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  1. The Logrotate utility simplifies the process of administering log files. It relocates and replaces log files to manage their size and organize them while maintaining the information present inside them. For example, it will maintain seven log files to keep daily records for seven days.
    While rotating the log files, Logrotate deletes irrelevant old logs, preventing them from consuming excessive disk space. It runs periodically in the background to keep your systems organized and clean. So, if you want to learn about Logrotate, this blog is for you. Here, we have included in-depth information about how to set Logrotate on Linux.
    How To Set Logrotate on Linux
    Although many Linux distributions have Logrotate as the pre-installed utility. However, if your system does not have Logrotate, please use the following command to install it:

    sudo apt install logrotate
    Now, let’s move to the configuration part. There are two kinds of logrotate configurations– global and system-specific. Open the ‘/etc/logrotate.conf’ file using a text editor. It is Logrotate’s primary configuration file, and any changes made to it will affect the whole system.

    sudo nano /etc/logrotate.conf
    This file has three key sections:
    To specify the rotation frequency, i.e., the time it should rotate the logs. It is set to weekly by default, but you can change it to daily, weekly, or monthly. To define the number of rotated files it should keep, adjust the value based on how much historical data you want to retain. For instance, ‘rotate 4’ guides it to keep the latest four rotated log files and delete the earlier ones to free up disk space. The third is to specify the permissions and ownership of the new log files it’ll create. You can tweak these settings according to what suits your system best. For instance, to maintain weekly records for one month(28 days), you must enter:

    weekly
    rotate 4
    create 0644 root root This way, it will rotate one file weekly and keep four such files. Further, it creates a new log file for currently occurring events while giving the root user and group the read-and-write permissions and read-only for others.
    If you have to monitor a specific application’s logs for underlying issues. In that case, you can tailor log rotation settings for that application by creating its separate logrotate configuration file. Let’s take an example of conda. First, create its file using:

    sudo nano /etc/logrotate.d/conda In this file, add configurations specific to the conda logs:

    /var/log/conda/*.log {
    weekly
    rotate 4
    compress
    delaycompress
    missingok
    notifempty
    create 0644 root root
    }
    Here, the compress command guides to compress the files so that resulting files take up less space. With the delaycompress command, you can hold the latest rotated file uncompressed to make it convenient for the users to refer to it.
    The missingok option tells logrotate to ignore the absence of a log file and continue its operations without any error. At last, with notifempty, logrotate won’t rotate any empty log file. The logrotate should run automatically as per the default settings. However, you must confirm it using:

    nano /etc/cron.daily/logrotate A Quick Wrap-up
    Knowing the configuration process of the logrotate utility is crucial for system administrators and is also essential for disk management in Linux devices. Hence, this blog explains the approaches used to set logrotate on Linux. You can modify configurations globally and simultaneously change them for specific applications. Moreover, system-specific configurations should be used responsibly because they always override global settings.
  2. Processes are the running instances of programs that consume system resources. Listing these processes helps you monitor system activity, and  troubleshoot issues. That’s why there are multiple tools and utilities in Linux that you can use to list the currently running process. However, many beginners don’t know the exact way to list the process without errors. So, in this short article, we will explain different methods to list the process in Linux. We have divided this section into multiple parts to give you the best commands to list the processes in Linux.
    The ps Command
    The ps, or “process status,” is the most common utility to list processes in the terminal:
    ps -e
    The -e option guides ps to show every process regardless of whether the user owns those processes. Furthermore, you can customize the ps command to produce additional details using the “aux” options:
    ps aux
    The top Command
    If you desire to view the real-time list of system processes, please use the top command. It continuously updates the process list according to new and completed processes, providing more accurate results:
    top
    The above command on execution shows the list of processes as per their CPU consumption. Moreover, You can not interact with the terminal until you press “q” to quit the top utility.
    The pstree Command
    The pstree is very different from the above two commands because it displays the hierarchical relationship of processes in a tree-like structure. It helps you visually understand how a process starts and its connection with other active processes.
    pstree
    The Glances Tool
    The Glances tool provides a brief overview of the currently running process. However, you have to install the tool by running the below command: 
    Operating System Command Debian/Ubuntu sudo apt install glances Fedora sudo dnf install glances Arch Linux sudo pacman -Sy glances openSUSE sudo zypper install glances After the successful installation, you can open the Glances by running the following command:
    glances
    A Quick Summary
    Knowing how to list processes can help free up the space and turn off the currently running process. This article covered four ways– the top, ps, pstree, and pgrep commands. You can choose to use any of them according to what suits you best. We recommend you use any commands carefully, or you may get errors.
  3. by: Guest Contributor
    Tue, 31 Oct 2023 00:55:00 GMT

