Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Linux Newbie!?

Hey everyone, I FINALLY got my SuSe box on the internet using NDISwrapper! Yay!! Anyway (horray for me...) since I am BRAND new to linux (I an duel booting windows XP), I was wondering if any of you could give me some tips, and tricks, or just some general advice on a decent way to learn the ins and outs of a linux box.





I'm not really new to computer hardware or software (as I major in computer programming) but there are some MORE specific questions I had...





1) I need a nice complier with a GUI...kind of easy to install...remember I'm not really sure how everything works with. Need to be able to write C++ in it.


2)I installed gaim already...any other got to have software I should know about?


3)(I am NOT sure what the package is...and I'm not quite sure to find out...yet...) But is the defualt server package on SuSe 10.1 for FTP/File Server software decent?


4)Anti-viral software recommendations? I realize it is a low risk but I do like feeling seurce...espically since I just figured o

Linux Newbie!?
You ask a lot of questions. I use a distro. It is from ubuntu.org. Pretty cool. The KDE/gnome desktop alone convinced me right away to buy new hardware and I only boot to Win when I want to make a media file.





I'm going to recommend the forums at ubuntu. All kinds of linux users besides the ubuntu check out there. You have advantages and disadvantages running SuSe. Most of your add-ons and updates are rpm whereas we are apt-debians. Debians are usually more complete. rpm on the other hand oftentime require you compile from source.





As far as IDE. Take a look at netBeans. It's mainly for Java but I did notice there are plug-ins for C++. Otherwise, linux comes with editors already built-in. I like the netBeans because it will hint for you on code completion. Good luck! I rather enjoy being WinFree. Laugh with me when those suckers upgrade to Vista -- no more pirated materials. Ha, ha, ha.





Now, if they ONLY made more software for the 64-bit machines. sigh.....
Reply:glad I pass by this way tonite your in luck to say the least, where r u from?


there are many suse linux places to get the info you need, and let me tell you a bit of bad news first. your about to lose your dual boot system I haave installed Suse and windows on several systems and lost either suse or XP.





if you had xp on first then your ok you won't lose xp but you will lose suse. and if suse was on first you will lose windows sorry to say





now you can go on to Novell.com and register and become a member, get on the user groups blogs


check out the cool sulutions you will be told how to get round the dual boot system.


there are several compilers within the 5 CD's u have got so don't run before you can walk,


did you buy the system with suse on it or did you buy suse and install it?





get back with me I can guide you to the right places when it comes to suse
Reply:Switch users:


use the "su - {UserName to Switch To}"


FTP:


I run slackware 11 and it is proftpd


but try "apropos ftpd"


Apropos is a search of executables in linux. It searches the command and the Description


then take the command and enter "man {command}". That will open the "man pages" for that command. when you want to exit hit "q"


Virus:


don't waste your time!


Any other software:


I like apache, partially because I do a lot with web programming (i.e. PHP/MySQL)





You didn't ask it but try "pico" instead of "vi" for text editing





You would know it but I learned all of this in the past two weeks, as I installed it 2 weeks ago
Reply:A piece of general advice that I'd offer is this - learn to use bash. There's so much more you can do by typing than there is by clicking! ;) Also, it'll pay to learn to use vi or vim or emacs - a lot of the time you'll be needing to edit things from the console without a GUI - at those times a knowledge of one of these text editors will be very useful.





I've been using QtDesigner a bit recently - it's got a real nice feel to it, a pretty decent C++ editor by all accounts :)





Rawlyn.

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Outputting a result in the same box as the input?

