sabinm677 / boost

May the 4th every year I run Beginner Boost, a live-streamed, interactive, series of community learning sessions focused on helping you know what you don't know and how to learn it.

https://github.com/rwxrob/boost#readme

Beginner Boost

Every May the 4th I hold a free series of live-recorded Beginner Boost sessions on Twitch and YouTube that run through the end of July (or so). Below is the outline of current and planned content. This is a living document; it changes from day to day --- even hour to hour --- like software.

🌟 You may want to Watch this GitHub repo to be notified of updates and changes. A Star would be nice as well. If you want to contribute open an Issue to discuss it. Much of the content will be drawn from my personal Zettelkasten repo and my learning labs (which you might also want to watch for changes, but they are not always Boost related). You can also help fund this project by clicking Sponsor. Thanks.

Day 0: Get Set Up, May the 4th Be With You

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Day 1: Get Motivated to Learn ¡Viva la Revolución!

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Day 2: The Scientific Method, Our Greatest Learning Tool

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What did you learn about the Scientific Method?
The RWX Method, Refining the Scientific Method
1. Read, Research, Reach Out, Repeat
2. Write Who, What (If), When, Where, Why, and How
3. Execute, Explore, Experiment, and Exercise
Fail Faster, Fail Better, Fail Often
Meritocracy in the Workplace
Zettelkasten (Slips in a Box) Knowledge Management System
Capture Thoughts as Markdown, The Syntax of Knowledge Source

Day 3: Understand Linux Approach

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What's Linux? History of UNIX and GNU/Linux
Do Macs Use Linux?
Does Windows Use Linux?
The UNIX Philosophy
How Does Linux Work?
When and How Should I Install Linux?

Day 4: Get on the Terminal

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Mac: Open and Configure a Mac Terminal
Windows: Install and Configure Modern Windows Terminal
Linux: Open and Configure a Linux Terminal

What's the Difference Between TUI and CLI?
Terminal Emulators Replaced Teletype Machines
The Terminal is Different Than Command Line Shell
Should I install Git-Bash on Windows?
What about Alacritty/Kitty or ...?
My Favorite Theme: GruvBox
Can't I just use VSCode on Windows?
Why not just use Vim plugins with VSCode?
What about WSL2 on Windows?

Day 5: Learn About Containers and Get Docker

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What's a Container and Why Should You Care?
1. The Difference Between "Container" and "Image"?
2. Kubernetes is the New Operating System
3. Containers are the New Programs
Install Docker
1. Install Docker on Windows
  1. Why do I still need WSL2?
2. Install Docker on a Mac
3. Install Docker on Linux

Day 6: Run Linux Inside a Container

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Linux Distro Matters Less in Container World
1. docker run -it --rm ubuntu
2. docker run -it --rm fedora
3. docker run -it --rm archlinux
4. docker run -it --rm opensuse
5. docker run -it --rm nixos/nix
6. docker run -it --rm kalilinux/kali-rolling
7. docker run -it --rm blackarch/blackarch
Run Rob's Workspace Linux Container
1. docker run -it --rm rwxrob/workspace
2. Workspace Means Not Small (1.3GB)
Use Docker Basic Commands
1. Use Docker Pull
2. Use Docker Run
3. Use Docker Start
4. Use Docker Attach and Detach Ctrl-pq
5. Use Docker Stop
6. Use Docker Remove
Don't Worry About Dockerfile and Compose (For Now)

