My .bashrc

My .bashrc
[Thanks to jeffguy77's blog on this forum: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-general-1/ultimate-prompt-and-bashrc-file-4175518169/#post5235872
]
#######################################################
#!/bin/bash
iatest=$(expr index "$-" i)

#######################################################
# SOURCED ALIAS'S AND SCRIPTS
#######################################################

# Source global definitions
if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
. /etc/bashrc
fi

# Enable bash programmable completion features in interactive shells
if [ -f /usr/share/bash-completion/bash_completion ]; then
. /usr/share/bash-completion/bash_completion
elif [ -f /etc/bash_completion ]; then
. /etc/bash_completion
fi

#######################################################
# EXPORTS
#######################################################

# Disable the bell
if [[ $iatest > 0 ]]; then bind "set bell-style visible"; fi

# Expand the history size
export HISTFILESIZE=10000
export HISTSIZE=500

# Don't put duplicate lines in the history and do not add lines that start with a space
export HISTCONTROL=erasedups:ignoredups:ignorespace

# Check the window size after each command and, if necessary, update the values of LINES and COLUMNS
shopt -s checkwinsize

# Causes bash to append to history instead of overwriting it so if you start a new terminal, you have old session history
shopt -s histappend
PROMPT_COMMAND='history -a'

# Allow ctrl-S for history navigation (with ctrl-R)
stty -ixon

# Ignore case on auto-completion
# Note: bind used instead of sticking these in .inputrc
if [[ $iatest > 0 ]]; then bind "set completion-ignore-case on"; fi

# Show auto-completion list automatically, without double tab
if [[ $iatest > 0 ]]; then bind "set show-all-if-ambiguous On"; fi

# Set the default editor
export EDITOR=nano
export VISUAL=nano
alias pico='edit'
alias spico='sedit'
alias nano='edit'
alias snano='sedit'

# To have colors for ls and all grep commands such as grep, egrep and zgrep
export CLICOLOR=1
export LS_COLORS='no=00:fi=00:di=00;34:ln=01;36:pi=40;33:so=01;35:do=01;35:bd=40;33;01:cd=40;33;01:or=40;31;01:ex=01;32:*.tar=01;31:*.tgz=01;31:*.arj=01;31:*.taz=01;31:*.lzh=01;31:*.zip=01;31:*.z=01;31:*.Z=01;31:*.gz=01;31:*.bz2=01;31:*.deb=01;31:*.rpm=01;31:*.jar=01;31:*.jpg=01;35:*.jpeg=01;35:*.gif=01;35:*.bmp=01;35:*.pbm=01;35:*.pgm=01;35:*.ppm=01;35:*.tga=01;35:*.xbm=01;35:*.xpm=01;35:*.tif=01;35:*.tiff=01;35:*.png=01;35:*.mov=01;35:*.mpg=01;35:*.mpeg=01;35:*.avi=01;35:*.fli=01;35:*.gl=01;35:*.dl=01;35:*.xcf=01;35:*.xwd=01;35:*.ogg=01;35:*.mp3=01;35:*.wav=01;35:*.xml=00;31:'
export GREP_OPTIONS='--color=auto'

# Color for manpages in less makes manpages a little easier to read
export LESS_TERMCAP_mb=$'\E[01;31m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_md=$'\E[01;31m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_me=$'\E[0m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_se=$'\E[0m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_so=$'\E[01;44;33m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_ue=$'\E[0m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_us=$'\E[01;32m'

#######################################################
# MACHINE SPECIFIC ALIAS'S
#######################################################

# Alias's for SSH
# alias SERVERNAME='ssh YOURWEBSITE.com -l USERNAME -p PORTNUMBERHERE'

# Alias's to change the directory
alias web='cd /var/www/html'

# Alias's to mount ISO files
# mount -o loop /home/NAMEOFISO.iso /home/ISOMOUNTDIR/
# umount /home/NAMEOFISO.iso
# (Both commands done as root only.)

