LinuxEssentials Objectives V1

Introduction

The description of the entire LinuxEssentialsProgramme programme is listed here.

The purpose of the Linux Essentials Program is to define the basic knowledge required to competantly use a desktop or mobile device using a Linux Operating System. The program will guide and encourage youth (and those new to Linux and Open Source) to understand the place of Linux and Open Source in the context of the broader IT industry.

Minimally Qualified Candidate Description

This is a description of a candidate that is just barely qualified to pass the LPI Linux Essentials exam. This hypothetical person is called the Minimally Qualified Candidate (MQC). Standards on the Linux Essentials exam should be set so that this person (and anyone more able) would pass but anyone less able would not pass.

The successful candidate should have an understanding of the Linux and Open Source industry and knowledge of the most popular Open Source Applications. The candidate should understand the major components of the Linux operating system, and have the technical proficiency to work on the Linux command line. The MQC has a basic understanding of security and administration related topics such as user/group management, working on the command line and permissions. A LPI Certfied Linux Essentials Technician (LPI CLET) is most likely the end user of a mostly managed system.

The LPI Certfied Linux Essentials Technician (LPI CLET) MQC typically:

• Has a basic understanding of FOSS, the various communities and licenses.
• Has knowledge of the common Open Source Applications as they relate to Closed Source equivalents
• Understands the basic concepts of processes, programs and the components of an Operating System.
• Has a basic knowledge of computer hardware
• Making your computer accessible and accessing other computers on the local network
• Has a basic appreciation of system security, users/groups and file permissions for public and private directories.
• Has the basic skills to configure a system to access a LAN.
• Demonstrates a good knowledge of applications for Linux and Open Source Applications in the Workplace.
• Understands navigation systems on a Linux Desktop and where to go for help.
• Has a rudimentary ability to work on the command line and with files.
• Make simple backups and archives.
• Can use a basic command line editor.
• Understands file compressions and unzipping files.
• Ability to perform simple scripts.
• Understanding of Basic User Types and File Permissions

Version Information

These objectives are version 0.6.0.

Translations of Objectives

The following translations of the objectives are available on this wiki:

• English
• German
• Spanish
• Turkish

Objectives

Topic 1.1: A Career in Open Source and Joining The Linux Community (weight: 7)

1.1.1 Linux Evolution and Popular Operating Systems

Weight	2
Description	Knowledge of Linux Development and Major Distributions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Open Source Philosophy
• Distributions
• Embedded Systems

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Android
• Debian
• CentOS

Nice to know:

1.1.2 Major Open Source Applications

Weight	2
Description	Awareness of major applications and their uses.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Desktop Applications
• Server Applications
• Mobile Applications
• Development Languages
• Package Management Tools

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Firefox
• Blender, Gimp, Audacity
• Apache, MySQL, PostgreSQL
• NFS, Samba, OpenLDAP, Postfix, DNS, DHCP
• C, Perl, shell, Python, PHP

Nice to know:

1.1.3 Understanding "Freeware" and Licensing

Weight	1
Description	Open Source Communities and Licensing in Free and Commercial Open Source Software.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Licensing

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• GPL, BSD, Creative Commons
• Free Software, Open Software, FOSS, FLOSS
• Open Source business models

Nice to know:

1.1.4 ICT Skills and Working in Linux

Weight	2
Description	Basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Skills and Working in Linux.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Desktop Skills
• Getting to the Command Line
• Open Source Desktop Applications
• Industry uses of Linux, Cloud Computing and Virtualization

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Using a browser, privacy concerns, configuration options, searching the web and saving content
• Terminal and Console
• Password issues
• Privacy issues and tools
• graphics and office tools
• Use of common open source applications in presentations and projects

Nice to know:

Topic 1.2: Finding Your Way on a Linux System (weight: 7)

1.2.1 Using Help Commands

Weight	2
Description	Navigation of the various help systems.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Man
• Info

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• man
• info
• man pages
• whatis
• /usr/share/doc
• locate