Day 7: Start Using the Linux Terminal Command Line

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The Command Line, Fastest Human-Computer Interface
Every Command Line Entered is a Line of Shell Code
Use Bash, Don't Play the Shell Game (For Now)
1. Interactive Shell is Not Same as Shell Scripting
2. Why Bash and Not Zsh, Fish, or Whatever?
3. Use Consistent Supported Bash Tab Completion
Understand the Parts of the Command Prompt
1. Username
2. Hostname
3. Interesting Origin of Email Addresses
4. Current Directory
5. Git Branch
6. Long Versus Short Prompts
Navigate Your Command History Efficiently
1. Use Up and Down Arrow Keys (For Now)
2. Use Initial Spaces to Stop Adding to History
3. Use Hashtag to Make One Line Comment Notes
4. Don't Learn More for Now (Learn set -o vi Later)
Send Special Terminal Escapes
1. Remember, a Terminal is Just a Teletype Emulator
2. Ctrl-c to Send Interrupt Signal (Not Copy)
3. Ctrl-[ to Send Exact Same as Esc Key
4. Ctrl-s/Ctrl-q to Buffer and Suspend/Unsuspend
  1. "Help! My Terminal is Frozen!"
5. Ctrl-z to Background Current Process (Not Quit)
6. Ctrl-d to Send EOF (End of File)
7. Ctrl-v, Ctrl-x Do Nothing (From Shell)
8. Silencing the Terminal Bell
Cut and Paste from Host Operating System
1. Depends on Terminal
2. First Ever Mouse Had Three-Button, Middle Was Paste
3. Windows Right Click to Paste
4. Ctrl-x|c|v Don't Usually Work (And Shouldn't)
Learn Useful and Essential Beginning User Commands
1. Use reset to Fix Bork Terminal
2. Use clear to Clear Screen (and Alternatives)
3. Use watch to Repeat Things and See Output
4. Use man/help/info Commands to Get Help
5. Use less/more for Paging Output
6. Use ls Command to List Files and Directories
7. Use type to See What Type of Thing It Is
8. Use which to See Where Command Lives
9. Use pwd Command to Show Working Directory
10. Use cd Command to Change Directories
  1. Use cd foo to Change Into foo Child Directory
  2. Use cd .. to Change Into Parent Directory
  3. Use cd - to Toggle Change to Last Directory
  4. Use cd ~ (or Just cd) to Change to Home Directory
  5. Don't Fall for Silly cd Replacements (Use CDPATH)
11. Use cal to View Calendar
12. Use date to View Dates and Times
  1. Use date -u +%Y%m%d%H%M%S to Get ISO Second
  2. Use date -d 'last week' to Exact Time Last Week
13. Use bc for Floating Point Precision Math Calculations
  1. Don't Forget To Set Scale (scale=2)
  2. Use Semicolons for Same Line
14. Use top to See Running Processes
  1. Often Replaced with htop

Day 8: Build Up Container with Software

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Create and Name a Workspace Container
1. docker run -it --name boost -h boost ubuntu
2. Difference Between Detach and Exit
  1. Detach with Ctrl-pq
  2. Exit with exit
Understand Container States and Storage
Manage Software Packages from Command Line
1. Restoring Documentation and More with unminimize
2. Understand Linux Package Management
3. Use apt update
4. Use apt search
5. Use apt install
6. Use apt remove

Day 9: Work with File System from Command Line

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OverTheWire, Fun Hacker Practice
Understand the Linux File System
Use mkdir to Make a New Directory
Use rmdir to Remove an Empty Directory
Use touch to Make a New File (or Update Timestamp)
Use mv to Move or Rename a File or Directory
Use cp to Copy a File or Directory
Use rm to Remove a File or Directory
Use ln to Link to a File or Directory
1. What is the difference between hard and soft link?
2. Used ln for Multicall Executables (BusyBox)
Use file to See What Details About File
Use stat to See Exhaustive Details About File
Use cat to Display Lines of a File, First to Last
Use tac to Display Lines of a File, Last to First
User head to Display Number of Lines at Top
User tail to Display Number of Lines at Bottom
Use grep to Find Lines of a File
Use uniq to Find Unique Lines
Use sort to Sort Lines
1. Use wc to Count Lines, Words, Bytes, and Runes