#######################################################
# GENERAL ALIAS'S
#######################################################
# To temporarily bypass an alias, we preceed the command with a \
# EG: the ls command is aliased, but to use the normal ls command you would type \ls

# Add an "alert" alias for long running commands.  Use like so:
#   sleep 10; alert
alias alert='notify-send --urgency=low -i "$([ $? = 0 ] && echo terminal || echo error)" "$(history|tail -n1|sed -e '\''s/^\s*[0-9]\+\s*//;s/[;&|]\s*alert$//'\'')"'

# Edit this .bashrc file
alias ebrc='edit ~/.bashrc'

# Show help for this .bashrc file
alias hlp='less ~/.bashrc_help'

# alias to show the date
alias da='date "+%Y-%m-%d %A %T %Z"'

# Alias's to modified commands
alias cp='cp -i'
alias mv='mv -i'
alias rm='rm -iv'
alias mkdir='mkdir -p'
alias ps='ps auxf'
alias ping='ping -c 10'
alias less='less -R'
alias cls='clear'
alias apt-get='sudo apt-get'
alias multitail='multitail --no-repeat -c'
alias freshclam='sudo freshclam'
alias vi='vim'
alias svi='sudo vi'
alias vis='vim "+set si"'

# Change directory aliases
alias home='cd ~'
alias cd..='cd ..'
alias ..='cd ..'
alias ...='cd ../..'
alias ....='cd ../../..'
alias .....='cd ../../../..'

# cd into the old directory
alias bd='cd "$OLDPWD"'

# Remove a directory and all files
alias rmd='/bin/rm  --recursive --force --verbose '

# Alias's for multiple directory listing commands
alias la='ls -Alh' # show hidden files
alias ls='ls -aFh --color=always' # add colors and file type extensions
alias lx='ls -lXBh' # sort by extension
alias lk='ls -lSrh' # sort by size
alias lc='ls -lcrh' # sort by change time
alias lu='ls -lurh' # sort by access time
alias lr='ls -lRh' # recursive ls
alias lt='ls -ltrh' # sort by date
alias lm='ls -alh |more' # pipe through 'more'
alias lw='ls -xAh' # wide listing format
alias ll='ls -Fls' # long listing format
alias labc='ls -lap' #alphabetical sort
alias lf="ls -l | egrep -v '^d'" # files only
alias ldir="ls -l | egrep '^d'" # directories only

# alias chmod commands
alias mx='chmod a+x'
alias 000='chmod -R 000'
alias 644='chmod -R 644'
alias 666='chmod -R 666'
alias 755='chmod -R 755'
alias 777='chmod -R 777'

# Search command line history
alias h="history | grep "

# Search running processes
alias p="ps aux | grep "
alias topcpu="/bin/ps -eo pcpu,pid,user,args | sort -k 1 -r | head -10"

# Search files in the current folder
alias f="find . | grep "

# Count all files (recursively) in the current folder
alias countfiles="for t in files links directories; do echo \`find . -type \${t:0:1} | wc -l\` \$t; done 2> /dev/null"

# To see if a command is aliased, a file, or a built-in command
alias checkcommand="type -t"

# Show current network connections to the server
alias ipview="netstat -anpl | grep :80 | awk {'print \$5'} | cut -d\":\" -f1 | sort | uniq -c | sort -n | sed -e 's/^ *//' -e 's/ *\$//'"

# Show open ports
alias openports='netstat -nape --inet'

# Alias's for safe and forced reboots
alias rebootsafe='sudo shutdown -r now'
alias rebootforce='sudo shutdown -r -n now'

# Alias's to show disk space and space used in a folder
alias diskspace="du -S | sort -n -r |more"
alias folders='du -h --max-depth=1'
alias folderssort='find . -maxdepth 1 -type d -print0 | xargs -0 du -sk | sort -rn'
alias tree='tree -CAhF --dirsfirst'
alias treed='tree -CAFd'
alias mountedinfo='df -hT'

