Important Commands
In Linux you can run hundreds of commands on the command line. When you consider all the different options and arguments each command can accept, you have millions of possibilities. Many commands are used primarily by programmers and system administrators, but there are many others that are very useful for regular desktop users.
Learning these basic commands is a great way to become comfortable with the command line. Once you are familiar with some commands, you'll see that they are often easier and faster to use than clicking around on menus and icons. As you get more experienced with Linux, you will probably find yourself using the command line more and more often.
The following examples use a test user account named
jharris
. Be sure to perform all the steps in
order—if you don't, you might end up with
different results than what's described here.
Commands are case sensitive
In Linux, everything you type at the
command line is case sensitive. A
file named README is a different file than one
called Readme. A command of
ls
is different than a command of
LS
.
Getting There from Here
When you begin a car trip, knowing where you're going is only slightly more important than knowing where you are. Directions to the airport are useful only if they start from the place you're at or that you know how to get to. On the command line, it's easy to lose track of where you are. Luckily, the command-line prompt on Move is configured to give you some information. Your command prompt ...
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