    In the realm of database offerings, where data is the lifeblood of modern businesses, constructing resilient systems isn't just a best practice; it's a strategic imperative. Disaster recovery planning has become a cornerstone in ensuring the continuity of operations, safeguarding valuable data, and minimizing the impact of unexpected events. This article delves into the critical factors of disaster recovery planning in database services, highlighting the essential requirements and strategies to build resilient systems that can withstand the challenges of unexpected disruptions.
    Understanding the Need for Disaster Recovery Planning
    Unpredictable Nature of Disasters
    Disasters, whether natural or human-triggered, are inherently unpredictable. From earthquakes and floods to cyber attacks and hardware failures, a myriad of events can threaten the availability, integrity, and security of database systems.
    Business Continuity and Data Integrity
    Database services play a pivotal role in the daily operations of organizations. Ensuring business continuity and maintaining data integrity are paramount, as disruptions can cause financial losses, reputational damage, and operational setbacks.
    Key Principles of Disaster Recovery Planning
    Risk Assessment and Impact Analysis
    Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities. Additionally, perform an impact analysis to understand the effects of different disaster scenarios on database services. This foundational step guides the development of a focused and effective recovery plan.
    Define Recovery Objectives
    Clearly define recovery objectives, such as Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO). RTO outlines the acceptable downtime, while RPO determines the maximum acceptable data loss in the event of a disaster. These objectives serve as benchmarks for the effectiveness of the recovery plan.
    Data Backup and Redundancy
    Implement robust data backup and redundancy strategies. Regularly back up critical data and store copies in geographically diverse locations. This ensures that, in the event of a disaster, businesses can quickly restore operations using the most recent available data.
    While both terms are often used in the same conversations, this isn’t an either/or decision. Both backups and redundancy offer two distinct and equally valuable solutions to ensuring business continuity in the face of unplanned accidents, unexpected attacks, or system failures.
    Redundancy is designed to increase your operational time, boost workforce productivity, and reduce the amount of time a system is unavailable due to a failure. Backup, however, is designed to kick in when something goes wrong, allowing you to completely rebuild regardless of what caused the failure. Moreover, if you use ELT tools for regular updating of critical data across backup and redundancy systems, maintaining seamless data access and continuity will become much easier. This becomes especially important when you stream your data to databases or data warehouses through such ELT solutions as BigQuery connectors.
    In short, redundancy prevents failure while backups prevent loss. In a modern business environment that is inherently dependent on access to large volumes of data, it’s clear that operational redundancy and backups are both critical elements of an effective continuity strategy.
    Comprehensive Documentation
    Document all aspects of the disaster recovery plan comprehensively. This includes procedures for data backup, system restoration, communication protocols, and the roles and responsibilities of the recovery team. Well-documented plans facilitate a smooth and coordinated response during crises.
    Strategies for Building Resilient Systems
    Geographical Distribution and Cloud Services
    Leverage the geographical distribution capabilities of cloud services. Distributing data across multiple regions and utilizing cloud-based databases enhances redundancy and ensures data availability even if one region is impacted by a disaster.
    Redundant Infrastructure
    Implement redundant infrastructure at both the hardware and software levels. Redundant servers, storage systems, and network components can mitigate the impact of hardware failures. Additionally, consider using load balancing and failover mechanisms to distribute workloads and ensure continuous service availability.
    Regular Testing and Simulation
    Conduct regular testing and simulation exercises to validate the effectiveness of the disaster recovery plan. Simulating different disaster scenarios, such as data corruption, network failures, or system outages, helps organizations identify weaknesses and fine-tune their recovery strategies.
    Automated Monitoring and Alerts
    Implement automated monitoring tools that continuously track the health and performance of database services. Set up alerts for critical thresholds and potential issues, enabling proactive identification of anomalies and rapid response to emerging problems.
    Incident Response and Communication
    Incident Response Team
    Form an incident response team responsible for executing the disaster recovery plan. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of team members, ensuring that each member is well-trained and familiar with their specific duties during a disaster.
    Communication Protocols
    Establish clear communication protocols for disseminating information during a disaster. Define channels, responsibilities, and escalation procedures to ensure that stakeholders, including employees, customers, and relevant authorities, are informed promptly and accurately.
    Continuous Improvement and Adaptability
    Post-Incident Review and Analysis
    Conduct post-incident reviews and analysis after each simulation or actual disaster. This retrospective examination allows organizations to identify areas for improvement, refine recovery strategies, and enhance the overall resilience of database services.
    Adaptability to Evolving Threats
    Recognize that the threat landscape is dynamic, with new risks emerging over time. Disaster recovery plans need to be adaptable and evolve alongside technological advancements and changing security threats. Regularly update and refine the plan to address new challenges effectively.
    Scaling Disaster Recovery with Business Growth
    As businesses expand, data volume grows, and infrastructure becomes more complex. Old disaster recovery strategies and plans may now fall short. It becomes essential for businesses to evaluate and improve their disaster recovery plans to adapt to growing needs. This includes scaling resources and updating recovery objectives.
    Conclusion
    Building resilient systems through comprehensive disaster recovery planning is a crucial investment in the long-term success and viability of database services. By adhering to key principles, implementing strategic recovery strategies, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, organizations can make their databases more robust against unexpected events. As the digital landscape evolves, the ability to recover quickly and efficiently from disasters will become a hallmark of organizations that prioritize data integrity, business continuity, and trust within their stakeholders.
  4. by: Guest Contributor
    Tue, 31 Oct 2023 00:55:00 GMT

