If Linux is open source, how do I edit it?
Friday, January 1st, 2010 at
00:26
I have good programming/script skills. So don’t say "It will be to hard! >:("
Tagged with: programming script
Filed under: Open Source
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All of the linux files are there for you to change. None are encrypted, you can do whatever you want with it. And your programming skills won’t get you far unless you know C, perl, and other languages.
You don’t have even half-decent skills in programming.
The fact that you even asked this question means you know absolutely nothing about Lnux, operating systems, and their components.
It’s not going to be hard – it will be impossible for you to even understand what is a kernel.
Most linux scripts can be edited in Gedit (if you are using the Gnome desktop environment) or VI (if you run strictly console/terminal). Always make a copy of any files you are editing so that you can go back to the last working state. Changing the kernel is probably the most dangerous part as I think errors can cause damage to hardware, but I have had some fun playing with other files without any trouble. Barring a catastrophic melt-down, a total reload of the OS usually resets everything without losing any of your personal files as long as you don’t re-format the home partition during re-install.
As for script, each distro has usually got very active forums and pretty in-depth FAQs. It is Truly a scholarly persuit.
Bored distracted posers like me use nano a lot. You can get the source code for ANY of the essential programs, including the kernel or glibc edit them to your hearts content and recompile them to your little heart’s desire. ALMOST ANY of the files in the /etc directory are configuration files. If you are running a Debian or Debian-Derived system like Ubuntu, Linux Mint or Damn Small Linux open a terminal and type "cat /etc/apt/sources.list" then hit enter. Once sources list is visible you can, as root (sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list or gksudo gvim /etc/apt/sources.list) edit them any way you like. You can even edit your way into an upgrade in them (change intrepid to jaunty in Ubuntu, Lenny to Sid or testing in Debian). Explore /etc and you will be able to customize your OS to better meet YOUR needs. And again you can download and recompile the source code for anything.