UNIX

UNIX and Linux, an overview and introduction aka unix introduces students to the command prompt, basic tools and commands, their areas of application, and ways to combine them into larger workflows.

This is course material for the two courses DV1466 and DV1563. DV1466 completes four assignments, DV1563 completes the last 3 out of the four assignments.

#Lab environment requirements

In the course, you install a Linux operating system on your own machine with the virtualization system VirtualBox. You need a computer with at least 8GB of internal memory for it to work well. With less internal memory, it takes longer to complete the exercises and it can feel sluggish.

You can also perform the installation on another computer, an older laptop for example. Or you can use virtual servers that you install on your own.

In short, you should install a linux server and you need a good enough environment for it to work without any worries.

#Prerequisites

General requirements for university studies.

#Content

The key components of the course are:

• comparison between dialogue based on the command line interface and graphical user interface (GUI) with predefined menu selections

• use of pipelines as a method for incremental development based on problem specifications and partial solutions for advanced testing

• operating systems based on files: introduction to hierarchical filing systems, the taxonomy problem and its solution through hard and soft links, streams, authorisation and ownership

• text as a general format for semi-structured data: creation, extraction, processing and output of multi-level delimiters (e.g. fields and posts). Operations of filtering and limiting, and how they can be constructed from standard commands such as head, tail, awk, grep and sed (POSIX standard)

• methods to combine different tools: string escaping, embedded commands and expansions, regular expressions, pipelines and redirection

#Aims and learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

On completion of the course, the students shall be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the functionality of the POSIX core tools

Competence and skills

On completion of the course, the students shall be able to:

• break down problems into smaller parts with well-defined inputs and outputs
• analyse the usefulness of tools in different problem-solving phases
• create suitable test data for both partial and holistic solutions, and identify test cases
• integrate partial solutions into holistic solutions to solve problems.

#Assignment prerequisites

Complete all steps of the VirtualBox guide.

All assignments and the following installation guide should be completed inside the installed virtual environment.

Install the lab environment by completing the steps in the dbwebb installation guide.

#Assignments

The course is divided into several assignments.

#Assignment 1: Apache Virtual Hosts

The first assignment is about using your newly installed Debian server as a web server to host a small web page.

Instructions.

#Assignment 2: Bash

In this assignment we will take a look at the Bash programming language by completing a series of exercises.

Instructions.

#Assignment 3: Regular expressions

The third assignment uses the built-in Linux program sed and regular expressions to filter large amounts of data.

Instructions.

#Assignment 4: Mazerunner

In this assignment you will work with server-client communication by writing a Bash program that can take you through a maze like MazeRunner.

Instructions.

#Literature

• The Linux Command Line – William Shotts An easy-to-read and pleasant book with an open license that makes the book available freely on the book’s website. The book gives a good introduction to the Linux beginner, system commands and the terminal.

#Ladok

According to the syllabus, there are a number of ladok moments and they are linked to the course parts as follows.

#Grading

The final grade in the course is given based on points obtained during the course. To get a final grade all assignments in your particular course need to be passed.

Grading in DV1466

Grading in DV1563

#Course evaluation and course development

At the end of the course you receive a link to the course evaluation in Canvas. The course evaluations are important for course development so please take 3-5 minutes to complete the course evaluation.

#Course plan

The syllabus is the formal document of the course that has been established by the university. When the course is evaluated, it is done against the syllabus. In the syllabus you can read about the course’s classification, purpose, content, goals, general abilities, learning and teaching, assessment and examination, literature, etc.

Course plan for DV1466

Course plan for DV1563

#Revision history