Linux Tips For New Users

Linux Tips For New Users

The command line

The command line (also referred to as the "terminal" or "console") is an alternate way to get things done, in Linux. In some casses, a succinct command at a terminal can be a lot easier and faster than doing the same task in a graphical user interface (GUI). The major downside to a command line interface is that it's pretty much useless unless you already know at least some simple commands.
In most of the distributions of Linux-based operating systems we installed at Free Your Machine (Redhat and Mandrake), pretty much everything that you would need to do can be done with an easy-to-use graphical interface. But since most people are fairly familiar with that paradigm, here are some tips on using the command line, and expanding the power you have over your computer.

Note: when at the command line in linux, you may type tab to autocomplete lines, or get a listing of files in the current directory beginning with the characters you have typed

Command Description startx start x windows shutdown -r now restart shutdown -h now shutdown w/o restart su login to root exit exit root/end terminal man view manual entry for specfied command man -k keyword search manual listingsfor keyword mv filename newfilename rename filename to newfilename mv filename newdirectory move filename to newdirectory ls lists files in directory ls -al filelisting with details rm filename deletes file rm -rf foldername delete folder and all subfile cp oldfile newfile makes copy with name newfile cp oldfile directory makes copy of file in indicated directory cd directory change to specified directory cd .. move one directory up tar -xvf file.tar unzip tar file tar -t file.tar list contents of tar file tar -xvfz file.tar.gz unzip tar.gz file tar -xvfj file.tar.bz2 unzip tar.bz2 file gunzip file.gz unzip gzip file unzip file.zip unzip zip file bunzip2 file.bz2 unzip bzip2 file

DOS Command UNIX Command Description cd cd change (to) directory attrib chmod change file protections comp diff compare files copy cp copy file(s) del rm delete file rd rmdir delete directory dir ls list directory contents edit pico edit a file find grep find text in a file help man get information on a command md mkdir make a new directory move mv move file(s) ren mv rename file date, time date show date and time chkdsk df show free disk space (storage) type cat show file contents type | more cat | more show file, screen-by-screen sort sort sort data