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% problems? maintenence? contact jbayes@cs.oberlin.edu

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\begin{document}

\begin{center}
{\LARGE Welcome to the Computer Science Department's Computer Network!}
\vspace{1cm}
\end{center}

This sheet has been compiled in an effort to distribute some basic
information on the Computer Science systems and Unix in general. 

\section{\underline{A Guide to Getting Help}}

There is quite a bit of help available; you just have to know where to
look. 

\begin{description}

\item [The Lab:] Probably the easiest way to find help is to ask
someone in the King computer science lab (rm. 201). If the door is
closed just knock and someone will let you in; you should feel
comfortable asking anyone in there any question. If a person doesn't
know the answer to your question, they might be able to point you to
someone who does.


\item [Help Mailing List:] Sometimes the person with the answer to your
question may not be in the lab, or you may be all the way across
campus; this is what the help mailing list is for. This list was
created in order to make it easy to ask questions...{\em any}
questions...about Unix, emacs, any programs installed on the system,
any programs not installed on the system, etc. Karl Fogel explains
this better than I do:


\begin{myquote}
	Most people use help to answer CS-related or
computer-system-related questions, but let me stress that there is
absolutely NO limit on the kinds of questions that may be sent to
help; we did that deliberately so that no one would ever feel that
their question was too ``stupid'' or ``basic'' to be asked.  If you
need an answer (other than to a homework problem or test, of course!),
mail help and don't worry that it might be a simple question -- if the
answer were really so obvious, you wouldn't be asking, right?
\end{myquote}

To access the help list, just send email to help@cs.oberlin.edu.


\item [Mosaic Unixhelp:] A user-friendly approach to help with Unix is
the ``Unixhelp for Users'' document, readable using NCSA mosaic. To
start up Mosaic, type ``{\tt xmosaic}'' at the shell prompt. Make sure
you're logged in to an X terminal when you do this. (An X terminal is
any one of the DECstations or Suns in the King lab, or any of the
machines in the Spanish House lab.) Click the ``Student Home Pages''
link with the mouse, followed by the ``Help With Unix'' link. This
document has many basic concepts; if you have a question about
terminology, or what a word means, this is probably the first place to
look.


\item [Help Mailing List Archive:] There is an archive of previously
asked questions and answers from the help mailing list. To look at it,
get into emacs (by typing ``{\tt emacs}'' at the prompt), and then
type M-x browse-help. (That is, press escape (or F11, on the
DECstations), release the escape key, press x, type ``{\tt
browse-help}'', then hit return). You may want to read this archive
before you ask your question on the help list. Use the space key to
read or scroll a message; ``{\tt q}'' quits.


\item [Manpages:] A somewhat more cryptic but very complete place to
find help with Unix commands is the Unix manpages. They may be a
little confusing at first, but will become less so with time. (If you
have problems with the manpages, and want to learn more, send mail to
help!) To read about a particular command, type ``{\tt man
command}''. So, for example, to read about how to use the ``{\tt ls}''
command, I would type ``{\tt man ls}''.

\item [Emacs Tutorial:] For help learning how to use emacs, the emacs
tutorial is probably the way to go. To use it, get into emacs, then
type {\tt C-h t}. One problem with the tutorial is that it uses emacs
to teach you how to use emacs, so some basic knowledge would be
helpful before you start using it. On the other hand, it is well
written and does a good job of introducing you to the material.

\item [Emacs Info:] Info is a program intended to be a substitute for
manpages, created because people found the ``manpage'' format rather
difficult when trying to learn about things that they didn't already
know everything about.  One of the biggest complaints about manpages
is that although there is some structure to them, it's not always easy
to search through them for the particular information you need. Info
addresses this problem by arranging documentation into a
``tree-structure'', and then supplying the user with various commands
for moving around in that tree. For more information on Info, type
``{\tt more \verb:~:public/library/help/Info.asc}''. 

