specific hardware drivers hidden from them. This layer of abstraction frees programs of +the need to speak to various hardware drivers.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>FTP</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a very popular method of transferring data between +computers.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Gateway</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A computer through which data on a network is transferred to another network.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>GID</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Group Identifier. The GID is a unique number attributed to a group of users.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Group</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Users in Unix belong to “groups”, which can contain many other users and +are used for more general access control than the existence of users alone can easily +allow.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>GUI</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Graphical User Interface. A software interface that uses rendered graphical elements +such as buttons, scrollbars, windows, etc. rather than solely text-based input and +output</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Home directory</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A user's “home directory” is the directory the user is placed in +immediately upon logging in. Users have full permissions and more or less free reign +within their home directories.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>HOWTO</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A document describing “how to” do something, such as configure a firewall +or manage users and groups. There is a large collection of these documents available from +the Linux Documentation Project.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>HTTP</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the primary protocol on which the World Wide +Web operates.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>ICMP</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Internet Control Message Protocol. A very basic networking protocol, used mostly for +pings.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Kernel</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The heart of an operating system. The kernel is the part that provides basic process +control and interfaces with the computer's hardware.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Kernel module</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A piece of kernel code, usually a driver of some sort, that can be loaded and unloaded +from memory separately from the main body of the kernel. Modules are handy when upgrading +drivers or testing kernel settings, because they can be loaded and unloaded without +rebooting.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Library</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A collection of functions which can be shared between programs.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>LILO</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The LInux LOader. LILO is the most widely-used Linux boot manager.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>LOADLIN</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>LOADLIN is a program that runs under MS DOS or Windows and boots a Linux system. It is +most commonly used on computers with multiple operating systems (including Linux and +DOS/Windows, of course).</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Man section</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Pages in the standard Unix online manual ("man") are grouped into sections for easy +reference. All C programming pages are in section 3, system administration pages in +section 5, etc.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>MBR</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The Master Boot Record. A reserved space on a hard drive where information on what to +do when booting is stored. LILO or other boot managers can be written here.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Motif</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A popular programming toolkit used in many older X programs.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>MOTD</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Message of the Day. The motd (stored in Linux in <tt class="FILENAME">/etc/motd</tt> +is a text file that is displayed to all users upon logging in. Traditionally, it is used +by the system administrator as a sort of “bulletin board” for communicating +with users.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Mount point</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>An empty directory in a filesystem where another filesystem is to be +“mounted”, or grafted on.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Nameserver</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A DNS information server. Nameservers translate DNS names to numerical IP +addresses.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Network interface</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A virtual representation of a network device provided by the kernel. Network +interfaces allow users and programs to talk to network devices.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>NFS</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The Network Filesystem. NFS allows the mounting of remote filesystems as if they were +local to your computer and thus provides a transparent method of file sharing.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Octal</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Base-8 number system, with digits 0-7.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Pager</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>An X program that allows the user to see and switch between multiple +“desktops”.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Partition</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A division of a hard drive. Filesystems exist on top of partitions.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>PPP</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Point-to-Point Protocol. PPP is used mainly for connecting via modem to an Internet +Service Provider.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Process</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A running program.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Root directory</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Represented as “/”, the root directory exists at the top of the +filesystem, with all other directories branching out beneath it in a “file +tree”.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Root disk</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The disk (usually fixed) on which the root directory is stored.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Routing table</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The set of information the kernel uses in “routing” network data around. +It contains such tidbits as where your default gateway is, which network interface is +connected to which network, etc.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Runlevel</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The overall system state as defined by init. Runlevel 6 is rebooting, runlevel 1 is +“single user mode”, runlevel 4 is an X login, etc. There are 6 available +runlevels on a Slackware system.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Secure shell</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>An encrypted (thus secure) method of logging in remotely to a computer. Many secure +shell programs are available; both a client and server are needed.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Service</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The sharing of information and/or data between programs and computers from a single +“server” to multiple “clients”. HTTP, FTP, NFS, etc. are +services.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Shadow password suite</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The shadow password suite allows encrypted passwords to be hidden from users, while +the rest of the information in the <tt class="FILENAME">/etc/passwd</tt> file remains +visible to all. This helps prevent brute-force attempts at cracking passwords.