    In the realm of database offerings, where data is the lifeblood of modern businesses, constructing resilient systems isn't just a best practice; it's a strategic imperative. Disaster recovery planning has become a cornerstone in ensuring the continuity of operations, safeguarding valuable data, and minimizing the impact of unexpected events. This article delves into the critical factors of disaster recovery planning in database services, highlighting the essential requirements and strategies to build resilient systems that can withstand the challenges of unexpected disruptions.
    Understanding the Need for Disaster Recovery Planning
    Unpredictable Nature of Disasters
    Disasters, whether natural or human-triggered, are inherently unpredictable. From earthquakes and floods to cyber attacks and hardware failures, a myriad of events can threaten the availability, integrity, and security of database systems.
    Business Continuity and Data Integrity
    Database services play a pivotal role in the daily operations of organizations. Ensuring business continuity and maintaining data integrity are paramount, as disruptions can cause financial losses, reputational damage, and operational setbacks.
    Key Principles of Disaster Recovery Planning
    Risk Assessment and Impact Analysis
    Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities. Additionally, perform an impact analysis to understand the effects of different disaster scenarios on database services. This foundational step guides the development of a focused and effective recovery plan.
    Define Recovery Objectives
    Clearly define recovery objectives, such as Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO). RTO outlines the acceptable downtime, while RPO determines the maximum acceptable data loss in the event of a disaster. These objectives serve as benchmarks for the effectiveness of the recovery plan.
    Data Backup and Redundancy
    Implement robust data backup and redundancy strategies. Regularly back up critical data and store copies in geographically diverse locations. This ensures that, in the event of a disaster, businesses can quickly restore operations using the most recent available data.
    While both terms are often used in the same conversations, this isn’t an either/or decision. Both backups and redundancy offer two distinct and equally valuable solutions to ensuring business continuity in the face of unplanned accidents, unexpected attacks, or system failures.
    Redundancy is designed to increase your operational time, boost workforce productivity, and reduce the amount of time a system is unavailable due to a failure. Backup, however, is designed to kick in when something goes wrong, allowing you to completely rebuild regardless of what caused the failure. Moreover, if you use ELT tools for regular updating of critical data across backup and redundancy systems, maintaining seamless data access and continuity will become much easier.
    In short, redundancy prevents failure while backups prevent loss. In a modern business environment that is inherently dependent on access to large volumes of data, it’s clear that operational redundancy and backups are both critical elements of an effective continuity strategy.
    Comprehensive Documentation
    Document all aspects of the disaster recovery plan comprehensively. This includes procedures for data backup, system restoration, communication protocols, and the roles and responsibilities of the recovery team. Well-documented plans facilitate a smooth and coordinated response during crises.
    Strategies for Building Resilient Systems
    Geographical Distribution and Cloud Services
    Leverage the geographical distribution capabilities of cloud services. Distributing data across multiple regions and utilizing cloud-based databases enhances redundancy and ensures data availability even if one region is impacted by a disaster.
    Redundant Infrastructure
    Implement redundant infrastructure at both the hardware and software levels. Redundant servers, storage systems, and network components can mitigate the impact of hardware failures. Additionally, consider using load balancing and failover mechanisms to distribute workloads and ensure continuous service availability.
    Regular Testing and Simulation
    Conduct regular testing and simulation exercises to validate the effectiveness of the disaster recovery plan. Simulating different disaster scenarios, such as data corruption, network failures, or system outages, helps organizations identify weaknesses and fine-tune their recovery strategies.
    Automated Monitoring and Alerts
    Implement automated monitoring tools that continuously track the health and performance of database services. Set up alerts for critical thresholds and potential issues, enabling proactive identification of anomalies and rapid response to emerging problems.
    Incident Response and Communication
    Incident Response Team
    Form an incident response team responsible for executing the disaster recovery plan. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of team members, ensuring that each member is well-trained and familiar with their specific duties during a disaster.
    Communication Protocols
    Establish clear communication protocols for disseminating information during a disaster. Define channels, responsibilities, and escalation procedures to ensure that stakeholders, including employees, customers, and relevant authorities, are informed promptly and accurately.
    Continuous Improvement and Adaptability
    Post-Incident Review and Analysis
    Conduct post-incident reviews and analysis after each simulation or actual disaster. This retrospective examination allows organizations to identify areas for continuous improvement, refine recovery strategies, and enhance the overall resilience of database services.
    Adaptability to Evolving Threats
    Recognize that the threat landscape is dynamic, with new risks emerging over time. Disaster recovery plans need to be adaptable and evolve alongside technological advancements and changing security threats. Regularly update and refine the plan to address new challenges effectively.
    Conclusion
    Building resilient systems through comprehensive disaster recovery planning is a crucial investment in the long-term success and viability of database services. By adhering to key principles, implementing strategic recovery strategies, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, organizations can make their databases more robust against unexpected events. As the digital landscape evolves, the ability to recover quickly and efficiently from disasters will become a hallmark of organizations that prioritize data integrity, business continuity, and trust within their stakeholders.
  5. by: Scott Robinson
    Mon, 23 Oct 2023 14:12:00 GMT

