Lab computers guide

Background#

The computers in the CSIT labs are running the GNU Linux operating system. If you have never used a Linux system before, don’t panic! The basic concepts you will be working with (files, directories, applications, etc) are similar to those in other operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and macOS. (In fact, if you’ve used macOS, you have used a system that is very similar to Linux behind the scenes.) There is a bit of a learning curve, but it shouldn’t be long until you feel comfortable.

You do need to be aware that the CSIT computing environment is not the same as that found on other computers at the ANU. It is not possible to access your ANU-wide home drive (file storage) directory from the CSIT computing environment. Similarly, files that you store on the CSIT computing environment home will only be accessible from other CSIT (and Hanna Neuman) lab computers. They will not be accessible from other computers on campus, such as the InfoCommons Windows and Mac computers.

To copy files to, or access files from your InfoCommons home, you can use the myfiles web portal https://myfiles.anu.edu.au using the browser on the lab computers. You log into the myfiles web portal using your student identification number (prefixed by a “u”) and the same password as elsewhere in the university.

You can of course also just use an external memory drive (e.g. USB stick), or an on-line service such as dropbox to move your files around. Emailing files to yourself is also a common method.

Logging in#

You log into the CSIT computers using your student identification number (prefixed by a “u”) and the same password as elsewhere in the university.

If you have never logged into the CSIT systems before however, you will unfortunately not be able to login immediately as an account would not have been created for you on the CSIT system yet.

To trigger the creation of an account on the CSIT system for yourself, you just need to log on to STREAMS. That’s it, just logging on is sufficient. You don’t need to do anything else in STREAMS and can just log out afterwards if you want. After logging in, you may see a web page that asks you to Register for Small Groups in this course. You don’t need to this as registering for labs is done on MyTimeTable.

If you are reading this in the lab during your first lab, you won’t have access to a lab computer to log on to STREAMS from. In this case, you can do the STREAMS log on using your phone or laptop, or ask your tutor to do it for you on their computer (you will need to type your password for them on the page, make sure you see them log you out afterwards too!).

Note that even after triggering the creation of an account, you may still not be able to log into the CSIT computers immediately afterwards - the creation of the account is not instantaneous and can take up to a day. As such make sure to log on to STREAMS once before your first lab if you have not used the CSIT lab computers before.

Exploring the desktop#

Much like Windows and macOS, Linux provides a graphical user interface, which follows a consistent set of guidelines. You will find windows, menus, control panels, consistent visual user feedback, direct manipulation and interaction between programs, and other aspects of modern graphical user interfaces.

When you first log in, you will see a (mostly) empty Linux Mint desktop. In Linux Mint, a few programs are accessible by buttons on the panel on the bottom of the desktop.

If the above image is too small on your browser, right click on it and open in a new tab to see it full-size. The same applies for the rest of screenshots in this page.

For other applications, click the “Menu” button at the bottom left corner (or press the “Windows” key on the keyboard), type in a few letters from the beginning of a word in the name of the application you’re looking for and icons for matching applications should appear. Then click on the one you want (e.g., for VSCode):

It is recommended to use Visual Studio Code - VSCode (see above) or the Spyder IDE:

And you will most likely want to use a web browser (for example, Firefox or Chrome) for your labs in the semester. Make sure you can locate where these are, and can run them.

As you become more experienced, you may want to customize your desktop to better suite your personal style.

Files and folders#

To access and manage files and folders, select the Files icon from the sidebar (next to the Menu icon).

This will open a window displaying the contents of your home directory on the CSIT system. You can also create files and folders using this graphical interface. Files that you store here will remain when you next log in on any CSIT lab machine (unless you are using a guest session). Again, as mentioned before this is not the same as your ANU home drive, so you will have to use the myfiles web portal, some other on-line service, or a USB memory, if you want to copy files between the two.

For the labs, we recommend you create a new directory (folder) named “comp1730” in your home directory. Then, for each lab, create another folder in the comp1730 folder and use that for the lab, for example, “lab1” for the first lab.

Logging out, locking the screen#

It is important that when you finish with the computer you log off. This is done by clicking on the icon that looks like an on/off button in black color and accessible through the “Menu” button at the bottom left corner (see capture just right below). This will bring up a menu with an option to “log out”.

When you click the option to “log out” you will not log out immediately. Instead a confirmation prompt will show up. Make sure you click “log out” so that no one else can cancel the log out and use your account.

If you step away from your computer for a short period then you can lock the screen. This is another menu option you should try. Recognise that if you lock the screen and go away for a long period of time another person is likely to come and reboot the machine - this will log you off and could result in you losing any work that you have not saved. So before locking the screen, save all your work. If in doubt about what this means - ask a fellow student or your tutor.

Never leave the computer without either logging out or locking the screen! If you leave the computer unlocked, other people can read (and change or delete) everything that is on your account. They can also do malicious things to other people under your identity. You are responsible for anything done on, or through, a computer logged in with your user name.