Source Code

In the sample code below, I’ve used  DNAIndia Latest News Feed
Here is the code for GNOME Desktop Environment
Download it From Here in a textt File

#!/bin/bash
mkdir -p /tmp/dnadata
cd /tmp/dnadata
rm -rf news-latest*
wget http://www.dnaindia.com/services/rss/news-latest.xml
if [[ "$(echo  $(md5sum news-latest.xml | sed -e 's:news-latest.xml::g'))" == "$(echo  $(md5sum check.xml | sed -e 's:check.xml::g'))" ]]
then
echo “same news”

else

cat news-latest.xml | grep “pubDate” | sed -e ‘s:<pubDate>::g’ | sed -e ‘s:</pubDate>::g’ | head -n 3 | tail -n 1 > 1
cat news-latest.xml | grep “title” | sed -e ‘s:<title>::g’ | sed -e ‘s:</title>::g’ | head -n 3 | tail -n 1 > 2
cat news-latest.xml | grep “description” | sed -e ‘s:<description>::g’ | sed -e ‘s:</description>::g’ | head -n 3 | tail -n 1 > 3
zenity –display :0 –title=”$(echo $(cat 2))” –info –text=”$(echo $(cat 3)) n n n n News as on $(echo $(cat 1))”
fi
cat news-latest.xml > check.xml

Here Is Coding For KDE

Download it From Here in a text File

#!/bin/bash
mkdir -p /tmp/dnadata
cd /tmp/dnadata
rm -rf news-latest*
wget http://www.dnaindia.com/services/rss/news-latest.xml
if [[ "$(echo  $(md5sum news-latest.xml | sed -e 's:news-latest.xml::g'))" == "$(echo  $(md5sum check.xml | sed -e 's:check.xml::g'))" ]]
then
echo “same news”

else
cat news-latest.xml | grep “pubDate” | sed -e ‘s:<pubDate>::g’ | sed -e ‘s:</pubDate>::g’ | head -n 3 | tail -n 1 > 1
cat news-latest.xml | grep “title” | sed -e ‘s:<title>::g’ | sed -e ‘s:</title>::g’ | head -n 3 | tail -n 1 > 2
cat news-latest.xml | grep “description” | sed -e ‘s:<description>::g’ | sed -e ‘s:</description>::g’ | head -n 3 | tail -n 1 > 3
kdialog –display :0 –title=”$(echo $(cat 2))” –msgbox=”$(echo $(cat 3)) n n n n News as on $(echo $(cat 1))”
fi
cat news-latest.xml > check.xml

___
Please Note : As My Linux Box Is out of Disk Space . I’m Unable to check the KDE Script . But I hope it will run Fine . If any one can Confirm please Drop a Comment
___

• Save the Above Script in a File and add it to cron job

To add a cron job use following command
[You need to know VI or VIM for this]

crontab -eu username

replace username with your desired username
and add following entry [ which will check every one minute ]

*/1 * * * * /bin/bash   /path/to/the/file/script &> /dev/null

The above command is set to execute every minute.

Here is Screen Shot of The Script

Breaking News Aleart ScreenShot

Short Description about the Script

This script downloads the specified RSS feed and checks against any old versions of the same. If a change is observed , the script extracts the relevant information from the feed and sends the output to different files. These are then displayed using the ALERT command.
PS. This script needs an active Internet connection for its successful execution. (Duh!!)

You can use any other news feed for your Breaking News Alert Box/Live News Ticker on your Linux Machine. If you’re stuck with that or need help/guidance with regard to the code, kindly drop a comment with your original email, so that I could personally respond to you.

Special Thanks To Aravind Jose T. for helping me to pep-up this post !!

Installing Thunderbird [Itz Simple as ABC !!! ]

You can install Thunderbird either by your repository provided by your Distro or by downloading the Thunderbird from their official site
You can download the Thunderbird client from
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/

How to run
If you have install it through repository provided by your Distro, Then It will be available in your menu

If you have downloaded the file from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/ then Follow following step to run it
Download file
Open Terminal and go to the Directory where you downloaded the Thunderbird .