    Deleting a file in Python is fairly easy to do. Let's discuss two methods to accomplish this task using different Python modules.
    Using the 'os' Module
    The os module in Python provides a method called os.remove() that can be used to delete a file. Here's a simple example:
    import os # specify the file name file_name = "test_file.txt" # delete the file os.remove(file_name) In the above example, we first import the os module. Then, we specify the name of the file to be deleted. Finally, we call os.remove() with the file name as the parameter to delete the file.
    Note: The os.remove() function can only delete files, not directories. If you try to delete a directory using this function, you'll get a IsADirectoryError.
    Using the 'shutil' Module
    The shutil module, short for "shell utilities", also provides a method to delete files - shutil.rmtree(). But why use shutil when os can do the job? Well, shutil can delete a whole directory tree (i.e., a directory and all its subdirectories). Let's see how to delete a file with shutil.
    import shutil # specify the file name file_name = "test_file.txt" # delete the file shutil.rmtree(file_name) The code looks pretty similar to the os example, right? That's one of the great parts of Python's design - consistency across modules. However, remember that shutil.rmtree() is more powerful and can remove non-empty directories as well, which we'll look at more closely in a later section.
    Deleting a Folder in Python
    Moving on to the topic of directory deletion, we can again use the os and shutil modules to accomplish this task. Here we'll explore both methods.
    Using the 'os' Module
    The os module in Python provides a method called os.rmdir() that allows us to delete an empty directory. Here's how you can use it:
    import os # specify the directory you want to delete folder_path = "/path/to/your/directory" # delete the directory os.rmdir(folder_path) The os.rmdir() method only deletes empty directories. If the directory is not empty, you'll encounter an OSError: [Errno 39] Directory not empty error.
    Using the 'shutil' Module
    In case you want to delete a directory that's not empty, you can use the shutil.rmtree() method from the shutil module.
    import shutil # specify the directory you want to delete folder_path = "/path/to/your/directory" # delete the directory shutil.rmtree(folder_path) The shutil.rmtree() method deletes a directory and all its contents, so use it cautiously!
    Wait! Always double-check the directory path before running the deletion code. You don't want to accidentally delete important files or directories!
    Common Errors
    When dealing with file and directory operations in Python, it's common to encounter a few specific errors. Understanding these errors is important to handling them gracefully and ensuring your code continues to run smoothly.
    PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied
    One common error you might encounter when trying to delete a file or folder is the PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied. This error occurs when you attempt to delete a file or folder that your Python script doesn't have the necessary permissions for.
    Here's an example of what this might look like:
    import os try: os.remove("/root/test.txt") except PermissionError: print("Permission denied") In this example, we're trying to delete a file in the root directory, which generally requires administrative privileges. When run, this code will output Permission denied.
    To avoid this error, ensure your script has the necessary permissions to perform the operation. This might involve running your script as an administrator, or modifying the permissions of the file or folder you're trying to delete.
    FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
    Another common error is the FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory. This error is thrown when you attempt to delete a file or folder that doesn't exist.
    Here's how this might look:
    import os try: os.remove("nonexistent_file.txt") except FileNotFoundError: print("File not found") In this example, we're trying to delete a file that doesn't exist, so Python throws a FileNotFoundError.
    To avoid this, you can check if the file or folder exists before trying to delete it, like so:
    import os if os.path.exists("test.txt"): os.remove("test.txt") else: print("File not found") OSError: [Errno 39] Directory not empty
    The OSError: [Errno 39] Directory not empty error occurs when you try to delete a directory that's not empty using os.rmdir().
    For instance:
    import os try: os.rmdir("my_directory") except OSError: print("Directory not empty") This error can be avoided by ensuring the directory is empty before trying to delete it, or by using shutil.rmtree(), which can delete a directory and all its contents:
    import shutil shutil.rmtree("my_directory") Similar Solutions and Use-Cases
    Python's file and directory deletion capabilities can be applied in a variety of use-cases beyond simply deleting individual files or folders.
    Deleting Files with Specific Extensions
    Imagine you have a directory full of files, and you need to delete only those with a specific file extension, say .txt. Python, with its versatile libraries, can help you do this with ease. The os and glob modules are your friends here.
    import os import glob # Specify the file extension extension = "*.txt" # Specify the directory directory = "/path/to/directory/" # Combine the directory with the extension files = os.path.join(directory, extension) # Loop over the files and delete them for file in glob.glob(files): os.remove(file) This script will delete all .txt files in the specified directory. The glob module is used to retrieve files/pathnames matching a specified pattern. Here, the pattern is all files ending with .txt.
    Deleting Empty Directories
    Have you ever found yourself with a bunch of empty directories that you want to get rid of? Python's os module can help you here as well.
    import os # Specify the directory directory = "/path/to/directory/" # Use listdir() to check if directory is empty if not os.listdir(directory): os.rmdir(directory) The os.listdir(directory) function returns a list containing the names of the entries in the directory given by path. If the list is empty, it means the directory is empty, and we can safely delete it using os.rmdir(directory).
    Note: os.rmdir(directory) can only delete empty directories. If the directory is not empty, you'll get an OSError: [Errno 39] Directory not empty error.

  6. 398: DevOops

    · Blogger · 01/26/23 01:30 AM

    by: Chris Coyier
    Thu, 26 Jan 2023 01:30:59 +0000

    Stephen and I hop on the podcast to chat about some of our recent tooling, local development, and DevOps work. A little while back, we cleaned up our entire monorepo’s circular dependency problems using Madge and elbow grease. That kind of thing usually isn’t the biggest of deals and the kind of thing a super mature bundler like webpack deals with, but other bundlers might choke on. Later, we learned that we had more dependency issues like inter-package circular dependencies (nothing like production deployments to keep you honest) and used more tooling (shout out npx depcheck) to clean more of it up. Workspaces in a monorepo can also paper over missing dependencies — blech.
    Another change was moving off using a .dev domain for local development, which oddly actually caused some strange and hard-to-diagnose DNS issues sometimes. We’re on .test now, which should never be a public TLD.
    Time Jumps
    00:26 Dev ops spring cleaning 01:25 Local dev with .dev, wait, no, .test 06:58 Sponsor: Notion 07:54 Circular dependency 11:41 Monorepo update 13:35 Interpackage and unused packages 16:25 TypeScript 17:54 Upgrading packages 20:35 Hierarchy of packages Sponsor: Notion
    Notion is an amazing collaborative tool that not only helps organize your company’s information but helps with project management as well. We know that all too well here at CodePen, as we use Notion for countless business tasks. Learn more and get started for free at notion.com. Take your first step toward an organized, happier team, today.
  7. by: Abhishek Prakash
    Thu, 19 Jun 2025 05:21:30 GMT

