Getting comfortable at the command line

If you're really nervous about this..

see CLTips_NoFear, which contains:

• Don't be intimidated, you're in charge
• Getting a CLI (command line interface)
• Getting into/out of trouble
• It really is worth it

General suggestions: a learning plan

see CLTips_StudyPlan, for further remarks on:

• learn filesystem basics -- what it is, structure, navigating, specifying paths
• learn file basics -- names, types, access
• learn tool usage (not necessarily all-at-once)
  • man, info, --help (and variants: -help -h h ? .. experiment)
  • tab-completion, commandline editing
  • shell wildcards, quoting
  • history -- simple to advanced
  • redirection and pipe concepts
• learn to appreciate text files
• learn system configuration tasks and tools, su, sudo
• learn shell scripting
• learn a general purpose scripting language

Suggested commands to start with

Summary of content at CLTips_FirstCommands:

• pwd, cd, ls, tree (if avail), df
• find, grep, less
• file (and maybe: type)
• misc: id, w, free, wc, date,
• basic file & system maintenance: mkdir, rmdir, cp, mv, rm, tar, gzip,
• kind of advanced: top, ps, kill, jobs and job control (bg/fg)

Something a little different

Summary of content at CLTips_TalkToGui:

• nautilus --browser /somepath/to/somedir
• firefox http://google.com

Suggested memory aids

Summary of content at CLTips_MemoryAids:

• know the territory
• tab-completion
• learn more on man, info, and general techniques for finding answers for yourself
• aliases and functions -- I use /etc/profile.d/jgs-alias.sh
• long-term-memory -- I use a running logfile ("LTM"->ltm_2007.txt), panel launcher
• make your own cheat-sheets for specific programs OR operations
• keep all such personal notes files together in one special directory (or tree)

Some additional reading

Note: don't try to suffer through something that seems to assume way too much (like perhaps the IBM 11-part series, below). There's plenty of help at all levels .. look for something that seems right for you. And there's nothing wrong with jumping around in any of this material.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_line_interface
• http://lifehacker.com/software/command-line/geek-to-live--the-command-line-comeback-226223.php
• http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/views/aix/libraryview.jsp?search_by=Speaking+UNIX+Part
• http://www.kernel-panic.org/Members/pacneil/beginner/index.html
• http://lowfatlinux.com/linux-command-prompt.html
• http://www.dci.pomona.edu/docs/command-line.html
• http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/cli.html
• http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/view/stable/postlfs/profile.html

comments:

see also --ggeller, Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:29:46 -0700 reply
For short tutorials on many commands, see http://wsms.wikiplanet.com/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Linux_Commands