I understand that if you program a lot and you want to customize the OS then the text interface is much more useful, and can combine a bunch of commands into a script, etc. (though I didn't realize having a GUI was such a problem for servers, and not everyone is running a server so that can be a moot point), but I just meant for simple and common things, such as installing/upgrading software, compressing/extracting files, etc. it would make sense to have a simple graphical way to do it. I mean, isn't that why we have icons so that we can double-click to open folders and files? Otherwise why have a GUI at all?



Yes, Java programs are JAR files, not EXE (or whatever the Linux equivalent is for machine language files), but I found a page:

https://itsfoss.com/run-jar-file-ubuntu-linux/

It's for Ubuntu but should also apply to Mint, which I'm using. It says that if you open by double-clicking, you get that error (which I did), but then if you change the properties the error should go away. That's what didn't work for me.

In any case, I'll really need to get it to run by double-clicking, because I'm putting it on a portable drive and distributing copies to people who don't necessarily know anything about programming or text interfaces at all, and they'll expect to just double-click to run the JAR.

Your execute bit probably doesn't stick because the file is on a filesystem that doesn't support execute permission, and the filesystem is mounted with a umask (or fmask/dmask) that forbids execute.

Say WHAT?! How do I fix that, and why would the file system not support executing files? How am I supposed to run programs then, and for that matter, how is it that other programs (like the ones preinstalled with the OS) run fine? It's just a HD partition, formatted as ext4 with Linux Mint 20 installed on it. What could be wrong with that?

If your jars are truly on ext4 then my guess might have been wrong, but I'd still check what mount says about the partition. umask, mode, any other option like that? Ext4 certainly does support normal unix permissions. I was assuming you were dropping these jars on FAT32 or NTFS or something.

Oh, duh, I'm such an idiot. I forgot that the files actually are on a USB drive which is default formatted for Windows (I'm sure it's either FAT32 or NTFS but I'm not sure which one). I was thinking of the Linux drive itself. Sorry about that. Anyway, does Linux not allow me to set file permissions for those? I guess that would explain the problem! I guess I thought that since I can see and read and even write to the files themselves, it would allow me to set permissions too.

EDIT: I looked it up and that seems to be the case, that both FAT and NTFS don't support file permissions (at least not the way Linux does them), which I guess explains why Linux has its own file system. But if I were to copy the files onto the ext4 Linux drive then it should allow me to change the permissions, right?

I'm sorry for so many questions, but I like to have as much clarification as I can before I test anything, because each time I have to restart the computer to boot into Linux, because I only have internet access in Windows.

It can't set permissions when the filesystem does not support those permissions bits at all. When was the last time you saw an execute bit when looking at a file's properties on FAT32 from Windows? It doesn't exits so it can't be set, just like you can't set a filename longer than the maximum length supported by the filesystem.

However, there are mount options that you can use to change the default permissions you get when the filesystem itself isn't capable of specifying the permissions. That's what mode/umask/fmask/dmask mount options are for. I don't know what ass Mint pulls its defaults from, on every Linux system I've ever used I've always gotten all files executable on FAT32 by default. Yep.

Why should I do the following:
* Open a GUI window (which can be slow)
* Find the file or package I am looking for
* Double click using the mouse

when I could just type in the command and file/package name instead?

(Also, using a trackpad on a laptop is rather awkward, so I prefer to avoid having to use it as much as possible and just use the keyboard instead; it's much easier to just type in the command at that point.)

What's the output of the "mount" command in the live system?

You can make the boot options permanent, but there's really no need to & I wouldn't recommend it as the "compatibility mode" is noticeably slower and more limited even just at the desktop - just keep the proprietary Nvidia drivers installed for Nvidia systems (updating them when necessary) and let it use the default open source drivers for Intel and AMD GPUs.

There's no need to install tons of drivers separately; most drivers are already provided with the kernel so you don't need to bother with installing them separately - just keep the system updated and you're set.

*sigh* ... something that really annoys me about some parts of the Linux community is when you get people who consider their choice of distro to be "the one true distro", their way of doing things the only "right" way, and spread FUD about others like Darvond did there. It's *really* counterproductive and serves only to confuse and drive away newcomers. The truth is every distro has its advantages and its flaws and everyone has their own requirements and preferences.

About the specific utilities you mentioned:

* Synaptic Package Manager: GUI tool for the package management system. In my experience it works fine, although you should rarely ever need to touch it.
* Software Manager: This is used for installing software from the system repositories, it's like an "app store" of sorts.
* Update Manager: Exactly what it says it is; if there are updates available for your system they are installed from here (an icon for this is shown in the system tray).
* Software Sources: Used for adding/removing/managing the repositories that provide software packages.

