Linux Master Course

📚 Table of Contents – Linux Master Course

🔹 Chapter 1: Introduction to Linux
●​ What is Linux and why it matters in tech careers​

●​ Linux vs Windows: Key differences​

●​ Overview of Linux distributions (Ubuntu, CentOS, etc.)​

●​ Setting up WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)​

🔹 Chapter 2: Basic Linux Commands

●​ pwd, ls, cd, mkdir, rm, touch​

●​ Navigating directories and managing files​

●​ Understanding hidden files and file naming conventions​

🔹 Chapter 3: System and User Information

●​ whoami, uname -a, id, hostname​

●​ Viewing logged-in users: who, w, users​

🔹 Chapter 4: Process Management

 ●​ ps, ps -aux – Viewing running processes​

●​ top – Real-time system monitoring​

●​ kill – Stopping processes​

●​ nohup – Running tasks in background after logout​

🔹 Chapter 5: Disk and File System Management

●​ df – Disk space usage​

●​ du – Directory size usage​

●​ zip & unzip – File compression​

●​ tar – Archiving and extracting .tar.gz files​

🔹 Chapter 6: File Permissions and Linking

●​ chmod, chown, ls -l​

●​ Changing permissions and ownership​

●​ ln vs ln -s – Hard links vs soft (symbolic) links​

🔹 Chapter 7: File Content Processing

●​ cat, head, tail, sort, wc​

●​ grep – Searching inside files​

 ●​ awk – Pattern scanning and report generation​

●​ find – Advanced file search​

🔹 Chapter 8: Remote Access & File Transfer

●​ ssh – Secure login to remote machines​

●​ scp – Secure file transfer​

●​ Using PuTTY for SSH (GUI)​

●​ Using WinSCP for GUI-based file transfer​

🔹 Chapter 9: Package Management & Networking

●​ apt-get – Installing and removing software​

●​ wget – Downloading files from the internet​

●​ Installing packages and dependencies​

🔹 Chapter 10: Shell Scripting (Beginner to Intermediate)

●​ Writing and running .sh files​

●​ Variables, conditionals, and loops​

●​ Reading user input and using arguments​

●​ Debugging and best scripting practices​

🔹 Chapter 11: Cron Jobs and Automation
●​ Installing and enabling cron​

●​ Using crontab -e to schedule tasks​

●​ Cron job syntax and examples​

●​ Logging and debugging cron jobs​

🔹 Chapter 12: Productivity & Power Usage

●​ Pipes |, redirections >, >>, <​

●​ Command chaining: &&, ;, |​

●​ Managing .bashrc, aliases, and shortcuts​

🔹 Chapter 13: Conclusion

●​ Recap of everything you’ve learned​

●​ Practice tasks and project ideas​

●​ Career use cases: DevOps, Data Engineering, etc.​

●​ Next steps to become a Linux power user​

🌌 What is Linux?
●​ Linux is a free, open-source operating system (OS) based on Unix principles.​

●​ It controls the interaction between software and hardware in systems.​

●​ Linux is widely used in servers, embedded systems, smartphones (Android), cloud

computing, DevOps, and supercomputers.​

🔍 Linux vs Unix
Feature Linux Unix

Origin Linus Torvalds (1991) AT&T Bell Labs (1970s)

License Open Source (GNU GPL) Proprietary/Closed Source

Cost Free Commercial

Architecture Runs on x86, ARM, etc. Usually on RISC architectures

Developmen Community driven Vendor driven

t

Examples Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS Solaris, AIX, HP-UX

📦 Popular Linux Distributions (Distros)
●​ Ubuntu – User-friendly, perfect for beginners​

●​ Debian – Stable, great for servers​

●​ Fedora – Cutting-edge, sponsored by Red Hat​

●​ CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux – Enterprise-level​

●​ Arch Linux – Minimalist, highly customizable​

●​ Kali Linux – Cybersecurity/penetration testing​

💡 Why Do We Need Linux?

