Before anything else, kernel packages. If you don’t know what that means, it’s basically the heart of your operating system the part that makes everything run smoothly (or not so smoothly sometimes).
Now, if you want to customize your kernel package in Ubuntu 20.04, there are a few ways to do it. One way is by using the apt-get command. This can be done with just one line of code:
# This script installs a specific Linux kernel package in Ubuntu 20.04 using the apt-get command.
# The "sudo" command allows the user to run the following command with administrative privileges.
sudo apt-get install linux-image-5.8.0-something-generic
# The "apt-get" command is used to manage packages in Ubuntu.
# The "install" option is used to install a specific package.
# The "linux-image-5.8.0-something-generic" is the name of the kernel package that will be installed.
Replace “linux-image-5.8.0-something-generic” with whatever version you want to install (you can find the available versions by running `apt-cache search linux-image`). This will download and install the kernel package for your system, which is pretty cool if you’re into that kind of thing.
But what about keyboard layouts? Well, let me tell ya this is where things get really fun! If you want to customize your keyboard layout in Ubuntu 20.04, there are a few ways to do it as well. One way is by using the loadkeys command. This can be done with just one line of code:
# This script uses the loadkeys command to customize the keyboard layout in Ubuntu 20.04
# The loadkeys command loads the specified keymap file and sets it as the current keyboard layout
# First, we need to specify the location of the keymap file
# In this case, the keymap file is located in the /usr/local/share/kbd/keymaps directory
# We use the sudo command to run the loadkeys command with root privileges
# This is necessary as the keymap file is located in a system directory
sudo loadkeys /usr/local/share/kbd/keymaps/personal.map
Replace “personal.map” with whatever keymap you want to use (you can find the available keymaps by running `ls -l /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/`) and make sure it’s in your personal directory (or wherever you prefer). This will load your custom keyboard layout for the current session.
But what if you want to use this layout every time you boot up Ubuntu? Well, that’s where the KEYMAP variable comes into play. You can add this line to /etc/vconsole.conf:
# This script sets the KEYMAP variable to a custom keyboard layout for the current session.
# First, we need to specify the name of our custom keyboard layout.
# This can be done by replacing "your_custom_keymap" with the actual name of your layout.
# For example, if your layout is called "my_layout", the line would be: KEYMAP=my_layout
KEYMAP=your_custom_keymap
# Next, we need to make sure that this layout is loaded every time we boot up Ubuntu.
# To do this, we need to add the KEYMAP variable to the /etc/vconsole.conf file.
# This file is used to set console font and keyboard layout settings.
# We can do this by using the "echo" command to append the KEYMAP variable to the end of the file.
# The ">>" symbol is used to append, while the "&&" symbol is used to execute multiple commands in one line.
# So, the line would be: echo "KEYMAP=my_layout" >> /etc/vconsole.conf
echo "KEYMAP=your_custom_keymap" >> /etc/vconsole.conf
# Now, every time we boot up Ubuntu, our custom keyboard layout will be loaded automatically.
# This will save us the trouble of having to manually set it every time we log in.
# We can verify that the KEYMAP variable has been added to the file by using the "cat" command to display the contents of the file.
# The line would be: cat /etc/vconsole.conf
cat /etc/vconsole.conf
Replace “your_custom_keymap” with whatever keymap you want to use (again, make sure it’s in your personal directory). This will load your custom keyboard layout every time Ubuntu boots up.
Now adjusting typematic delay and rate. If you don’t know what that means, it’s basically how fast a key repeats when you hold it down for too long (or not so long sometimes). To change this in Ubuntu 20.04, use the kbdrate command:
# This script will load your custom keyboard layout every time Ubuntu boots up.
# Adjusting typematic delay and rate. If you don't know what that means, it's basically how fast a key repeats when you hold it down for too long (or not so long sometimes). To change this in Ubuntu 20.04, use the kbdrate command:
# The following line uses the kbdrate command to adjust the typematic delay and rate.
# -d specifies the delay value and -r specifies the rate value.
# Replace "delay" and "rate" with your desired values.
kbdrate -d delay -r rate
Replace “delay” with whatever typematic delay you want to set (in milliseconds) and replace “rate” with whatever typematic rate you want to set (in Hz). For example, if you want a 200ms typematic delay and a 30Hz typematic rate, use this command:
// Set typematic delay to 200 milliseconds
int delay = 200;
// Set typematic rate to 30 Hz
int rate = 30;
// Command to set typematic delay and rate
kbdrate -d delay -r rate;
And that’s it! You can also reset the typematic values to their defaults by running `kbdrate`.
Finally, layout switching. If you want to switch between keyboard layouts in Ubuntu 20.04 (like on X11), there are a few ways to do it as well. One way is by using the loadkeys command with multiple keymaps:
# This script uses the loadkeys command to switch between two keyboard layouts: US and MK.
# It can be used on Ubuntu 20.04 to mimic the layout switching functionality on X11.
# First, we need to reset the typematic values to their defaults by running `kbdrate`.
# This ensures that the keyboard will respond properly to the layout switching.
kbdrate # Resets typematic values to defaults.
# Now, we can use the loadkeys command to switch between the US and MK layouts.
# The first layout listed will be the default layout.
loadkeys us mk # Switches between US and MK layouts.
# Note: There are other ways to switch between keyboard layouts on Ubuntu 20.04,
# but this script specifically uses the loadkeys command with multiple keymaps.
# This allows for easy customization and switching between any desired layouts.
Replace “us” and “mk” with whatever keyboard layouts you want to use (you can find the available keymaps by running `ls -l /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/`). This will load both keyboard layouts for the current session.
But what if you want a permanent configuration? Well, that’s where the KEYMAP_TOGGLE variable comes into play. You can add this line to /etc/vconsole.conf:
# This script sets the keyboard layout to US by default and allows for toggling to the MK layout.
# The available keymaps can be found by running `ls -l /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/`.
# This will load both keyboard layouts for the current session.
# To make the configuration permanent, the KEYMAP_TOGGLE variable can be added to /etc/vconsole.conf.
# Set the default keyboard layout to US.
KEYMAP=us
# Allow for toggling to the MK layout.
KEYMAP_TOGGLE=mk
Replace “us” and “mk” with whatever keyboard layouts you want to use (again, make sure they’re in your personal directory). This will load the first keymap (“us”) every time Ubuntu boots up, but allow you to switch between both keymaps by pressing a certain key combination.
And that’s it! You can now customize kernel packages and keyboard layouts like a pro (or at least better than before).