# Alias's for archives
alias mktar='tar -cvf'
alias mkbz2='tar -cvjf'
alias mkgz='tar -cvzf'
alias untar='tar -xvf'
alias unbz2='tar -xvjf'
alias ungz='tar -xvzf'

# Show all logs in /var/log
alias logs="sudo find /var/log -type f -exec file {} \; | grep 'text' | cut -d' ' -f1 | sed -e's/:$//g' | grep -v '[0-9]$' | xargs tail -f"

# SHA1
alias sha1='openssl sha1'

#######################################################
# SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
#######################################################

# Use the best version of pico installed
edit ()
{
if [ "$(type -t jpico)" = "file" ]; then
# Use JOE text editor http://joe-editor.sourceforge.net/
jpico -nonotice -linums -nobackups "$@"
elif [ "$(type -t nano)" = "file" ]; then
nano -c "$@"
elif [ "$(type -t pico)" = "file" ]; then
pico "$@"
else
vim "$@"
fi
}
sedit ()
{
if [ "$(type -t jpico)" = "file" ]; then
# Use JOE text editor http://joe-editor.sourceforge.net/
sudo jpico -nonotice -linums -nobackups "$@"
elif [ "$(type -t nano)" = "file" ]; then
sudo nano -c "$@"
elif [ "$(type -t pico)" = "file" ]; then
sudo pico "$@"
else
sudo vim "$@"
fi
}

# Extracts any archive(s) (if unp isn't installed)
extract () {
for archive in $*; do
if [ -f $archive ] ; then
case $archive in
*.tar.bz2)   tar xvjf $archive    ;;
*.tar.gz)    tar xvzf $archive    ;;
*.bz2)       bunzip2 $archive     ;;
*.rar)       rar x $archive       ;;
*.gz)        gunzip $archive      ;;
*.tar)       tar xvf $archive     ;;
*.tbz2)      tar xvjf $archive    ;;
*.tgz)       tar xvzf $archive    ;;
*.zip)       unzip $archive       ;;
*.Z)         uncompress $archive  ;;
*.7z)        7z x $archive        ;;
*)           echo "don't know how to extract '$archive'..." ;;
esac
else
echo "'$archive' is not a valid file!"
fi
done
}

# Searches for text in all files in the current folder
ftext ()
{
# -i case-insensitive
# -I ignore binary files
# -H causes filename to be printed
# -r recursive search
# -n causes line number to be printed
# optional: -F treat search term as a literal, not a regular expression
# optional: -l only print filenames and not the matching lines ex. grep -irl "$1" *
grep -iIHrn --color=always "$1" . | less -r
}

# Copy file with a progress bar
cpp()
{
set -e
strace -q -ewrite cp -- "${1}" "${2}" 2>&1 \
| awk '{
count += $NF
if (count % 10 == 0) {
percent = count / total_size * 100
printf "%3d%% [", percent
for (i=0;i<=percent;i++)
printf "="
printf ">"
for (i=percent;i<100;i++)
printf " "
printf "]\r"
}
}
END { print "" }' total_size=$(stat -c '%s' "${1}") count=0
}

# Copy and go to the directory
cpg ()
{
if [ -d "$2" ];then
cp $1 $2 && cd $2
else
cp $1 $2
fi
}

# Move and go to the directory
mvg ()
{
if [ -d "$2" ];then
mv $1 $2 && cd $2
else
mv $1 $2
fi
}

# Create and go to the directory
mkdirg ()
{
mkdir -p $1
cd $1
}

# Goes up a specified number of directories  (i.e. up 4)
up ()
{
local d=""
limit=$1
for ((i=1 ; i <= limit ; i++))
do
d=$d/..
done
d=$(echo $d | sed 's/^\///')
if [ -z "$d" ]; then
d=..
fi
cd $d
}

