Browsing Pennsylvania German translation

3.

To shut down a running Linux system, you must not reboot with the reset switch on the front or back of your computer, or just turn off the computer. Linux should be shut down in a controlled manner, otherwise files might get lost and/or disk damage might occur. If you run a desktop environment, there is usually an option to <quote>log out</quote> available from the application menu that allows you to shutdown (or reboot) the system.

4.

Alternatively you can press the key combination <keycombo> <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> <keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>Del</keycap> </keycombo> <phrase arch="powerpc;m68k"> or <keycombo> <keycap>Control</keycap> <keycap>Shift</keycap> <keycap>Power</keycap> </keycombo> on Macintosh systems</phrase>. A last option is to log in as root and type one of the commands <command>poweroff</command>, <command>halt</command> or <command>shutdown -h now</command> if either of the key combinations do not work or you prefer to type commands; use <command>reboot</command> to reboot the system.

5.

If You Are New to Unix

6.

If you are new to Unix, you probably should go out and buy some books and do some reading. A lot of valuable information can also be found in the <ulink url="&url-debian-reference;">Debian Reference</ulink>. This <ulink url="&url-unix-faq;">list of Unix FAQs</ulink> contains a number of UseNet documents which provide a nice historical reference.

7.

Linux is an implementation of Unix. The <ulink url="&url-ldp;">Linux Documentation Project (LDP)</ulink> collects a number of HOWTOs and online books relating to Linux. Most of these documents can be installed locally; just install the <classname>doc-linux-html</classname> package (HTML versions) or the <classname>doc-linux-text</classname> package (ASCII versions), then look in <filename>/usr/share/doc/HOWTO</filename>. International versions of the LDP HOWTOs are also available as Debian packages.

8.

Orienting Yourself to Debian

9.

Debian is a little different from other distributions. Even if you're familiar with Linux in other distributions, there are things you should know about Debian to help you to keep your system in a good, clean state. This chapter contains material to help you get oriented; it is not intended to be a tutorial for how to use Debian, but just a very brief glimpse of the system for the very rushed.

10.

Debian Packaging System

11.

The most important concept to grasp is the Debian packaging system. In essence, large parts of your system should be considered under the control of the packaging system. These include: <itemizedlist> <listitem><para> <filename>/usr</filename> (excluding <filename>/usr/local</filename>) </para></listitem> <listitem><para> <filename>/var</filename> (you could make <filename>/var/local</filename> and be safe in there) </para></listitem> <listitem><para> <filename>/bin</filename> </para></listitem> <listitem><para> <filename>/sbin</filename> </para></listitem> <listitem><para> <filename>/lib</filename> </para></listitem> </itemizedlist> For instance, if you replace <filename>/usr/bin/perl</filename>, that will work, but then if you upgrade your <classname>perl</classname> package, the file you put there will be replaced. Experts can get around this by putting packages on <quote>hold</quote> in <command>aptitude</command>.

12.

One of the best installation methods is apt. You can use the command line version <command>apt-get</command> or full-screen text version <application>aptitude</application>. Note apt will also let you merge main, contrib, and non-free so you can have export-restricted packages as well as standard versions.