And supply following command “tar -xvzf thunderbird-2.0.0.16.tar.gz”
remember to replace filename with yours [ I've this file version which was latest at the time of writing ]

After extracting the file go to the extracted file directory and run following command to execute the Thunderbird Mail Client by “./thunderbird”

It will launch Thunderbird Client and Enjoy [ Ya remember to Fill all the setting to Receive and Send mail ].Wasnot it simple as ABC ?

Stay Back for more Tips and Tricks for Thunderbird ….

Prequisites :

1)know how to edit files
2)Root Permission

First logged in with root account [ either via console or via graphics ]
NOTE : USER CAN USE SUDO COMMAND ALSO

Then edit the /etc/fstab file
edit the following in the file
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-URDEVICE_ID /windows/C ntfs-3g users,gid=users,fmask=133,dmask=022,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0

to following fmask and dmask
fmask=000,dmask=000

so that it should look like this
/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-URDEVICE_ID /windows/C ntfs-3g users,gid=users,fmask=000,dmask=000,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0

now unmount the volume and mount it again
#umount /windows/C/
and remount by
#mount -a

and the drive will be mounted with full access

If you have any problem please you are free to contact me [ comment here for it ]

Note:- I shud not be held responsible if you cause any data loss [ though nothing happen with me still its nice to write warning ]

#!/bin/bash curl -u username:password -d status=”$*” http://twitter.com/statuses/update.xml

Replace the above user name and password with your own credential Step Three Set a cron job [ cron job will run your script after every specific time ] to set cron job just log into superuser mode and pass following command [ this command checked on Redhat,Fedora Core and Suse]

#crontab -eu root

and after that command add the following lines into your cron job

*/10 * * * * /bin/sh /path/to/your/twitter/script.sh My PC uptime is $(uptime)

If you need any sort of help or to get a customized output please feel free to leave comment and save the cron job and restart the cron job To restart cron job in REDHAT and FEDORA CORE

# service crond restart

For Suse [ I've tested this on suse 11 ]

# service cron restart

So now Your PC will update its status over twitter every 10 mins to change. If your want your PC to send his update every one hour use following

* */1 * * * /bin/sh /path/to/your/twitter/script.sh My PC uptime is $(uptime)

The Following Expectation have been taken from the author to the reader !!!

1)You might be running Fedora , Redhat or Suse [ altough I've not tested on ubuntu / debian the process may be same ]

2)You know basic vi / vim operation !! you need this knowledge to know how to save a file !!

3)you know basic of crontab . BTW if you dont know I will explain it just leave your comments

4)User should not abuse the service of twitter for this !!

5)User Will add a cron job for deleting root mails too or have any other solutions [ you will get a mail in inbox everytime when a cronjob is executed ]

Special Thanks to Anoj Ramaswamy Sundar for http://anojrs.blogspot.com/2008/03/twittering-from-command-line.html This is base of the whole article without which it was not possible to write this article apart from getting only uptime you can even know your server status

*/10 * * * * /bin/sh /path/to/your/twitter/script.sh $(service mysql status)

above will publish mysql status [ replace mysql with mysqld in fedora and redhat ]

The following packages are needed for compiling kernel

glibc-headers

glibc-devel

cpp-*

binutils-*

gcc-*

Optional Packages [ require on method of Compilation ]

if using xconfig method

tcl-*

tk-*

or qt3*

if using menuconfig

ncurses*

ncurses-devel*

Please note * means version and machine architecture

Download the kernel versions from kernel.org site and extract it
now following commands are to be fired [ as this is short note no details about command are given ask question by commenting ]

#make mrproper

#make xconfig  –> Graphical and best way

#make menuconfig
The above two option are for customizing kernel accordingly to requirements

#make dep

#make clean

#make bzImage

#make modules

#make modules_install

#make install

and yes it is installed

NOTE:- EXECUTING SOME COMMAND MAY TAKE SOME TIME AND SYSTEM RESOURCES

Why to use Yum if I can install RPM using rpm command?
Well if you want to install RPM you have to make sure that its dependencies are also installed . But this is not in the case of YUM you can simply install package with its dependencies. YUM take care of your all install things . Also update feature is not available in the rpm installation method but it is available in yum.