I'm having difficulties with my celsius/fahrenheit converter in Java.. I need to output the result in either the celsius box or the fahrenheit box, whichever one they didn't put a number in...





the code is pretty long.. and it wont let me paste the whole code.. basically i'm using JFrames, a GUI and here's the part i think i'm having difficulty with...





private void calculate( char operator ) {


double Cel = (Double.parseDouble(jtfCel.getText().tri...


double Far = (Double.parseDouble(jtfFar.getText().tri...





double Celsius = 0;


double Fahrenheit = 0;





switch ( operator ) {


case 'C': Celsius = ((Far - 32)*(5/9));


break;


case 'F': Fahrenheit = ((9/5)*Cel+32);


break;


case 'L': Cel = 0; Far = 0;


break;


}





//set result in the textfields...


jtfFar.setText(String.valueOf(Fahrenheit...


jtfCel.setText(String.valueOf(Celsius));


}





OH also, how do u clear a textfield in Java?

Outputting a result in the same box as the input?
//set result in the textfields...


jtfFar.setText(String.valueOf(Fahrenhe...


jtfCel.setText(String.valueOf(Celsius)...





Only execute one of them, based on operator. The other one has the number the user entered, so you don't have to write it.





To clear a text field, set it to '' (two single quotes, no space between them).
Reply:Set two string variables to ""


Set the value of each for each text box


check if the variables are not equal to ""


If they are equal, then populate the other box.


Set the box that is not equal to a string value of that is ""


Best language for web-bot/spider?

I want to make a program that accepts a search string via a GUI. Then queries a handful of predetermined search engines and displays their results, if there were any. Im familiar with C++ but unsure if its appropriate for this type of program. What language should I use? Any tips?

Best language for web-bot/spider?
I would use C# (or managed c++) they have a large amount of libraries in the system.net namespace that would make this task pretty trivial.


What is the best way to get started learning a computer language?

currently,


- Python looks popular, but I keep hearing





" go with c++, dude, you'll get more out of it"





of course, there's also Java, PHP, and others...





- just need to get started - currently know html/css... any


"transition language" out there?





any ideas?





my goal would be to make a simple program *gui - with buttons opening up various programs -


eg: a shortcut program (hopefully nice looking aswell) :D





-well, that's my goal :) any help would be appriciated!





(oh yeah, and my question is still - how do I get started learning a programming language - to accomplish my goal? )


thanks


-Geometricfigure

What is the best way to get started learning a computer language?
Congrats on wanting to get started in the field!





First of all, the "best" way is hard to define! "Best" for you might be "fastest to 'Hello World!'". Or "Best" might mean "learning the best programming practices in use today". As someone who does this for a living let me give you my shot at it.





First, C++ is a great language but not a good "learning language". Especially since you are a web guy... you are used to seeing things on the screen pretty quickly.





Now if you want to leverage where you are at right now and jump into some code quickly, you can start writing PHP and JavaScript with the tools you have already. PHP 5 is a pretty good language for learning. It's a forgiving language in that it is not strongly typed but it is also pretty powerful and you can even do some object oriented stuff in it.





If you are determined to do a desktop program and learn that way, I would recommend either Java or C#. Both of those languages will get you to a GUI faster than Python or C++ will. There are several good IDE's for Java out there that are OpenSource and MS has the "express" versions of their Visual Studio IDE's available.





I would recommend staying away from Visual Basic unless you want to write ASP.NET pages in Visual Basic. For some reason that field is still pretty active but other than that, VB is a dying language. If you learn it on a desktop you will spend the next couple of years unlearning eveything you learned in VB ;)





My gut feeling is that you would be better off with C#... it's a very solid language and typically the Visual Studio IDE's make creating GUI's very intuitive. If you are a hard core MS hater than grab NetBean, Eclipse or another Java IDE and write a Java Swing app... it'll get you there pretty fast.





Now... how do you get started? Again.. a lot depends on YOU. If you can read a book and learn that way then go to Amazon.com and order a good programming book. What kind of book? Depends on how you learn. Language reference books tend to give you the details of the language but are very light on how to use it. Other "how to" books tend to range from "press this button and then click here" to "Open the IDE and create a project". I recommend reading some reviews of the books on Amazon before buying anything... they will tell you a lot about what kind of book it is and you can judge what kind of book you prefer.