Day 10: Understand Streams, Pipes, and Redirection

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Understand Standard Output and Error
1. Use echo and printf to Print Stuff
  1. Difference Between echo and printf
  2. Never Use print (for Printers)
2. Use > File Redirect Operator
  1. Fix find Command Errors with Redirection
3. Use >> File Append Operator
4. Use >| Force File Overwrite Operator
Understand Pipes and Pipeline
1. Use | Pipe Operator to Connect Out with In
2. Power of Pipelines and Shell Integration
  1. Watch Ken Thompson Describe UNIX Pipes
  2. Pipes are at the Core of UNIX Philosophy
  3. Use Shell and Pipes from Within Applications
3. Transform and Filter Lines
  1. Use nl to Number Lines
  2. Use rev to Reverse Line
  3. Use tee to Pipe and Redirect Lines
  4. Use echo for Arguments and cat for Lines
  5. Use xargs to Transform Lines Into Arguments
  6. Use cut to Remove Stuff from Lines of Stream
  7. Use tr to Translate Stuff in Lines of Stream
  8. Use sed to Edit Lines of Stream (Streamed ed) (More Later)
  9. Use jq to Select from JSON Input (More Later)
  10. Use yq to Select from YAML Input (More Later)
Get Standard Input Into Your Programs
1. Input Most Useful After You Know How to Code
2. Use < File Input Redirect Operator
  1. Always Use < Instead of cat foo | ...
3. Use << Here Document Operator
4. Use read to Read Input
  1. Combine printf and read to Create Prompts
  2. Always Use -r and Understand Why
  3. Use for or while with Read for Line Loops
5. Use curl to Read Input from Internet
  1. Usually Combined with jq or yq

Day 11: Edit Files with Vi (Then Vim)

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Please note that I mistakenly say Ctrl-C many times in this video where I actually mean Ctrl-[. See if you can catch all the times I get it wrong. It will be a good way to learn from my mistake.

Vi ("Visual Mode") History and Legacy
Why Vi/m and Not NeoVim/Emacs/Nano/VSCode?
Appreciate the Difference Between vi and vim
Restore Esc Key to Its Original Keyboard Home
Use Ctrl-[ Instead of Esc Key (Never Ctrl-x|z)
Do the Vim Tutorial (vimtutor), But Beware
Other Recommended Learning Resources
1. https://openvim.com
2. http://vimgenius.com (no s)
3. Vim Adventures is Strongly Discouraged
Start with Defaults and Zero Configuration
1. Complex .vimrc is Not for Beginners
2. Customizing .vimrc Requires Scripting Skills
3. Eventually, Learn a Little Vimscript
Avoid Vim Pane Splitting (Use TMUX Instead)

Day 12: Manage Users, Groups, and Permissions

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How Much User Stuff Do I Need to Know?
Create and Manage Users and Groups
1. Use adduser and useradd to Create User
2. Use su - <user> to "Login" as User
3. Use deluser and userdel to Delete User
4. Use usermod to Modify User Settings
5. Use addgroup and groupadd to Create Group
6. Use delgroup and groupdel to Delete Group
7. Use groupmod to Modify User Settings
8. Use passwd to Change Passwords
9. Know the Files Involved
  1. /etc/passwd
  2. /etc/shadow
  3. /etc/group
10. Use id to Get the User and Group Information
11. Use login to Login
  1. Does Not Register as Logged in User
12. Use su - <user> to Simulate a Login as Root
13. Understand root Access
  1. Use sudo to Grant root (SuperUser) Access
  2. Use sudo su - to Get Root Shell
  3. use doas -s to Do Something As Root
14. Use who,w,whoami,who am i,last to See Users
Understand UNIX File and Directory Ownership and Permissions
1. Use ls -l to See Permissions
2. Use stat to See Even More About File
3. Read, Write, and Execute Permission
  1. On Files
  2. On Directories
Modify Ownership and Permissions
1. Use chmod to Change Permissions
2. Use chown to Change Owner (and Group)
3. Use chgrp to Change Group
Know About Setuid, Setgid, and Such, But Don't Use