\end{description}

\section{\underline{Some Basic Concepts and Commands}}

\begin{description}

\item [Notation:] The notation C-x means to push and hold down the
control key, then push the x key, then release the control key. The
notation M-x can be entered in two different ways. You can type a M-x
by pressing the escape key, releasing it, and then typing an x. The
other way to type a M-x only works on some machines: press and {\em
hold down} the ``compose character'' or ``alt'' key, then type an x,
then release both keys. For now, it would probably be easiest to just
learn the ``escape key'' method, since that works on all
machines. Also, the ``x'' key above can be any other key...for
example, C-c means to hold down the control key, hit ``c'', then
release the control key.

\item [Xterms:] An X terminal is any terminal which is running
X-windows. X-windows is a graphical windowing system, somewhat similar
to Windows on PC's. (However, X-windows is {\em not} Microsoft
Windows.) Examples of X terminals include: the 5 DECstations in the
King lab, the 6 SUN terminals also in the King lab, and ray. Examples
of machines which {\em aren't} X terminals are televideos (aka
``greenies'') (they have no windowing system), Macintoshes (which use
the mac's own windowing system), or most MSDOS machines (which are
capable of running Microsoft Windows). To log out of an X terminal,
find the ``Kill twm'' entry in the menus (click the mouse buttons with
the cursor on the desktop to find the menus).

\item [Panic Keys:] A well written program will usually have a way to
easily quit, usually something like either hitting a button on the
screen, or typing ``{\tt q}'', ``{\tt x}'', or C-d. However, some
programs tend to clog up and stop, or run away, going into an infinite
loop. If this happens while you are running a program, hit C-c a few
times. This tells the computer ``Stop! I don't want you to run this
program any more!''. (This doesn't work in emacs...see below.)

\item [C-z:] On the VAX, to kill a runaway program you type C-z. On
the cs systems, C-z just ``pauses'' a program. If you accidentally
pause a program, you can restart it again using the command ``{\tt
fg}'' (for ``foreground''). Then, you can kill it using C-c. If you
get stuck, ask someone for help.

\item [Emacs Panic Keys:] There is a panic key, similar to C-c, for
use in emacs; this one is C-g. If you are stuck in the middle of
executing a command that you don't want to do, or emacs is running
away with you, hit C-g a few times. This tells emacs to stop whatever
it was doing, and wait for your next input. (Remember, if you want
emacs to stop completely, you must use C-x C-c.)

\item [Shells:] A ``shell'' is a utility program that enables the user
to interact with the UNIX operating system. Commands entered by the
user are passed by the shell to the operating system which carries
them out.  The results are then passed back by the shell and displayed
on the user's display. A ``shell prompt'' is a string at the start of
the command line which indicates that the shell is ready to receive
your commands. It will usually look something like ``occs 1$>$'' or
``edvac\$''.

\end{description}

\section{\underline{Rules of Conduct}}

There are certain departmental rules about the use of the cs machines
which are important to follow:

\begin{description}

\item [Multiple Emacs':] You should only run one emacs program at a
time. Remember to quit emacs (by typing C-x C-c) before starting it up
again. (Actually, emacs is written in such a way that you need never
quit it and start up a new one unless you log out; ask someone about
how to use emacs to get the full story.)
		
\item [Monitors:] If you are using an X terminal, remember to turn off
your monitor by flipping the switch on the front of the monitor. Do
NOT turn off the machine using the switch in the back! (The
``greenies'' don't need to be turned off.)

\item [Mistakes:] Lastly, sometimes people get carried away when
telling you that you just made a boo-boo. No matter what you do, you
aren't going to be able to erase the filesystem, destroy a computer,
crash the Internet, start World War III, etc. So if you make a
mistake, don't worry about it. Nobody expects you to know what to do
and what not to do right off the bat.

\end{description}

\noindent To get more copies of this document, type ``{\tt xdvi
\verb:~:public/library/help/intro\verb:_:docs.dvi}''. 

\end{document}