Obviously there are a ton of resources on the web so don't neglect Google. And if you want to spend some time in a classroom check out a local community college. Sometimes they offer programming courses pretty cheap and you can get your feet wet pretty quickly. You won't learn a lot past beginner stuff in a class room but it might be the best way for you to get started!





Hope this helps... feel free to email me if you want more specifics on resources on the web.
Reply:Well for GUI applications Languages like Java,Visual Basic


do very well.But JAva is relatively tougher.


So VB can be chossen if U hav no programmin background


But if U need to make web designs,then U can go for HTML,its very easy.


So just go for any one..


TC
Reply:1st, as you already know, you gotta pick a language. And that completely depends on what you want to use it for, and for what platform (Mac, Linux, Windows). While any of those languages can drive websites, most people think of PHP, Ruby, and Java (specifically JSP) as "web languages." There's also the problem with libraries, like for drawing widgets (buttons, windows, etc). Each operating system has its own preference and/or bundled libraries (GTK/Qt if on Linux, Forms for Windows, etc). Therefore, there's not only learning the syntax of a language, but also what you can access and do with that language. .NET (Dot Net) tries to solve this by allowing many languages (especially C#) easy access to a large, mature set of libraries.





However, if this is your first [programming] language, the difference between a language's syntax, core functions, bundled and 3rd party libraries shouldn't be of interest (yet). In that light, I, with the rest of many universities, would recommend Java. There are many many many resources (on the web, free and in paper, not free) to aid in the mundane to the complex.





Python is great, and so is Ruby. PHP can also be in the ring. However, they are generally used by universities to teach theory (algorithmic design, OO, etc), leading up to software development. I'm assuming you, on the other hand, would prefer to dive right into building applications. Think of it almost like learning to play piano - you can either start learning really cool, popular songs that dont require much skill, and build up, or you can spend a long time learning and mastering technique so that you can eventually play Liszt (or whatever). I'm not saying by learning Java first you will never be able to be a professional software engineer (not at all) - just that it's usually best to be patient and learn the theory first (which python, et al are better for than Java). And that's because you'll have to later unlearn bad habits.





C++ and C are not good options as first languages. C#, however, might be, but I don't know it (yet) so I can't comment. They say it's very similar to C++ and Java (powerful like C++ but as easy as Java). Yes, C++ will get you far, if that's what your career's going to be, but it's not a good option for a first language.





Java is your best bet, I think. You might want to start with this free tutorial site (from Sun, the creators of Java): http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/ . It's pretty good, and there's the Java API, which is my bible (when doing Java).





It's all about using the best tool for the job, and Java is a pretty good multi-use tool. But, more importantly, you'll get cool results sooner with Java (instant gratification), which will make you more confident and make programming more fun. And once you're having fun and learning alot, you can move on to the other languages. It gets easier each language you learn.
Reply:I'd actually start with HTML as it is easy and simple to learn, and can be used for many things other than making a website.





It will familiarize yourself with syntax, simple mistakes such as forgetting a symbol. Also it will help you make your own style of writing code; such as using spaces for better organization.





After learning HTML I would go with any of the C+ languages.





Getting a book on Amazon.com will teach you a lot about HTML, but HTML coding is so popular you could probably get by with just tutorials on the web.
Reply:I would reccommend a server side web programming language such as c#.net or vb.net (under the auspices of asp.net), or php. Any of those 3 will get you headed in the right direction, and they will offer some farmiliaraity since they're half html %26amp; half programming. Getting an educational copy of visual studio 2005 is the easiest way to go, since it contains its own webserver. You write your code %26amp; you don't have to get confused by setting up the server %26amp; all that crap. You just push f5 on the keyboard %26amp; it starts a server, loads your project on it, and opens your web browser to what you've made.





My favorite starters book for programming is vb.net the complete reference by osbourne publishing. You should be able to find copies of it on ebay or amazon for $3.