●​ 💰 Free & Open Source – No license fees​
●​ 🔒 Security – Strong permissions, less vulnerable​
●​ 🔄 Stable – Used for long-running servers​
●​ 🧩 Customizable – Tailor everything to your needs​
●​ 🧠 Efficient – Works well on old hardware too​
●​ 💻 Powerful CLI – Developers love it​
●​ 🌐 Widespread – Powers most servers and cloud infra​
🪖 Linux vs Windows
Feature Linux Windows

Cost Free Paid

License Open Source Closed Source

Interface CLI + GUI GUI Focused

Security More secure More prone to malware

Usage Cloud, DevOps, Office, Gaming, GUI apps

Servers

🦠 Does Linux Have Viruses?

●​ Yes, but very rare.​

●​ Linux is secure by design (permission-based access).​

●​ Most Linux users don't run antivirus.​

●​ Still, servers and critical systems use security hardening tools.​

🧩 Is Linux Really an OS?
●​ Linux itself = Kernel only​

●​ A full OS = Linux Kernel + GNU Utilities + Bash + Package Manager​

●​ Linux Distros (Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.) are complete operating systems built around the
Linux kernel​

🧠 What is a Kernel?
●​ The core engine of the OS​

●​ Manages:​

○​ CPU scheduling​

○​ Memory allocation​

○​ I/O operations​

○​ Device management​

●​ Linux uses a monolithic kernel (everything bundled together)​

Real-world analogy:

Kernel = Manager that talks to both Employees (hardware) and Customers

(software)
🧪 Basic Linux Commands (Chapter 2 Begins)
📁 mkdir – Make Directory
mkdir projects

✅ Creates a folder called "projects"

mkdir -p logs/2023/errors

✅ Creates nested folders in one command

📂 cd – Change Directory
cd projects

✅ Move into the 'projects' folder

cd ..

✅ Move up one level (parent folder)

cd ~

✅ Go to your home directory

cd -

✅ Switch to the previous directory

📄 ls – List Files
ls

✅ List all non-hidden files/folders in current directory

ls -l

✅ Long listing: shows permissions, owner, size, date

ls -lh

✅ Adds human-readable file sizes (KB, MB)

ls -a

✅ Shows hidden files (starting with .)

ls -lt
✅ Sort files by modification time (newest first)
ls -lstr

✅ Sort files by size, smallest first (combined flags)

🗑️ rm – Remove Files or Folders

rm notes.txt

✅ Deletes the file named 'notes.txt'

rm -r temp/

✅ Recursively deletes the folder 'temp' and its contents

rm -rf temp/

✅ Same as above, but forces deletion without asking

🔗 ln – Hard Link
ln original.txt link.txt
 ●​ Both point to the same inode (same data)​

●​ No additional disk space used for file content​

●​ Changes to one affect the other​

●​ File survives even if original.txt is deleted​

🧶 ln -s – Soft Link (Symlink)

ln -s original.txt shortcut.txt

●​ Points to file path, not inode​

●​ Breaks if original is deleted​

●​ Can link to folders and cross filesystems​

💽 df – Disk Free
df -h

✅ Shows free space in human-readable format (MB, GB)

Useful for checking partition usage, especially in servers

📊 du – Disk Usage
du -sh foldername

✅ Shows how much space a specific folder uses

du -h --max-depth=1

✅ Shows usage of all folders one level deep

Helpful for finding large folders eating disk space
📦 zip / unzip
zip -r archive.zip folder/

✅ Recursively compresses a folder into a zip file

unzip archive.zip

✅ Extracts the contents of the zip file

📚 tar – Archive Multiple Files

tar -czvf project.tar.gz folder/

✅ Compress a folder into a .tar.gz archive

tar -xzvf project.tar.gz

✅ Extract files from the archive

Flags:

●​ -c: Create archive

●​ -x: Extract archive
●​ -z: Use gzip compression
●​ -v: Verbose (show files)
●​ -f: File name

🔍 grep – Search Inside Files

Sample file: log.txt

[INFO] Starting server

[DEBUG] Connection established
[ERROR] Disk full
[WARNING] Low memory
[ERROR] Timeout occurred
grep ERROR log.txt
✅ Shows all lines containing the word ERROR
grep -i error log.txt