Here are some key features of “Yum”:
• Multiple Repositories
• Simple config file
• Correct dependency calculation
• Fast operation
• rpm-consistent behavior
• comps.xml group support, including multiple repository groups
• Simple interface

Starting With Creating Your Own Repository [Server Side Configuration]

Step First : Check Prequisites
-Have Your Distro CD/DVD

-Check if you have free space on your Hard Disk or not [Total space required vary from Distro to Distro]

Step Two : Copy Disc to Hard Disk
First mount your CD/DVD and copy it to hard disk
cp -avr /cd/dvd/mount/point/ /destination/directory/

Step Three : Intalling CreateRepo Package
Now go to your directory where you copied the files and search for createrepo-*.rpm file * may be different from version to version and system architecture
Install that rpm using rpm command
install using following command
rpm -ivh –aid createrepo-*.rpm

Repeat this step with your all you cd .
Note:- If you want install Repository on your network thrugh ftp or http upload in their respective default directories i.e /var/ftp/pub for ftp server and /var/www/html for http server.

Step four: Run createrepo
Go to the directory where you copied the file and run the createrepo command
createrepo -v .
[please note that “.” {dot} after that command as we are in present directory ]

Now you have done all thing.
Now we will see Client side setting

Client Side Setting For YUM

Create a repo file in /etc/yum.repos.d/ directory [ you can name anything to ur file make sure a .repo extension is added later on]
vim /etc/yum.repos.d/my.repo

add following date in that file

[Myrepo]
name=Any name you want to put
baseurl=file:///destination/directory/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0

The first line is alias given for your repository . This help to indicate/find that from which repository the package is available.
Second line is name which you can put any thing
Next comes baseurl
base url supports different protocols like file:// ftp:// httpd:// etc. if you are running repository from local pc then give absolute path after file:// . for ftp give ftp://server_ip_or_domain/pub_dir_or_accessable_dir or http://server_ip_or_domain/dir
next line is enabled this specify if yum should enable that repo server for installtion or not 1 is for enable and 0 is for disable
gpgcheck is for checking gpg key. as I don’t required it so I disabled it if you enabled it then you hav to add one more line after that
gpgkey=/your/path/to/key

after this save that repo file and run following command
yum clean all [ will clean yum database ]
yum list [will list the files / packages available on that directory ]

If you find some difficulty in using it please feel free to contact us

Note:- SElinux or Firewall may conflict sometimes [ for ftp and http service ]
Note:- I used RHEL server 5 edition . This process is same for RHEL 4,5 FC [versions I don’t know]

So you have in mind what is shell scripting ????

Shell scripts or simply scripts are collection or group of command that are stored in a file.Now you will think what’s the use of it ?
Actually it is not possible to run each and every command manually on pc.If this is a repetative job then its again became a headache. So we use Scripting to store those commands and get Outputs. Even we can sheduled the script to run at particular time.

So here we start to write a simple script which will print “Hello World”

Step One
Create a file name firstscript.sh [ remember to give it .sh extension ]
Now open any text editor of your choice and write following commands

Step two : Commands [ Below this Command Begin , Description Given after the script is completed ]

#! /bin/bash
# You Can Comment any thing here
# make sure u use a hash in begningecho “Hello World”# End of Script

Description
First Line should define which shell you are using
there are several shells present in unix system, some of the following are :-
/bin/bash Bash Shell
/bin/sh Bourne Shell
/bin/csh C Shell
/usr/bin/perl Perl Script Shell
/usr/bin/python Python Script Shell

