Updated: 2014-04-08 20:38 EDT

1 Due Date and DeliverablesIndexup to index

Do not print this assignment on paper!

WARNING: Some inattentive students upload Assignment #2 into the Assignment #1 upload area. Don’t make that mistake! Be exact.

2 Purpose of this AssignmentIndexup to index

Do not print this assignment on paper. On paper, you cannot follow any of the hyperlink URLs that lead you to hints and course notes relevant to answering a question.

This assignment is based on your weekly Class Notes.

  1. Log in remotely and start using the Course Linux Server (CLS).
  2. Learn how to do File Transfer between machines and notice the incompatibilities of text file formats; try Notepad vs. Wordpad on a text file copied from Linux to Windows.
  3. Upgrade your Course Linux Server (CLS) password security.
  4. Learn to RTFM and use the less pagination program.
  5. Use LibreOffice to complete Worksheet #02 ODT.
  6. Use LibreOffice to complete Worksheet #03 ODT.
  7. Execute some simple Linux commands and generate some Linux output.
  8. Find some files. Move some files. Copy some files.
  9. Transfer and submit a file to Blackboard.

Remember to READ ALL THE WORDS to work effectively and not waste time.

3 Introduction and OverviewIndexup to index

This is an overview of how you are expected to complete this assignment. Read all the words before you start working.

  1. Complete the Tasks listed below.
  2. Verify your own work before running the Checking Program.
  3. Run the Checking Program to help you find errors.
  4. Submit the output of the Checking Program to Blackboard before the due date.
  5. READ ALL THE WORDS to work effectively and not waste time.

You will create file system structure in your CLS home directory containing various directories and files. You can use the Checking Program to check your work as you do the tasks. You can check your work with the checking program as often as you like before you submit your final mark. Some task sections below require you to finish the whole section before running the checking program; you may not always be able to run the checking program successfully after every single task step.

When you are finished the tasks, leave these files, directories, and links in place on the CLS as part of your deliverables. Do not delete any assignment work from the CLS until after the term is over!

Assignments may be re-marked at any time on the CLS; you must have your term work available on the CLS right until term end.

Since I also do manual marking of student assignments, your final mark may not be the same as the mark submitted using the current version of the Checking Program. I do not guarantee that any version of the Checking Program will find all the errors in your work. Complete your assignments according to the specifications, not according to the incomplete set of the mistakes detected by the Checking Program.

3.1 The Source DirectoryIndexup to index

All references to the “Source Directory” below are to the CLS directory ~idallen/cst8207/14w/assignment02/ and that name starts with a tilde character ~ followed by a userid with no intervening slash. The leading tilde indicates to the shell that the pathname starts with the HOME directory of the account idallen (seven letters).

You do not have permission to list the names of all the files in the Source Directory, but you can access any files whose names you already know.

4 TasksIndexup to index

4.1 Worksheet and PromptIndexup to index

These worksheets prepare you to do the numbered tasks listed below by executing commands via Remote Login to the Course Linux Server.

You can download Libre Office (or Open Office) for Windows to edit the Worksheet *.odt files and save your answers. (Or you can print the PDF and write your answers on paper.) Do not use MSWord.

Record and save all your worksheet answers for study and quizzes!

  1. Use LibreOffice or OpenOffice to open, complete, and save: Worksheet #02 ODT
    • Do not use MSWord to open this file; it damages the file.
    • You must read the week’s Class Notes before you do the worksheet.
    • You will find it easier to write over the red underscores using “OVERWRITE” typing mode instead of the default “INSERT” mode.
    • Another way to fill in answers is to double-click to select the entire line of underscores and then simply type or paste to replace it.
    • Record and save all your worksheet answers for study and quizzes!
    • Read All The Words
  2. Use LibreOffice or OpenOffice to open, complete, and save: Worksheet #03 ODT
    • See the notes above for the previous worksheet.
  3. Using the PS1 variable syntax shown in Worksheet #02 HTML, set your prompt to include your user name, your computer name, and the basename of your current working directory. (See the definition of basename in the Pathnames class notes.)
    • Your prompt should look similar to this:   [abcd0001@idallen-ubuntu ~]$
    Set your prompt every time you log in to the CLS, so that the prompt changes to tell you you the basename of your current working directory. This is faster than typing pwd all the time!

4.2 Security – Change your CLS passwordIndexup to index

The CLS is on the public Internet; security is important. Choose your password carefully. Accounts that do not have their passwords changed before the due date of this assignment will be disabled.

  1. Read on Wikipedia: Guidelines for strong passwords

  2. Read this XKCD comic on good passwords

  3. Now RTFM for the Unix command named passwd (note the odd spelling). No arguments or options are needed to this command to change your own password. The passwd command is also described in Worksheet #02 HTML.

  4. Change your CLS password to one that is more secure than the one you were given. Find a way to remember your new password. If you forget your password, contact your Linux instructor to have it reset.

