Thread: Russian computing: Linux/Knoppix/UNIX

I thought a good way to learn Russian would be to boot my computer up in Russian under Knoppix (a live Linux (UNIX-like) bootable CD). This works well but I cannot type URLs in Russian or use the command shell. My guesses at UNIX commands in Russian are wrong (tried hitting the English keys, then tried transliterating).

Is there a good web-based intro to UNIX commands in Russian? Whenever I Google for this, I get Russian descriptions around English commands.

Forget about Russian in computers as Russians do.

that is really not the best way to learn Russian.

I'm fairly sure that the Knoppix commands are universally English. It would be alot of work to remake all the commands to understand Russian. The most I'm sure they did is make the interface Russian, the but shell of the system still runs on english commands. As for your not being able to type in Russian, try switching the character set to koi8-r.

The shell commands will be in English but the man pages may well be installed in Russian, so try reading the man pages.

The default shell in most GNU/Linux distros is Bash...and was designed by english speakers...and so only accepts input in "english"(if you can call commands like ls,cd,mkdir,mv,cp,chmod,etc... english)-- in order for a shell to accept input in a different language it would have to be designed to do so... and as far as I know there are no non-english shells! You could always design your own, thats the beauty of open source!

Anyways, I'd suggest stick with the default shell or else you'll end up with unexpected problems using your operating system... You *can* set the desktop enviroments to use different languages though, and like VM says, some man-pages are available in multiple languages(but not all). So, my suggestion is: Switch the language your DE uses if anything... but switching your computer's interface to a language you don't fully understand could lead to major problems on your part!(but so long as you dont switch the shell they should all be relatively easy to fix using the cli).

Good luck.

Originally Posted by rat

I thought a good way to learn Russian would be to boot my computer up in Russian under Knoppix (a live Linux (UNIX-like) bootable CD). This works well but I cannot type URLs in Russian or use the command shell. My guesses at UNIX commands in Russian are wrong (tried hitting the English keys, then tried transliterating).

Is there a good web-based intro to UNIX commands in Russian? Whenever I Google for this, I get Russian descriptions around English commands.

Honestly, I don't completely understand what do you need.

Some Unix/Linux docs in Russian? If so, there's a *lot* of places around the Net -- here's a couple of links to start from:

http://www.linux.ru/docs/
http://linuxdocs.stsland.ru/

If you need to have russian names for standart Unix commands, I don't think it's a good idea. How can you translate "ls", "mv" or "rm" to any language (and why?)
Finally, if you can't live without it, you always can try BASH aliases (or function defs)

alias уд=rm
alias уд-нах="rm -rf"

Originally Posted by net surfer

alias уд=rm
alias уд-нах="rm -rf"

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. I think I understand. I guess you type in Russian at the console if you were typing a note in vi or something but the bash shell always expects you to use English? Interesting!

Originally Posted by net surfer

alias уд=rm
alias уд-нах="rm -rf"

This is great! This is exactly what I was looking for. Why "ud"? Is there a place for where I can find common command aliases?

Originally Posted by Scorpio

Originally Posted by rat

I thought a good way to learn Russian would be to boot my computer up in Russian under Knoppix (a live Linux (UNIX-like) bootable CD). This works well but I cannot type URLs in Russian or use the command shell. My guesses at UNIX commands in Russian are wrong (tried hitting the English keys, then tried transliterating).

Is there a good web-based intro to UNIX commands in Russian? Whenever I Google for this, I get Russian descriptions around English commands.

Honestly, I don't completely understand what do you need.

Some Unix/Linux docs in Russian? If so, there's a *lot* of places around the Net -- here's a couple of links to start from:

http://www.linux.ru/docs/
http://linuxdocs.stsland.ru/

If you need to have russian names for standart Unix commands, I don't think it's a good idea. How can you translate "ls", "mv" or "rm" to any language (and why?)
Finally, if you can't live without it, you always can try BASH aliases (or function defs)

Great! Thanks. For example, http://linuxdocs.stsland.ru/manpages/section1.html has Russian explainations of English commands. If I understand correctly, you have to switch the keyboard to English to type commands in the shell or URLs?
I find this hard to believe. So I need to switch my keyboard to English, type "vi filename",
then switch back into Russian - BUT, if I need to save, or do anything
with a vi command - I have to switch back to the English keyboard? This
can't be right!?

Originally Posted by rat

Great! Thanks. For example, http://linuxdocs.stsland.ru/manpages/section1.html has Russian explainations of English commands. If I understand correctly, you have to switch the keyboard to English to type commands in the shell or URLs?
I find this hard to believe. So I need to switch my keyboard to English, type "vi filename",
then switch back into Russian - BUT, if I need to save, or do anything
with a vi command - I have to switch back to the English keyboard? This
can't be right!?

Yes that's correct. You have to switch to English to type URLs and commands and then back to Russian to type Russian text. Why is it so unbelievable?
Ctrl+Shift (which switches keyboard layout on my Windows machine) is probably my most frequently used key combination.
I think it's much easier to switch language back and forth than to invent and memorize aliases for everything.

Originally Posted by rat

Originally Posted by net surfer

alias уд=rm
alias уд-нах="rm -rf"

This is great! This is exactly what I was looking for. Why "ud"? Is there a place for where I can find common command aliases?

Forget about it, he is kidding
Although this is really great, but you have to be Russian to understand the joke.
net surfer, жжОш!

So what do you think? Is Linux worth switching to? Does anyone here use Linux and are there any problems that I should be aware of?

I actually found the Russian version of NHL 2005 to be somewhat helpful in acquiring some vocabulary -- after all, where are you going to learn such important words as шайба, ворота, and загрузка? Of course, I wouldn't quit Russian class and an OS is a completely different matter...

Originally Posted by DDT

So what do you think? Is Linux worth switching to? Does anyone here use Linux and are there any problems that I should be aware of?

I've used it extensively, both for work and pleasure for over 11 years. Go ahead, give it a try. If you are timid, try Knoppix or one of the other CD bootable versions. Mandriva Linux (formerly Mandrake) is also good for starters.

Rod.
Ok... my first post on this site, and it's about Linux. Go figure.

I have backed up everything from my Windows XP onto an external hard-drive. Will I be able to load it onto a Linux OS and are things like Microsoft Word going to still work?

I was thinking about partitioning and running two operating systems until I got the hang of Linux but I will be pressed for room ......unless I delete that crazy IBM SERVICE partition that IBM loaded my Thinkpad with. That takes up about 5 GB's leaving me with only 8 GB's free.

Originally Posted by DDT

I have backed up everything from my Windows XP onto an external hard-drive. Will I be able to load it onto a Linux OS and are things like Microsoft Word going to still work?

Yes, and no. Microsoft Word doesn't work, but you can get OpenOffice. It's free (and comes with many Linux distributions.) It is MS Office compatable, and has good support for Russian language (fonts/documentation/etc.)

Originally Posted by DDT

I was thinking about partitioning and running two operating systems until I got the hang of Linux but I will be pressed for room ......unless I delete that crazy IBM SERVICE partition that IBM loaded my Thinkpad with. That takes up about 5 GB's leaving me with only 8 GB's free.

You can dual boot, if you have enough free space on your hard disk. You'll need only a few Gb's on a partition. But you can also use a distribution that boots directly off of a CD like Knoppix if space is tight. It's a lot easier than trying to get a new HD.

Rod.

Originally Posted by net surfer

alias уд=rm
alias уд-нах="rm -rf"

alias хз=file