#Automatically do an ls after each cd
# cd ()
# {
# if [ -n "$1" ]; then
# builtin cd "$@" && ls
# else
# builtin cd ~ && ls
# fi
# }

# Returns the last 2 fields of the working directory
pwdtail ()
{
pwd|awk -F/ '{nlast = NF -1;print $nlast"/"$NF}'
}

# Show the current distribution
distribution ()
{
local dtype
# Assume unknown
dtype="unknown"

# First test against Fedora / RHEL / CentOS / generic Redhat derivative
if [ -r /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions ]; then
source /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions
[ zz`type -t passed 2>/dev/null` == "zzfunction" ] && dtype="redhat"

# Then test against SUSE (must be after Redhat,
# I've seen rc.status on Ubuntu I think? TODO: Recheck that)
elif [ -r /etc/rc.status ]; then
source /etc/rc.status
[ zz`type -t rc_reset 2>/dev/null` == "zzfunction" ] && dtype="suse"

# Then test against Debian, Ubuntu and friends
elif [ -r /lib/lsb/init-functions ]; then
source /lib/lsb/init-functions
[ zz`type -t log_begin_msg 2>/dev/null` == "zzfunction" ] && dtype="debian"

# Then test against Gentoo
elif [ -r /etc/init.d/functions.sh ]; then
source /etc/init.d/functions.sh
[ zz`type -t ebegin 2>/dev/null` == "zzfunction" ] && dtype="gentoo"

# For Mandriva we currently just test if /etc/mandriva-release exists
# and isn't empty (TODO: Find a better way :)
elif [ -s /etc/mandriva-release ]; then
dtype="mandriva"

# For Slackware we currently just test if /etc/slackware-version exists
elif [ -s /etc/slackware-version ]; then
dtype="slackware"

fi
echo $dtype
}

# Show the current version of the operating system
ver ()
{
local dtype
dtype=$(distribution)

if [ $dtype == "redhat" ]; then
if [ -s /etc/redhat-release ]; then
cat /etc/redhat-release && uname -a
else
cat /etc/issue && uname -a
fi
elif [ $dtype == "suse" ]; then
cat /etc/SuSE-release
elif [ $dtype == "debian" ]; then
lsb_release -a
# sudo cat /etc/issue && sudo cat /etc/issue.net && sudo cat /etc/lsb_release && sudo cat /etc/os-release # Linux Mint option 2
elif [ $dtype == "gentoo" ]; then
cat /etc/gentoo-release
elif [ $dtype == "mandriva" ]; then
cat /etc/mandriva-release
elif [ $dtype == "slackware" ]; then
cat /etc/slackware-version
else
if [ -s /etc/issue ]; then
cat /etc/issue
else
echo "Error: Unknown distribution"
exit 1
fi
fi
}

# Automatically install the needed support files for this .bashrc file
install_bashrc_support ()
{
local dtype
dtype=$(distribution)

if [ $dtype == "redhat" ]; then
sudo yum install multitail tree joe
elif [ $dtype == "suse" ]; then
sudo zypper install multitail
sudo zypper install tree
sudo zypper install joe
elif [ $dtype == "debian" ]; then
sudo apt-get install multitail tree joe
elif [ $dtype == "gentoo" ]; then
sudo emerge multitail
sudo emerge tree
sudo emerge joe
elif [ $dtype == "mandriva" ]; then
sudo urpmi multitail
sudo urpmi tree
sudo urpmi joe
elif [ $dtype == "slackware" ]; then
echo "No install support for Slackware"
else
echo "Unknown distribution"
fi
}

# Show current network information
netinfo ()
{
echo "--------------- Network Information ---------------"
/sbin/ifconfig | awk /'inet addr/ {print $2}'
echo ""
/sbin/ifconfig | awk /'Bcast/ {print $3}'
echo ""
/sbin/ifconfig | awk /'inet addr/ {print $4}'