Nice to know:

1.2.2 Using Directories and Listing Files

Weight	3
Description	Navigation of home and system directories and listing files in various locations.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Files, directories
• Hidden files and directories
• Home

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• ls, recursive listings, less
• Common options for ls
• cd

Nice to know:

1.2.3 Creating, Moving and Deleting Files

Weight	2
Description	Create, move and delete files and directories under the home directory.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Files, directories
• Case sensitivity

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• mv, cp, rm, touch
• mkdir, rmdir

Nice to know:

Topic 1.3: The Power of the Command Line (weight: 10)

1.3.1 Archiving Files on the Command Line

Weight	2
Description	Archiving files in their home directories.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Files, directories
• Archives, compression

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• tar
• gzip, bzip2
• zip, unzip

Nice to know:

1.3.2 Searching and Extracting Data from Files

Weight	4
Description	Search and extract data from files in the home directories.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Command line pipes
• I/O direction
• Partial POSIX Regular Expressions (., [ ], *, ?)

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• find
• grep
• less
• xargs
• sort
• cut
• wc

Nice to know:

• Partial POSIX Basic Regular Expressions ([^ ], ^, $)
• Partial POSIX Extended Regular Expressions (+, ( ), |)

1.3.3 Turning Commands into a Script

Weight	4
Description	Turning repetitive commands into simple scripts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Basic text editing
• Basic shell
• Globbing
• Quoting

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• pico, nano
• /bin/sh
• Variables
• Arguments
• for loops
• echo

Nice to know:

Topic 1.4: The Linux Operating System (weight: 8)

1.4.1 Choosing an Operating System

Weight	1
Description	Knowledge of major Operating Systems and Linux Distributions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Windows, Mac, Linux differences
• Distribution life cycle management

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• GUI versus command line, desktop configuration
• Maintenance cycles, Beta and Stable

Nice to know:

1.4.2 Understanding Computer Hardware

Weight	2
Description	Familiarity with the components that go into building desktop and server computers.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Hardware

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Hard drives and partitions, motherboards, processors, power supplies, optical drives, peripherals
• Display types
• Drivers

Nice to know:

1.4.3 Where Data is Stored

Weight	3
Description	Where various types of information are stored on a Linux system.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Kernel
• Process
• syslog, klog, dmesg
• /lib, /usr/lib, /etc

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Programs, libraries, packages and package databases, system configuration
• Processes and process tables, memory addresses, system messaging and logging

Nice to know:

1.4.4 Your Computer on the Network

Weight	2
Description	Determining vital networking settings and the basic requirements to add a computer on to a Local Area Network (LAN).

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Internet, network, routers
• Domain Name Service
• Network configuration

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• route
• resolv.conf
• IPv4, IPv6
• ifconfig
• netstat
• ping

Nice to know:

Topic 1.5: Security and File Permissions (weight: 8)

1.5.1 Basic Security and Identifying User Types

Weight	3
Description	Various types of users on a Linux system.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Root and Un-privileged Users
• System users

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• /etc/passwd
• id, who
• sudo

Nice to know:

1.5.2 Creating Users and Groups

Weight	2
Description	Creating users and groups on a Linux system.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• User and group commands
• User IDs

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• /etc/passwd
• id, lastlog
• useradd

Nice to know:

1.5.3 Managing File Permissions and Ownership

Weight	2
Description	Understanding and manipulating file permissions and ownership settings.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• File/directory permissions and owners

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• ls -l
• chmod, chown, chgrp

Nice to know:

1.5.4 Special Directories and Files

Weight	1
Description	Special directories and files on a Linux system including special permissions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Hidden files, system files, libraries, repositories,
• /tmp, /var/tmp and special permissions
• File hierarchy
• Symbolic links

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• /etc, /var, /usr
• ls -a, ls -d
• ln -s

Nice to know:

Notes and Comments

Feel free to add comments here:

1. privacy topic? (update: added to 1.1.4)