Day 13: Scripts are Just Terminal Commands in a File

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You're Already Coding, Every Command is Code
1. Commands are Really Just Functions with Arguments
POSIX Shell is a Universal Command Interpreter
1. Shell Started as Bourne Shell, Now Ash and Dash
2. Korn Shell Led to Bash and Zsh Interpreters
3. Awk, Perl, Python, Ruby, Node Also Shell Scripting
Create First Script
1. Create a File Containing Some Commands
2. Know What Interpreted Means
3. Know What Syntax Means
4. Use sh Interpreter to Run Commands in File
5. Use bash Interpreter to Run Same Commands
6. Use perl to Attempt Same and Note Errors
7. Use python3 to Attempt Same and Note Errors
8. Use chmod +x to Make File Executable
9. Add #!/bin/sh Shebang Line to Specify Interpreter
  1. Even If Others Work, Use to Communicate to Others
  2. Sets Vi/m Syntax So Suffix Not Needed
10. What's Up with /usr/bin/env?
11. Use set -e to Exit Program if Anything Fails
12. Use set -x When Needed for Debug Tracing
Difference Between Running and Sourcing Scripts
1. Use Dot (.) or source to Source a Script
2. Most Stuff Should Be in Script (Subprocesses)
3. Some Stuff Can't Be Done Any Other Way
  1. Change Current Working Directory
  2. Modify Current Environment
Put Executables in Your PATH to Run From Anywhere
1. Use which to See Which Executable Wins
2. Understand Difference Between which and type
3. Never Put ./ in Your Path
Manage Jobs and Processes
1. A Running Program is a Process
2. A Backgrounded Program a Job
3. Ctrl-z to Background Running Process
4. Use jobs to See All Background Processes
5. Use fg to Bring Background Job Forward
6. Use & and nohup to Start and Keep Program in Background
7. Use pgrep, pkill, kill, ps, /proc to See Processes
8. Use crontab to Schedule Jobs in the Background
  1. Editing Your crontab is Not Really Beginner

Day 14: Start POSIX Shell Scripting, Functions

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Get and Use shellcheck Throughout to Ensure POSIX
Know What POSIX Means POSIX Standard
Know What Script Means
Know What Program and Programming Mean
A Universe of Stateful, Composable Objects with Actions, Interacting
1. Not Specifically Talking About OOP, Much Bigger
On Programming Humans ...
1. Routines, Procedures, and Commands in the Real World
2. What About Algorithms?
It All Started with Math, Know Why Linear Algebra Matters
1. f(x,y) = 3x + 2y + 3
  1. x,y are Parameters
  2. =, + are Operators
  3. 3x, 2y, 3 are Operands
  4. Function Parameter Variables Receive Argument Values
  5. "This functions returns the value ..."
  6. Same in JS: let z = (x,y) => 3*x + 2*y +3
True Functions are Not Procedures
1. What About Subroutines?
2. What About Methods?
3. What About Operations?
4. What About Commands?
5. Even If Language Allows, Group Code Into Either
6. Know Advantages of One Over the Other
7. Know What Functional Programming Is
8. Know What Side Effects Are
Shell Functions Are Not Functions, They Are Subroutines
Use Action Verb When Naming
Use foo() {} to Create a Subroutine (Function)

Day 15: State, Data Types, Variables, and Constants

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All Objects Have States: Mutable, Immutable, Persistent, Dynamic, Static
Variables Save Data as State
Types Declare How to View State Data
1. Same Data, Different Type
2. Binary (Base 2, Ones and Zeros, Digital)
3. Number
4. Symbol or Letter
5. String
6. Bit Field
7. POSIX Shell Only Has Strings and Integers
8. Use Strings for Everything
Function Parameter Variables Receive Argument Values
1. Like Putting Something Into Box or on List
Use = to Declare and Assign Variable
1. No Spaces Around Operator (=)
Use $foo to Use Variable After Assigned
Always Wrap with Double Quotes ("$foo")
Use "${foo}bar" to Disambiguate
Don't Forget to Check with shellcheck
Use bc When Numbers and Math are Actually Needed
Understand Scope and Considerations
1. Know What Scope Means
2. Know What a Block Is
3. Know What Global Means
4. Know What Local Means
All Variables are Global in POSIX Shell