None of them are anywhere near as bad as Darvond claims (they're pretty user-friendly actually; Synaptic could use some improvements but it's mostly fine), and they are all detailed in my guide.

For archives like .zip/.rar/etc use the Archive Manager - this should be used to open them automatically if you double click them. You can also right-click on files and select "Open With" in the popup menu.

Are you saving them to a drive using a FAT or NTFS partition? If so, then that would be why - those filesystems are designed for Windows and don't have any way to store the permissions flags for Linux. The only way around this is to either use a drive formatted with a more Linux-friendly filesystem or you can work around this by running them from the terminal using a command like "java <file>".

802.11ac is the supported protocol specification(s) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

2357:012d is the vendor & device ID. Looking that up, it appears to be a TP-Link Archer T3U and uses a Realtek chip... which is bad news because Realtek's Linux support is quite bad in my experience - I usually had to compile drivers for those from third party sources rather than simply update the kernel or use the driver manager to install them as for other vendors.

Also the product page for this particular adapter only mentions Windows and Mac as supported operating systems: https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/adapter/archer-t3u/

Regarding wireless adapter, first result from a DuckDuckGo search:

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1134101/tp-link-archer-t3u-not-working-in-ubuntu-18-04

Question: Why are you using the live USB? Didn't you install Linux Mint on your hard disk? Or did you install it on USB?

I am asking this because it seems like you are having too much trouble with something that should be very simple. All my Java programs (including the ones I wrote myself) are on my NTFS partitions so I can access them from both Linux and Win10. And I do not have any problem running them or setting up the executable option.

About your device problem, those are my notes on linux commands that show hardware or network...

------------ START OF NOTES ---------------

lspci -nn: Shows hardware. (PCI buses)
inxi -Fxz: Shows hardware.
lsblk -f: Shows disk partitions.

ifconfig -a: Basic ipconfig command
lshw -C network: Shows network devices.
nmcli dev status: Shows network devices.
nmcli dev show wlp3s0: Shows IP, gateway etc.

sudo iwlist scan : Checks for nearby networks showing their ESSID and Channel.
---------- END OF NOTES --------------

If it is not obvious, the command comes before the ":" . What's written after the colon is my note to myself :)

This whole thread is a good example why people are put off by Linux.

You get a noobie who wants to try it out, then you get 12 experts telling him the same thing 12 different ways. I'm not saying OP is computer illiterate, or that the people giving advice don't know their stuff - it's more like OP is doing things in a ridiculously hard way and the people giving him advice aren't making it simple enough to actually fix the issues.

Apart from one guy, who really knows his stuff and can simplify it:

^true

Anyways, opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one. But not everyone should give out OS advice to newcomers. I would certainly think twice about it.

Carry on though. Maybe one day you guys will get a guy connected to the interweb in 2020 on Linux able to run a platform agnostic java application. That'll be a sight to behold.

Almost as if that couldn't happen with any other OS. What will happen when I try to make a portable live USB installation to run Windows on hardware that isn't supported and try to run my Erlang programs off of my BSD filesystem, all the while I know nothing at all about Windows or how anything works on it? I seriously doubt I'll get a single step-by-step answer that explains and solves all my problems in one go.

Oh I'm sure it can happen on any OS. Solutions are also much easier to give out to people on Linux: a couple of terminal commands and voila, universal applicability.

I think you're confusing me with someone who is not an ardent Linux supporter and user.

I'm still of the opinion this thread is an example of how things go wrong when helping a newcomer, a newcomer who is committed to doing things the hard way already. I'm frankly amazed he hasn't given up yet.

clarry, yeah, I guess Windows doesn't have that (though it does have a block/unblock that it puts on executable files which are downloaded, for security, and that's sort of similar I think). I'm not familiar with those mount options but I'll look into that.



dtgreene, well as far as GUI vs. text, I can see your point, but there's also the other side of it. Why would I want to do the foloowing:

* Look up the command that I want to use
* type it in and make sure all the parameters are correct

when I could just click some buttons instead?

And as for your list of cons:

* A GUI isn't necessarily slow. Hell, if a computer can run games with extreme 3D graphical capabilities, why would normal desktop windows necessarily run slowly?

* Don't you have to find the file or package that you're looking for either way? If you're using text then you'll have to type the whole path, and if you don't happen to remember exactly what it is then you'll have to do it a piece at a time, using the ls command to remind you of all the subdirectories.

