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in reply to Re: Perl and the New Frontier
in thread Perl and the New Frontier

Great book, zentara!

Now, I know how to spend my next months with...

I am also, planning to start exploring the new Minix 3 that should be considered LINUX's father :) and deals great with hardware. A future blending of both would make the most powerful operating system on Earth!

I see so many similarities between both POSIX compliant OSs that I would like to have software like in SCI-FI Series of StarTrek when they arrive to a new planet and can diagnose the main characteristics of it in less than a minute.

But how could my experience guide me in where to look at and how to adapt my knowledge to this new system? Then, I thought that if I could have written certaing scripts that had explored the LINUX system when I started learning my first steps on it, I would now have a kind of bundle of scripts that would make my exploration of new operating systems easier to achieve in a short time.

Most of these OS have perl working on it! It wouldn't be difficult to run my bundle of exploring scripts in Solaris, for example, and get a brief idea of where to start looking or exploring. Or using it to point the differences between various LINUX distributions. For example, what is the root structure, or the etc/ structure, how does the system start, and so on...

If this sort of bundle could do a good job, it could even evolve into a way of translating a working system into another OS just with a click: creating variables, folders, rc scripts and links!

Notice that this is not my idea, although I haven't found out where were IBM heading, they explain a lot about what they call autonomic computer that would be able to self heal, etc.

Besides, configuring a system is no longer going to be a required step, since most new LINUX auto-configures when you boot... And Minix is said to be able to auto-re-configure just when any peripheric fails!

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Re^3: Perl and the New Frontier
by zentara (Archbishop) on Apr 10, 2007 at 10:08 UTC
    point the differences between various LINUX distributions. For example, what is the root structure, or the etc/ structure, how does the system start, and so on..

    One good resource is Linux From Scratch which teaches you how to go from bare-nothing to a working linux system.

    Basically you have the kernel, which is started up (booted). Then it calls "init"( there are a few variations) which goes into /etc/rc.d or /etc/init.d and runs a series of startup scripts in a prescribed order. Those take the machine through the various run-levels, single-user,multi-user,multi-user-w-network, X windows.

    There also is a set of perl utilities call Perl Power Tools, that emulate all the basic c system commands. Check them out at PPT


    I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. Cogito ergo sum a bum
      One good resource is Linux From Scratch which teaches you how to go from bare-nothing to a working linux system.
      Yes, I have always wanted to make some time to follow those lessons. They are the best way of starting, definetly!
      There also is a set of perl utilities call Perl Power Tools, that emulate all the basic c system commands. Check them out at PPT
      Yes, that is what I was targeting, I guess. Any operating system where perl might work should be able to use these tools.

      Today, I have found something interesting here. I should have searched a little, before posting...

      Thank you zentara !