This chapter describes some GNU/Linux fundamentals and tries to teach by example some basic things you need to know in order to use a GNU/Linux system, eg how to edit a configuration file, or print something. It also teaches you about some useful commands and concepts. It is written assuming that you are running an ARMLinux desktop system, but largely applies eqully to any desktop system. If you have not used GNU/Linux much or at all before then this chapter will be very useful. Although written from a desktop perspective, some of the info here is relevant to small ARMlinux systems too.
Logging in
Afte installing GNU/Linux, either on the desktop, or on a target device and booting up, you should be met by the following:
armlinux login:
If this is the first time that you have logged in, then you will have to initially log in as the root user which is accomplished by typing root before pressing Return.
You will then see that the prompt is represented by a hash sign (#) which means that you are looking at the root prompt. In contrast, the prompt for non-root users is usually represented by a dollar sign.
[root@armlinux /root]#
or for the non-root user:
[paulw@armlinux paulw]$
Although it is possible to work with your new Linux system at this stage, we would advise you to immediately refer to the section called Accounts for the specifics of creating a user account.
