Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.6

Chapter 3. Command Line and Automation

Time

This chapter takes approximately 3 hours to complete.

Goals

Become familiar with the command-line environment

Use the command line to perform basic file manipulation and system administration tasks

Understand how Automator and AppleScript can be used to automate tasks in the graphical interface

Understand how scripts can be used to automate tasks at the command-line interface

The analogy goes like this: You can spend your entire life driving cars without having any idea how to fix them, but if you plan on being a mechanic then you need to know how things work under the hood. The same is true of Mac OS X; you can spend years using Macs without having any idea how to fix them, but if you plan to administer ...