Linux

Linux

Configuring Chrome’s Proxy Settings from the Linux Command Line
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Chrome supports proxy configuration via command-line flags, which is useful for scripting, automation, or testing without touching the GUI settings. This works across all major Linux distributions. Basic proxy configuration Use the –proxy-server flag when launching Chrome: google-chrome –proxy-server=”socks://localhost:8080″ Proxy scheme formats The proxy specification follows this format: [<proxy-scheme>://]<proxy-host>[:<proxy-port>] Supported schemes: http — HTTP proxy…

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Programming

Using Readline in the OCaml REPL
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

The default OCaml toplevel lacks basic readline features like history, line editing, and command completion. Here are the practical approaches to fix this. utop: Full-Featured Replacement The best option for daily interactive OCaml work is utop, a replacement toplevel that provides: Syntax highlighting with color output Command completion (for identifiers, keywords, library functions) Parenthesis and…

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Programming

Installing .deb Packages on Fedora with Alien
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Fedora uses RPM packages managed by DNF, but you’ll occasionally encounter software distributed only as .deb files (Debian format). You have several options: convert the .deb to RPM, extract and repackage it, or use containerization. Here’s what works in practice. Using alien to convert .deb to RPM The simplest approach is alien, a tool designed…

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Programming

Using Your iPhone as a Wireless Mouse
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Your iPhone’s touchscreen can serve as a remote input device for your Linux desktop or laptop. Here are the most practical approaches. WiFi Mouse Method The WiFi Mouse application lets you control your Linux system’s cursor and clicks from your iPhone over a local network. Setup: Install the iPhone app: Download WiFi Mouse from the…

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Programming

Building SQL Interfaces on NoSQL Databases
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

SQL layers abstract traditional relational query interfaces over distributed NoSQL and big data systems, enabling applications to leverage SQL’s familiarity while benefiting from horizontal scalability. Here are the key approaches and systems that have emerged in this space. Distributed SQL on Key-Value Stores Phoenix (Apache Phoenix) provides a SQL interface over HBase. It compiles SQL…

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Programming

Adding an Existing User to an Existing Group
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Use usermod to add a user to supplementary groups. The -a (append) flag is critical — without it, you’ll remove the user from all groups not explicitly listed. usermod -a -G group_name user_name To add a user to multiple groups at once: usermod -a -G group1,group2,group3 user_name Options explained -a, –append Append the user to…

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Programming

Static Linking C and C++ Programs
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Static linking embeds all library code directly into your executable, eliminating runtime dependencies on shared libraries. This approach trades disk space for portability and eliminates “library not found” errors at runtime. Basic Static Compilation To statically link a simple C program, use the -static flag: gcc -static -o myprogram myprogram.c For C++: g++ -static -o…

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Linux

Remotely Enable or Disable GNOME on Linux Hosts
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Controlling a GNOME desktop remotely—locking the display, activating the screensaver, or blanking the screen—requires you to interact with the running GNOME session. The approach depends on your GNOME version and what you’re trying to accomplish. Using systemd User Sessions and D-Bus Modern GNOME (3.30+) uses systemd user sessions and D-Bus for session management. The older…

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Programming

Switching Audio Tracks in MKV Files with MPlayer
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

MKV (Matroska) containers frequently contain multiple audio tracks. You can cycle through them during playback using keyboard shortcuts. Using mplayer Press # to cycle through available audio tracks while the video is playing. This works for MKV, AVI, MPEG, and other container formats that mplayer supports. mplayer video.mkv # Then press # during playback to…

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Programming

Flash Player Blocked: How to Handle Outdated Version Warnings
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

If you’re still seeing Chrome warnings about Flash Player being out of date on Linux, understand that Adobe discontinued Flash Player entirely in December 2020. Chrome removed all Flash support in version 88 (early 2021) and has no mechanism to run Flash content anymore. If you’re encountering this message in 2026, you’re likely: Using an…

