Quick Unix Tutorial

Examples of Basic Commands

Redirection of Output or Input
>    redirects the output of a command to a file
>>  redircts the output of a command to the end of an existing file
<    takes the input of a command form a file, not the terminal

Summary of Basic Commands

• apropos apropos(1) locate commands by keyword lookup
• arch arch(1B) display the architecture of the current host
• cal cal(1) display a calendar
  cal [month] year
  
  • month   number between 1 and 12
  • year      number between 1 and 9999
  Examples:
  cal 1996      print calendar for year 1996
  cal 1 1997   print calendar for January 1997
  
• cancel lp(1) send/cancel requests to an LP print service
• cat cat(1) concatenate and display files (To view files, create files, append to files and combine files)
  cat [options] [files]
  Examples:
  cat files                read file(s)
  cat > file              create file (reads form terminal; terminate input with ^D)
  cat >> file            append to file (reads form terminal; terminate input with ^D)
  cat file2 >> file1   appends contents of file2 to file1
  
• cd cd(1) shell built-in functions to change the current working directory
• chdir cd(1) shell built-in functions to change the current working directory
• chgrp chgrp(1) change the group ownership of a file
• chmod chmod(1) change the permissions mode of a file
• chown chown(1) change owner of file
• clear clear(1) clear the terminal screen
• cp cp(1) copy files
• date date(1) print and set the date
• dc dc(1) arbitrary precision desktop calculator
• dos2unix dos2unix(1) convert text file from DOS format to ISO format
• eject eject(1) eject media such as CD-ROM and floppy from drive
• exit exit(1) shell built-in functions to enable the execution of the shell to advance beyond its sequence of steps
• file file(1) file(1B) determine the type of a file by examining its contents
• head head(1) display first few lines of files
• lp lp(1) send/cancel requests to an LP print service
• lpstat lpstat(1) print information about the status of the LP print service
• ls ls(1) ls(1B) list the contents of a directory
  ls [options] [directories]
  the current working directory used if no directories specified
  A few options:
  
  • -a    list all entries includeing hidden files (starting with .)
  • -i    print inode numbers
  • -l    long list (mode, links, owner, group, size, timeof last modification, and name
  • -t    sort by modification time
  • -x    multi-column list, sorted across each row
• Mail, mailx mailx(1), mail mail(1) rmail interactive message processing system to read mail or send mail to users
  mail [options] users
  Examples:
  mail                           with no options, to read your mail
  mail user                     to send mail to user
  mail user < filename     mail a file to another user
  
• mkdir mkdir(1) make directories
• more more(1) browse or page through a text file
• mv mv(1) move files
• nispasswd nispasswd(1) change NIS+ password information
• page more(1) browse or page through a text file
• pg pg(1) files perusal filter for CRTs
• pr pr(1) print files
• ps ps(1) ps(1B) display the status of current processes
• pwd pwd(1) working directory name
• rm rm(1) remove files or directories
• rmdir rm(1) remove files or directories
• spell spell(1) find spelling errors
• tail tail(1) deliver the last part of a file
• umask umask(1) shell built-in function to restrict read/write/execute permissions
• unix2dos unix2dos(1) convert text file from ISO format to DOS format
• vi vi(1) screen-oriented (visual) display editor based on ex
• view vi(1) screen-oriented (visual) display editor based on ex
• w w(1) who is logged in, and what are they doing
• wc wc(1) display a count of lines, words and characters in a file
• which which(1) locate a command; display its pathname or alias
• who who(1) who is on the system
• whoami whoami(1B) display the effective current username
• whois whois(1) Internet user name directory service
• write write(1) write to another user