Specifying A Range of Commits for Planning Git Merges

Use double-dot notation when specifying commit ranges.

git log master..experiment

We are asking the question:

“What range of commits ‘closes the gap’ FROM master TO experiment?” 👇

This will help you with planning git merges.

The output will show you what work (range of commits) you have not merged in yet.

The Best RedHat-based Linux Distributions

If you’re looking for a Red Hat-based operating system, here are the most popular:

  1. Rocky Linux
  2. AlmaLinux
  3. CentOS
  4. Fedora
  5. Oracle Linux
  6. ClearOS

Full Article 👉www.tecmint.com/redhat-based-linux-distributions/

Keep in mind, you can get free self-support licenses for Red Hat itself if you want.

Support is still community based but you will be entitled to security and operating system patches.

This Ritual Blew Me Away 😱

I can’t let go of my train-of-thought sometimes, but to let go of my art.

Yikes!

  • 6 Buddhist Monks
  • 5 days and
  • 40 hours of painstaking, tedious work
  • Symbolizing Impermanence, the nature of life (I guess Olaf ☃ was right! 😂)

Anytime you hear the term “Letting go” or “detachment” within spiritual practices and circles…this is probably the most practical, down to earth example of said terms I can think of. 🤔

Read and Troubleshoot Linux Config Files 10x Faster! 2.0

This post is an iteration of my original post: https://linux-admin.blog/2018/11/01/read-and-troubleshoot-linux-config-files-10x-faster/

In it, I explained how reading and troubleshooting config files in Linux are sometimes a pain in the rear. In particular, when the config files are long and mostly comments.

When we are troubleshooting, we want to know just the effective settings that are going to be loaded at run time and nothing else. And read them quickly.

The script I provided in that original post works, but I’ve iterated it into a more elegant solution.

My solution – then and now – was inspired by a very useful book I discovered years ago: Perl One-Liners: 130 Programs That Get Things Done

So here is my new and improved version; I will also demo the heartburn it removes on two files: smb.conf and sshd_config:

perl -ne 'print unless /^(#|;|\n)/' <filename>

Notice how I defined a comment to be a “#” or a “;”.

smb.conf

Now, if we do a cat /etc/samba/smb.conf we can see how the output is extremely overwhelming with a lot of comments and blank lines:

cat /etc/samba/smb.conf

We could egrep -v "^(#|;)" /etc/samba/smb.conf to see the effective settings, but that will still leave ALOT of empty lines:

egrep -v “^(#|;)” /etc/samba/smb.conf

If we use the Perl Oneliner, we can remove ALL comments, and remove empty lines for EVEN BETTER readability

perl -ne ‘ print unless /^(#|;|\n)/ ‘ /etc/samba/smb.conf

Now we can quickly see our effective settings in /etc/samba/smb.conf.

sshd_config

We can run the same script on /etc/ssh/sshd_config for easier reading and troubleshooting:

perl -ne ‘ print unless /^(#|;|\n)/ ‘ /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Summary

Let take a step back and point out the main benefits with this script.

It will remove all comments (lines beginning with a “#” or “;”) and the empty lines. This will make reading the effective settings quicker and easier.

And make troubleshooting alot easier.

If this code helps you solve any problems, comment and let me know below

How To Quickly Create A Git Repository For Rapid Testing

When you’re learning Git (or anything for that matter) rapid and cheap testing, feedback, and failure can expedite the learning process from hours to minutes!

When you’re learning and experimenting with Git concepts like:

  • Branching,
  • Merging,
  • Tagging,
  • The Working directory,
  • The Cache (or Index),
  • Reading the Commit History,
  • Or basically any Git command or concept

You want to have the freedom to make mistakes, even to the point of corrupting the entire Git repository (repo).

Essentially, a “Git Repo Sandbox” that you can rebuild in seconds.

Here is my code to quickly (re)create said “Git Repo Sandbox” that contains:

  • 2 Branches (master and dev)
  • 1 Merge

Just copy and paste the following code into your bash prompt and let it rip.

There is a merge-conflict warning but it’s ignored because all we want is our “Git Repo Sandbox” up and running again:

rm -Rf ./git_test #<== be VERY careful with this line
mkdir ./git_test
cd git_test
sleep 1

git init
echo ":)" >> ./script.sh
git add *
git commit -m "Commit message"
echo ":)" >> ./script.sh
git add *
git commit -m "Commit message"
sleep 1

git branch dev
git checkout dev
echo ":)" >> ./script.sh
git add *
git commit -m "Commit message"
echo ":)" >> ./script.sh
git add *
git commit -m "Commit message"
sleep 1

git checkout master
echo ":)" >> ./script.sh
git add *
git commit -m "Commit message"
sleep 1

git merge dev
git add *
git commit -m "Commit message"
sleep 1

git log --oneline --all --graph --decorate

You will get output similar to the following (only difference is commit hashes):

Here’s a live demo on how to use my code. For me, I performed a Right-click on my mouse to paste:

Now you can study and experiment with as many git concepts and commands to your heart’s content. Or at least, what this simple repository will allow.

You don’t have to worry about making a mistake, because if you corrupt everything, just “re-build and reload”.