    You probably have noticed a lack of new articles this week. And there is a 'good' reason for that. I have been busy with the arrival of my second child 🚼
    That is also the reason why there was a slight delay in lifetime membership activation. But it's done for all the 43 new members so far (of the set goal of 75 new lifetime members).
    Things are getting back on the track as the mother and baby duo have been discharged from the hospital. You should start seeing more tutorials, I promise 😸
    The 13th anniversary offer is still going on. You get the lifetime membership option with reduced pricing of $76 instead of the usual $99 along with a Linux command line eBook. If you ever wanted to support us with Plus membership but didn't like the recurring subscription, this is the best time for that 😃
    Get It's FOSS Lifetime Membership 💬 Let's see what else you get in this edition
    A new Kali Linux release. ONLYOFFICE 9 with more modern features. Nitrux Linux offers Hyprland by default. Linux Foundation launching a package manager. And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes! 📰 Linux and Open Source News
    Kali Linux 2025.2 release is packed with many visual buffs. A cheaper variant of the Linux-powered Liberux NEXX is here. The Linux Foundation has launched FAIR Package Manager for WordPress. Apple has introduced an open source tool for running Linux containers on macOS. ONLYOFFICE 9.0 release brings modern new features to the open source office suite.
    With Version 9.0 Release, ONLYOFFICE Becomes an Even Better Choice for Linux UsersThere are some cool new features in this From AI powered OCR to form editor to more file compatibility, ONLYOFFICE is getting better with each release.It's FOSS NewsSourav RudraNitrux has moved to Hyprland, ditching NX Desktop and KDE Plasma in the process.
    Nitrux Gets Rid of Plasma & NX Desktop for HyprlandFew Linux distributions can pull this off.It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra🧠 What We’re Thinking About
    Denmark has set out to replace Microsoft Office with LibreOffice in its Ministry of Digital Affairs.
    Excellent! Denmark Set to Replace Microsoft Office with Open Source AlternativeDenmark’s Digital Ministry is replacing Microsoft services with LibreOffice and Linux.It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials and More
    You can master Joplin with these handy tips. Here are 9 major annoyances with Linux that aren't an issue anymore. Here's a fix for the continuous buzzing noise from your desk speakers on Linux. Using Tiling Assistant on GNOME is an easy way to speed up your workflow.
    How to Use Tiling Assistant on GNOME DesktopWondering how to use tiling windows on GNOME? Try the tiling assistant. Here’s how it works.It's FOSSSagar Sharma Desktop Linux is mostly neglected by the industry but loved by the community. For the past 13 years, It's FOSS has been helping people use Linux on their personal computers. And we are now facing the existential threat from AI models stealing our content.
    If you like what we do and would love to support our work, please become It's FOSS Plus member. It costs $24 a year (less than the cost of a burger meal each month) and you get an ad-free reading experience with the satisfaction of helping the desktop Linux community.
    Join It's FOSS Plus 👷 Homelab and Maker's Corner
    The SAKURA-II looks like a nice addition for the Raspberry Pi AI enthusiasts in the house.
    SAKURA-II Brings Energy-Efficient Edge AI to Raspberry Pi 5The SAKURA-II is an interesting bit of kit for the Raspberry Pi 5.It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra✨ Project Highlight
    If you ever wanted to relive classic games, then RetroArch is the way to go.
    RetroArch is The Best Way to Play Classic Games on LinuxA powerful frontend for emulators, that offers a clean interface and wide platform support.It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra📽️ Videos I am Creating for You
    Use terminal like a pro with these terminal shortcuts.
    Subscribe to It's FOSS YouTube Channel🧩 Quiz Time
    Do you know other shells beyond Bash? Prove it.
    Guess the Shell CrosswordThere is a shell, there is a way.It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash💡 Quick Handy Tip
    If you are using Vivaldi, you can rename tabs by simply double-clicking on the tab title and entering a name. Before doing that, ensure that double-click tab rename is enabled in the settings.
    Open Settings and go to the Tabs section. Here, check whether the double-click action is set to "Rename tab".
    This is useful when the tab names are taking up too much space, this way, you can give a nickname to easily identify the tab.
    🤣 Meme of the Week
    It's still going strong thanks to Linux! 💪
    🗓️ Tech Trivia
    On June 14, 1822, Charles Babbage presented a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society proposing a design for a machine he called the Difference Engine, the first significant example of a mechanical computing device.
    🧑‍🤝‍🧑 FOSSverse Corner
    There is a long-running discussion surrounding the bias against Ubuntu. Do you have insights to add?
    Why do people have such an unreasonable bias against Ubuntu?I saw this post on Reddit this morning and thought I’d share. I’ve posted something similar myself. Why do people hate Ubuntu so much? : r/linux When I switched to Linux 4 years ago, I used Pop OS as my first distro. Then switched to Fedora and used it for a long time until recently I switched again. This time I finally experienced Ubuntu. I know it’s usually the first distro of most of the users, but I avoided it because I heard people badmouth it a lot for some reason and I blindly believe…It's FOSS Communitypdecker❤️ With love
    Please share it with your Linux-using friends and encourage them to subscribe (hint: it's here).
    Share the articles in Linux Subreddits and community forums.
    Follow us on Google News and stay updated in your News feed.
    Opt for It's FOSS Plus membership and support us 🙏
    Enjoy FOSS 😄
  8. by: LHB Community
    Mon, 12 May 2025 10:43:21 +0530

