hi!
i m a new linux user. Infact haven't yet started using linux.
But i want to become a linux expert.
How can I?

how much time will it take?
I m now 21 is it too late to begine?
how can i learn kernel programing?
plese help me...........

Check out the Linux Network Admin guide from O'Reilly Open Books
http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/

Read a couple posts from this website everyday.

Get a popular distro(for support) up and running

Try to install Gentoo. (once your more advanced)

Linux is not very difficult to learn as long as you take it one step at a time. I remember it taking me 1 week to get my wireless card working, 1 week to figure out how to install/compile programs, 1 week to figure out where everything is. 1 week to get use to Linux tools, emacs, BASH, grep, log files etc.

To install it with Office, Wired ethernet, Firefox, and a desktop similar to windows or apple, it will only take as long as it takes to run the installation cd's + or - an hour to go through the Gnome or KDE conrtol panel and do an system update.

After that, I can accomplish tasks much faster than I could before, when I have a problem, I can solve it, I have better eye candy at better speeds, and I have *my* own personnaly configured computer. It is never to late to learn.

Yet another "How Do I Master Linux" thread.

The best answer is an old joke:

Q: "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?"
A: "Practice."

You've already taken a very positive first step, joining LQ. The wealth of knowledge and expertise available here is immense. Well moderated, so its not crowded with leet speak juveniles.

Kernel programming? What is your current level of programming expertise? If you aren't currently a BS level Computer Science grad or equivalent experience, you might want to learn to walk before you try to run. If you mean simply recompiling an optimized kernel, even an idiot like me can learn to do that. Excellent tutorials on the subject at this site.

And before you ask "which distro", search this site. You'll find an abundance of advice on that topic too. Put simply; download a bunch of Live CD distros, boot from the CD, play around to see which one you want to try, and install that.

Welcome to LQ and enjoy the learning experience. Now go forth and install Linux at once! {You do know that it will peacefully co-exist with your current Windows install, don't you?}

One word: practice.

Get linux installed on an old machine, or along side your current system and start fiddling, breaking, fixing and using.

I've never attended a linux 'course', everything I know about linux I taught myself, by just using the system and researching solutions to all the problems I face and that goes for 90% of the linux community I bet.

I'm 64, and I am working on just being competent...experts are not to be trusted**.....
21 too late??? Possibly--most experts start at age 4 or 5

1 Install Linux
2 Use it
3 Read books
4 Try to answer bizzare questions posted on fora
5 Return to step 2

**Expert: A drip under pressure

The same way you become a < put interest here > expert. Practice, hard work and an open attitude.

You can read the howto "How to become a hacker" (nothing to do with cracking, that's linux related). It's the exact answer to your question

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html

++

The link above is a great place to start.
I'd try to study most everything recommended there if I were you.
This... is hard. It's not like you can just "become" a Linux expert. Work, work, work, work, work is the only way. Becoming a Linux expert will require you to actually become well-versed in programming languages, which research has shown is about as difficult as learning an actual spoken human language. Also, if you want to get serious about this then I'd recommend that you take a class on Linux just so your motivation doesn't run out. Self-teaching yourself anything is hard if you don't have anybody encouraging you.

Hi,

Try with following:

Install linux compiling everything from source. A good start is gentoo linux.

By examining different problems during the path, you will learn different aspects like C programming, kernel structure and similar. Google is your best friend here, as many issues you are going to experience are already documented by others.

Write scripts in bash, or perl or anything similar to automate tasks you are frequently repeating. Read examples and tutorials written by others.

Read Linux and Open Source magazines like Linux Expert

Once you become familiar with basics, start doing small freelance projects for others. This is the best way to achieve required experience to become linux expert.

DERP!

Sorry, necro-bump…didn't see the post dates.

...hi...

Learn the Tao of linux... ROFL

BRGDS

Alex

"A man wanted to become a lawyer. So, he read books and became a lawyer."

"Then, the same man wanted to learn how to swim. So he read a book on swimming, jumped into the water, and drowned."

(And, since he was by that time a Lawyer, "good riddance." )

Perfect knowledge of theory and practical and you will be.