/sbin/ifconfig | awk /'HWaddr/ {print $4,$5}'
echo "---------------------------------------------------"
}

# IP address lookup
alias whatismyip="whatsmyip"
function whatsmyip ()
{
# Dumps a list of all IP addresses for every device
# /sbin/ifconfig |grep -B1 "inet addr" |awk '{ if ( $1 == "inet" ) { print $2 } else if ( $2 == "Link" ) { printf "%s:" ,$1 } }' |awk -F: '{ print $1 ": " $3 }';

# Internal IP Lookup
echo -n "Internal IP: " ; /sbin/ifconfig eth0 | grep "inet addr" | awk -F: '{print $2}' | awk '{print $1}'

# External IP Lookup
echo -n "External IP: " ; wget http://smart-ip.net/myip -O - -q
}

# View Apache logs
apachelog ()
{
if [ -f /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf ]; then
cd /var/log/httpd && ls -xAh && multitail --no-repeat -c -s 2 /var/log/httpd/*_log
else
cd /var/log/apache2 && ls -xAh && multitail --no-repeat -c -s 2 /var/log/apache2/*.log
fi
}

# Edit the Apache configuration
apacheconfig ()
{
if [ -f /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf ]; then
sedit /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
elif [ -f /etc/apache2/apache2.conf ]; then
sedit /etc/apache2/apache2.conf
else
echo "Error: Apache config file could not be found."
echo "Searching for possible locations:"
sudo updatedb && locate httpd.conf && locate apache2.conf
fi
}

# Edit the PHP configuration file
phpconfig ()
{
if [ -f /etc/php.ini ]; then
sedit /etc/php.ini
elif [ -f /etc/php/php.ini ]; then
sedit /etc/php/php.ini
elif [ -f /etc/php5/php.ini ]; then
sedit /etc/php5/php.ini
elif [ -f /usr/bin/php5/bin/php.ini ]; then
sedit /usr/bin/php5/bin/php.ini
elif [ -f /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini ]; then
sedit /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini
else
echo "Error: php.ini file could not be found."
echo "Searching for possible locations:"
sudo updatedb && locate php.ini
fi
}

# Edit the MySQL configuration file
mysqlconfig ()
{
if [ -f /etc/my.cnf ]; then
sedit /etc/my.cnf
elif [ -f /etc/mysql/my.cnf ]; then
sedit /etc/mysql/my.cnf
elif [ -f /usr/local/etc/my.cnf ]; then
sedit /usr/local/etc/my.cnf
elif [ -f /usr/bin/mysql/my.cnf ]; then
sedit /usr/bin/mysql/my.cnf
elif [ -f ~/my.cnf ]; then
sedit ~/my.cnf
elif [ -f ~/.my.cnf ]; then
sedit ~/.my.cnf
else
echo "Error: my.cnf file could not be found."
echo "Searching for possible locations:"
sudo updatedb && locate my.cnf
fi
}

# For some reason, rot13 pops up everywhere
rot13 () {
if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
tr '[a-m][n-z][A-M][N-Z]' '[n-z][a-m][N-Z][A-M]'
else
echo $* | tr '[a-m][n-z][A-M][N-Z]' '[n-z][a-m][N-Z][A-M]'
fi
}

# Trim leading and trailing spaces (for scripts)
trim()
{
local var=$@
var="${var#"${var%%[![:space:]]*}"}"  # remove leading whitespace characters
var="${var%"${var##*[![:space:]]}"}"  # remove trailing whitespace characters
echo -n "$var"
}

#######################################################
# Set the ultimate amazing command prompt
#######################################################

alias cpu="grep 'cpu ' /proc/stat | awk '{usage=(\$2+\$4)*100/(\$2+\$4+\$5)} END {print usage}' | awk '{printf(\"%.1f\n\", \$1)}'"
function __setprompt
{
local LAST_COMMAND=$? # Must come first!

