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While learning of all the useful commands on the Linux command line, it can be difficult to remember how much fun the command line can really be.
There are several commands whose sole purpose is to entertain, and these are the topic of the day.
The first two commands are not so much “fun” as they are useful and interesting… and there I go already.
There are some fun ones coming up — I promise!
This year had been — much to my brother’s chagrin — very Linux command-line-intensive, at least on the blog front.
The good news — if you’re not Linux-oriented — is that I’m winding down to move on to (mostly) other topics.
The bad news — because of course there had to be some! — is that this week and the next are still focused on Linux.
(If you’re my brother, you don’t have to read this!)
If you’re not my brother, can I interest you in a Linux command line cheat sheet?
There are many keyboard shortcuts that remain unchanged across operating systems and applications alike.
These normally include shortcuts that aid in general functioning, editing and navigation.
There are many other shortcuts that differ from one operating system to another, and even vary by desktop environment and/or application.
With this in mind, I present to you today a cheat sheet of KDE-specific keyboard shortcuts, some of which may overlap other applications, but all of which I have tested and confirmed as of KDE version 4.14.25.
I’ve talked in the past about process control from the command line, and decided today to approach it from a GUI perspective.
For anyone who does not want to mess with the command line O_O there is a method available to manage processes from KDE’s graphical user interface quite easily.
It’s called System Monitor.
Virtual desktops are an old concept, centered around the thought of operating multiple applications on each of several separate desktops that are running in unison.
This allows for a separation of tasks to the degree that, for example, a web browser, email client and other social activities can be open on one desktop, work-related documents in another, and image-editing in yet another.
Virtual desktops are called workspaces in many distributions of Linux, and have also been known as multiple desktops.
Activities are, as of now, unique to KDE, and are very similar to virtual desktops, but allow for a greater range of options, customizations, and task-orientation. Unique activities are often set up on each virtual desktop so that the two can be utilized together.
To summarize the difference between these two options, I would say that virtual desktops are like working with multiple monitors all lined up on one desk, while activities are like switching to another PC entirely, on a separate desk — maybe even in a separate room!
(That may have made more sense in my head than it does on the screen, but stick with me, and it should all clear up as we go.)
KDE widgets are utilities that provide ease-of-use, functionality, or just plain fun to the KDE desktop environment.
Widgets can be added to either the desktop or the task manager; the available widgets are usually identical in each case.
Currently, over 50 widgets are packaged with the KDE desktop, and more can be downloaded/installed (from trusted sources!)
Let’s jump right into some details on how to set up and customize KDE widgets.
In my never-ending pursuit of command-line-related tricks, I tend to gloss over the GUI.
That is a mistake that I tend to begin remedying today, with the introduction of Krunner.
By introduction, I don’t mean to say that Krunner is new, but that’s it new to me.
And by that, I don’t mean to imply that I’ve never heard of or seen it before — because I have — but that I never actually paid it any mind.
On a whim, I began to research what exactly it can do.
It has my attention now.
Let’s face it: Linux is not a graphical environment. Linux revolves around a simple text-only interface commonly referred to as “the command line”.
That being said, one unique feature of Linux is the veritable multitude of desktop environments (the Graphical User Interface parts) that can be run on most distributions.
Each desktop environment (DE) has different graphical elements, layouts or functionality that set them apart.
The question of how many Linux distributions there are, is a very hard one to answer.
Short answer: hundreds.
Long answer: The number fluctuates based on factors such as what one considers a distribution to be, how many people have to be using (and/or aware of) it, and whether it has to be actively maintained to make the list.
Experienced Linux enthusiasts might put together their own personalized distributions, including all of the features and applications that they need, and excluding all those irrelevant to them. That counts as a distribution, right?
For the rest of us, the extent of the options available make the choice just that much more difficult.
Let’s look over 12 of the most widely-known distributions to further confuse — excuse me, I mean enlighten — the matter.
Systemd is a system and service manager for Linux.
It initializes and manages/maintains/tracks system services.
Systemd is the first process started by the Linux kernel during boot-up, and as such has a process id (PID) of 1.
Systemd then starts the required daemons, processes and services that are required to make the system work.
Systemd targets determine which daemons, processes and services are started, and so targets are as good a place to begin as any other.