4.3 Set Up – The Base DirectoryIndexup to index

  1. Create the following directory structure starting in your CLS HOME directory and record (for study purposes) the series of Unix commands you used to create it. Spelling and capitalization must be exactly as shown:
    1. Create the CST8207-14W directory in your CLS HOME directory.
    2. Create the Assignments directory in the CST8207-14W directory.
    3. Create the assignment02 directory in the Assignments directory.
    Note: You can create the entire directory tree above using one single command with one option and one pathname argument, as you did at the end of Section 4 in Worksheet #02 HTML. System administrators like to work efficiently – they learn how to do things quickly.

You can check this directory tree by making your HOME directory your current directory and using one of these tree commands below. Try both command lines below and use the command that gives the best-looking output in your terminal.

$ tree CST8207-14W
$ tree -A CST8207-14W

The correct output will look similar to the ASCII tree diagram below. The spelling and capitalization must be exactly as shown.

CST8207-14W
`-- Assignments
    `-- assignment02

This assignment02 directory is the base directory for most pathnames in this assignment. Store your files and answers below in this base assignment02 directory.

Run the Checking Program to verify your work so far.

4.4 Creating new files and directoriesIndexup to index

You may find it easier to type if you make the base directory you created above (assignment02) your current directory for this section.

  1. Copy the cal.txt file you created in Assignment #01 HTML into the base directory using the new name calcopy.txt for the file. The base directory now has one file in it (and nothing else).

  2. Create the following directory structure in the base directory and record (for study purposes) the series of Unix commands you used to create it. Spelling and capitalization must be exactly as shown:
    1. The mydir directory is created in the base directory.
    2. Under directory mydir create two new directories named one and two (three letters each).
    3. Under directory one create new directory oneone (six letters).
    4. Under directory two create new directory twotwo (six letters).

    Note: You can create the entire directory tree above using one single command with one option and two pathname arguments, as you did at the end of Section 4 in Worksheet #02 HTML. System administrators like to work efficiently – they learn how to do things quickly.

The correct directory tree under the base directory will look similar to the ASCII tree diagram below. The spelling and capitalization must be exactly as shown.

mydir
|-- one
|   `-- oneone
`-- two
    `-- twotwo
  1. Copy the directory mydir to new directory mydir2 using the correct directory copy option, as you did in Section 3 of Worksheet #03 HTML. (mydir2 should not exist before you do this! If it already exists, recursively remove it before you do the copy.)

Verify that the tree structure of mydir2 is exactly the same as the mydir directory from which you copied it.

Run the Checking Program to verify your work so far.

4.5 Generating a recursive pathname listIndexup to index

  1. Make the base directory your current directory and then use a command to recursively generate a list of all pathnames under your mydir directory. (You used this recursive command many times in the last section at the end of Worksheet #02 HTML. Do not use the tree or ls commands. Use the mydir directory as your starting directory.) The recursive output of all pathnames under your mydir directory will be exactly five lines long and will contain this exact line in the output somewhere (along with another four lines):

    mydir/one/oneone

    Make sure the exact line above appears as one of the five lines!

Recall that you can redirect any output that appears on your screen into a file by adding to the end of the command line a “greater than” angle bracket (>) followed by a file name. (We did this using the cal command to create the cal.txt file in the Week 1 lab.)

  1. When the five lines of recursive output above on your screen looks correct, redirect the output of the command into the file named paths.txt in the oneone directory that you created earlier under the mydir2 directory. (Use a relative path down to the oneone directory under mydir2, as shown in the lectures.)

  2. Make the oneone directory under mydir2 your current directory. (Make sure you get the right one under mydir2! Display your current working directory and make sure.)

  3. Use a command to list the files in the current directory to confirm that the paths.txt file is here. Use another command to display the contents of the paths.txt file, and make sure it contains exactly five lines of pathnames from under the mydir directory.

  4. From the oneone directory, copy the paths.txt file (from the current directory) into the twotwo directory that is also under the mydir2 directory, giving it the new name paths.txt.copy as you copy it. Again, use relative paths to do the copy, as shown in the lectures. (Hint: Draw a file system hierarchy picture to help you derive the correct relative pathname.)

  5. Use the echo command to echo into file copycmd.txt in the base directory the command line and two relative pathname arguments you used to make the above copy. The copycmd.txt file should contain on one line the copy command name followed by two relative pathname arguments, exactly as you typed it. (The copycmd.txt output file should be located in the base directory, not in the oneone directory, so you need to specify a redirection pathname that leads up several levels to the base directory.)

Run the Checking Program to verify your work so far.

4.6 Working with existing directories and filesIndexup to index

  1. Execute this exact command line in your account on the CLS:

    ~idallen/cst8207/14w/assignment02/create

All the following commands in this section apply to files and directories under the new newdir directory. You will have to use commands to find some of the file names mentioned here; they may be located under sub-directories. (See Searching and Finding Files.) Some of these tasks may require more than one command to complete.

