Introduction to Command Line

Command Line Session ---

Actions that you can take that are textual

Script -run this to keep a record of your journey -do commands -when don't type "exit" -to see record type "cat typescript"

where are we? -the location is the "working directory" -pwd (print working directory) -rm stands for remove and deletes a file

Command line is also a programming language -best name is the Bourne shell -the updated version was the GNU bourne shell or "bourne again shell" -BASH -people talk about bash prompts, bash scripting -also known as shell scripting -you create a script which is just a document of a set of commands -you can then call up that script to run it again

Command line is a good way to do the same thing to a large number of files

Shell -think of the scripting language as a shell -so there is a shell that protects the kernel -the kernel enforces the rules of who is allowed to read what file and what programs run when -the shell was the part that talks to the user -sometimes the "shell" is whatever you're using to get the unix line to do something

The Prompt -the text before where you type in your command

~ means home directory

cd means change directory /tmp is a directory that exists for temporary files

You usually have a command (e.g. cd) and an argument (e.g. /tmp)

The directory -like an upside down tree -the root directory is on the top

.. means the parent directory

How to go to the root

/ is the root -to go to the root: cd /

find . -type d -print -show all the directories from the root

control + c stops the command

language structure: -verb + adverb + noun(s) -command is the verb -adverb is "in what way" -adverbs and nouns collectively are called arguments -adverbs are called options

rm foo bar -delete the file foo and delete the file bar

you can type man for any command and it will show you the options for any command -in "grotesque" detail -e.g. man rm shows the manual for the rm command

q will quit out of the man because it's a "pager" program that allows you to scroll through the command line

commands are meant to work together -many designed to work with text files

cd will take you to your home directory if you don't specify a path or directory

How to create a new directory -we use the command mkdir -then say what we want to call it -e.g. mkdir cats dogs frogs -makes three folders

how to get into a folder? -cd cats

to create a directory with a space in the name you put quotes around it -e.g. mkdir "tabby cats"

ls will tell you what is the in the directories

echo meow puts the text you type in

echo meow > felix -save "meow" into the file Felix

cat shows you what's in the file

cp makes copies of files -you say where do you want to copy from and where do you want to copy to -cp felix ../less-cute/garfield

send the output of a command to a file with > -e.g. cat garfield garfield > large-cat -sends the output of cat garfield garfield to a file called large-cat -now we have a script called large-cat

echo echo hello > greeting.sh -put echo hello into the file greeting.sh

>> means append to

sh means run -e.g. sh greeting.sh

mv means move -e.g. mv ./less-cute/garfield . -move the file garfield, located in less-cute in the home directory to the home directory (.)

wc means word count -e.g. wc -w means how many words there are in the output (user types after command) -e.g. wc -l means how many lines are there