# Define colors
local LIGHTGRAY="\033[0;37m"
local WHITE="\033[1;37m"
local BLACK="\033[0;30m"
local DARKGRAY="\033[1;30m"
local RED="\033[0;31m"
local LIGHTRED="\033[1;31m"
local GREEN="\033[0;32m"
local LIGHTGREEN="\033[1;32m"
local BROWN="\033[0;33m"
local YELLOW="\033[1;33m"
local BLUE="\033[0;34m"
local LIGHTBLUE="\033[1;34m"
local MAGENTA="\033[0;35m"
local LIGHTMAGENTA="\033[1;35m"
local CYAN="\033[0;36m"
local LIGHTCYAN="\033[1;36m"
local NOCOLOR="\033[0m"

# Show error exit code if there is one
if [[ $LAST_COMMAND != 0 ]]; then
# PS1="\[${RED}\](\[${LIGHTRED}\]ERROR\[${RED}\])-(\[${LIGHTRED}\]Exit Code \[${WHITE}\]${LAST_COMMAND}\[${RED}\])-(\[${LIGHTRED}\]"
PS1="\[${DARKGRAY}\](\[${LIGHTRED}\]ERROR\[${DARKGRAY}\])-(\[${RED}\]Exit Code \[${LIGHTRED}\]${LAST_COMMAND}\[${DARKGRAY}\])-(\[${RED}\]"
if [[ $LAST_COMMAND == 1 ]]; then
PS1+="General error"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 2 ]; then
PS1+="Missing keyword, command, or permission problem"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 126 ]; then
PS1+="Permission problem or command is not an executable"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 127 ]; then
PS1+="Command not found"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 128 ]; then
PS1+="Invalid argument to exit"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 129 ]; then
PS1+="Fatal error signal 1"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 130 ]; then
PS1+="Script terminated by Control-C"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 131 ]; then
PS1+="Fatal error signal 3"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 132 ]; then
PS1+="Fatal error signal 4"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 133 ]; then
PS1+="Fatal error signal 5"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 134 ]; then
PS1+="Fatal error signal 6"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 135 ]; then
PS1+="Fatal error signal 7"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 136 ]; then
PS1+="Fatal error signal 8"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND == 137 ]; then
PS1+="Fatal error signal 9"
elif [ $LAST_COMMAND -gt 255 ]; then
PS1+="Exit status out of range"
else
PS1+="Unknown error code"
fi
PS1+="\[${DARKGRAY}\])\[${NOCOLOR}\]\n"
else
PS1=""
fi

# Date
PS1+="\[${DARKGRAY}\](\[${CYAN}\]\$(date +%a) $(date +%b-'%-m')" # Date
PS1+="${BLUE} $(date +'%-I':%M:%S%P)\[${DARKGRAY}\])-" # Time

# CPU
PS1+="(\[${MAGENTA}\]CPU $(cpu)%"

# Jobs
PS1+="\[${DARKGRAY}\]:\[${MAGENTA}\]\j"

# Network Connections (for a server - comment out for non-server)
PS1+="\[${DARKGRAY}\]:\[${MAGENTA}\]Net $(awk 'END {print NR}' /proc/net/tcp)"

PS1+="\[${DARKGRAY}\])-"

# User and server
local SSH_IP=`echo $SSH_CLIENT | awk '{ print $1 }'`
local SSH2_IP=`echo $SSH2_CLIENT | awk '{ print $1 }'`
if [ $SSH2_IP ] || [ $SSH_IP ] ; then
PS1+="(\[${RED}\]\u@\h"
else
PS1+="(\[${RED}\]\u"
fi

# Current directory
PS1+="\[${DARKGRAY}\]:\[${BROWN}\]\w\[${DARKGRAY}\])-"

# Total size of files in current directory
PS1+="(\[${GREEN}\]$(/bin/ls -lah | /bin/grep -m 1 total | /bin/sed 's/total //')\[${DARKGRAY}\]:"