✅ Case-insensitive search for error, Error, ERROR

grep -v ERROR log.txt

✅ Invert match – shows all lines except those with ERROR

grep -n ERROR log.txt

✅ Show line numbers of matches

grep -r 'ERROR' /var/log

✅ Recursively search for ERROR inside all files in /var/log

🧭 find – Locate Files/Directories

find . -name "*.log"

✅ Find all .log files in current folder and subfolders

find /home -type f -size +10M

✅ Find files over 10MB in /home

find . -mtime -1

✅ Files modified in the last 1 day

find . -empty

✅ Find all empty files and directories

find . -name "*.tmp" -delete

✅ Find and delete all .tmp files

find . -name "*.log" -exec rm {} \;

✅ Find and remove .log files using -exec

📐 awk – Text Column Processor
Sample file: data.txt

John 25 Developer
Asha 30 Designer
Ravi 28 Tester
awk '{print}' data.txt

✅ Print full lines (like cat)

awk '{print $1}' data.txt

✅ Print first column (names)

awk '{print $1, $3}' data.txt

✅ Print name and job title

awk '$2 > 27 {print $1, $2}' data.txt

✅ Filter and print people older than 27

awk '{printf "Name: %s | Age: %s | Role: %s\n", $1, $2, $3}' data.txt

✅ Format output with labels

Used for reports, quick data filtering, log analysis, etc.

📑 head – Show First N Lines of a File

head file.txt

✅ Shows the first 10 lines of file.txt by default

head -n 5 file.txt

✅ Shows the first 5 lines only

Useful for previewing logs, configs, and large files quickly

📄 tail – Show Last N Lines of a File

tail file.txt

✅ Shows the last 10 lines of file.txt

tail -n 15 file.txt

✅ Show last 15 lines

tail -f log.txt

✅ Live view of a file as it updates – great for monitoring logs!

🔢 wc – Word/Line Count
wc file.txt

✅ Shows lines, words, and bytes

wc -l file.txt

✅ Count only lines

wc -w file.txt

✅ Count only words

Used to count how many records/logs/lines are in a file

🧮 sort – Sort File Content

sort names.txt

✅ Sorts lines alphabetically (A–Z)

sort -r names.txt

✅ Reverse sort (Z–A)

sort -n marks.txt

✅ Numeric sort (e.g., for scores or values)

sort -nr marks.txt | head -n 5
✅ Top 5 highest values – useful for ranking

📦 apt-get – APT Package Manager (Debian/Ubuntu)

🔹 Purpose:
apt-get is used to install, update, upgrade, and remove packages on Debian-based
systems like Ubuntu.

🧪 Common apt-get Commands:

Command Description

sudo apt-get update Updates the list of available packages (does not
install)

sudo apt-get upgrade Installs latest versions of currently installed packages

sudo apt-get install Installs a specific package

<package>

sudo apt-get remove Removes a package (but keeps config files)

<package>

sudo apt-get purge Removes package and its config files

<package>
 sudo apt-get autoremove Cleans up unused dependencies

sudo apt-get clean Clears downloaded .deb files (saves space)

🧾 Example Usage:
sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install git

sudo apt-get remove apache2

✅ Tip: Always run sudo apt-get update before installing anything new.

🌐 wget – Downloading from the Web

🔹 Purpose:
wget is a command-line utility to download files from web servers, supporting HTTP,
HTTPS, and FTP.

🧪 Common wget Commands:

Command Description

wget <URL> Downloads a file from the given URL

 wget -c <URL> Continues an incomplete download

wget -O filename.zip Saves the file with a custom name

<URL>

wget -r <URL> Recursively download files from a directory or site

wget --limit-rate=100k Limit download speed

<URL>

wget -b <URL> Run download in background

🧾 Example Usage:
wget https://example.com/sample.zip

wget -O latest.zip https://example.com/file.zip

wget -c https://example.com/largefile.iso
🔐 Linux File Permissions
🧱 1. Permission Types
Each file or directory in Linux has three types of permissions:

Permissio Symbol Value Meaning

n

Read r 4 View contents

Write w 2 Modify contents

Execute x 1 Run as program or enter

directory

🔢 2. Permission Categories
Each file has permissions for three categories of users:

