Linux
Intro
Before Linux, there were no free, open operating systems. Linux (and its derivatives) have made it possible to run servers on the internet incredibly cheaply (since you don’t have to pay for operating system licenses).
Linux is more similar to macOS than it is to Windows, but it has several differences. You might think that one of those differences is that you can only use Linux with a command line, but there are actually GUIs for Linux that are very powerful and user friendly.
There are also many popular distros or flavors of Linux, forked from the main version. Some of these are:
- Ubuntu
- Debian
- Fedora
- Arch Linux
- CentOS
In the WebDev Guild, we’ll focus on Ubuntu (for servers) and Debian/Raspian (for RaspberryPi). These two operating systems are fairly similar and are easy to install and use.
Suggested Learning
- Read up on Virtual Machines
- Why Use Linux
- Most other learning will happen through the requirements
Requirements
- You are going to be installing Linux on a virtual machine your computer and running some commands. Don’t worry - if you are careful, this won’t break anything or overwrite your operating system.
- This is going to be VERY BASIC. There are so many things to learn that will only come with experience and specific use cases.
- You might run into issues. Use your search engine to see if you can find answers before asking a mentor.
- Follow these instructions: Install Linux with Virtual Box. This will install a GUI version of Ubuntu, but you could just as easily use a command line only version
- Follow these instructions: Install Nginx on Ubuntu. If you are using a GUI version of Ubuntu, open up the terminal application.
- Get the IP of your virtual machine and access the basic Nginx webpage from your host computer.
Extra Learning
This list is by no means complete. Feel free to add an issue or put in a pull request to update it.