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Beginner Route and Practical Checks

This is Module 2's core route inside its existing 18–26 focused hours. It organizes the current lessons and practice, not an extra assignment. Diagnostics identify instruction you need; they are not an entry examination on skills you have not learned. Use the shared progress record for evidence and actual time.

Choose the shell before copying commands​

The examples use a Unix-style shell and common command-line utilities. On macOS, the built-in Terminal usually opens zsh; on Linux, inspect your current shell. The isolated configuration exercise explicitly starts Bash. On Windows, use an available WSL/Linux environment or Git Bash for the core file/stream exercises; these commands are not PowerShell or Command Prompt syntax. Record which environment you used. If none is available, follow official installation guidance for your chosen environment or get setup help before the shell lab. Do not mix commands from different shells and assume they are equivalent.

Run printf '%s\n' "$BASH_VERSION" "$ZSH_VERSION" to inspect these two shells; one value is normally populated. echo "$SHELL" can identify your configured login shell, but does not prove which interpreter is currently running. Use command -v bash, command -v wc and command -v vim to check availability. A missing tool is a setup issue to resolve, not a failed concept assessment. Basic editor navigation may use an accessible equivalent; keep equivalent search, replace, undo, save and reopen evidence.

Sequence and outputs​

  1. Read shell navigation, process management and composition in Cluster 1. Complete the command-line workshop with disposable files and sleep as the long-running task. Preserve a predicted result and one diagnosed failure, not a speed score.
  2. Work through Cluster 2 and the editor challenge. Use a plain-text fixture or README; do not start with your real shell startup file. Demonstrate the requested operations and explain Vim's modes even if your accessible workflow uses different keys.
  3. Complete the guided path-and-stream lab. It supplies a one-command shell script, so Python programming is not a hidden prerequisite. Explain the command before adapting it to fresh input.
  4. Read Cluster 3 and complete the configuration rehearsal in a disposable directory and child shell. Keep a tiny config and setup checklist. Add Git history during Module 3, then return that evidence to the Launchpad project. Git knowledge is not required before its own lessons.
  5. Use four workflow drills, the mistake clinic and the module quiz to find remaining gaps. The local terminal route satisfies the practice; a remote account, second machine or tmux installation is not required.

The existing allowance includes lessons/selective reading 6–8 hours, workshop/editor/drills 4–6, guided lab 1–1.5, configuration rehearsal 2–3, quiz and bounded repair 2–3.5, and worked-example/clinic explanation and transfer 3–4. These sum to 18–26. Reuse the same fixtures and records; additional repairs or optional courses take additional time. These are unpiloted planning estimates, not deadlines.

Practical checks required alongside the quiz​

  • Paths and files: locate the same saved file from two directories; quote a filename containing spaces; preserve the source while editing a copy.
  • Streams and status: predict normal versus error output; distinguish overwrite from append; inspect failure status immediately; explain what your pipeline actually counts.
  • Processes: interrupt, suspend, resume and terminate your own practice job; distinguish a job from an unrelated process. Job control needs an interactive shell. If your embedded terminal lacks it, use a supported interactive terminal before closing this check.
  • Editing: search, change, undo/redo, save and reopen the intended file; explain the difference between a buffer and saved contents.
  • Configuration: demonstrate export to a child, explicit config loading, reconstruction in a fresh child shell, and removal of a practice alias. Identify your real shell's startup mechanism without changing it for this rehearsal.
  • Reproduction and explanation: another session can follow the checklist; explain the guided lab's valid and missing-file cases, and solve its fresh transfer. Disclose assistance. The configuration claim covers this small fixture, not a complete machine rebuild.

Each check needs explainable observed evidence. Correct quiz choices cannot compensate for an unperformed practical check. Preserve the quiz's 18/20 mastery threshold, repair misses on fresh variants and close all these checks before marking the module demonstrated. Git tracking closes during Module 3 before the Launchpad exit gate. Self-assessment is provisional; no independent review or learner timing is implied.

Optional depth​

Full Missing Semester exercises, third-party challenge sites, extra vimtutor repetition, SSH, tmux, elaborate dotfiles, package installers and performance drills are optional depth beyond this bounded core. Select an external section only to explain a named local task. You do not need a remote server or paid course to complete the module.