Category Meaning

User The owner of the file

Group Users who are part of the file's

group

Others All other users (except root)

📊 3. Numeric (Octal) Representation
Each permission is represented by adding values:

Permission Value Symbol

s

--- 0 No access

--x 1 Execute only

-w- 2 Write only

-wx 3 Write + Execute

r-- 4 Read only

r-x 5 Read + Execute

rw- 6 Read + Write

rwx 7 Full (read, write, execute)

🧾 4. Example: chmod Usage

Command Description

chmod +x file.sh Add execute permission to all

chmod 777 Full access to everyone

file.txt
chmod 644 Owner can read/write, others can read only
file.txt

chmod 755 Common for executables: owner full, rest rx

script.sh

chmod 444 Read-only for all

report.txt

🔍 5. File Type Prefixes (1st character of ls -l)

Symbol Meaning

- Regular file

d Directory

l Symbolic link

c Character
device

b Block device

🧠 6. Example Permission Strings (ls -l)

Permission Meaning
String

drwxr-xr-x Directory: owner=all, group/others=rx

-rw-rw-r-- File: owner/group=rw, others=r

-rw-r--r-- File: owner=rw, group/others=r

👑 7. Special Notes on root

 ●​ root = superuser.​

●​ Ignores regular permission restrictions.​

●​ Can read/write/execute/delete any file, regardless of rwx.

nohup

Purpose: Run a command in the background that doesn’t terminate even after you log out.​
Syntax:

nohup command-name &

Example:

nohup python script.py &

●​ Output is written to nohup.out by default.​

ps

Purpose: Show currently running processes.​

Syntax:

ps

Example:

ps aux | grep python

 ●​ Lists all processes with detailed info.​

top

Purpose: Live monitoring of system processes and resource usage.​

Usage:

top

●​ Press q to quit.​

●​ Use Shift + P (sort by CPU) or Shift + M (sort by memory).​

ps -aux

Purpose: List all running processes from all users.​

Syntax:

ps -aux

●​ a: All users​

●​ u: User info​

●​ x: Include non-terminal processes​

kill

Purpose: Stop a process using its PID.​

Syntax:

kill PID
Example:

kill 12345

●​ Use kill -9 PID for forceful termination.​

scp

Purpose: Securely copy files between systems over SSH.​

Syntax:

scp file.txt user@remote_ip:/path/to/destination/

Example:

scp test.py ubuntu@192.168.1.5:/home/ubuntu/

ssh

Purpose: Secure remote login to another system.​

Syntax:

ssh user@remote_ip

Example:

ssh ubuntu@192.168.1.5

uname -a

Purpose: Display system information.​

Example:

uname -a
 ●​ Shows kernel version, system architecture, etc.​

whoami

Purpose: Show currently logged-in user.​

Example:

whoami

pwd

Purpose: Print the current working directory.​

Example:

pwd

🖥️ Using PuTTY
🔹 Download & Install:
1.​ Go to https://www.putty.org/​

2.​ Download the Windows installer.​

3.​ Install it by clicking Next → Next → Finish.​

🔹 Usage:
●​ Open PuTTY​

●​ Enter your IP in "Host Name"​

 ●​ Select SSH, Port 22​

●​ Click “Open”​

●​ Enter username and password​

📂 Using WinSCP
🔹 Download & Install:
1.​ Go to https://winscp.net/​

2.​ Download the installer.​

3.​ Install with default options.​

🔹 Usage:
●​ Open WinSCP​

●​ Hostname: Your server IP​

●​ Username: e.g., ubuntu​

●​ Password or private key​

●​ Click “Login”​

●​ Use GUI to drag-drop files between local ↔ server​

⏰ Cron Jobs in Linux (Start to End)

Step 1: Install cron (if not installed)
sudo apt update
sudo apt install cron
Step 2: Enable and Start Cron
sudo systemctl enable cron
sudo systemctl start cron

Step 3: Edit Crontab

crontab -e

Step 4: Add a Job

Format:

* * * * * /path/to/command

Example: Run script every day at 2 AM

0 2 * * * /home/user/myscript.sh

Step 5: List Cron Jobs

crontab -l

Step 6: Remove Cron Job

crontab -e
# Then delete the specific line
🐧 Shell Scripting: Passing Arguments
(Beginner Notes)

📌 What is a Shell Script?