  1. Find and read the file named README.txt (located somewhere under some directory under newdir). You have to find this file.

  2. Read and then delete the file foo.txt that is in the same directory as the README.txt file. (Do not delete any other decoy files named foo.txt that may be in other directories.)

  3. Move (rename) the file dst to be dst.bak (This is a move, not a copy. It renames the file.)

  4. Directly under the newdir directory, create a new empty directory named dst (three letters). (Make sure you create dst under newdir, not in your HOME or any other directory.)

  5. Find the file named services (not the directory with the same name) and move (rename) that services file to be named ports under the new directory dst that you just created. (This is a move/rename, not a copy.) Make sure you move the file, not the directory with the same name.

Run the Checking Program to verify your work so far.

4.7 Finding files in a mazeIndexup to index

  1. Under the Source Directory there is a directory named maze (four letters). (Recall that you do not have permission to list the names of all the files in the Source Directory, but you can access the maze directory there because you know its name.)

    This maze directory contains many hidden sub-directories. (You need a special option to see hidden files and directories.) In this maze, use a single command to recursively find the file with a 12-character basename that looks similar to abcd0001.txt but where the eight-character abcd0001 part of the name is replaced by your own account userid. You must use a single command that finds files by basename to find this 12-character file name. Do not try to use cd and ls to find the file in the maze; the maze is very big. (You have previously used the command you will need here. Hint: Section 8 of Worksheet #02 HTML.)

  2. When you have found your personal abcd0001.txt file in the maze, create a new directory treasure under assignment02 and copy your personal file into that new directory using the new name myfile.txt under your treasure directory. Read the file to make sure it’s the right one before and after you copy it into the treasure directory.

Run the Checking Program to verify your work so far.

4.8 When you are doneIndexup to index

That is all the tasks you need to do.

Check your work a final time using the Checking Program and save the output as described below. Submit your mark following the directions below.

5 Checking, Marking, and Submitting your WorkIndexup to index

Summary: Do some tasks, then run the checking program to verify your work as you go. You can run the checking program as often as you want. When you have the best mark, upload the marks file to Blackboard.

  1. There is a Checking Program named assignment02check in the Source Directory on the CLS. You can execute this program by typing its (long) pathname into the shell:

    ~idallen/cst8207/14w/assignment02/assignment02check

  2. Execute the above “check” program. This program will check your work, assign you a mark, and display the output on your screen. (You may want to paginate the long output so you can read all of it.)

    You may run the “check” program as many times as you wish, to correct mistakes and get the best mark. Some tasks sections require you to finish the whole section before running the checking program at the end; you may not always be able to run the checking program successfully after every single task step.

  3. When you are done with checking this assignment, and you like what you see on your screen, redirect the output of the Checking Program into the text file assignment02.txt under your assignment02 directory on the CLS. Use the exact name assignment02.txt in your assignment02 directory. Case (upper/lower case letters) matters. Be absolutely accurate, as if your marks depended on it. Do not edit the file. Make sure the file actually contains the output of the checking program!

  4. Transfer the above assignment02.txt file from the CLS to your local computer and verify that the file still contains all the output from the checking program. Do not edit this file! No empty files, please! Edited or damaged files will not be marked. You may want to refer to your File Transfer notes.

  5. Submit the assignment02.txt file under the correct Assignment area on Blackboard (with the exact name) before the due date. Upload the file via the assignment02 “Upload Assignment” facility in Blackboard: click on the underlined assignment02 link in Blackboard. Use Attach File and Submit to upload your plain text file.

    No word-processor documents. Do not send email. Use only “Attach File”. Do not enter any text into the Submission or Comments boxes on Blackboard; I do not read them. Use only the “Attach File” section followed by the Submit button. If you need to comment on any assignment submission, send me email.

    You can upload the file more than once; I only look at the most recent. You must upload the file with the correct name; you cannot correct the name as you upload it to Blackboard.

  6. Verify that Blackboard has received your submission: After using the Submit button, you will see a page titled Review Submission History that will show all your submissions. Verify that your latest submission has the correct 16-character, lower-case file name attached to it beside the Attached Files heading. (The Submission Field and Student Comments headings must be empty; I do not read them.) You will also see the Review Submission History page any time you already have an assignment attempt uploaded and you click on the underlined assignment02 link.

    You cannot delete an assignment attempt, but you can always upload a new version. I only mark the latest version.

  7. Your instructor may also mark files in your directory in your CLS account after the due date. Leave everything there on the CLS. Do not delete any assignment work from the CLS until after the term is over!

READ ALL THE WORDS. OH PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ ALL THE WORDS!

Author: 
| Ian! D. Allen  -  idallen@idallen.ca  -  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| Home Page: http://idallen.com/   Contact Improv: http://contactimprov.ca/
| College professor (Free/Libre GNU+Linux) at: http://teaching.idallen.com/
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