TT1 *NIX 2: Unix Basics
TT1 *NIX 2: Unix Basics
ghost | 4844 Reads | This is written to simplify things for new users on Linux or Unix
Let's start from what new people should understand.
You have a home directory for you user, as everything is user based under Unix, and your home directory is usually /home/yourusername.
What's the difference between unix and linux? Nothing. New users won't recognize the differences. Truthfully, UNIX isn't made for home computers quite as much, with a less forgiving kernel when it comes to more common personal compuer items these days, from wireless cards to webcams.
Compared to Windows, UNIX is meant for intelligent people who plan on putting some time into learning more than pointing and clicking. The biggest difference between the two is here-
Windows is based on big, bulky applications that handle a lot of things.
Unix is based on lots of teeny, tiny applications that all work together. This results in more dependent applications, but much more portable and efficient.
For now, all you need to know about the history of unix is the basic timeline in relation to Windows. Unix came first, then Windows, (neither had a GUI,) then Xwindows and Windows with a GUI popped up, then Linux was created from Unix.
Basic Commands- Here you go, simple commands and their usage.
ls - Standing for short list, this is about the same as dir in windows. Pulls a directory listing. You can try ls /usr/share to get an LS from that specific directory. Use -a to include files beginning with a period.
cd - Change directory. DUH. Nothing special, just type cd blah to change to the directory blah in your current directory. Can be used specifically, cd /usr/share takes you to /usr/share. Everything is case sensitive. You can type just cd, or cd ~ to go to your home directory, and cd .. to go back one step in the hierarchy.
mkdir - Makes the directory with whatever text you put after it. mkdir wee, mkdir /home/tony/wee, whatever.
pwd - displays the path to your current directoy. cd /usr/share/, then pwd, would result in: /usr/share.
cp - copy file. Syntax is simply cp . To copy a file to your current directory, cp /usr/share/file.txt . including the period at the end there.
mv - Moves a file. mv You can also use it to rename a file.
rm - Remove. rm , or rm -rf .
rmdir - Duh. Remove a directory without anything inside.
clear - clears everything from your console screen cat - cat echos the content of a file to your console window less - echos the contents of a file to the window one page at a time, advanced by spacebar.
That's all for now.. Wait for volume two to expand on everything. :)
Anytime you can't figure out a command, type 'man ' to get information. Once the page is up, use enter or spacebar to advance the page, and CTRL + C to exit the manual page within the console window.