# Number of files
PS1+="\[${GREEN}\]\$(/bin/ls -A -1 | /usr/bin/wc -l)\[${DARKGRAY}\])"

# Skip to the next line
PS1+="\n"

if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then
PS1+="\[${GREEN}\]>\[${NOCOLOR}\] " # Normal user
else
PS1+="\[${RED}\]>\[${NOCOLOR}\] " # Root user
fi

# PS2 is used to continue a command using the \ character
PS2="\[${DARKGRAY}\]>\[${NOCOLOR}\] "

# PS3 is used to enter a number choice in a script
PS3='Please enter a number from above list: '

# PS4 is used for tracing a script in debug mode
PS4='\[${DARKGRAY}\]+\[${NOCOLOR}\] '
}

PROMPT_COMMAND='__setprompt'

Populate MySQL from CSV

A simple thing - populating MySQL automatically from CSV using MySQL utilities turned out to be quite a challenge. The fix was surprisingly simple

http://stackoverflow.com/posts/23631708/edit

1. Create the table
2. login to MySQL shell
3. Execute the command :
LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/tmp/gold_standard.csv' INTO TABLE <SomeTable>  FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','   LINES TERMINATED BY '\n' IGNORE 1 LINES;
4. Before executing line 3, ensure that the file:sudo vi /etc/mysql/my.cnf has been updated and the following lines have been appended:

[mysqld]  
local-infile

[mysql]  
local-infile

5. Sometimes you might want to add an extra hard drive volume which might be a physical or virtual volume and point the MySQL instance to read and write to this extended volume. On Ubuntu 12.04 there are a few steps to be followed which are not very clearly defined unless on trawls a few blogs. Luckily I found a blog which collates all this information in one place:
http://www.erwaysoftware.com/blog/mysql-external-drive/

Mediawiki setup

Today I installed mediawiki - this is an amazing piece of software using PHP and MySQL that is great for documentation of software projects.

I followed the links here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MediaWiki

But I really found this to be more useful:
https://wiki.debian.org/MediaWiki

There was a broken link for getting the tar ball for mediawiki. Besides that, there was one step missing - to create a user called wikiuser in MySQL. Other than that, it worked fine.

Etherpad setup

Today I set up a Collaboration tool called Etherpad. I just love it. It is like a google docs application, except that it is a notepad-only application. There are no fancy Wordprocessors or Spreadsheets.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Etherpad-liteInstallation

This was not easy or straight-forward. I had to read many blogs and visit many websites to do it right.

1. Download the binaries from http://etherpad.org/#download
Most of the commands here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Etherpad-liteInstallation to create etherpad user and installing packages from aptitude are relevant:

apt-get install gzip git curl python libssl-dev pkg-config build-essential

The "Tweak the settings" section is very relevant
https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite#tweak-the-settings

Log rotation might need double quotes around the filename otherwise logrotate utility errors out.
ubuntu@zeus:/var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003$ sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite
reading config file /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite
error: /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite:1 unknown option 'var' -- ignoring line
error: /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite:1 unexpected text
error: /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite:2 lines must begin with a keyword or a filename (possibly in double quotes)
error: /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite:13 unexpected }
removing last 0 log configs
ubuntu@zeus:/var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003$ sudo vim /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite 
ubuntu@zeus:/var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003$ sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite
reading config file /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite
error: error accessing var/log/etherpad-lite: No such file or directory
error: /etc/logrotate.d/etherpad-lite:1 glob failed for var/log/etherpad-lite/*.log
error: found error in "var/log/etherpad-lite/*.log"
, skipping
removing last 1 log configs

Handling 1 logs

rotating pattern: "var/log/etherpad-lite/*.log"
 1048576 bytes (no old logs will be kept)
empty log files are rotated, old logs are removed

1. Download the binaries for nodejs from http://nodejs.org/download/ and install from it. I installed it to /var/www with permissions 777.

