The CIS Environment - Getting Started

Logging In the First Time
Setting Up Your Environment
Logging Out the First Time
Logging In the Second Time
Setting the Netscape Homepage
Setting Up Netscape Mail and Newsgroups
Logging Out the Second Time
For More Information

Logging In the First Time

The computers you will be using for this course run the UNIX operating system and are networked together. When your account is created, a directory,called your home directory, is created for you on a file server connected to the CIS network. When you log on to any machine in the CIS network, you are accessing your home directory over the network, and the files you create will be stored in your home directory.

Log on to one of the CIS computers as follows:

Find a free workstation. You should see a window in the middle of the screen that looks like:

Default Hosts:
     
facsun     TCP - Solaris 8 (Faculty)

staffsun   TCP - Solaris 8 (Staff)

stdsun     TCP - Solaris 8 (Student)
 
facnt      ICA - Windows NT (Faculty)
    
stdnt      ICA - Windows NT (Student)

Place the cursor over the line stdsun TCP - Solaris 8 (Student), click the left mouse button so that stdsun TCP - Solaris 8 (Student) is selected, and then click the OK button, again using the left mouse button.
A window will pop up and ask you to enter your user name. Type your user name (provided by your instructor) and press the Enter key.
In the same window, you will be prompted for your password, that is currently set to the last four digits of your social security number followed by your first and last initials. For example, Luke Skywalker, whose social security number is 123-45-6789, has a password of 6789ls. Type in your password and press the Enter key.
Next you will be asked to change your password. You should choose a password that you can remember and that no one else will associate with you or your account. Your password should be five to eight characters in length, and must include one or more numbers or punctuation characters. You will be prompted to retype your new password. It may take a few minutes for the system to record the new password, so if you logout and log back in quickly, you may need to use your old password to log back in.
The machine will get to work and some windows will begin to appear on the screen. After a few seconds the login process should be complete.
You will see windows and controls appear on the screen. At the bottom of the screen is the front panel, in the upper left is the Help Viewer window, and at the top right is the File Manager window.
The Help Viewer provides on-line help for basic skills like opening, resizing, moving, and closing windows. It also provides help with the CDE, including help for the front panel and the File Manager.
The front panel can be used to launch applications. If you click on the up arrow just above the icon of a computer monitor, a menu will pop up from which you can launch Terminal sessions and XEmacs sessions. You'll use Terminal sessions (sometimes called xterms) to enter commands and do your basic work. You'll use XEmacs sessions to edit files and compile and run programs. If you click on the up arrow just above the Netscape icon, a menu will pop up from which you can launch the Netscape browser, Netscape Mail, or the Netscape News reader.

Setting Up Your Environment

Eventually you can set up your environment to suit your own personal needs and work habits. However, you first need to set up the environment for use with the C++ compiler.

Set up your environment as follows:

Click the left mouse button on the little arrow just above the computer-monitor icon in the front panel. From the menu that pops up, click the left mouse button on the Terminal option.
A window should pop up titled Terminal. The top line of the Terminal window will be highlighted and will say something like /n/bronze/9/your user name, which is your home directory. Below this, you should see prompt sign such as %. Next to the % prompt, type

/usr/class/sce/bin/getsetup

and press the Enter key. This command will change your environment as needed. For these changes to take effect, you need to logout and log back in.

Logging Out the First Time

There are two ways to logout. The more difficult method is to move the mouse cursor to a clear area of the screen with just the background color. Then press and hold down the right mouse button. A menu will pop up. Drag the mouse down the menu until the Log out... option is highlighted, and then release the mouse button. After confirming that you want to logout, wait until all the windows disappear and the screen once again displays the Default Hosts window.

Another way to logout is to click on the tiny EXIT button near the middle of the CDE front panel. As above, after confirming that you want to logout, wait until all the windows disappear and the screen once again displays the Default Hosts window.

Logging In the Second Time

Log in again as you did the first time. In case your new password has not yet taken effect, you may need to use your old password.

Setting the Netscape Homepage

From the front panel, launch the Netscape browser by

clicking on the up arrow just above the Netscape icon
selecting Netscape browser from the pop up menu.

In the Netscape: License Agreement window click the Accept button.
In the Netscape window, select Preferences... from the Edit menu. A new window will pop up. Let's call this new window Preferences.
In the Category section of the Preferences window, click on the Navigator category. To the right, in the Home page panel, change the URL in the Location box to:

file:/usr/class/sce/now/index.html

Click the OK button in the Preferences window.

Setting Up Netscape Mail and Newsgroups

On the status bar at the bottom of a Netscape window, click on the envelope icon; or select Mail & Newsgroups from the Windows menu. You will get a new window. Let's call it Mail & Newsgroups.
Following this another window will pop up, call it Account Wizard, with a wizard to help you set up your email account. In Account Wizard do the following:
- select Email account
- fill in Your Name appropriately
- fill in Email Address with your-cis-user-name@cis.ohio-state.edu
- select POP for type of incoming server
- fill in Incoming Server with mail.cis.ohio-state.edu.
- fill in Outgoing Server with smtp.cis.ohio-state.edu
- make sure User Name has your CIS user name
- fill in Account Name with something like CIS Account.
The window that was previously called Mail & Newsgroups may now have a new name, but we'll still refer to it as the Mail & Newsgroups window.
To read and contribute to newsgroups, you need to create a separate account, i.e., not the e-mail account that you just edited. In the left-hand panel of the Mail & Newsgroups window, look for a small icon with a label that reads something like your-cis-user-name@cis.ohio-state.edu. Click on this icon and you should see in the right-hand panel an option under Accounts called Create a new account. Select this Create a new account option.
As before, the Account Wizard wizard window will pop up. Proceed as you did for the e-mail account, only this time create a Newsgroup account. When asked for the name of a News Server, fill in news.cis.ohio-state.edu.
When you finish with the wizard, back in the Mail & Newsgroups window, you may select the new newsgroup account and proceed to subscribe to newsgroups and edit any convenience settings you like. (Be sure to subscribe to cis.course.cis221.) Please see Netscape Help pages for details.

Logging Out the Second Time

Logout using the instructions under Logging Out the First Time.

For More Information

For more information about advanced activities, including customizing your CDE environment, see OSU-CIS Computer User Guide.