* Is double-clicking really that difficult? I would think it's easier than typing a sentence.

Anyway, I'm not trying to be argumentative - honestly I'm not, but I just don't think those specific reasons seem very good to me. Now as for using a trackpad, maybe that's a different story, but I wouldn't know, because I'm using a mouse on a desktop.

I haven't tried mount, and maybe I will the next time I boot Linux, but I think I'll probably just copy the files onto the ext4 drive.



adamhm, I haven't noticed any slowdown with compatibility mode or any of the boot options that make it similar to that. Then again, my computer is pretty high-end and only a couple of months old. But I intend to make this as portable as possible, ideally to run on any computer, even if it has extremely incompatible drivers, so I'd like to use the most generic, default, compatible and reliable ones possible (and it's not going to need any advanced graphics at all for how it will be used, so as long as the desktop displays correctly it should be fine). Not that I don't appreciate your opinion, because I REALLY do, and believe me, I can use all the help I can get with this stuff, but in this specific instance, unless I run into issues with incompatibility, I think the "Leave well-enough alone" and "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" methodologies may be my best bet.

I've also noticed people giving me a ton of conflicting information, and everyone always wanting everyone else to do things their way, whether it's actually better, or just a personal preference. Not that it annoys me too much, because on the plus side, at least I get a large variety of perspectives, which in some cases can make it easier to judge everything for myself (whenever it doesn't just confuse me to death instead).

So the Software Manager and/or Software Sources are sort of like the "Add/Remove Programs" in Windows? And the Package Manager is for compression/extraction? Or am I misinterpreting that? Well, in any case, I'll look at all of these after I boot into Linux again. I had been sort of afraid to open them before because I wasn't sure what they'd do, but I'll just look through the options and all, without actually changing anything.

As for .zip/.rar files, I haven't seen any, but the ones that seem to be most prevalent are the .tar.gz files, which seem to be similar.

About the file system, you seem to have smacked the nail right on the noggin. I had just recently found out that yes, that's most likely the problem, and it's yet another thing that I'll test when I reboot. I didn't realize that running it from the command line would ignore the permissions limitation. In any case, it'll ultimately be important for them to be able to open by double-clicking, but moving them onto another drive should fix that (I think).

Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought the 802.11 thing is. But about Realtek, so basically, I have the world's worst adapter for trying to connect Linux to the internet? Great. But it is possible, right? I mean there are drivers available, even if I have to find one elsewhere and somehow compile it (what language is it even written in and what compiler would I need?).

But if it only mentions Windows and Mac support, does that mean it's not compatible with Linux and I have to go get a different adapter? But then, I just got this thing and I won't even be able to use it, because once Linux is online I intend to take Windows offline.



Dark_art_, thanks for the link - I'll check that out.



Engerek01, I'm not using a live USB. I installed to my HD and I'm also going to install to a USB. The Java programs are on a separate USB drive (I just took a new one, and copied the programs onto it from Windows). I'm not sure if it's NTFS or FAT32, because it's whatever the default format was.

Thanks for the commands - I'll look into those too.



rojimboo, you make very good points. Fortunately, I'm a programmer, so I have some idea what I'm doing, and that allows me to shorten the learning curve considerably, but even so, I just simply don't have much experience with Linux, so it's still a bit of a struggle figuring out all of the stuff, especially since I've been having so many compatibility issues, which I suspect most people don't tend to have right off the bat, but it's just my damn luck.



EDIT: 2 more posts while I was writing that one:

clarry, well that's a good point - there are some things that aren't obvious how to do them even in Windows, but on average, it's an easier OS to learn and use for beginners.



rojimboo, first of all, I wouldn't say that every command is universally applicable, because even I've already encountered stuff which is specific to one distribution or another, or at least won't work on all of them, so you need alternative commands.

I don't think I'd say that I'm committed to doing things the hard way, but I'm just trying to get things done. I'd prefer to do them the easiest way possible (as long as it has the desired effect), but I haven't found an easier way that what I'm doing.

And no, I haven't given up, because I will NOT allow Windows to inflict its spyware on me, and if I have to use Linux to avoid that, then so be it; and I've also realized that there are some other things that I'll be able to accomplish with Linux which I really can't do with Windows, so giving up really isn't even an option.

Just a reminder (I've mentioned this before in another thread): If you try to run your JavaFX programs on a Java 11+, you'll need to include JavaFX itself with your distributed jar, as JavaFX was unbundled from JDK 11 onwards.