Programming for cosmologists

Operating systems

• The main free-licensed operating system is WikipediaEn:GNU - typically GNU/Linux
  • with shell tools - typically GNU - WikipediaEn:Unix_shell
    • e.g. WikipediaEn:Bash_%28Unix_shell%29
  • and a kernel - typically Linux - WikipediaEn:Linux
• Free-licensed alternatives include GNU/kfreebsd, GNU/Hurd and non-free alternatives include UNIX (OSX)

Choose a GNU/Linux distribution

• Choose a distribution
  • WikipediaEn:Comparison_of_Linux_distributions
  • The biggest families of GNU/Linux systems are the Debian (e.g. Ubuntu), Slackware and Redhat (e.g. Fedora) distributions
    • https://static.lwn.net/Distributions/
  • Popularity of GNU/Linux distributions: https://distrowatch.com/
  • Temporary GNU/Linux "live" system on a CD/DVD to run in RAM: e.g. http://www.knoppix.org
• What is the Internet? A lot of the Internet is TCP/IP: WikipediaEn:TCP/IP

Shell tutorials - elementary

• https://barbagroup.github.io/essential_skills_RRC/nix/setup/

slightly more advanced

• WikipediaEn:Redirection_%28computing%29 - input/output, interacting with files
• WikipediaEn:Regular_expression - key to efficient powerful searches of files