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Shell</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Shells provide a commandline interface to the user. When you're looking at a text +prompt, you're in a shell.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Shell builtin</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A command built into the shell, as opposed to being provided by an external program. +For instance, <tt class="COMMAND">bash</tt> has a <tt class="COMMAND">cd</tt> +builtin.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Signal</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Unix programs can communicate between each other using simple “signals”, +which are enumerated and usually have specific meanings. <tt class="COMMAND">kill -l</tt> +will list the available signals.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>SLIP</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Serial Line Interface Protocol. SLIP is a similar protocol to PPP, in that it's used +for connecting two machines via a serial interface.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Software package</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A program and its associated files, archived and compressed into a single file along +with any necessary scripts or information to aid in managing the installation, upgrade, +and removal of those files.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Software series</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A collection of related software packages in Slackware. All KDE packages are in the +“kde” series, networking packages in the “n” series, etc.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Source code</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The (more or less) human-readable code in which most programs are written. Source code +is compiled into “binary” code.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Standard Error (stderr)</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The Unix-standard output stream for errors. Programs write any error messages on +stderr, so that they can be separated from normal output.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Standard Input (stdin)</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The Unix-standard input stream. Data can be redirected or piped into a program's stdin +from any source.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Standard Output (stdout)</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The Unix-standard output stream. Normal text output from a program is written to +stdout, which is separate from the error messages reported on stderr and can be piped or +redirected into other programs' stdin or to a file.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Subnet</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>An IP address range that is part of a larger range. For instance, 192.168.1.0 is a +subnet of 192.168.0.0 (where 0 is a mask meaning “undefined”); it is, in +fact, the “.1” subnet.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Superblock</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>In Linux, partitions are discussed in terms of blocks. A block is 512 bytes. The +superblock is the first 512 bytes of a partition.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Supplemental disk</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>In Slackware, a floppy disk used during installation that contains neither the kernel +(which is on the boot disk) nor the root filesystem (which is on the root disk), but +additional needed files such as network modules or PCMCIA support.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Suspended process</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A process which has been frozen until killed or resumed.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Swap space</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Disk space used by the kernel as “virtual” RAM. It is slower than RAM, but +because disk space is cheaper, swap is usually more plentiful. Swap space is useful to +the kernel for holding lesser-used data and as a fallback when physical RAM is +exhausted.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Symbolic link</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A special file that simply points to the location of another file. Symbolic links are +used to avoid data duplication when a file is needed in multiple locations.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Tagfile</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A file used by the Slackware <tt class="COMMAND">setup</tt> program during +installation, which describes a set of packages to be installed.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Terminal</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A human-computer interface consisting of at least a screen (or virtual screen) and +some method of input (almost always at least a keyboard).</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Toolkit, GUI</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A GUI toolkit is a collection of libraries that provide a programmer with code to draw +“widgets” such as scrollbars, checkboxes, etc. and construct a graphical +interface. The GUI toolkit used by a program often defines its “look and +feel”.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>UID</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>User Identifier. A unique number that identifies a user to the system. UIDs are used +by most programs instead of usernames because a number is easier to deal with; usernames +are generally only used when the user has to see things happen.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>VESA</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Video Electronics Standards Association. The term “VESA” is often used to +denote a standard specified by said Association. Nearly all modern video adapters are +VESA-compliant.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Virtual terminal</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The use of software to simulate multiple terminals while using only a single set of +input/output devices (keyboard, monitor, mouse). Special keystrokes switch between +virtual terminals at a single physical terminal.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Window manager</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>An X program whose purpose is to provide a graphical interface beyond the simple +rectangle-drawing of the X Window System. Window managers generally provide titlebars, +menus for running programs, etc.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Working directory</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The directory in which a program considers itself to be while running.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>Wrapper program</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>A program whose sole purpose is to run other programs, but change their behavior in +some way by altering their environments or filtering their input.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>X server</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>The program in the X Window System which interfaces with graphics hardware and handles +the actual running of X programs.</p> +</dd> + +<dt><b>X Window System</b></dt> + +<dd> +<p>Network-oriented graphical interface system used on most Unix-like operating systems, +including Linux.</p> +</dd> +</dl> +</div> + +<div class="NAVFOOTER"> +<hr align="LEFT" width="100%" /> +<table summary="Footer navigation table" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" +cellspacing="0"> +<tr> +<td width="33%" align="left" valign="top"><a href="zipslack-booting.html" +accesskey="P">Prev</a></td> +<td width="34%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="index.html" +accesskey="H">Home</a></td> +<td width="33%" align="right" valign="top"><a href="gpl.html" accesskey="N">Next</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td width="33%" align="left" valign="top">Booting ZipSlack</td> +<td width="34%" align="center" valign="top"> </td> +<td width="33%" align="right" valign="top">The GNU General Public License</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> +</body> +</html> + |