Some notes on this glossary.
1. It is by means complete. Hell it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.
2. I will add/ delete or modify things here without notice and as I see fit.
3. This is not a wiki. You can send in your ideas if you want. I won't promise you I will use them. and if they aren't
easy for newbies to understand. I won't even consider it.
Basic structure of Glossary:
Item listed: Group it belongs to, application as in program, term for terminology. file as in a script or text, command
as in something you tell you computer to do or Directory as in a place things are located. Definition of item.
application: Term. A program or utility that can be loaded to run or function on your computer.
cd: Command. Change directory. Move from where you are currently located in the computer database to somewhere else.
Man page here.At the prompt type:
cd /name of directory you want to be at./subdirectory if needed/
cd~ Will always take you to your home directory.
cp: Command. Copy. Take stuff from one place in the computer and duplicate it in another. Man pages
here. At the prompt type:
cp /name of current directory for file/ name of file   /name of new directory /name of file
cvsup: Application. A application that will upgrade to date the ports tree and/ or the
source files for FreeBSD. Works with ports-supfile,
stable-supfile standard-supfile. To work this command you
basically do this:
cvsup /"directory location"/"location of supfile"
Read more here.Man pages here
df: Command. Display disk space. Man pages here.
At the prompt type:
df -h
You will get something like this:
Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on /dev/ad0s1a 194M 50M 129M 28% / /dev/ad0s1f 992M 513K 913M 0% /tmp /dev/ad0s1g 8.8G 2.8G 5.3G 34% /usr /dev/ad0s1e 1.9G 14M 1.8G 1% /var procfs 4.0K 4.0K 0B 100% /proc
easy editor: Application. AKA ee. A simple editor. Used for creating or editing files. At the prompt type:
ee /name of directory /name of file
Press Esc to exit out of Easy Editor.
Man pages here.
ftp: Application. A way to download files from a server. Ftp stands for file transfer protocol. Read the man pages
here.At the prompt type:
ftp
you will see this
ftp>
you can add this:
ftp>open ftp.freebsd.org
That is one way to access a ftp server and download a file from the ftp server, AKA ftpd.You can read more
on how to use command line ftp here.
ftpd: Command. Ftp server. This command activates a ftp server. So others can download files from you. Setting up a ftp server is a bit more complicated than running a client. So it won't be addressed here. Read the man pages here.
GENERIC: File. The name of the kernel file on a basic FreeBSD setup.
install: Term. To make an application active and available to work for you. Read packagesor ports for the commands needed to install an application. This can be part of a command such as "make install."
kernel: Term. This term refers to the core file of the FreeBSD operating system.
make: Command. Use this command to build applications. It can or should be used with some of the below listed options.
  |
buildworld: Build the foundation files of the operating system. buildkernel: build the core files of the operating system. clean: Clean up extraneous files after building a application. install: Place and make available the application. installworld: Place the foundation files of the operating system. install kernel: Place the core files of the operating system. |
You can read the man pages here.
make.conf: File. The make.conf is a file that is read when you issue your make buildworld, make installworld and other make commands issued during a 'make world' upgrade. You can see a make.conf here. Man pages here.
makefile: File. A file containing the information needed to install a application. This file is invoked with the make, make install commands.
mergemaster: Application. This application is used to update files and settings in your FreeBSD computer. Using this program can change very crucial files. So it recommended you backup before using it. Especially your /etc/ directory. This application takes a look at certain files including /dev/MAKEDEV and everything in the /etc/ directory. It compares them to the files stored in /usr/src/ and then lets you know which ones need to be updated. Depending on which switches (-s,-c,-r,-v,-a,-h,-i,-p,-C,-m,-t,-d,-u,-w,-D) you use. You can have mergemaster function in many ways for you. One of the reasons this application is so complicated is because of all the switches (options) available. Please read the man pages here.
mkdir: Command. Make directory. You this command to build directories. You can read the man pages here.
motd: File: Message Of The Day. This is the file you see when you startup or login . It is usually kept in the /etc/ directory. Man pages here
package(s): Term. Applications that are precomplied and ready to go. You can install a package through /stand/sysinstall or with the command pkg_add. You should either have the package on a CD disc or have downloaded it from an ftp site.You can read more here.
port(s): Term. Directory. Are what FreeBSD uses to make certain applications available for easy install. The port of a
program has a makefile. That makefile grabs the application uncompresses it, compiles
it and installs it. The ports are usually located in the directory /usr/ports. You want to install application lynx do the
following:
1. Make sure you are root. non root users generally cannot install aplications.
2. cd to the directory where the port is located.
cd /usr/ports/www/lynx
3. At the prompt type this command:
make clean && make && make install && rehash
That's it. application installed have a nice day. You can read more
here.
ports-supfile: File. The file that updates the ports tree. This used in conjunction with cvsup. The ports tree is the directory usually addressed as /usr/ports/. You can see a ports-supfile here.
ppp.conf: File. The file that is used for point to point protocol. This is the most common file used when setting up ADSL connection with FreeBSD. The file is usually kept in the /etc/ppp/ directory. It can also be used with a dial up setting. You can read more here and here.
prompt: Term. What shows up when you are in a command line shell. This is telling you " Hey I need input in order to
do stuff. Type something."
Some shell prompts look like this:
#
%
$
>
rm: Command. Remove. Use this command to remove, unlink, delete files or directories. You can read the man pages here.
shutdown: Command. This command does as the it says. It is used to shutdown and either turn off or reboot the FreeBSD
operating system. At the prompt you can type:
shutdown -r +3 (reboot in three minutes)
shutdown -h +3 (shut the system down turn off the OS in three minuets)
Read the man pages here.
source:Term. 1. The core files of a system.
2. The lines of code that make up a file(s).
stable-supfile:File.The file that is read when you upgrade your FreeBSD system in the STABLE tree. The file that updates the src tree. This used in conjunction with cvsup. The src tree is the directory usually addressed as /usr/src/. You can see a stable-supfile here.
standard-supfile: File .The file that is read when you upgrade your FreeBSD system in the CURRENT tree. This used in conjunction with cvsup. You can see an example of it here
src:Term.Directory. The place where your source files are placed when you use cvsup and either stable-supfile or standard-supfile. The full directory is usually /usr/src/.
uname:Command. Gives you information on your operating system. At the prompt type:
uname -a
You will see something like this:
FreeBSD TheBaron.bjh.homenet 4.7-STABLE FreeBSD 4.7-STABLE #0: Sun Oct 13 23:32:36 EDT 2002
root@TheBaron.bjh.homenet:/usr/src/sys/compile/THEBARON i386
Man pages here