Stay away from old languages, and dying languages. c++ had its time, but its only good for hardware programming. Its not exactly the easiest language to learn either. Java isn't terrible (and its a fine learning language with many excelent free online tutorials), but its losing market share very fast to other languages. Its only holding on because its free. I'd rather work with something that's good %26amp; costs a few bucks than something that's free %26amp; crappy any day.





As a final thingy... Check out www.asp.net They have a lot of resources on the whys and the hows. They have tutorials, videos, and a free development environment. If you need in depth programming help... there's always www.msdn.com for the docs.





i also enjoy the videos at learnvisualstudio.net (pay site).





If you want to see a programmer in action, check out www.dnrtv.com They have a lot of sessions where you can see them noodling in code %26amp; explaining what they're doing as they're doing it (free)
Reply:Ask An Expart And Get professional help


at





http://www.geocities.com/programinghelps


http://directdegree.info
Reply:I would say try learning Visual Basic. It's just a start to get the basic concepts and get an understanding of programing. It's easy %26amp; can be fun to start with. Making drawing programs and the like. From there you can link them to access databases to create fun calculation GUIs.





Yay!


Cell phone wireless Cards?

Has anyone ever used one of these? Do they allow all the ports to operate ie...ftp, http, pop3 e.t.c I am thinking of getting one but i don't want to be stuck using some sort of a gui to access the intneret and only see webpages...want to use those along with yahoo messenger/aim

Cell phone wireless Cards?
National Access is awful. It is MUCH slower than dial-up and usually doesn’t work at all. However it does work just like a regular internet connection, only badly.
Reply:you could try verizon broadband internet access. broadband access speeds in broadband areas. national access speeds in national access areas. you buy the pc card. sign a contract. slip it in your laptop. and start surfing the web at least 10 time faster than dial-up. i think avg cost is $59-$79 a month. unlimited access.

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Problem with reinstalling Windows XP?

Windows XP reinstalled after the virus crash (clean install, HD partitioned, reformatted). XP Media installed on the D drive. C drive – empty, formatted as FAT32. D drive formatted as NTFS. Install prompt asked for the SP2 files but it couldn’t retrieve them from the CD -installed afterwards through the windows GUI. Computer booted to Windows with the delay but recognized boot from the disk. Windows seemed to behave normally. Problem occurred when installing drivers. Windows showed prompt “Windows installer missing”. No such file was found on the system. Also some of other files couldn’t be found, like Windows Help files...All was done without the computer being connected to the internet. Install was performed twice with the same problematic result. Computer is new (Intel CPU, a lot of memory, HD space and power). XP install disks are genuine. Is the problem connected to windows being installed on the D drive? Thank you for any help/suggestions in this matter.

Problem with reinstalling Windows XP?
Look ahead





Is your CD is totally ok? {every file readable?}





Plz dont use FAT32 File system,,,it's gone old %26amp; corrupts files %26amp; makes them unrepairable..........always use NTFS





Plz be sure to install windows in primary partition {always C} ( It's a healthy suggestion)





Why would you not like to try Kaspersky Internet Security for a while to scan your system {www.kaspersky.com}{}


'cause the problem is so strange that i can't guess any thing else than a virus...............Reformat is not the ultimate solution to viruses but an antivirus................download here


http://www.download.com/Kaspersky-Intern...


i suggest this version most suitable


Get most suitable settings here {i uploaded spedially for you}


http://www.mediafire.com/?mnxqatednyt





Download Drivers from internet in case drivers CD have any reading problem {might be 'cause of CD ROM Drive not working well





Hope you will sort out the problem.....Patriotism is the thing our country demands for right now..._Pakistan_....


Sorry for late reply
Reply:Sounds like you have old windows installer. The windows installer keeps updating and I guess you have an old version. You need to connect to internet windows update and then windows will correct itself.