The First Line should start with “#!” Followed by Shell
eg
#! /bin/sh
#! /bin/csh
#! /usr/bin/perl

Then give commands in the file like I’ve supplied “echo” Command in this script
or you can even give direct commands also
like
#! /bin/bash
date
cal
clear

It will give output of date & cal command subsequently and clear screen

You can even provide comment to a command just use a hash “#” in line and it will act as comment

Step 3
Now question arises how to run this script ???
its very simple
there are two methods
Method 1
supply following command
sh firstscript.sh

Method 2
Chmod[chmod command change permission of the file] the file to make it executable file
command is as follows
chmod 777 firstscript.sh

and run script by supplying following thing in your commadn terminal
./firstscript.sh

Stay tuned for more articles on shell scripting

usage
cd path [ and press enter ]
eg.
cd /boot
cd /var/www/html

to go to base directory use
cd ..

ifconfig :- To check network detail of your network adaptors [ same as ipconfig in windows ]

history :- Will tell your last run command[s]

To clear your history use following command
history –c

And last but not least use manual
There are various manual program installed on your Linux distro [ cannot guarantee that each command will work fine ]
man :- Manual of a command
man command [ replace command with your command press enter ]
eg.
man history

info :- same as man
info command [ replace command with your command press enter ]

whatis :- Brief description of command
eg.
whatis command [ replace command with your command press enter ]

OR
Click on application –> accessories –>Terminal or it may be on Application –> System Tools –> Terminal
This will open terminal in GUI mode
Commands with description
ls
This is command same as dir command in Windows/Dos.

Usages
ls –ll This will show Full details about file regarding its permission,owner name,Group,date modified/accessed, etc

ls –a Shows all files included hidden file [ dotfile ]

ls-s Shows size

while we do ls –ll command the following color is used to identify file/folder as

Dark Blue :-Folder
Black/White:- File
Green:- Executables [ execute permissions]
Sky Blue:- Services
Red Color:- RPM,Installer

Note:- Please note that Linux Files and Folders are case sensitive i.e a & A is different not like windows.

date
As the command indicates it displays time and date of the system

cal
Displays calendar of current month

To view calendar for whole year
cal 2008
Replace 2008 with your specified year

To view Calendar of particular month of year
cal 12 1987
Displays calendar of December 1987,[replace with your variables]

hostname
Displays Hostname of the system

cp :- Copy filename or Directory

Usages
cp filename destination_folder

cp /yourfolder/filename destination_folder

mv :- move or rename file/folder

Usage
For moving
mv filename/foldername destination
For renaming
mv file/folder newname

mkdir :- Create directory
Usage
mkdir foldername

rm :- Removes File/Folders
Usage
rm filename/foldername
To remove file/folder forcibly without any prompt
rm –f foldername/filename

To prompt on each removal of file and folder use this command
rm –r folder/filename

So we covered ls,date,cal,hostname,cp,mv,rm
More commands in next post

So here it starts

“/” :- this is root of all the file system. All things [ including hardware ] comes under it.

“/boot” :- As the name indicates it contains boot [ grub ] files.

“/dev” :- Contains device files [ as I said in earlier post that hardware are in file form ]

“/home” :- This is home directory for general users . this contains their Desktop directory [ under “/home/username/Desktop” ] or Document folders and their configuration files.

“/bin” :- Essential Binaries are stored in this. It contains executables of general Root as well as General users .

“/lib” Essential shared libraries and Kernel Modules

“/sbin” :- This contains system binaries which is being used by root users.

“/media” :- All removable medias are mounted under this folder .

“/etc” :- It contains all the configuration files used by OS or by programs .

“/mnt”:- Temporary file systems mounted, etc floppy, CDrom, DvdRoms.

“/tmp” :- Temporary Directory.

“/var” :- Contain data files which are variable or continuous changing .

“/usr” :- Contains information used by system

“/root” :- Home directory of root user

“/proc” :- Contains system information stored in memory mirrored as files.