Linux Tips #3



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*1. POSTGRESQL DATABASE FOR LINUX                 
        
Postgres is a free and open source database that is an
 implementation of an older version of the SQL standard. It was
 designed to be a free implementation of Postgres 4.2. Postgres
 comes with most Linux distributions. 

Postgres' Web site has an interesting feature comparison between
 itself, Oracle, Sybase, and two other databases. Postgres can
 be found at 

http://www.postgresql.org/


*2. MYSQL                 
        
MySQL is probably the most popular database for Web development,
 but it is a limited implementation of the SQL standard. The
 design choice was to offer those features that were commonly
 needed, but to exclude those functions that would make the
 database perform more slowly. Thus, MySQL is extremely fast. It
 is the back end for sites such as Slashdot: 

http://slashdot.org 

Because it does not support transactions, it is best for
 databases with limited relationships (as many Web-based
 databases are). Note that while MySQL is free under most
 circumstances (for non-Microsoft OSes), it has a peculiar
 licensing strategy, which can be found at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0511lin%2C00.html 

MySQL can be found at 

http://www.mysql.org


*3. A SOLID DATABASE                 
        
Solid is a lightweight, but fairly complete, database engine that
 includes such features as multithreading, automatic
 roll-forward, binary compatibility of the database across
 platforms, and online concurrent backup. It is a commercial
 product. The evaluation version varies from 6MB to 13MB,
 depending on platform. More information on the Solid Embedded
 Engine can be found at 

http://www.solidtech.com/evaluation/index.html


*4. NECKO: THE NEW NETLIB PROJECT                 
        
The main function of the netlib kernel is to act as an efficient
 data pipe between multiple physical transports (that is file
 system, network, and so on) and a standardized stream
 abstraction that protocol handlers consume. Warren Harris and
 Rick Potts decided that it was time to take Mozilla's current
 networking library under control. It needed help: remnants of
 the old "Mozilla classic" codebase were common, and it had been
 designed for a radically different nonthreaded world where it
 was the primary scheduler for the browser. As a result,
 performance had been abysmal. Find out what's happening at 

http://www.mozilla.org/docs/netlib/necko.html


*5. MANAGE YOUR DRIVES WITH GREATER EASE                 
        
Managing partitions and drive space is one of the continual
 challenges (and sometimes headaches) of working on Linux. The
 Logical Volume Manager for Linux site offers a Linux
 implementation of the UNIX standard Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
 software developed by Heinz Mauelshagen that makes managing your
 drives much easier. LVM stands between your physical hard drives
 and peripherals and the I/O interface in the kernel and gives
 you a logical overview of your disks, which are referred to as
 physical volumes. By organizing your drives as pools (volumes)
 of data storage comprised of equally sized extents rather than
 requiring you to divide them into physically fixed-size
 sections, LVM enables you to change easily the size allocated to
 a particular partition. 

Here's how it works: An LVM system consists of arbitrary groups
 of physical volumes that you organize into volume groups. You
 can have multiple physical volumes in a given volume group; you
 can also have multiple volume groups on your system. The volume
 group then becomes the basic unit of data storage, not the
 physical group (e.g., the disk). You can apportion the space on
 your volume group into logical volumes of various sizes. A
 logical volume is the conceptual equivalent of a logical
 partition on a hard drive, but at a higher level as it can span
 multiple drives as well as represent only a portion of a
 physical drive. The size of the logical volume is set by its
 number of extents. Logical volumes can be used just like regular
 disk partitions, but because they can span multiple drives, they
 enable you to use your drive space much more efficiently and
 avoid partition space jams. Find out more about this program and
 how to download it at 

http://linux.msede.com/lvm/


*6. GET GRAPHICAL--GEOGRAPHICAL--WITH GRASS                 
        
Geographic Information Systems are transforming the way we gather
 and analyze all kinds of geographic and spatial data. Linux
 developers won't be surprised to know that UNIX has served as
 the primary development environment for these efforts. The
 Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) was
 originally developed by the U.S. Army Construction Engineering
 Research Laboratories (USA-CERL) as a tool for land management
 and environmental planning. (Baylor University took over
 management of the project in 1982.) GRASS has evolved into a
 powerful utility with a wide range of applications in many areas
 of scientific research and academic and commercial settings
 around the world, as well as governmental agencies including
 NASA, NOAA, USDA, the National Park Service, the U.S. Census
 Bureau, USGS, and many environmental consulting companies. The
 program is in the public domain, and development is continuous.
 Developers are encouraged to make their own additions and
 modifications. If you're interested, you may even be able to
 join the development team. You can find visualization demos,
 information on downloading the program, a recently released
 UNIX/Linux GUI developed for the program, and much more at this
 Baylor University Web site: 

http://www.baylor.edu/~grass/


*7. RATE YOUR I/O PERFORMANCE WITH INDEPENDENT BENCHMARK PROGRAMS                 
        
Want to see just how great your configuration and coding might
 be? At this Advanced Computer Network Corporation site, you can
 download some nifty little I/O benchmark programs. The site has
 programs that run on Windows NT, DOS, and Win95 as well as Linux
 and UNIX--always nice if you want to prove the superiority of
 the Linux solution. 

http://www.acnc.com/benchmarks.html


*8. UNIX REFERENCE DESK                 
        
At root, Linux is, of course, a variant of the UNIX OS, and UNIX
 sources can be helpful in understanding existing programs or
 dreaming up new ones. You can find a wide range of information
 on useful developer info at the UNIX Reference Desk. Some of the
 more helpful links include those to the 4.4BSD (Berkeley Systems
 Design) Manuals, including the UNIX Programmer's Supplementary
 Documents (PSD), the UNIX System Manager's Manual (SMM), and the
 UNIX User's Supplementary Documents (USD). Also useful is a link
 to an overview of UNIX variants that lists the main UNIX
 standards. Go to 

http://www.geek-girl.com/unix.html 

and follow the links.


*9. LOOKING FOR DOCS? LOOK NO MORE.                 
        
You can find links to the best quality Linux documentation on any
 Linux topic you need on the home page of the Linux Documentation
 Project. The Documentation Project (naturally) has its own
 guides listed first (all available for free download), but it
 also has links to a host of How-to's and FAQs, as well as links
 to a few LDP books that are available for purchase. Several of
 LDP's own docs are targeted specifically at developers and
 include source code examples, including The Linux Kernel Module
 Programming Guide (version 1.0.1 by Ori Pomerantz) and The Linux
 Programmer's Guide (version 0.4 by B. Scott Burkett, Sven Goldt,
 John D. Harper, Sven van der Meer, and Matt Welsh). 

http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/linux.html


*10. GET THE MOST UP-T0-DATE KERNELS AND DISTRIBUTIONS                 
        
Want to know about all the available Linux online distributions?
 Jump over to the FTP Sites list and you'll find links to both
 free download sites and major distributors of commercial
 versions of Linux--as well as links to a host of other useful
 Linux resources. 

http://www.linux.org/dist/ftp.html