I think no re-install is necessary and fix anything as you already tried it.





Other way of getting new windows installer is installing Visual studio/ SQL server or new version of Office.
Reply:Try repairing your OS by this way:


1. Make your CD ROM the first boot drive


2. Insert your OS in the CD ROM


3. Wait until the Windows Installation set up appears


4. Choose Repair


5. Choose the hard drive which has your OS was been installed


6. Type chkdsk -r





Wait until your OS is being repaired. You will notice that some percent keeps on repeating. Ignore that and just wait until repairing finishes.
Reply:Yes exactly! You want to install XP to C drive, the primary partition. If I were you, I would make just ONE primary partition per hard disk for starters. Later, if you want to break it up into one or more partitions, I would spend a few bucks and get Partition Magic 8.0 from Symantec, or use the free GPARTED.
Reply:If the install prompt complained about something, that's probably where your problem came from. Try reformatting and installing again. If you get the same error, you might have a bad install CD.


Does clearing your hard drive cause any physical damage to your computer?

this computer was purchased brand new by my grandfather in December of 2005. Since then the hard drive has been wiped out at least 4 times due to viruses, spyware, or simply because the computer would not even display the GUI (except in safe mode). The last time the hard drive was cleared it was simply because the computer was inspected by a technician who reccomended that the hard drive be cleared because there were literally hundreds of viruses, e.t.c. from downloaded programs, and the only way to get rid of them all was to completely clear the hd. But I am just worried because I keep clearing it. Does clearing it cause any damage that may eventually cause you to have to replace it? And is there a limit to how many times you can clear the hard drive? I just really want to know if it is okay to keep clearing it. Because I don't want to keep doing it if it is causing damage.


Also, does having viruses/spyware cause damage to your hd? And if so does clearing your hd erase this damage?

Does clearing your hard drive cause any physical damage to your computer?
No it won't cause physical damage. But what a monumental waste of time. Use and antivirus program and a firewall and you won't have those problems.
Reply:as far as i know. it doesn't, but i've been advised to never do it too often.


as a matter of fact, i try to not do the whole


recomplie thing. whats the technical term? u see a bunch of small colored squares being arranged around.


i hear that kinda screws up your system everytime u do it.
Reply:inspected by a technician who reccomended that the hard drive be cleared because there were literally hundreds of viruses, e.t.c.is ,%26amp; do you pay this technician for the work , hmmmmmmmmmm listen if you had 1000 virus on the pc you dont have to format it you use the best anti virus to make sure your pc never see a virus again , i think this technician is taking you on a road trip for your cash


get the best anti virus and your never see a virus again if you set this up right , dont have that junk norton/mcafee/avg panda they cant stop a cat





save your self cash





zoneAlarm internet security suite,block email junk. %26amp; add email address to the block list,when you add a email address to the blocked list that email address can't email you anymore ,





personalize your on email blocked message ,put in a name :that you want them to see example:blockjunk@block.com,





zoneAlarm internet security suite,block email junk. %26amp; add email address to the block list,when you add a email address to the blocked list that email address can't email you anymore ,


set an personalize , blocked message


example: hi im really sorry i want to get your email so please take time to answer this question,i will reply when i know who you are,


im sorry i have to do this but i get over 50 spam messages per day,my email block junk is set to on,try zoneAlarm internet security suite


it does what it say's take the test with


zoneAlarm internet security suite


all in one firewall/anti virus/anti spyware


http://www.zonelabs.com/store/applicatio...
Reply:No. Clearing your hard drive doesn't do any physical damage whatsoever. Neither do viruses, they just cause problems with data, not the physical hard drive. I suggest you get antivirus software (you can find free ones at downloads.com) and backup all of your important files. Once you do get antivirus/spyware software, run scans every week or so.
Reply:The HD is magnetic storage which means that every time you write on it the media gets more worn. This is why it isn't recommended to format the whole HD often and in my opinion 4 times it a year is often. If you can't help it than do it again but the life expect ency of your HD will decrease if you continue at this rate.


