Slackware Linux Essentials
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Glossary

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Account

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.

Background

Any process that is running without accepting or controlling the input of a terminal -is said to be running in the background.

Boot disk

A floppy disk containing an operating system (in our case, the Linux kernel) from -which a computer can be started.

Compile

To convert source code to machine-readable “binary” code.

Daemon

A program designed to run in the background and, without user intervention, perform a -specific task (usually providing a service).

Darkstar

The default hostname in Slackware; your computer will be called darkstar if you do not -specify some other name.

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One of Patrick Volkerding's development machines, named after “Dark Star”, -a song by the Grateful Dead.

Desktop Environment

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.

Device driver

A chunk of code in the kernel that directly controls a piece of hardware.

Device node

A special type of file in the /dev filesystem that -represents a hardware component to the operating system.

DNS

Domain Name Service. A system in which networked computers are given names which -translate to numerical addresses.

Domain name

A computer's DNS name, excluding its host name.

Dot file

In Linux, files which are to be hidden have filenames beginning with a dot ('.').

Dotted quad

The format of IP addresses, so called because it consists of four numbers (range 0-255 -decimal) separated by periods.

Dynamic loader

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.

Environment variable

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.

Epoch

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.

Filesystem

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).

Foreground

A program that is accepting or controlling a terminal's input is said to be running in -the foreground.

Framebuffer

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.

FTP

The File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a very popular method of transferring data between -computers.

Gateway

A computer through which data on a network is transferred to another network.

GID

Group Identifier. The GID is a unique number attributed to a group of users.

Group

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.

GUI

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

Home directory

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.

HOWTO

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.

HTTP

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the primary protocol on which the World Wide -Web operates.

ICMP

Internet Control Message Protocol. A very basic networking protocol, used mostly for -pings.

Kernel

The heart of an operating system. The kernel is the part that provides basic process -control and interfaces with the computer's hardware.

Kernel module

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.

Library

A collection of functions which can be shared between programs.

LILO

The LInux LOader. LILO is the most widely-used Linux boot manager.

LOADLIN

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).

Man section

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.

MBR

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.

Motif

A popular programming toolkit used in many older X programs.

MOTD

Message of the Day. The motd (stored in Linux in /etc/motd -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.

Mount point

An empty directory in a filesystem where another filesystem is to be -“mounted”, or grafted on.

Nameserver

A DNS information server. Nameservers translate DNS names to numerical IP -addresses.

Network interface

A virtual representation of a network device provided by the kernel. Network -interfaces allow users and programs to talk to network devices.

NFS

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.

Octal

Base-8 number system, with digits 0-7.

Pager

An X program that allows the user to see and switch between multiple -“desktops”.

Partition

A division of a hard drive. Filesystems exist on top of partitions.

PPP

Point-to-Point Protocol. PPP is used mainly for connecting via modem to an Internet -Service Provider.

Process

A running program.

Root directory

Represented as “/”, the root directory exists at the top of the -filesystem, with all other directories branching out beneath it in a “file -tree”.

Root disk

The disk (usually fixed) on which the root directory is stored.

Routing table

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.

Runlevel

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.

Secure shell

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.

Service

The sharing of information and/or data between programs and computers from a single -“server” to multiple “clients”. HTTP, FTP, NFS, etc. are -services.

Shadow password suite

The shadow password suite allows encrypted passwords to be hidden from users, while -the rest of the information in the /etc/passwd file remains -visible to all. This helps prevent brute-force attempts at cracking passwords.

Shell

Shells provide a commandline interface to the user. When you're looking at a text -prompt, you're in a shell.

Shell builtin

A command built into the shell, as opposed to being provided by an external program. -For instance, bash has a cd -builtin.

Signal

Unix programs can communicate between each other using simple “signals”, -which are enumerated and usually have specific meanings. kill -l -will list the available signals.

SLIP

Serial Line Interface Protocol. SLIP is a similar protocol to PPP, in that it's used -for connecting two machines via a serial interface.

Software package

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.

Software series

A collection of related software packages in Slackware. All KDE packages are in the -“kde” series, networking packages in the “n” series, etc.

Source code

The (more or less) human-readable code in which most programs are written. Source code -is compiled into “binary” code.

Standard Error (stderr)

The Unix-standard output stream for errors. Programs write any error messages on -stderr, so that they can be separated from normal output.

Standard Input (stdin)

The Unix-standard input stream. Data can be redirected or piped into a program's stdin -from any source.

Standard Output (stdout)

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.

Subnet

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.

Superblock

In Linux, partitions are discussed in terms of blocks. A block is 512 bytes. The -superblock is the first 512 bytes of a partition.

Supplemental disk

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.

Suspended process

A process which has been frozen until killed or resumed.

Swap space

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.

Symbolic link

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.

Tagfile

A file used by the Slackware setup program during -installation, which describes a set of packages to be installed.

Terminal

A human-computer interface consisting of at least a screen (or virtual screen) and -some method of input (almost always at least a keyboard).

Toolkit, GUI

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”.

UID

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.

VESA

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.

Virtual terminal

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.

Window manager

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.

Working directory

The directory in which a program considers itself to be while running.

Wrapper program

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.

X server

The program in the X Window System which interfaces with graphics hardware and handles -the actual running of X programs.

X Window System

Network-oriented graphical interface system used on most Unix-like operating systems, -including Linux.

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