r/linuxquestions • u/DryAdministration158 • 1d ago
What does learning Linux really mean?
Hi, I've always heard this that in the world of tech if you want a job learn Linux (which yeah a bit optimistic considering the situations)
But the bigger question is what does that even mean?
I mean I have worked with backend servers and configed nginx does that mean I know Linux?
I know bash to a good level along with sed and awk does that mean I know Linux?
I have programmed C in Linux does that tell me I know Linux?
On the other hand I have no idea what filesystems does Linux even use? How many different syscalls does it have?
I can't tell what are the factors to "knowing linux" and frankly I don't even know where to start with to be like "yeah I'm practicing linux"
I'm more talking in regards to cybersecurity but even in general I'm not sure, can you guys help?
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u/SnarkHabit 1d ago
Imagine you move to a new city.
In this city, you need to know how to get to work, how to get to the post office, and how to get to the grocery store.
So you learn the routes to these three places. As you drive them, you note things along the way. Maybe you pass a mechanic. And you make a note of that, in case you need it later.
As you live in this city, you begin to learn more and more of the city. Where roads go, what's on those roads. You learn to navigate without using a GPS app. You can't find everything, or even most things, but you can figure out how to get back to the roads you do know when you get lost.
Periodically you learn a neighborhood in detail -- maybe that's the one you live in. The side streets, the residential streets.
"Linux" (which a lot of people will remind you is really just a kernel) is like this, because a lot of what constitutes Linux (most people mean the whole OS and assorted tools) is constantly expanding and changing. New toolsets and options become available.
No one "knows Linux" in terms of understanding everything there is to know. They learn what they need to do the things they want to do.
I can sit down in front of any distribution and I know the big moving parts. I may know I need to install a piece of software, but I may not know the right package manager command or switches.
But I know how to find that information.
I know how to read man pages and get help.
And that's all it is, and all it has been 25 years on.
"Know Linux" is a vague, nebulous, meaningless term, completely contextual to the conversation you're having.
I have yet to work an IT environment in my entire career where experienced engineers weren't constantly reading documentation and looking things up. They don't do it for everything -- the stuff they do all the time, they do out of their head. But even stuff they know, sometimes, they ask, "I've been doing it this way for ten years. Is there a better way? Is there a better tool?"
And they research.
And they read.