Linux® for Dummies®, 9th Edition

Appendix A. Common Linux Commands

In This Appendix

• Managing storage with archiving and compression commands

• Keeping in touch with communication commands

• Organizing data with file commands

• Bossing machines around with system-control commands

Computing novices often marvel at the keyboard dance that Linux experts typically perform. Sure, these experts know about modern advances like the mouse and the graphical interface, but these keyboard musicians prefer the home keys and find that they can work faster that way. It takes some time to reach this level of proficiency, but every expert was a novice at one time, and any novice can become an expert with plenty of practice.

In this appendix, you find the commands listed by themes, according to what they can actually do for you. So read on — and dazzle your friends with your command-prompt finesse. When they ask you how and where you figured out all those commands, just smile and mumble something about the voices in your head — and, of course, keep this section dog-eared and within reach of your computer.

Linux Commands by Function

Because every command serves a specific purpose, organizing these tools into groups according to their individual functions isn't difficult. If you know what you need to do but don't know which command does the job, flip through this section to start your search. From here, you can dig further by referencing man pages. To access a man page, type man command at a command prompt. For example, man ls shows you the help ...