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Reference   Unix Guide


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Unix Reference Guide

Unless you have a Unix machine sitting on your desktop, you're probably accessing it through telnet or a command-line shell. This interface may be a little intimidating to new users who are usually a tad more comfortable with a point-and-click interface. But it's really not as hard as it looks.

This reference sheet gives you the basic commands you'll need, focusing especially on file management. You can also learn how to combine commands and become a real power user. If you need more help getting started, take a look at Pam's excellent introduction entitled. Between that article and this guide, you'll be on your way to becoming a Unix master. Soon you'll be wondering how you got along without it.

cat
Reading and printing multiple files

cd
Changing directories, moving around

chmod
Changing permissions on a file or directory

chown
Changing ownership of files and directories

cp
Copying files

date
Displaying and setting dates

diff
Differences between files

exit
Stopping a process and coming back home

find
Searching for files that meet specified conditions

finger
Gathering information about users

grep
Searching for lines that match regular expressions

head
Printing the beginning of a file

kill
Terminating processes

less
Displaying files

lprm
Removing printer queue requests

ls
Listing files

man
Using the online manual

mkdir
Making directories

more
Displaying files

mv
Moving and renaming files

passwd
Creating or changing passwords

ps
Active processes

pwd
Printing the pathname

rlogin
Logging into remote systems

rm
Removing files and directories

rmdir
Removing directories

su
Logging in as another user

tail
Printing the end of a file

telnet
Communicating with other hosts

who
Displaying information about a system