Own Your Platform

What are dotfiles and why manage them with git?

“Dotfiles” are configuration files for your user environment, typically stored in your home directory (~). They often start with a dot (.) to make them hidden by default in file listings. Examples include .bashrc, .zshrc, .gitconfig, and directories like .config/.

These files control the behavior of your shell, text editors, version control systems, and other applications. Because they define your working environment, having a consistent set of dotfiles across multiple machines can greatly enhance productivity.

One of the most difficult things to get used to in the Linux world is installing new software packages. In the world of Windows, every program comes with a Setup.exe program that asks you some very easy questions and takes care of the job for you. While Linux software can be almost that easy to install, you will sometimes find software that seems to fight every step of the way. I can't cover all the problems you might run into, but I'll try to give you the basics and a few pointers to help get you over the rough spots.

Docker has been around for many years now, and the ecosystem around “containers” has matured over that time. Unfortunately for me, I have not had the opportunity to work with the technology professionally, as my employers over that period have continued to use Virtual Machines for deployments. Now that I’m getting more serious about my side projects, though, it’s time for me to get into this area of technology. This article covers my first impressions after about a week of reading up and playing around.

uv is a tool from Astral.sh that helps you manage Python tools and development projects. For all the details you can read the docs, but here’s a quick lesson in what it can do and how it can help Python developers in the daily grind of developing Python software. We’ll walk through managing a hypothetical Django project.

What is this "shell"?

The "shell" is another name for the command shell or command interpreter. This is the program that gives you a command prompt, accepts the commands you type there, and basically makes the computer do what you tell it to. In DOS the program that did this was command.com (unless you were a real technogeek and used 4dos or something). In Linux, the shell is the first program that starts when you log in, and it keeps running until you log out, waiting to do your bidding. Linux is able to use any of several different shells, but the default Linux shell is called bash and is the only one I will discuss.