Ubuntu Made Easy

Chapter 8. Simple Kitten Ways

Getting to Know the Linux Terminal and Command Line . . . and the Cool Things It Can Do

Many people shy away from Linux because they envision it as a system for compu-geeks, an environment in which you do everything the hard way—by command line. In this era of graphical interfaces, the idea of typing commands to get things done seems like a dreadful throwback to the days of DOS, and that puts many people off, especially those who remember the “old days.”

This reaction is fair enough, but it is not an accurate reflection of the reality of the Linux world. After all, most Linux users today utilize some sort of graphical ...