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Programming

Setting Up SSH Tunneling as a Proxy on Windows
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

SSH tunneling is one of the most reliable ways to create a secure proxy on Windows. You can route traffic through a remote SSH server, encrypting your connection and bypassing local network restrictions. Prerequisites You’ll need: An SSH server with valid credentials An SSH client (Windows 10/11 includes OpenSSH, or use PuTTY, Git Bash, or…

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Programming

Vim’s Autocompletion: A Complete Guide
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Vim ships with built-in completion that many people don’t fully leverage. Before reaching for plugins, understand what’s already available: Ctrl+N / Ctrl+P: Basic keyword completion from open buffers and loaded files Ctrl+X Ctrl+F: Filename completion Ctrl+X Ctrl+]: Tag completion (requires ctags) Ctrl+X Ctrl+O: Omnicompletion (language-aware, when available) The omnicompletion (Ctrl+X Ctrl+O) is what resembles IDE…

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Programming

Managing Vim Plugins: A Practical Guide
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

The default Vim plugin directory structure under ~/.vim is inherently messy. Without a plugin manager, files from different plugins scatter across autoload/, plugin/, ftplugin/, colors/, and other directories, making it difficult to track which files belong to which plugin. Removing a plugin requires manually hunting down and deleting its files across multiple locations. Several plugin…

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Programming

Case-Insensitive Search in Vim: 3 Methods
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

By default, Vim searches case sensitively. You can match dog, Dog, DOG, and other case variations using one of three approaches. Using the ignorecase Option The simplest method is to enable the ignorecase setting: :set ignorecase Now /dog will match dog, Dog, DOg, and any other case variation. To disable it: :set noignorecase Add this…

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Programming

How to Apply sysctl.conf Changes Without Rebooting
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

When you modify /etc/sysctl.conf, the changes take effect on the next reboot. To apply them immediately without rebooting, use the sysctl -p command: sudo sysctl -p This reads the configuration file and applies all settings to the running kernel. Reloading Specific Configuration Files By default, sysctl -p reads from /etc/sysctl.conf. You can specify a different…

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Linux

Mapping Linux Disk Names to SATA Ports
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

When a disk fails on a server with multiple drives, you need to identify which physical SATA port it’s connected to. Linux device names (sda, sdb, etc.) don’t necessarily map to SATA port order, especially after disk failures or in systems with mixed storage. Using lsblk with Device Paths The lsblk command provides a quick…

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Programming

Installing and Configuring MySQL Cluster on CentOS 6.3
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

MySQL Cluster uses NDB (Network Database) storage engine to provide high availability and data redundancy across multiple nodes. This guide covers installation and configuration on modern RHEL-compatible systems. Prerequisites Three or more servers (minimum: one management node, two data nodes, one SQL node) Rocky Linux 9 or AlmaLinux 9 Root or sudo access Static IP…

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Programming

Setting a local branch’s upstream tracking branch
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Tracking branches link your local branch to a remote branch, enabling git pull and git push to work without specifying the remote and branch name each time. Here’s how to configure this. The basic command To set an upstream tracking branch for your current branch: git branch –set-upstream-to=origin/branch-name Or the shorter alias: git branch -u…

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Linux

Creating a Swap Partition on Linux
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Swap space is essential for system stability, allowing the kernel to move less-frequently-used memory pages to disk when physical RAM is exhausted. Here’s how to set up a dedicated swap partition. Step 1: Create the Partition Use fdisk, gdisk (for GPT disks), or parted to create a new partition. For modern systems with GPT partition…

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Linux

Setting Process Swap Priority in Linux
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

Linux can manage multiple swap partitions or files simultaneously, each with an assigned priority. The kernel allocates swap pages from highest to lowest priority, with round-robin allocation among equally-prioritized areas. Setting Swap Priority with swapon Use the swapon command to activate a swap partition and set its priority: swapon -p 10 /dev/sdc1 The -p flag…

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