LinuxEssentials Objectives V1

Introduction

The description of the entire LinuxEssentials programme is listed here.

Minimally Qualified Candidate Description

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

An LPI ICT and Linux Basics professional (designation: TBD) should have an understanding of the major components of the Linux operating system, the technical proficiency to work on the Linux command line and a basic understanding of security and administration related topics such as user/group management, working on the command line and permissions. While a Linux basics professional may be able to completely maintain a Linux system, quite frequently they are the end user of a mostly managed system.

The ICT and Linux Basics MQC typically:

• Has a basic understanding of FOSS, the various communities and licenses
• Understands the basic concepts of processes, programs and the components of an Operating System
• Has a rudimentary ability to work on the command line and with files.
• Can use a basic command line editor.
• Has enough network knowledge to get a system up on a LAN.
• Has a basic appreciation of system security, encryption and user/groups and file permissions.

Version Information

These objectives are version 0.3.0.

Translations of Objectives

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

• English
• German

Objectives

Topic 1.1: A Career in Open Source and Joining The Linux Community

1.1.1 Linux Evolution and Popular Operating Systems (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Knowledge of how Linux was developed and it's major distributions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Distributions
• Embedded Systems

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

• Android
• Debian
• CentOS

1.1.2 Major Open Source Applications (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Awareness of major applications and their uses.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Desktop Applications
• Server Applications
• Mobile Applications
• Development Languages

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

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

1.1.3 Understanding "Freeware" and Licensing (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
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

1.1.4 ICT Skills and Working in Linux (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills and Working in Linux.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Desktop Skills

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
• Cloud Computing
• Password issues

Topic 1.2: The Linux Operating System (OS) and Programs

1.2.1 Using Help Commands and “Man Pages” (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
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

1.2.2 Choosing an Operating System (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Knowledge of major Linux Operating Systems and how their life cycle is managed.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Windows, Mac, Linux differences

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

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

1.2.3 Understanding Computer Hardware (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
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

1.2.4 Where Data is Stored (weight: TBD)

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

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Kernel
• Process

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

1.2.5 Networking Your Computer (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Adding a computer on to a Local Area Network (LAN).

Key Knowledge Areas:

• internet, network, routers
• Domain Name Service

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

• route
• resolve.conf
• IPv4, IPv6
• ifconfig, netstat, route

Topic 1.3: The Power of the Command Line

1.3.1 Using Directories and Listing Files (weight: TBD)

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

Key Knowledge Areas:

• files, directories

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

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

1.3.2 Creating, Moving and Deleting Files (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
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

1.3.3 Archiving Files on the Command Line (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should be able to archive 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, cpio
• gzip, bzip2

1.3.4 Searching and Extracting Data from Files (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should be able to search and extract data from files in their home directories.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Regular Expressions

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

• grep
• less

1.3.5 Turning Commands into a Script (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should be able to turn repetitive commands into simple scripts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Bash

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

• /bin/bash
• arguments
• for loops

Topic 1.4: Keep it Simple: The Text File

1.4.1 Launch Text Editors like pico or nano (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should be able to launch a simple command line editor.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• command line text editing

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

• pico, nano

1.4.2 Editing of Text Files (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should be able to make simple changes to text files.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• command line text editing

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

• pico, nano editing functions

1.4.3 Search And Replace of Text (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should be able to find and replace simple text in files.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• command line text editing

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

• pico, nano search and replace functions

1.4.4 Undo Functions (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should know how to undo changes in a text file.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• command line text editing

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

• pico, nano undo functions

1.4.5 Saving Changes (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should know how to save changes made to text files in an editor.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• command line text editing

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

• pico, nano content saving functions

Topic 1.5: Security and File Permissions

1.5.1 Basic Security and Identifying User Types (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should be aware of the 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

1.5.2 Creating Users and Groups (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should know how to create 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

1.5.3 Setting File Permissions and Ownership (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should be able to understand and manipulate file permissions and ownership settings.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• File permissions and owners

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

• ls -l
• chmod, chown, chgrp

1.5.4 Special Directories and Files (weight: TBD)

Weight	TBD
Description	Candidates should know of the 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

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

• /etc, /var, /usr
• ls -a, ls -d