SAMS Teach Yourself Unix in 10 Minutes

whatis and man –f

The man command used with the –f switch is similar to the whatis command, just as apropos is similar to the man command with the –k switch. The full power of most Unix commands can only be unleashed with the use of switches, so make sure you pay close attention to how they are used in this lesson and in the rest of the book.

Switches and Flags As just mentioned, you can find help simply by using switches with the man command. That's great to know, but what exactly is a switch? A switch (also called a flag) is used with a command. The command will perform the basic task, but the switch (when added) will modify the command. For example, ...