    Automating tasks is great, but what's even better is knowing when they're done or if they've gotten derailed.
    Slack is a popular messaging tool used by many techies. And it supports bots that you can configure to get automatic alerts about things you care about.
    Web server is down? Get an alert. Shell script completes running? Get an alert.
    Yes, that could be done too. By adding Slack notifications to your shell scripts, you can share script outcomes with your team effortlessly and respond quickly to issues and stay in the loop without manual checks. It lets you monitor automated tasks without constantly checking logs. 
    🚧I am assuming you already use Slack and you have a fair idea about what a Slack Bot is. Of course, you should have at least basic knowledge of Bash scripting.The Secret Sauce: curl and Webhooks
    The magic behind delivering Slack notifications from shell scripts is Slack's Incoming Webhooks and the curl command line tool.
    Basically, everything is already there for you to use, it just needs some setup for connections. I found it pretty easy, and I'm sure you will too.
    Here are the details for what webhooks and the command line tool is for:  
    Incoming Webhooks: Slack allows you to create unique Webhook URLs for your workspace that serve as endpoints for sending HTTP POST requests containing messages.   curl: This powerful command-line tool is great for making HTTP requests. We'll use it to send message-containing JSON payloads to Slack webhook URLs. Enabling webhooks on Slack side
    Create a Slack account (if you don't have it already) and (optionally) create a Slack workspace for testing. Go to api.slack.com/apps and create a new app. Open the application and, under the “Features” section, click on “Incoming Webhooks” and “Activate Incoming Webhooks”. Under the same section, scroll to the bottom. You’ll find a button “Add New Webhook to Workspace”. Click on it and add the channel. Test the sample CURL request.  Important: The CURL command you see above also has the webhook URL. Notice that https://hooks.slack.com/services/xxxxxxxxxxxxx things? Note it down.
    Sending Slack notifications from shell scripts
    Set SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL environment variable in your .bashrc file as shown below.
    Use the webhook URL you got from Slack in the previous stepCreate a new file, notify_slack.sh, under your preferred directory location.
    # Usage: notify_slack "text message" # Requires: SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL environment variable to be set notify_slack() {     local text="$1"     curl -s -X POST -H 'Content-type: application/json' \         --data "{\"text\": \"$text\"}" \         "$SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL" }Now, you can simply source this bash script wherever you need to notify Slack. I created a simple script to check disk usage and CPU load.
    source ~/Documents/notify_slack.sh  disk_usage=$(df -h / | awk 'NR==2 {print $5}') # Get CPU load average cpu_load=$(uptime | awk -F'load average:' '{ print $2 }' | cut -d',' -f1 | xargs) hostname=$(hostname) message="*System Status Report - $hostname*\n* Disk Usage (/): $disk_usage\n* CPU Load (1 min): $cpu_load" # Send the notification notify_slack "$message"Running this script will post a new message on the Slack channel associated with the webhook.
    Best Practices 
    It is crucial to think about security and limitations when you are integrating things, no matter how insignificant you think it is. So, to avoid common pitfalls, I recommend you to follow these two tips:
    Avoid direct hardware encoding in publicly shared scripts. Consider using environment variables or configuration files. Be aware of Slack's rate limitation for incoming webhooks, especially if your scripts may trigger notifications frequently. You may want to send notifications only in certain circumstances (for example, only on failure or only for critical scripts). Conclusion
    What I shared here was just a simple example. You can utilize cron in the mix and periodically send notifications about server stats to Slack. You put in some logic to get notified when disk usage reaches a certain stage.
    There can be many more use cases and it is really up to you how you go about using it. With the power of Incoming Webhooks and curl, you can easily deliver valuable information directly to your team's communication center. Happy scripting!
    Bhuwan Mishra is a Fullstack developer, with Python and Go as his tools of choice. He takes pride in building and securing web applications, APIs, and CI/CD pipelines, as well as tuning servers for optimal performance. He also has a passion for working with Kubernetes.
  9. by: Abhishek Prakash
    Thu, 17 Apr 2025 06:27:20 GMT

