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 .[Link] 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 [Link]

✅ Deletes the file named '[Link]'

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 [Link] [Link]
 ●​ 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 [Link] is deleted​

🧶 ln -s – Soft Link (Symlink)

ln -s [Link] [Link]

●​ 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 [Link] folder/

✅ Recursively compresses a folder into a zip file

unzip [Link]

✅ Extracts the contents of the zip file

📚 tar – Archive Multiple Files

tar -czvf [Link] folder/

✅ Compress a folder into a .[Link] archive

tar -xzvf [Link]

✅ 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: [Link]

[INFO] Starting server

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

✅ Case-insensitive search for error, Error, ERROR

grep -v ERROR [Link]

✅ Invert match – shows all lines except those with ERROR

grep -n ERROR [Link]

✅ 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: [Link]

John 25 Developer
Asha 30 Designer
Ravi 28 Tester
awk '{print}' [Link]

✅ Print full lines (like cat)

awk '{print $1}' [Link]

✅ Print first column (names)

awk '{print $1, $3}' [Link]

✅ Print name and job title

awk '$2 > 27 {print $1, $2}' [Link]

✅ Filter and print people older than 27

awk '{printf "Name: %s | Age: %s | Role: %s\n", $1, $2, $3}' [Link]

✅ Format output with labels

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

📑 head – Show First N Lines of a File

head [Link]

✅ Shows the first 10 lines of [Link] by default

head -n 5 [Link]

✅ Shows the first 5 lines only

Useful for previewing logs, configs, and large files quickly

📄 tail – Show Last N Lines of a File

tail [Link]

✅ Shows the last 10 lines of [Link]

tail -n 15 [Link]

✅ Show last 15 lines

tail -f [Link]

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

🔢 wc – Word/Line Count
wc [Link]

✅ Shows lines, words, and bytes

wc -l [Link]

✅ Count only lines

wc -w [Link]

✅ Count only words

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

🧮 sort – Sort File Content

sort [Link]

✅ Sorts lines alphabetically (A–Z)

sort -r [Link]

✅ Reverse sort (Z–A)

sort -n [Link]

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

sort -nr [Link] | 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 [Link] 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 [Link]

wget -O [Link] [Link]

wget -c [Link]
🔐 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 [Link] Add execute permission to all

chmod 777 Full access to everyone

[Link]
chmod 644 Owner can read/write, others can read only
[Link]

chmod 755 Common for executables: owner full, rest rx

[Link]

chmod 444 Read-only for all

[Link]

🔍 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 [Link] &

●​ Output is written to [Link] 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 [Link] user@remote_ip:/path/to/destination/

Example:

scp [Link] ubuntu@[Link]:/home/ubuntu/

ssh

Purpose: Secure remote login to another system.​

Syntax:

ssh user@remote_ip

Example:

ssh ubuntu@[Link]

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 [Link]

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 [Link]

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/[Link]

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 [Link]

✍️ Step 2: Write the Script

Paste the following code into [Link]:

#!/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 [Link]

▶️ Step 4: Run the Script with Arguments

./[Link] Gowtham DataEngineer

✅ Output:
Script Name: ./[Link]
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:

./[Link] /home/ubuntu/mydata backup_folder

./[Link] [Link] s3bucket

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

🎁 Summary
●​ nano [Link] → Create script​

●​ chmod +x [Link] → Make executable​

 ●​ ./[Link] 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
[Link], 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 [Link], 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: [Link]​
📸 Instagram: @dataengineeringtamil​
▶️ YouTube: [Link]/@dataengineeringvideos​
💼 LinkedIn: [Link]/in/sbgowtham
Thank You