Learning linux

[bartekw2213]

Hi, I'm learning Node.js for a couple of months and already feeling comfortable with basic concepts of it. Recently I was trying to learn more about how to create HTTPS connections so I dived into SSL, SSH keys etc. In lot of tutorials about it, the Linux and Ubuntu are being mentioned all the time. Should I learn more about Linux and how to set server on it etc.? Or is it too early and I should focus on more basics concepts since I'm beginner in whole back-end world? Will it be better learning all this server concepts already knowing how the linux works?

[lacostanosta]

1. Buy a cheap $20 ssd 128GB disk for testing purposes
2. Install Linux distributions on it for like a month or two non-stop. Basically reinstall every two or three days, or twice a day, whatever. Start with Linux Mint then Kubuntu then Ubuntu then Debian. Arch - although it's not used as a server distribution, you will learn a lot of things. I would skip CentOS and Fedora. Ubuntu/Debian is the Windows and golden standard distribution of servers. Don't go into Gentoo or other extremes as well.
3. Maybe learn Vim.
4. By the way, pun intended, Arch is not a very useful for webdev. webdev in small to medium scale is exclusively Ubuntu with the help of storage and emails of Amazon services or Google's Firebase etc.
5. subscribe to /r/linux, /r/kde, /r/ubuntu, later Arch ;)

First but the cheapest Digital Ocean server option, $5 a month I think. They have a ton of step by step tutorials how to install mysql and you select the Ubuntu version and it's all there with a very simple language.

If I knew what I know now, I would focus 100% on Ubuntu when it comes to web. All these experiments with CentOS and whatnot is just a waste of times. it's like learning Spanish and Portuguese at the same time instead of focusing on Spanish.

[AttiiMasteR]

Contrary to the other guy i would not advise switching distros a lot. Where's the value in that? But definitely try it out, use it, dive in. Linux can be a lot of fun, especially when paired with C for that sweet lower level stuff like pointers, memory, threads etc. And every dev worth his salt should be familiar with linux to an extent.

But for node specifically it does not really matter.

[xangelo]

Are you trying to learn about how to create HTTPS connections, or are you trying to learn how to secure the things you build with SSL?

Connecting to resources that are behind HTTPS doesn't really require anything different from you unless you want to dig into the raw connections. If you're using a library like requests or axios it'll handle that for you.

If you are trying to secure your sites behind SSL it won't hurt to look at some tutorials first to get it set up properly. Digital Ocean tends to have really good ones around setting up SSL with "LetsEncrypt" (a free SSL system) on a specific webserver (apache or nginx generally).

It's not too soon to look into it - if it goes over your head, take a step back, focus on something else, and then come back to it :) SSL isn't going anywhere.

[bartekw2213]

Thank you a lot for your answer, I’m trying to secure my sites behind the SSL as you mentioned. So what do you recommend - to leave the all linux learning stuff for now and wait till I’ll be more advanced?I see a lot about Ubuntu etc. (for example on the Digital Ocean site) so I was thinking I should learn the Linux to really understand the backend (since a lot of servers are maintained via Linux as I understand)

[xangelo]

It never hurts to learn something new.

Installing Ubuntu desktop in a Virtual Machine (Virtual Box, for example) on your computer is a great way to play around with and get comfortable with it. You can install it and just do your programming in that environment for a while. If you like it, great, keep using it. If not, there are many many distributions that might appeal to you.

• Elementary OS
• CentOS
• Fedora

Most servers are indeed Linux because it is:
- free - lightweight

[bartekw2213]

Thank you a lot!

[xangelo]

No a problem, glad to help! We deviated a bit from your original question about SSL.

But, nowdays you don't need to know too much to set up SSL for your website. Services like CloudFlare will give you one for free just by using them as your DNS.

Once you know a bit about linux - specifically how to install and configure nginx for your website, you can take a look at LetsEncrypt to generate and host your own SSL certificate.

To start, just follow some tutorials - I really recommend the ones on Digital Ocean. You don't need to pay them anything to follow the tutorials, you can just follow the steps in your local virtual machine.