    It's the release week. Fedora 42 is already out. Ubuntu 25.04 will be releasing later today along with its flavors like Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu etc.
    In the midst of these two heavyweights, MX Linux and Manjaro also quickly released newer versions. For Manjaro, it is more of an ISO refresh, as it is a rolling release distribution.
    Overall, a happening week for Linux lovers 🕺
    💬 Let's see what else you get in this edition
    Arco Linux bids farewell. Systemd working on its own Linux distro. Looking at the origin of UNIX. And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes! This edition of FOSS Weekly is supported by Aiven. ❇️ Aiven for ClickHouse® - The Fastest Open Source Analytics Database, Fully Managed
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    Managed ClickHouse database | AivenAiven for ClickHouse® – fully managed, maintenance-free data warehouse ✓ All-in-one open source cloud data platform ✓ Try it for freeAiven📰 Linux and Open Source News
    The Arch-based ArcoLinux has been discontinued. Fedora 42 has been released with some rather interesting changes. Manjaro 25.0 'Zetar' is here, offering a fresh image for new installations. ParticleOS is Systemd's attempt at a Linux distribution.
    ParticleOS: Systemd’s Very Own Linux Distro in MakingA Linux distro from systemd? Sounds interesting, right?It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra🧠 What We’re Thinking About
    Linus Torvalds was told that Git is more popular than Linux.
    Git is More Popular than Linux: TorvaldsLinus Torvalds reflects on 20 years of Git.It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials and More
    11 vibe coding tools to 10x your dev workflow. Adding comments in bash scripts. Understand the difference between Pipewire and Pulseaudio. Make your Logseq notes more readable by formatting them. That's a new series focusing on Logseq. From UNIX to today’s tech. Learn how it shaped the digital world. Desktop Linux is mostly neglected by the industry but loved by the community. For the past 12 years, It's FOSS has been helping people use Linux on their personal computers. And we are now facing the existential threat from AI models stealing our content.
    If you like what we do and would love to support our work, please become It's FOSS Plus member. It costs $24 a year (less than the cost of a burger meal each month) and you get an ad-free reading experience with the satisfaction of helping the desktop Linux community.
    Join It's FOSS Plus 👷 Homelab and Maker's Corner
    These 28 cool Raspberry Pi Zero W projects will keep you busy.
    28 Super Cool Raspberry Pi Zero W Project IdeasWondering what to do with your Raspberry Pi Zero W? Here are a bunch of project ideas you can spend some time on and satisfy your DIY craving.It's FOSSChinmay✨ Apps Highlight
    You can download YouTube videos using Seal on Android.
    Seal: A Nifty Open Source Android App to Download YouTube Video and AudioDownload YouTube video/music (for educational purpose or with consent) with this little, handy Android app.It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra📽️ Videos I am Creating for You
    See the new features of Ubuntu 25.04 in action in this video.
    Subscribe to It's FOSS YouTube Channel🧩 Quiz Time
    Our Guess the Desktop Environment Crossword will test your knowledge.
    Guess the Desktop Environment: CrosswordTest your desktop Linux knowledge with this simple crossword puzzle. Can you solve it all correctly?It's FOSSAbhishek PrakashAlternatively, guess all of these open source privacy tools correctly?
    Know The Best Open-Source Privacy ToolsDo you utilize open-source tools for privacy?It's FOSSAnkush Das💡 Quick Handy Tip
    You can make Thunar open a new tab instead of a new window. This is good in situations when opening a folder from other apps, like a web browser. This reduces screen clutter.
    First, click on Edit ⇾ Preferences. Here, go to the Behavior tab. Now, under "Tabs and Windows", enable the first checkbox as shown above or all three if you need the functionality of the other two.
    🤣 Meme of the Week
    We are generally a peaceful bunch, for the most part. 🫣
    🗓️ Tech Trivia
    On April 16, 1959, John McCarthy publicly introduced LISP, a programming language for AI that emphasized symbolic computation. This language remains influential in AI research today.
    🧑‍🤝‍🧑 FOSSverse Corner
    FOSSers are discussing VoIP, do you have any insights to add here?
    A discussion over Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)I live in a holiday village where we have several different committees and meetings, for those not present to attend the meetings we do video conférences using voip. A few years back the prefered system was skype, we changed to whatsapp last year as we tend to use its messaging facilities and its free. We have a company who manages our accounts, they prefer using teams, paid for version as they can invoice us for its use … typical accountant. My question, does it make any difference in band w…It's FOSS Communitycallpaul.eu (Paul)❤️ With love
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    Enjoy FOSS 😄
  10. by: Juan Diego Rodríguez
    Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:15:28 +0000

