Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux operating system and the Git source code management system, opened the “Code Power” session at the recent TED2016 conference, speaking in an interview with TED Curator Chris Anderson.
In the talk, Torvalds, whose blunt approach in dealing with people is well known, stated, “I’m actually not a people person. I don’t really love other people, but I do love other people who get involved in my project.”
Torvalds went on to discuss his belief that “code either works or it doesn’t.” He should know. The current Linux kernel is one of the largest collaborative projects ever attempted, with more than 20 million lines of code and more than 12,000 contributors so far. Additionally, an average of 185 changes are accepted into the kernel every day — nearly 1,300 per week — and Torvalds ultimately has the final say on what code is accepted.
In the TED talk, Torvalds admitted that he is sometimes “myopic, when it comes to other people’s feelings…” However, he said, “What I love about open source is that it really allows different people to work together.”
Torvalds was listed as one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine back in 2004. In that profile, Lawrence Lessig wrote, “there is no doubt that the open, collaborative model that produced GNU/Linux has changed the business of software development forever.”
Nonetheless, typically self-deprecating Torvalds doesn’t see himself as a visionary. Instead, he says: “I’m an engineer. I’m happy with the people who are wandering around looking at the stars but I am looking at the ground and I want to fix the pothole before I fall in.”
The text editor is a tool Linux users have either a casual or a very deep relation with. If you’re one of those users that only opens up the text editor on the rare occasion that a configuration file must be tweaked, then you’re probably good with the likes of Nano. Developers, on the other hand, need something much more powerful. On the Linux platform, you can easily turn to Vi or Emacs, but some developers prefer to have a GUI at their fingertips.
Easy extensibility
Cross-platform editing
Built-in package manager
Smart autocompletion
Built-in file browser
Multi-pane viewing
Find and replace
Themable
Customize styling with your own CSS/LESS
And much more
In terms of available packages for Atom, you can browse among the nearly four thousand available extensions that can be added. If you’re looking for your next favorite text editor, look no further.
Let’s install Atom and use it.
I will be demonstrating Atom on Elementary OS Freya. From the Atom home page, you can download either an .rpm or .deb package for installation. To install Atom on the Debian-based platform, download the .deb package and save it in your ~/Downloads directory. Once the file has downloaded, follow these steps:
Open up a terminal window
Change into the ~/Downloads directory with the command cd ~/Downloads
Issue the command sudo dpkg -i atom-XXX.deb (Where XXX is the architecture of the file downloaded…i.e. amd64)
Type your sudo password and hit Enter
Allow the installation to complete
The installation should go off without a hitch. However, I tested the same installation on Ubuntu Mate 16.04, and it installed with errors (meaning it wouldn’t run). If you find that is the case on your Ubuntu system, you can fix it with the following steps:
Open up a terminal window (or remain in the one used for installing Atom)
Issue the command sudo apt-get install -f
Type your sudo command (if necessary) and hit Enter
Allow apt-get to do its thing
That should fix the dependency issue. You’re ready to go.
When you first launch atom (either from your desktop menu or from the command line…with the command atom), you will be greeted by the welcome guide (Figure 1 above).
This welcome guide will appear the first time you open Atom. Upon closing the editor, when you reopen, it will land on the editor window. To get back to the Welcome Guide, open Atom and then click Help > Welcome Guide.
From the Welcome Guide, you can easily open a project, install new packages, customize the styling, hack the Atom initscript, create snippets to be used later, learn keyboard shortcuts (memorize Shift+Ctrl+p, which is the command to open up the keyboard shortcut drop-down).
Open up Atom
From the Welcome Guide, click Install a Package
Click Open Installer
From the newly opened pane (Figure 2) scroll through the listing of packages (or do a search for a keyword or name)
When you find the package you want to install, click the associated Install button
Allow the installation to complete
Once you’ve installed a package, you’ll find a newly-created sub-menu in the Packages menu. Click on that sub-menu to see what the package offers.
Let me show you a really cool example. Say you write in C or C++. Out of the box, Atom cannot run scripts written in those languages. However, there is an outstanding package, aptly named script, that can run C and C++. Here’s what you do:
Open Atom
Go to the Welcome Guide
Click Install package
Enter script in the search field
Locate the package, script, by rgbkrk
Click Install
I’ve added a C++ script for random number generating. Click Packages > Script > Run Script and (if the code works) the results of the run will appear in a pane at the bottom of the window (Figure 4).
Atom is filled with some pretty amazing features and tools. There are also several little additions that make this text editor spectacular. For example, say you’re looking for a matching bracket in a large snippet of code. All you have to do is click on one of the brackets and then click Packages > Bracket Matcher > Go to matching bracket. The cursor will be immediately teleported to the matching bracket, so you won’t have to go on a hunt for that missing character.
Another nice feature exists in the bottom right corner of the window. After you save a file, the bottom right corner will display:
Line break type
Encoding
Syntax highlighting
Atom offers something for just about everyone. I’ve just scratched the surface here of what this powerful text-editor can do. If you’re looking for the perfect combination of features and ease of use, Atom is ready to become your go-to text editor.
This week in Linux news, The Linux Foundation launches the Civil Infrastructure Project (CIP), Skype for Linux users are disappointed, and more! Catch up on the latest in Linux news with our weekly digest.
1) The Linux Foundation launches a new Collaborative Project to help expand civil infrastructure.
The Linux Foundation Launches Linux-Based Civil Infrastructure Platform– ZDNet
2) Microsoft partners with R3 to further blockchain tools; Lead rival is IBM, using the Hyperledger Project.
Microsoft Blockchain-as-a-Service Gains Momentum with Banking Partnership– TechRepublic
3) Users complain that Skype for Linux is missing important features and lacks reliability.
Skype for Linux is lagging behind and falling apart due to Microsoft’s neglect
4) Linus Torvalds comments on the ubiquity of Linux in embedded systems at Embedded Linux Conference/OpenIoT Summit.
Linux’s Torvalds surprised by IoT uptake– ReadWrite
5) Windows isn’t worried about destructive rm -rf / command.
Linux’s deadliest command doesn’t faze Bash on Windows 10– PCWorld
