Connection Information will be provided in this link on the day of the meeting.

The meeting will open at 6:00p.m. Central Time.

The presentation(s) will begin at 6:30p.m. Central Time.

January 10, 2024 Meetup

St. Louis Unix Users Group

Generate an image that represents the theme 'History of the Shell.' The background should be a dark, textured terminal screen with a gradient to resemble a classic command-line interface. Position a timeline path across the image, indicating different historical milestones. Along this timeline, place iconic illustrations of historic computers and shell types such as an old IBM mainframe, a vintage UNIX system, and various old terminals. Insert the logos for MULTICS, GE GECOS, and IBM at appropriate points on the timeline, with each logo receiving a subtle glow effect. At the end of the timeline, depict a modern computer screen featuring a terminal window with a Bash shell prompt. Subtle glow effects and color accents using greens for terminal input text and amber for the old terminals should be applied. Ensure that there are no superfluous words or letters, except for the necessary logos.

SystemD Timers vs cron

Presented By: Sean Twiehaus

In this presentation Sean will show you 3 features that make Systemd Timers better than crontabs. These features help to understand which jobs will run when, reduce the amount of shell code the administrator must maintain, and allow modification of vendor jobs while avoiding conflict.

Here are the three features (subject to change)

Detailed View of all Jobs on a System

When each job will run next in a human-readable time format

Less shell code required

Built-In Randomization Timers

Build in conditions like ACPower

Overridable without conflicts

If a Systemd Timer is installed by a package, such as Unattended Upgrades, it will have a default time that it runs. With Systemd Timers you can override the default time without having conflicts if the package maintainers update the timer.

(Bonus if time permits) Centralized Logging

Systemd services log to the journal

Spread the word

Goofy Profile Picture of Tux

@KernelContributor • 9h ago

Join us on January 10, 2024, for an exciting presentation by Sean Twiehaus on 'SystemD Timers vs cron'. Discover why SystemD Timers are a game-changing alternative with features like detailed job views, reduced shell code, and conflict-free overrides! #Linux #Systemd #Cron https://www.meetup.com/saint-louis-unix-users-group/events/298078872/

History of the Shell

Presented By: Ed Howland

Do you ever feel the raw power thrumming between your fingers when you open your terminal? Are you amazed by the fact that most of our entire digital world is held together by the Duck Tape called shell scripts? Did the concept of the World Wide Web spring forth in whole cloth out of the grey cells of Sir Berners-Lee? These answers and more will be explored in this month's thrilling episode of the Base session on Wednesday night's meeting of the St. Louis Unix User's Group. Let Ed be your guide on this fascinating journey through time as we explore the history of the Shell! Starting with the Dawn B.T.E. ( Before the Epoch ) and the arrival of the Big Blue monolith, and continuing through the co-evolution of hardware, operating systems and user interfaces before arriving at 'The One True Way': The Shell. Don't miss the notable landmarks on this fast-paced trek such as JCL, CICS, GECOS, MULTICS and, of course, UNICS.

Spread the word

Goofy Profile Picture of Tux

@LovesToLS • 2h ago

🔜 Get ready for an exhilarating ride through the 'History of the Shell' with Ed Howland on 2024-01-10! 🌐💻 If you've ever felt the power of your terminal, this one's for you! #Shell #Unix #History #SLUUG https://www.meetup.com/saint-louis-unix-users-group/events/298078872/

Meeting Artifacts and Media

Meeting Agenda

At 6:00p.m. Central Time the meeting opens. Participants are encouraged to join at this time to if they need to test their microphone, screen sharing, and video camera.

At 6:30p.m. Central Time we begin with our BASE presentation. The BASE presentation is intended to be an introductory level session ( often focused on personal computing ); which may include either amazing graphical packages, blinking lights, command line wonders, demonstrations of useful applications, displays of newly discovered web sites, major resolution of long standing anomalies, quantum discoveries, smoke and mirrors, superb tutorials, or shifts in both time and space.

At 7:00p.m. Central Time we attempt a quick welcome, introductions, announcements, current events of interest, and a general CALL FOR HELP (Questions and Answers) segment.

At 7:15p.m. Central Time the MAIN presentation begins. The MAIN presentation is intended to be something more advanced, detailed, important, new, profound, significant, timely or useful and is often focused on enterprise computing.