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| author |   Patrick J Volkerding <volkerdi@slackware.com> | 2009-08-26 10:00:38 -0500 |
|---|---|---|
| committer |   Eric Hameleers <alien@slackware.com> | 2018-05-31 22:41:17 +0200 |
| commit | 5a12e7c134274dba706667107d10d231517d3e05 (patch) | |
| tree | 55718d5acb710fde798d9f38d0bbaf594ed4b296 /slackbook/html/glossary.html | |
| download | current-5a12e7c134274dba706667107d10d231517d3e05.tar.gz current-5a12e7c134274dba706667107d10d231517d3e05.tar.xz | |
Slackware 13.0slackware-13.0
Wed Aug 26 10:00:38 CDT 2009
Slackware 13.0 x86_64 is released as stable! Thanks to everyone who
helped make this release possible -- see the RELEASE_NOTES for the
credits. The ISOs are off to the replicator. This time it will be a
6 CD-ROM 32-bit set and a dual-sided 32-bit/64-bit x86/x86_64 DVD.
We're taking pre-orders now at store.slackware.com. Please consider
picking up a copy to help support the project. Once again, thanks to
the entire Slackware community for all the help testing and fixing
things and offering suggestions during this development cycle.
As always, have fun and enjoy! -P.
Diffstat (limited to 'slackbook/html/glossary.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | slackbook/html/glossary.html | 647 |
1 files changed, 647 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/slackbook/html/glossary.html b/slackbook/html/glossary.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000..efdb63236 --- /dev/null +++ b/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> + |