OPS145 Introduction Newversion
Welcome to OPS145, the beginning of the OPS stream. This course (if you take it seriously) can be the start of a great career: both challenging and rewarding.
In first semester I'll assume that you know nothing of Linux, you've never seen a terminal before, and you barely understand what a computer is.
Professor
Unless someone else is using these materials (which they're welcome to do): my name is Andrew, and you can find my schedule here. Typically my labs aren't full, so you're welcome to come to any of them. If you're planning to come to a lab for another course: you might want to check in advance to make sure I don't have a test or that that class is cancelled.
I like people who work hard, and dedicate themselves to whatever they chose to take on. If that's you, or if that's who you strive to become: we're going to get along well, and I'll do my best to help you succeed.
If you just want a passing grade: that's your business, I have some minimal requirements for passing the course you'll want to review. And when I say "minimal" I mean minimal, not negotiable.
Course Materials
There is no textbook for this course. The materials you need to start with are on this wiki website. When working without my help you'll often find yourself using a search engine to find other useful websites. Feel free to use them. That's what you'll do when you start working in this industry.
You do need some hardware:
- A PC powerful enough to run VirtualBox, with a couple virtual machines at the same time. In practical terms that means any modern PC with at least 16GB of RAM. It can be running Windows or Linux (any version of Windows or Linux is the same for our purposes). A Chromebook or tablet will not be powerful enough. If you insist on using an Apple computer: you may, but you'll have to figure out yourself how to get virtualization to work on it. If you really, really, really can't afford a computer and you want to use a lab machine at school: you may, but be prepared for all sorts of unforseen problems which you'll have no control over.
- A portable SSD drive with a USB3 (type A) connection. This is useful if you're using your own machine in case your computer breaks, you can plug in your work into another computer. It is required if you're using the lab machines, since no data you create will be preserved on those machines. You're also likely to need a portable drive for other courses, which is fine as long as it has enough space.