Happy New Year! And thanks for the help.

[Governor]

Thanks to everyone for their help in the Linux OS minefield.

[rockedge]

In the mid and late 1980's I learned and programmed batch code for IBM 4341 and System/370 mainframes and their Disk Operating System/Virtual Storage Extended (DOS/VSE), based on DOS/VS Virtual Machine Facility/370 (VM/370) Release 6; and Operating System/Virtual Storage 1 (OS/VS 1) Release 7. Macro-shell batch languages.

Which helped at that time to start to write batch code for MS-DOS and the new concept "workstations".

[geo_c]

Thanks to everyone for their help in the Linux OS minefield.
OS batch. When MS-DOS died, there was a new generation that was writing NT batch, but I did not want to start all over again with a new OS, so I gave it up.

That's the great thing about scripting in linux/unix. I don't think the basic command shell language will become obsolete for many decades.

I toy around with scripts, and at one point I was writing a script to change all the theme elements in fossapup universally. It worked and I even included a gui with the help of our good scripters on the forum.

I may resurrect it at some point. But for now it's just easier to use the tools included in puppy.

Linux is a minefield in that you have an enormous amount of control over changing system files, especially in puppy which runs a root. And as they say, with great freedom comes great responsibility. For instance you could play with a script that searches for files and renames them. If the code you write is faulty and you run it, the system might crash. Of course the beauty of puppy is you have a backup folder. And even if you don't you can always boot the system clean again. And that's why people tend to say puppy is for hobbyists. It's built for experimenting and breaking. Which isn't recommended until you know how to run it clean and revert, which takes some file management skills.

[Governor]

In the mid and late 1980's I learned and programmed batch code for IBM 4341 and System/370 mainframes and their Disk Operating System/Virtual Storage Extended (DOS/VSE), based on DOS/VS Virtual Machine Facility/370 (VM/370) Release 6; and Operating System/Virtual Storage 1 (OS/VS 1) Release 7. Macro-shell batch languages.

Which helped at that time to start to write batch code for MS-DOS and the new concept "workstations".

Very interesting. And you jogged my memory; I remembered a few things I had forgotten about. I took an evening programming course at a local college in the 1982. It was a COBOL language course and we created punch cards with our programs on a punch card machine. Using punch cards seemed archaic to me at the time. I thought there must be a better way. COBOL was a lot like using ordinary written English language.

In 1984 I signed up for a programming course for IBM mainframes (I don't remember what language it was), I was very interested. However, they had all the people who signed up take a "programming aptitude test", and I was informed that I did not have the aptitude to learn programming. What!? Unfortunately, against my better judgement, I followed their strong recommendation to go on the computer operator course instead, which I hated and quit after one week. I thought there would still be some programming, but there was none; It was just like operating a machine at a factory.

[williwaw]

which I hated and quit after one week.

Did you find more rewarding work in a different field?

[Governor]

which I hated and quit after one week.

Did you find more rewarding work in a different field?

No, I have not found much reward in jobs. I find that much of what I do in my free time is interesting, and can be rewarding. At this point I am interested in getting Linux to work in general. When that succeeds, I will have many more questions on how to work efficiently with apps and files.

[Governor]

Thanks to everyone for their help in the Linux OS minefield.