    We’ve been able to get the length of the viewport in CSS since… checks notes… 2013! Surprisingly, that was more than a decade ago. Getting the viewport width is as easy these days as easy as writing 100vw, but what does that translate to, say, in pixels? What about the other properties, like those that take a percentage, an angle, or an integer?
    Think about changing an element’s opacity, rotating it, or setting an animation progress based on the screen size. We would first need the viewport as an integer — which isn’t currently possible in CSS, right?
    What I am about to say isn’t a groundbreaking discovery, it was first described amazingly by Jane Ori in 2023. In short, we can use a weird hack (or feature) involving the tan() and atan2() trigonometric functions to typecast a length (such as the viewport) to an integer. This opens many new layout possibilities, but my first experience was while writing an Almanac entry in which I just wanted to make an image’s opacity responsive.
    Resize the CodePen and the image will get more transparent as the screen size gets smaller, of course with some boundaries, so it doesn’t become invisible:
    CodePen Embed Fallback This is the simplest we can do, but there is a lot more. Take, for example, this demo I did trying to combine many viewport-related effects. Resize the demo and the page feels alive: objects move, the background changes and the text smoothly wraps in place.
    CodePen Embed Fallback I think it’s really cool, but I am no designer, so that’s the best my brain could come up with. Still, it may be too much for an introduction to this typecasting hack, so as a middle-ground, I’ll focus only on the title transition to showcase how all of it works:
    CodePen Embed Fallback Setting things up
    The idea behind this is to convert 100vw to radians (a way to write angles) using atan2(), and then back to its original value using tan(), with the perk of coming out as an integer. It should be achieved like this:
    :root { --int-width: tan(atan2(100vw, 1px)); } But! Browsers aren’t too keep on this method, so a lot more wrapping is needed to make it work across all browsers. The following may seem like magic (or nonsense), so I recommend reading Jane’s post to better understand it, but this way it will work in all browsers:
    @property --100vw { syntax: "<length>"; initial-value: 0px; inherits: false; } :root { --100vw: 100vw; --int-width: calc(10000 * tan(atan2(var(--100vw), 10000px))); } Don’t worry too much about it. What’s important is our precious --int-width variable, which holds the viewport size as an integer!
    CodePen Embed Fallback Wideness: One number to rule them all
    Right now we have the viewport as an integer, but that’s just the first step. That integer isn’t super useful by itself. We oughta convert it to something else next since:
    different properties have different units, and we want each property to go from a start value to an end value. Think about an image’s opacity going from 0 to 1, an object rotating from 0deg to 360deg, or an element’s offset-distance going from 0% to 100%. We want to interpolate between these values as --int-width gets bigger, but right now it’s just an integer that usually ranges between 0 to 1600, which is inflexible and can’t be easily converted to any of the end values.
    The best solution is to turn --int-width into a number that goes from 0 to 1. So, as the screen gets bigger, we can multiply it by the desired end value. Lacking a better name, I call this “0-to-1” value --wideness. If we have --wideness, all the last examples become possible:
    /* If `--wideness is 0.5 */ .element { opacity: var(--wideness); /* is 0.5 */ translate: rotate(calc(wideness(400px, 1200px) * 360deg)); /* is 180deg */ offset-distance: calc(var(--wideness) * 100%); /* is 50% */ } So --wideness is a value between 0 to 1 that represents how wide the screen is: 0 represents when the screen is narrow, and 1 represents when it’s wide. But we still have to set what those values mean in the viewport. For example, we may want 0 to be 400px and 1 to be 1200px, our viewport transitions will run between these values. Anything below and above is clamped to 0 and 1, respectively.
    In CSS, we can write that as follows:
    :root { /* Both bounds are unitless */ --lower-bound: 400; --upper-bound: 1200; --wideness: calc( (clamp(var(--lower-bound), var(--int-width), var(--upper-bound)) - var(--lower-bound)) / (var(--upper-bound) - var(--lower-bound)) ); } Besides easy conversions, the --wideness variable lets us define the lower and upper limits in which the transition should run. And what’s even better, we can set the transition zone at a middle spot so that the user can see it in its full glory. Otherwise, the screen would need to be 0px so that --wideness reaches 0 and who knows how wide to reach 1.
    CodePen Embed Fallback We got the --wideness. What’s next?
    For starters, the title’s markup is divided into spans since there is no CSS-way to select specific words in a sentence:
    <h1><span>Resize</span> and <span>enjoy!</span></h1> And since we will be doing the line wrapping ourselves, it’s important to unset some defaults:
    h1 { position: absolute; /* Keeps the text at the center */ white-space: nowrap; /* Disables line wrapping */ } The transition should work without the base styling, but it’s just too plain-looking. They are below if you want to copy them onto your stylesheet:
    CodePen Embed Fallback And just as a recap, our current hack looks like this:
    @property --100vw { syntax: "<length>"; initial-value: 0px; inherits: false; } :root { --100vw: 100vw; --int-width: calc(10000 * tan(atan2(var(--100vw), 10000px))); --lower-bound: 400; --upper-bound: 1200; --wideness: calc( (clamp(var(--lower-bound), var(--int-width), var(--upper-bound)) - var(--lower-bound)) / (var(--upper-bound) - var(--lower-bound)) ); } OK, enough with the set-up. It’s time to use our new values and make the viewport transition. We first gotta identify how the title should be rearranged for smaller screens: as you saw in the initial demo, the first span goes up and right, while the second span does the opposite and goes down and left. So, the end position for both spans translates to the following values:
    h1 { span:nth-child(1) { display: inline-block; /* So transformations work */ position: relative; bottom: 1.2lh; left: 50%; transform: translate(-50%); } span:nth-child(2) { display: inline-block; /* So transformations work */ position: relative; bottom: -1.2lh; left: -50%; transform: translate(50%); } } Before going forward, both formulas are basically the same, but with different signs. We can rewrite them at once bringing one new variable: --direction. It will be either 1 or -1 and define which direction to run the transition:
    h1 { span { display: inline-block; position: relative; bottom: calc(1.2lh * var(--direction)); left: calc(50% * var(--direction)); transform: translate(calc(-50% * var(--direction))); } span:nth-child(1) { --direction: 1; } span:nth-child(2) { --direction: -1; } } CodePen Embed Fallback The next step would be bringing --wideness into the formula so that the values change as the screen resizes. However, we can’t just multiply everything by --wideness. Why? Let’s see what happens if we do:
    span { display: inline-block; position: relative; bottom: calc(var(--wideness) * 1.2lh * var(--direction)); left: calc(var(--wideness) * 50% * var(--direction)); transform: translate(calc(var(--wideness) * -50% * var(--direction))); } As you’ll see, everything is backwards! The words wrap when the screen is too wide, and unwrap when the screen is too narrow:
    CodePen Embed Fallback Unlike our first examples, in which the transition ends as --wideness increases from 0 to 1, we want to complete the transition as --wideness decreases from 1 to 0, i.e. while the screen gets smaller the properties need to reach their end value. This isn’t a big deal, as we can rewrite our formula as a subtraction, in which the subtracting number gets bigger as --wideness increases:
    span { display: inline-block; position: relative; bottom: calc((1.2lh - var(--wideness) * 1.2lh) * var(--direction)); left: calc((50% - var(--wideness) * 50%) * var(--direction)); transform: translate(calc((-50% - var(--wideness) * -50%) * var(--direction))); } And now everything moves in the right direction while resizing the screen!
    CodePen Embed Fallback However, you will notice how words move in a straight line and some words overlap while resizing. We can’t allow this since a user with a specific screen size may get stuck at that point in the transition. Viewport transitions are cool, but not at the expense of ruining the experience for certain screen sizes.
    Instead of moving in a straight line, words should move in a curve such that they pass around the central word. Don’t worry, making a curve here is easier than it looks: just move the spans twice as fast in the x-axis as they do in the y-axis. This can be achieved by multiplying --wideness by 2, although we have to cap it at 1 so it doesn’t overshoot past the final value.
    span { display: inline-block; position: relative; bottom: calc((1.2lh - var(--wideness) * 1.2lh) * var(--direction)); left: calc((50% - min(var(--wideness) * 2, 1) * 50%) * var(--direction)); transform: translate(calc((-50% - min(var(--wideness) * 2, 1) * -50%) * var(--direction))); } Look at that beautiful curve, just avoiding the central text:
    CodePen Embed Fallback This is just the beginning!
    It’s surprising how powerful having the viewport as an integer can be, and what’s even crazier, the last example is one of the most basic transitions you could make with this typecasting hack. Once you do the initial setup, I can imagine a lot more possible transitions, and --widenesss is so useful, it’s like having a new CSS feature right now.
    I expect to see more about “Viewport Transitions” in the future because they do make websites feel more “alive” than adaptive.
    Typecasting and Viewport Transitions in CSS With tan(atan2()) originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.

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