2002.02_Suse Training for Beginners.pdf

FEATURE

START AT THE

SuSE training

BEGINNING

A s a relative newcomer to Linux it was with

I’ve you ever

wondered what

goes on at Linux

training courses

then wonder no

longer. Lesley Dixon

fills us in on what

goes on behind

closed doors

some trepidation that I enrolled on the SuSE

Linux For Users course at Computer Park Ltd.

This is a three-day course with the aim of introducing

the beginner to Linux, including applications such as

word processing, spreadsheets and presentation

packages, and to give an insight into file and

directory structures on both local and networked

systems.

No previous knowledge is required for this course

although some experience of using a personal

computer is obviously helpful.

The company also offers a general Linux For

Beginners one-day course, which covers the basic use

of the programs, but I felt that this might not give

me the time or practice I needed to

come to grips with an entire

operating system.

Computer Park Ltd. has been

running courses since 1982 and so

has plenty of experience in training.

They do courses covering standard

PC applications, such as Excel and general personnel

skills such as time management, as well as the Linux-

based courses.

Although the course is specifically tailored to SuSE

Linux most of the content can be applied to other

distributions and so the course is worth considering

even if you have decided not to use SuSE.

The site, at Broughton Grange near Kettering, is

picturesque, if a little off the beaten track. Lunch and

coffee breaks are taken in a large conservatory with

stunning views over the countryside – perfect to relax

in after a morning struggling with programming.

Lunch was also excellent though I had to be careful

not to eat too much and fall asleep in the afternoon

session!

Absolute beginners

The course opened with a brief overview and history

of Linux and then moved on to the file structure and

how to login to a session. Much of the course

concentrated on the command line and only covered

the graphical interface as a specific topic. This was

quite a shock to my system as the last time I can

remember typing commands was in the late 1980s

LINUX MAGAZINE

Issue 17 • 2001

FEATURE

an a BBC computer at school. Although the tutor

was very helpful it did strengthen my conviction to

stick to a system with a good graphical interface and

not to go wandering off into the realms of more

command-led programming.

Having started us off gently enough we then dived

into the filesystem, learning how to navigate

directories, how to create files and how to change

permissions to enable others to read them (or not).

Once we could create files we were shown the use of

vi, as an example of a text editor, and learned how to

generate text files. Other text editors were only

touched upon briefly, due to the pressures of time,

but I was not left a convert to vi! At the end of each

topic we were given time to work through the

exercises given in the course manual, so we were

able to practice what we had learned – something I

find necessary to prevent information from going in

one ear and out the other.

fortunately we soon returned to subjects on my level

and I did not feel as if I was drowning for very long.

All of the subjects were covered in sufficient detail

that we felt confident in them by the time the course

was over. There was enough time allowed in the

course that we could take the time to practice what

we needed. Fortunately because of the small number

of students there was ample time to spend on

whatever we needed to and we were able to finish

early every day, which would be a help if you were

commuting daily as Kettering is a fair drive from most

places. I stayed overnight and was able to find a very

comfortable B&B.

The number of people on the course is kept small

so that individual needs can be met. The staff at

Computer Park are very friendly and happy to help

whenever necessary. They will also tailor-make

courses for companies if they do not already do a

suitable one. The set of networked computers runs

the latest version of SuSE, in this case 7.3, which had

only just been released. This led to a few problems

when the files needed to demonstrate functions had

been moved to different locations and so had been

omitted from the install. My advice would be to try

not to go on the course just after a major version

update but to let it sort itself out first and find all the

bugs before hand. These teething troubles aside, the

course was competently run with an effort to

maintain interest for the full three days. Time and

effort was spent on ensuring that we were all happy

with what we had learned. At the end of the course I

felt confident that I would be able to navigate my

way around SuSE – and by way of extension, any

version of Linux. Although I was disappointed not to

have used Xwindows more I was ready and eager to

go home and put my newfound skills to the test.

As an introduction to using Linux the course is to

be recommended and if you have not already

committed to a distribution then you will be

converted to SuSE by its breadth of coverage and

value for money.

A little variety

Over the next couple of days we went on to cover a

wide range of subjects, many using the networked

computers to send files to each other. We learned

how to search files, print them, redirect them and

work on a remote computer. We also learned about

printers, CD-ROMs and floppy drives.

Various applications were covered for word

processing, spreadsheets and presentations, Due to

the small number of people on the course we were

able to deviate from the manual from time to time

and concentrate on a topic which one of us

considered to be useful to them. In my case we were

shown how to transfer files to and from a Windows

system and how the various applications compared to

their Windows equivalents. With a different set of

students they could cover quite different questions

depending on their particular needs.

Although I was very happy with what was taught

on the course I was slightly disappointed not to have

more practice in Xwindows, as that’s what I will

probably be using. However I do realise that it is

necessary to understand the underlying processes

before taking the easy option. I would have liked to

have used GNOME and been shown around that and

similar programs but I realise that would be a course

in itself.

The

number of

people on

the course

is kept

small so

that

individual

needs can

be met

Waving, not drowning

The topics covered were dealt with in enough detail

to give us confidence but not so much that we were

swamped with unnecessary detail. Once or twice we

strayed onto subjects that the tutor admitted were

from the systems administrator course but he felt it

was necessary for us to understand the background

and it was relevant to the work that some of the

students were doing. A few times I felt my eyes

glazing over as the topics became very technical, but

Issue 17 • 2001

LINUX MAGAZINE

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