2.If you face problems like the following:
ubuntu@zeus:/var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003$ ./bin/run.sh 
Ensure that all dependencies are up to date...  If this is the first time you have run Etherpad please be patient.
npm ERR! Linux 3.2.0-75-virtual
npm ERR! argv "node" "/usr/local/bin/npm" "install" "--loglevel" "warn"
npm ERR! node v0.8.7
npm ERR! npm  v2.5.1
npm ERR! path /home/ubuntu/.npm/npm/2.2.0
npm ERR! code EACCES
npm ERR! errno 3

npm ERR! Error: EACCES, mkdir '/home/ubuntu/.npm/npm/2.2.0'
npm ERR!  { [Error: EACCES, mkdir '/home/ubuntu/.npm/npm/2.2.0']
npm ERR!   errno: 3,
npm ERR!   code: 'EACCES',
npm ERR!   path: '/home/ubuntu/.npm/npm/2.2.0',
npm ERR!   parent: 'ep_etherpad-lite' }
npm ERR! 
npm ERR! Please try running this command again as root/Administrator.

npm ERR! Please include the following file with any support request:
npm ERR!     /var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003/src/npm-debug.log

then,
Ensure that the .npm hidden directory is given 777 permissions under the /home/ubuntu directory

3. Another error is:
ubuntu@zeus:/var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003$ sudo ./bin/run.sh
You shouldn't start Etherpad as root!
Please type 'Etherpad rocks my socks' or supply the '--root' argument if you still want to start it as root

Ensure that all dependencies are up to date...  If this is the first time you have run Etherpad please be patient.
npm ERR! Error: SSL Error: CERT_UNTRUSTED
npm ERR!     at ClientRequest.<anonymous> (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/request/main.js:440:26)
npm ERR!     at ClientRequest.g (events.js:185:14)
npm ERR!     at ClientRequest.EventEmitter.emit (events.js:88:17)
npm ERR!     at HTTPParser.parserOnIncomingClient (http.js:1455:7)
npm ERR!     at HTTPParser.parserOnHeadersComplete [as onHeadersComplete] (http.js:111:23)
npm ERR!     at CleartextStream.socketOnData (http.js:1366:20)
npm ERR!     at CleartextStream.CryptoStream._push (tls.js:492:27)
npm ERR!     at SecurePair.cycle (tls.js:846:20)
npm ERR!     at EncryptedStream.CryptoStream.write (tls.js:227:13)
npm ERR!     at Socket.ondata (stream.js:38:26)
npm ERR! If you need help, you may report this log at:
npm ERR!     <http://github.com/isaacs/npm/issues>
npm ERR! or email it to:
npm ERR!     <npm-@googlegroups.com>

npm ERR! System Linux 3.2.0-75-virtual
npm ERR! command "/usr/local/bin/node" "/usr/local/bin/npm" "install" "--loglevel" "warn"
npm ERR! cwd /var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003/src
npm ERR! node -v v0.8.7
npm ERR! npm -v 1.1.49
npm ERR! 
npm ERR! Additional logging details can be found in:
npm ERR!     /var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003/src/npm-debug.log
npm ERR! not ok code 0

Remedy is,
npm install npm -g --ca=""
(http://blog.npmjs.org/post/78085451721/npms-self-signed-certificate-is-no-more)

4. Generally the following commands can start and stop etherpad if the above steps are followed
ubuntu@zeus:/var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003$ sudo service etherpad-lite start
etherpad-lite start/running, process 3011
ubuntu@zeus:/var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003$ sudo service etherpad-lite stop
etherpad-lite stop/waiting
ubuntu@zeus:/var/www/ether-etherpad-lite-fb98003$ sudo service etherpad-lite start
etherpad-lite start/running, process 3068

5. Install all the nice plugins from:
http://localhost:9001/admin/plugins