The best way is prevention: always have an antivirus program running and I recommend a firewall as well.


A spyware program is also a must in my view. Since this type of program changes the registry there is a minuscule chance that it might cause problems the operation system or other programs but I have never encountered such a problem. Look at it this way: without one you WILL have damaging addaware, with it there is a tiny chance that you MIGHT have to reinstall a program. I know which one I prefer.
Reply:iono
Reply:nope
Reply:First, does it harm your computer to completely erase and reinstall windows. NO. The hard drive can handle it.





My question is how is your computer getting so infected. If the version of windows xp that your are installing does not come with service pack 2 then your computer will get infected as soon as you connect to the internet. The necessary fixes in service pack 2 need to be in place before you connect to the internet. So when you get ready to do a clean install (if your windows cd doesn't have sp2) download the sp2 install file and burn it to a cd and run the install file as soon as you finish installing windows xp.





http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/detai...
Reply:first things first. If you are using internet, use an antivirus, U cant ignore it. Antiviruses wont damage ur PC.





Get used to the fact that you will have to replace your hard disc some time down the line





Formatting does no harm to hard disk unless it is done too frequently.Like 3 times a day.





You should actually format your disk once a month if possible.
Reply:you really don't have a clue, do you?





4 times in 9 months?





literally hundreds??





ever heard of an anti-virus program? a little common sense?
Reply:Leme Guess.. It's an E-Machine %26lt;*%26gt;%26gt;%26lt;*%26gt;





If so, You'e not alone. As nearly 80% of then are grosly misconfigured from the factory.





Plysically : No it Can't Damage it (Asuming you aren't attempting to Low Level format it)





However as with ANY Machanical device, The Boot sectors of a Hard drive take a heck of a beating. and Eventually develop Read/Write errors. Once The Boot sectors on the drive get worn out, The drive is shot. (Which is the main logic behind Leaving your computer on all the time) As the boot records are only accessed Normally durring power up.
Reply:To clean your hard drive and eliminate data issues.





There are only two conditional states for computer hardware, one of which is the hard drive.





State 1: It is physically broke, broke as in a egg fell on the floor.


The egg is broke, item cannot be repaired, you must buy a new one.





State 2, software issues. THIS CAN ALEWAYS BR FIXED!





To fix your hard drive.


You must delete all partitions, create new partitions, format the partitions in NTFS.





At this point, there will not be any virus, mal ware, data, programs, what ever, on your hard drive. IOf you have other drives, you must repeate above procedure on every drive in your system.





Copy the following and use them.





Computer Help Page





http://www.diskgenius.com/





http://www.pcbeginner.com/tools/pcdoctor...





http://www.pcguide.com/byop/index.htm





http://www.ntfs.com/boot-disk.htm





http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Boot...





http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/...





http://www.disk-image.net/products.htm





http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm





http://www.winternals.com/





http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fi...





http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Boot...





http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,16...





http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/


•http://www.bootdisk.com/utility.htm


•Chapter 1: Purchasing Components


•Chapter 2: Component Overview


•Chapter 3: Installing the CPU, Heatsink, and RAM On The Mainboard


•Chapter 4: Installing The Mainboard In The Case


•Chapter 5: Installing Drives


•Chapter 6: Connecting Components


•Chapter 7: Installing AGP and PCI Cards


•Chapter 8: Testing the System and Completing Assembly


•Chapter 9: Installing Windows XP


•Chapter 10: Configuring Windows XP


•Chapter 11: Installing A Dual Boot Operating System (Linux And Windows XP)


•Chapter 12: Home Video -- “So, You Want to Be the Next Steven Spielberg?”


•Chapter 13: What’s Next?
Reply:Clearing the hard drive is no more damaging to the hard drive than using the hard drive. Don't worry about it, it won't affect the longevity of the drive.

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