Brad Morton

I'm Brad, and I'm nearing 20 years of experience with Linux. I've worked in just about every IT role there is before taking the leap into software development. Currently, I'm building desktop and web-based solutions with NodeJS and PHP hosted on Linux infrastructure. Visit my blog or find me on Twitter to see what I'm up to.

Home » Articles by: Brad Morton

Linux wget Command Guide [With Examples]

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Linux wget Command

If you followed our Magic Mirror tutorial, you’d see the wget command was used to download some files. This tutorial explains how to use wget, a command-line tool for downloading (getting) files from the web, be it via HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, or FTPS. Use it to download files from the internet from the Linux shell, call it from Bash scripts – it’s simple and versatile and doesn’t require user interference once started so that it can run in the background. Syntax wget [OPTIONS]… [ URLS ]… … Read more

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RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 & RAID 10 Explained [With Images]

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RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 & RAID 10 Explained

This tutorial explores the popular raid levels, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 & RAID 10, with diagrams and explanations. What is RAID? RAID – Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks is a data storage solution that works by combining multiple disks connected to a computer into a single storage unit. Data is spread across the disks in different ways depending on whether data integrity, access speed, or both are priorities. RAID can be implemented in software or hardware, and the Linux Operating systems support … Read more

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What Is a 500 Internal Server Error and How to Fix It?

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500 Internal Server Error

This guide explores the 500 internal server error code, an HTTP error, and how to fix it. HTTP Errors and Error Codes Whenever a web page is loaded, a request is made to an HTTP server (Most web servers run Linux, by the way), and part of the response is a numeric status code that tells your web browser what kind of response it is. This allows the browser to handle the contents of the response correctly. Some example responses are: Status Code Meaning 200 … Read more

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Debian vs Ubuntu Linux [Easy to Digest Comparison]

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Debian vs Ubuntu

We know that Ubuntu Linux is based on the Debian Linux distribution and that because of that, they are similar in many ways – but which one should you use? As usual, it depends on your own preference and skill level. On the Desktop and the Server [Comparison] Here is a side-by-side look at each distribution, comparing some of the differences that will matter most to the user. Debian Ubuntu Stable, but without the latest features Based on the Debian testing branch, newer features A solid base operating system … Read more

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How to Use the Dig Command [With Examples]

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How to Use the Dig Command

dig is the Linux command-line tool used to look up the DNS records for a host. This tutorial explains how to use this command and includes handy examples. DNS records provide information to your computer about a host’s IP address on a network, email configuration, or other text data that can be associated with the host. DNS records provide the street directory for the internet. When you access a website, your computer looks up the DNS record associated with the website’s domain to get the IP … Read more

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apt vs apt-get Commands – What’s the Difference?

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apt vs apt get Commands

This guide explains the differences between apt and apt-get commands, so you can decide which one to use. Historically, you’ve probably installed software on Debian based Linux Operating Systems (like Ubuntu) using the apt-get command. More recently you’ve probably seen the apt command being used in its place in various places online, but with otherwise much the same syntax. For example: sudo apt-get install nano has the same effect as sudo apt install nano which is to install the nano text editor package on your system. So … Read more

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How to List Containers in Docker (ls Command)

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List Containers in Docker

Docker is a virtualization platform that runs on Linux. It allows you to manage and run virtual machines in containers from pre-built images that contain all of the configurations for the virtualized environment. This tutorial will show you how to list containers using the ls command, part of the new docker command structure. The ls command replaces the old ps command. The ps command will still work, but you should phase out using it. Syntax docker container ls [options] Docker versions older than 1.13 use the old ps command: docker ps [options] Options Both ls and ps accept the same command options: … Read more

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Guide: Install and Use Docker on Ubuntu 20.04

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Install and Use Docker Ubuntu

This is an express tutorial on getting Docker up and running on Ubuntu 20.04 – Fast! Docker is a virtualization platform that has exploded in popularity due to its ease of use and low resource overheads. It is used to run applications inside containers, making them portable and easy to install – all of their dependencies and configuration can be kept separate even though they are being run on the same host – reducing the time it takes to configure your system and making sure applications … Read more

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How to Set Up Nginx HTTPs Reverse Proxy on Ubuntu

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Set Up Nginx HTTPs Reverse Proxy on Ubuntu

This tutorial explains how to set up Nginx as an HTTPS reverse proxy on Linux Ubuntu, What is Nginx? Nginx is a popular web server, reverse proxy, load balancing, mail proxy, and HTTP caching software package which can be run on the Linux Operating System. It’s a very flexible web server and proxy solution and is an alternative to the Apache HTTP Server. What is a Proxy Server A proxy server acts as a relay between a client and a server at the client’s request. … Read more

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Using the ‘UNION’ Operator in MySQL and MariaDB

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mysql union

MySQL SELECT queries are commands that pull data from your database tables according to conditions each record must meet. Complex queries will often need to combine the results from two or more SELECT queries – this is what the UNION operator does. UNION Syntax SELECT column [, column2, column3…] FROM first_table UNION SELECT column [, column2, column3…] FROM second_table; Note that: Each SELECT statement must have the same number of columns in its results Data type in each of the columns must match The columns … Read more