[NTLUG:Discuss] Linux Certification

[Mike Owens]

I have been thinking about something like this since I started using Linux
in January. I love Linux, and I think just about everyone would love Linux
too if they only knew what it could do for them and how to get started.

The problem I have had though in even trying to start such a project is in
narrowing down or even identifing a particular, clear-cut audience. Linux is
just so big, and you have novices that start in so many different places,
with so many different interests and abilities, as you do with experienced
people. You have programmers, administrators, users, all of which have
interests in different areas. Even within these groups you have varying
specialties: web programmers, C/C++ programmers, Python programmers,
small-scale system administrators, large-scale system administrators,
dabbling users who just want to surf, write, and check mail, and other users
who want to learn to put their system to greater use.

There almost needs to be some identification scheme set up so as to define
each area, the different levels of exprience within it, and what skills are
appropriate for that level. A very messy first-estimate might be something
along the lines of:

Linux Users
1. Basic Users: Basic Installation, Internet facilities, word processing &
office tools, games.
2. Intermediate Users: Where to find good info (LPD, etc.), downloading and
compiling (packages, tar, gzip, make, etc). basic use of window mangagers.
3. Advances Users (The beginnings of System Administration): Mastering the
command line --- cat, grep, sed, piping, simple scripting, detailed use of
window managers and X Windows, advanced installation (LILO, etc.).

>From there, you move into the most basic sysadmin skills.

Linux Small Scale System Administration:
1. Basic System Administration: users & groups, basic security, links,
system logs (part of linuxconf).
2. Intermediate System Administration: system anatomy (file access, daemons,
run levels).
3. Advanced: Scripting (Perl, Python basics), automating tasks (shell
scripting), scheduling tasks (at, cron), sifting logs, kernel compilation,
etc.

from there you move into the more advanced administraion topics

Linux Large Scale System Administration
1. Basic Network Services Administration (inetd, telnet, SSH, finger,
security issues, etc.)
2. File and Print Server Administration (NIS, NFS, etc.)
3. Web Server Administration (Apache, PHP, etc.)
4. Database Server Administration (varies w/ database, some common
practices/concerns)
5. Mail Server Administration (DNS, Sendmail, qmail, IMAP and POP3)
6. Heterogenious Network Administration (Samba)
7. Firewall Administraion (IPChains, router configurations, ISDN, cable
modems, etc.)
8. Advanced Network Services (LDAP, quotas, IP accounting, Virtual Private
Networks, etc.)

Then you can have programming. You might mainly recommend existing books
like GNU documentation, those in the O'Reilly and Wrox Press series, etc.
because there are a lot of useful resources out there. But what might be
especially helpful is to give an overview of programming langauges, what
they offere individually, why you might want to learn to program in them,
conceptually describe how different languages work to solve particular
problems (what scripting languages aspire to, if and when you would really
need to program in a compiled language). I haven't found an awful lot of
books that provide a general description of the similiarities and
differences, that help guide a newcomer into the language that he/she would
best enjoy. There are a lot of silly rumors that novices often get hung up
on like "scripting languages are too slow and you can't do serious
programming in them" which is bunk at best. Those who know better, know
better. But to a novice, such an accusation is just one more thing to worry
about. So programming documentation might serve best by providing a roadmap
as to what languages help where, and what would be most suitable to you
depending on your needs/interests. From there, the reader can download the
appropriate documentation (like the python tutorial) or go buy a book
(Learning Python, or Programming Python). It might be loosely organized as

1. Basic Scripting Languages: The varous shells.
2. Fuller Featured Scripting Languages: Perl, Python, Tcl, etc.
3. Web Programming: PHP, Java, JavaScript, CGI in Perl and Python, etc.
Possibly cover basic SQL here as well.
4. Compiled Languages: C/C++, FORTRAN, SmallTalk, Lisp, etc. When, why, and
how best to learn.
5. Utilities: RCS, CVS, DDD, gdb, TeX, LaTeX, Texinfo, various emacs modes
for those who use it, etc.
6. Advanced topics: graphics (with libraries like that covered in June's
meeting), network and distributed programming (CORBA, sockets, etc.), device
drivers and the Linux kernel, databases (ODBC, SQL, respective Perl and
Python modules) etc.


Writing a book on linux is like writing a book on how to be happy. There are
just so many different ways to do it. In order to undertake such a task, you
need to first size up the reader in terms of both current skill and
long-term interest which will in turn direct him in where to start and where
to go.

So perhaps if we can define the appopriate areas, levels within them, and
what prerequisites and material are entailed within them, it will at least
be a starting place for the willing contributors such as yourself to work.
The people on the mailing lists who are experts in each area could simply
get together and agree on the relevent topics for their area, from which
would come a basic outline, and over time that outline would be refined,
expanded, and filled out piece by piece. The outline can spell out subject
material, useful examples, and possibly suggest where illustrations would be
useful. Anyone good at any of them can go off on his own and work on
one---good illustrators on good illustrations, writers on writing, etc. And
the experts or authorities could review and make suggestions. Maybe there
are even some who can setup some kind of editorial standard.

Then we can construct a useful series, from the newbie to the expert, which
if it doesn't document the particular subject itself, serves as a quick
reference on where to go to get good documentation. This would be a way to
glue together the HOWTOs and LDP manuals. It would be a sort roadmap which
shows the roads that do exists, and starts organizing the building of the
roads that don't. I certainly would be willing to try and start to organize
an outline with those who want to make suggestions about what goes where.




newsseeker wrote:

> Just a question:
>
> Is there a chance that NTLUG could get ahold of materials for a 'linux
> certification' course (Maybe even write a course?)?  I'd really like
> something I could study that didn't 1) cost more than a MSCE <shudder>
> and 2) something that is distribution neutral (Am I the only person that
> tends to think that my System has ceased to be a RedHat Linux product
> immediately after installation, and is now a 'Linux' system?).
>
> I'm just wondering (and just trying to get ideas as to how I can
> contribute to NTLUG).
>
> --nwskr
>
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