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Introduction to the Unix command line

by Benjamin P Haley

Version 4
by Benjamin P Haley
Version 5
by Benjamin P Haley

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1 = History =
4 = Terminology =
5 In this document, we use the term Unix to refer to a family of operating systems. The look and feel of the graphical interfaces of these systems, as well as the file system layout, may differ significantly from one system to the next, but they all have their (conceptual) roots in the original Unix developed at Bell Labs. This family of operating systems includes Linux (also called GNU/Linux) distributions like Debian, Red Hat, and Ubuntu, as well as Sun Solaris. Mac OS X is a curious case; many of its users never touch the ''command line interface'', but all the commands described below are all available in OS X. Many entertaining arguments about whether OS X is a true Unix can be found in programmer internet forums. Microsoft Windows offers a different ''command line interface'' than Unix, but a program called [ Cygwin] provides a Unix interface for Windows.[[BR]][[BR]]
8 = Opening a Terminal =
9 In a modern Unix OS (that is, one with a graphical user interface) the ''command line interface'' is accessed through a program called a terminal. Below we show how to run a terminal program in some of the more popular graphical Unix environments, including GNOME and KDE, available in most Linux distributions, as well as Mac OS X.
11 === GNOME ===
13 [[image(gnome_terminal.png)]]
15 === KDE ===
17 [[image(kde_konsole.png)]]
19 === Mac OS X ===
24 [[BR]]
26 -
might be the name of your computer, like '''coates\[1\]'''. Regardless of the color of your window or cursor or the wording of your prompt, this terminal
might be the name of your computer and a number which , like '''coates![1!]'''. Regardless of the color of your window or cursor or the wording of your prompt, this terminal
27 is a Unix ''command line interface''.
29 = Shell =
30 The prompt you see in the terminal window is initial output of a program called the shell. The shell is the Unix command interpreter (it is actually a separate program from the terminal window program, but the shell starts automatically when a terminal window opens). Unix offers several different shells, but for most of what we cover in this document, the differences between the shells are negligible.[[BR]][[BR]]
32 What kind of commands can be typed at a shell prompt? Read on...
34 = Basic file commands =