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 competently 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 Linux Essentials Technician (LPI LET) is most likely the end user of a mostly managed system.
The LPI Linux Essentials Technician (LPI LET) 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 basic knowledge of computer hardware
- Has a basic appreciation of system security, users/groups and file permissions for public and private directories.
- Basic understanding of how to make the system accessible and able to connect to other computers on a Local Area Network (LAN).
- Demonstrates a knowledge of Open Source Applications in the Workplace as they relate to Closed Source equivalents.
- 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 and restore simple backups and archives.
- Can use a basic command line editor.
- Understands file compression.
- Ability to create and run simple scripts.
Version Information
These objectives are version 0.99.0.
Translations of Objectives
The following translations of the objectives are available on this wiki:
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, ImageMagick
- Apache, MySQL, PostgreSQL
- NFS, Samba, OpenLDAP, Postfix, DNS, DHCP
- C, Perl, shell, Python, PHP
Nice to know:
1.1.3 Understanding Free Software and Licensing
| Weight | 1 |
| Description | Open Source Communities and Licensing in Free Software 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 Source 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 the Command Line and Getting Help
| Weight | 2 |
| Description | Running commands and navigation of the various help systems. |
Key Knowledge Areas:
- Basic shell
- Formatting commands
- Working With Options
- Man
- Info
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- path
- history
- ;
- man
- info
- Man pages
- /usr/share/doc
- locate
Nice to know:
- exit status
- substitutions
- apropos, whatis
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:
- Common options for ls
- Recursive listings
- cd
- home and ~
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
- Simple globbing and quoting
- Symbolic links
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- mv, cp, rm, touch
- mkdir, rmdir
- " ""
- Esc \
Nice to know:
- Hard links
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
- tar options
- gzip, bzip2
- zip, unzip
Nice to know:
- listing archive contents
- extracting individual files from archives
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 re-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 (+, ( ), |)
- handling or re-directing errors
1.3.3 Turning Commands into a Script
| Weight | 4 |
| Description | Turning repetitive commands into simple scripts. |
Key Knowledge Areas:
- Basic text editing
- Globbing
- Quoting
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- pico, nano, vi
- /bin/sh
- Variables
- Arguments
- for loops
- echo
Nice to know:
- bash
- if, while, case statements
- read and test/ command
- || and && control operators
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:
- components of a Linux distribtion
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:
- lspci, lsmod
- sysctl
- www.linux-drivers.org
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
- Processes
- 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
- ps, top, free
- cat, more, less, tail (-f)
- what is in /proc
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:
- ssh
- ip
- dig
- /etc/nsswitch.conf
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 Standard Users
- System users
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- /etc/passwd, /etc/group
- id, who, w
- sudo
Nice to know:
- su
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, /etc/shadow, /etc/group
- id, last, lastlog
- useradd, usermod, userdel
- groupadd, groupmod, groupdel
- passwd
Nice to know:
- /bin/false and /etc/nologin
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 defaults
- File/directory user versus group ownership
- File hierarchy
- Numeric and symbolic modes
The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:
- ls -l
- chmod, chown, chgrp
Nice to know:
- using GUI tools to set permissions
- SUID/SGID and Sticky Bit
1.5.4 Special Directories and Files
| Weight | 1 |
| Description | Special directories and files on a Linux system including special permissions. |
Key Knowledge Areas:
- System files, libraries, repositories
- /tmp, /var/tmp
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:
Reference Material
Notes and Comments
Feel free to add comments here:
- privacy topic? (update: added to 1.1.4)