A shell script is a file containing a series of Linux/Unix commands. It is used to automate tasks.

🪜 Step 1: Create a Shell Script File

Open your terminal and create a file:

nano greet.sh

✍️ Step 2: Write the Script

Paste the following code into greet.sh:

#!/bin/bash
# Script to greet a user using input arguments

echo "Script Name: $0" # $0 is the name of the script

echo "First Argument: $1" # $1 is the first argument
echo "Second Argument: $2" # $2 is the second argument

# Combine arguments in a sentence

echo "Hello, $1! Your role is $2."

🔖 Press CTRL + O, then Enter to save.​

Press CTRL + X to exit nano.

🔒 Step 3: Make the Script Executable

chmod +x greet.sh

▶️ Step 4: Run the Script with Arguments

./greet.sh Gowtham DataEngineer

✅ Output:
Script Name: ./greet.sh
First Argument: Gowtham
Second Argument: DataEngineer
Hello, Gowtham! Your role is DataEngineer.

🔍 What Do These Special Variables Mean?

Variable Description

$0 Name of the script

$1 First argument passed to the

script
 $2 Second argument

$# Total number of arguments

$@ All arguments as separate strings

$* All arguments as a single string

🧠 Tips for Using Arguments in Real Projects

●​ Use arguments to take file names, database names, usernames, etc.​

●​ Always validate if the argument is passed before using:​

if [ -z "$1" ]; then
echo "Please provide a name"
exit 1
fi

💡 Bonus: Use in Automation

You can write scripts like:

./backup.sh /home/ubuntu/mydata backup_folder

./upload.sh filename.txt s3bucket

Where /home/ubuntu/mydata and backup_folder are $1 and $2.

🎁 Summary
●​ nano script.sh → Create script​

●​ chmod +x script.sh → Make executable​

 ●​ ./script.sh arg1 arg2 → Run with arguments​

●​ $1, $2 → Use arguments inside script​

✅ Conclusion
Congratulations! 🎉 You’ve successfully completed the Linux Master Course — a powerful
step toward becoming a confident and capable Linux user.

Throughout this journey, you’ve learned:

●​ 🔹 Essential Linux commands (ps, top, kill, scp, ssh, etc.)​

●​ 🔹 How to work with files, permissions, and processes​
●​ 🔹 How to automate tasks using cron jobs​
●​ 🔹 How to use tools like PuTTY, WinSCP, and WSL to bridge Windows and Linux
environments​

Whether you're a data engineer, developer, system admin, or student, your ability to navigate
and control a Linux environment gives you a strong foundation for any technical role.

But remember — real mastery comes from practice. So don’t stop here:

●​ Set up your own Linux environment​

 ●​ Automate your daily tasks​

●​ Explore bash scripting​

●​ And keep challenging yourself with real-world projects​

💻🚀
This is not the end — it's the beginning of your Linux journey.​
Keep exploring. Keep building. Keep mastering.

📘 About the Author

Gowtham S.B is a passionate Big Data Engineer, educator, and content creator with over 11
years of hands-on experience in the world of data. He is the creator of
DataEngineeringTamil.com, a learning platform that simplifies data engineering for the
Tamil-speaking community through real-world projects, tools, and tutorials.

He is best known for his engaging content on Instagram (@dataengineeringtamil) and

YouTube (Data Engineering Tamil), where he has helped thousands of learners break into the
field. His work has been recognized by IBM’s Databand.ai, naming him one of the Top Data
Engineering Influencers on LinkedIn.

Gowtham is also a mentor, blogger, and speaker, committed to building a strong community of
data professionals in regional languages. His mission is to make Data Engineering simple,
practical, and career-focused.

🔗 Website: www.dataengineeringtamil.com​
📸 Instagram: @dataengineeringtamil​
▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@dataengineeringvideos​
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sbgowtham
Thank You