Login Instructions

To log into the computers for this class you will need to use one of the following programs:

• PuTTY (optionally with Xming) 
• Chameleon  ** NOTE:  At the present time, Chameleon is inoperable.  Please use PuTTY for logging into the CS1210/CS1220 computers) **

PuTTY is a terminal window application which uses a secure shell (ssh) connection.  You can get PuTTY here. Instructions for using PuTTY and Xming appear on this page under the heading "Using PuTTY" and "Using XMing," respectively.  Follow the link for instructions for Chameleon.

Using PuTTY

Using PuTTY is pretty easy, once you've done it a time or two.  To run PuTTY, just double click on the icon and

• Type "james" for the host (or you can also use "john" for the host). 
• Click on the "ssh" option, and
• Click the "Open" button

After you've done this, you'll see a black screen and the login prompt.  At this point

• Type your username, press the "enter" key, then type your linux password (the user name and password you use are those which you got on the piece of paper on the first day of class).

That's it.  You should be on.  If you aren't, try again. And remember, capitalization matters.  If you can't get on after several tries, get someone to help you who was successful.

Using XMing

Xming complements PuTTY by allowing you to run linux programs with a graphical user interface (GUI) on your WindowsXP or Windows Vista laptop or desktop computer.  You can get the installer for Xming here.  To use Xming, just (1) download the installer, (2) double-click the installer to install Xming on your computer, and (3) launch XMing.

Oh, one last gotcha--when you use PuTTY to log into james or john, you need to enable PuTTY for Xming.  You do this by checking the "Enable X11 Forwarding" box under Connection .. SSH .. Tunnels.

Now What?

Once you're logged on with PuTTY, you will see james: ~>  This text is called the shell prompt. It is similar to the Windows XP (or Vista) command window. From here you either type linux commands (follow this link to find out about some common commands) to list your files, compile your program, edit your program, etc.

Editing Your Program

To edit your program within a PuTTY window, use the vi command (brief instructions for vi can be found here).  Or for a more modern look, you can use gedit.