Day 16: Function and Command Communication

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Calling to Communicate
1. Know What to Call a Function or Subroutine Means
2. Arguments Contain Incoming Communication
3. Return Values Produce Outbound Communication
4. Calls Must Come After Declarations
Arguments Passed as Special Parameter Variables: $1, ...
1. No Parameters Between Parens ()
2. Unlike Most Other Languages
Use $0 to Get Name/Path of Executable Script
Use $# to Get the Total Number of Arguments Passed
Use "$@" for "first" "second" "third"
Use "$*" for "first second third"
Reminder About Necessity of Quoting ("foo") Everything
Shell Functions Only Return Integers
1. Use return [RVALUE] to Set Return Value
2. Omitting return is Fine
3. Return Values are Not Output
4. Use echo/printf and $(foo) to "Return" Strings
Use $? for Last Return Value
Use exit [RVALUE] to Return Value for Program Itself

Day 17: Flow, Conditions, and Logic

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Conditions Alter Flow
1. Use test to Check Condition (Read test Man Page)
  1. Remember, test Not Needed for Single Command
2. Use && and || to Create Compound Conditions
3. Know and Use Short-Circuit Logic
  1. Use test to Keep it Clear to Read
  2. Use && to Join (not ||)
4. Use set -e to Assert Every Line or Exit
  1. Use || true to Make Assertion Optional
5. Avoid Problematic [] to Check Conditions
6. Use if to Group Commands If True
7. Avoid else Whenever Possible, Return Early Instead
8. Use case to Branch Multiple Conditions

Day 18: Loops, Signals, and Events

Loops Repeat Commands Until Condition Met
1. Use while to Repeat While Condition True
2. Use while true for Infinite Loops
3. Use until to Repeat Until Condition True
4. Use for to Repeat for Sequence or Number of Items
  1. Use seq Instead of Bash {1..10} Notation
5. Use break to Break Out of Any Loop
6. Use continue to Start Next Iteration Early
Know What Inter-Process Communication (IPC) is and Methods
Signals Communicate Between Programs
1. Signals are Just One IPC Method
2. Use kill, pkill to Send a Signal
3. Use trap to Handle a Signal
Use Loops, nohup, and & to Create Daemons
Conclusion of POSIX Shell Scripting Material
1. Other Resources
2. Some Fun Challenges to Get You Started
  1. https://rwx.gg/lang/cha

Day 19: Dealing with Data, In a Structured Way

Coming ...

Remember purpose of Boost is not to cover in depth, but to give a sense of what you need to know and why. Mastering these topics (SQL, for example) could take several months alone, writing your own language grammar in PEGN, a year or more

Delimited (WS, Tab, Bar, CSV, Properties)
Universal JSON Standard and YAML Superset
What About TOML? (I Made the Logo, BTW)
Regular Expressions (BRE, PCRE)
Structured Query Language (SQL)
Parsing Expression Grammar Notation (PEGN)

Day 20: Delimited Data (Space, Tab, Bar, CSV, Properties)

Coming ...

Day 21: JSON Universal Standard and YAML Superset

Coming ...

Day 22: Regular Expressions (BRE, PCRE)

Coming ...

Day 23: Structured Query Language (SQL)

Coming ...

Day 24: Parsing Expression Grammar Notation (PEGN)

Coming ...

More to come (boost is at least 100 days) including ...

Create Minimal Web Sites Using Simple, Standard Tech
Code in C for Understanding Modern Computers
Code Perl for Practical Prototyping
Code Go for Building Big Stuff
Code Python for Math, ML, and Automation
Know the Problem, Peril, and Practicality of Paradigms

About

May the 4th every year I run Beginner Boost, a live-streamed, interactive, series of community learning sessions focused on helping you know what you don't know and how to learn it.

https://github.com/rwxrob/boost#readme

Other