> I have spent so many hours searching the web for a reasonably
> comprehensive list of Linux commands, and I'm finally here begging for
> suggestions on where to look. I've tried newsgroups and various
> search engines, but I get so many hits and none of them pan out.
>
> Does anyone here have any suggestions? TIA.
phoo.. the comprehensive list is so big you don't even want to know
about it..
the trick with unix is that the 'shell' - the program that allows you
to type in commands - is just an interface between the user and all the
other files on the system. commands like:
$ ls -alF
$ vi some_file
$ ps ax
and so forth aren't actually built into the OS or the shell. each
one of them is a separate program, sitting in one of the directories
the shell has been told to search for commands. that list of
directories is stored in a data structure called the 'environment',
under the name 'PATH'. to find out what directories your shell
searches when you enter the name of a command program, type:
$ echo $PATH
you should get something that looks like so:
/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/sbin
which is a colon-delimited list of directory names. here's a listing
of the commands in one of those directories on my system:
/bin :
[ csh echo ksh mv rcp sleep
cat date ed ln pax rm stty
chio dd expr ls ps rmail sync
chmod df hostname mkdir pwd rmdir test
cp domainname kill mt rcmd sh
each item of which is a commonly-used command.
the good thing about unix is that it has a tradition of putting all
the documentation on the computer along with the software. you can
get a basic description of each command listed above.. what it does
and how to use it.. by entering:
$ man [command name]
the manpages are (and will continue to be) one of your best friends
under unix. use them regularly, and often.
Linux itself has another tradition for on-server documentation: the
HOWTO files. you should be able to find them in the directory:
/usr/doc/HOWTO
and they're well worth the time you can spend reading them. the
HOWTOs follow more or less the same development and distribution
philosophy as Linux itself: if somebody wants one and can't find one,
they write one and share it. there's a lot of good step-by-step
information on just about any subject you can think of.
RedHat also includes a directory:
/usr/doc/FAQ
which holds documents on all sorts of "okay, i'm new at this"
subjects.
HOWTOs are generally compressed, so you should start with the
following commands:
$ man gzip
$ man more
$ man less
which will give you a quick introduction to the data compression
utilty and the two most popular file readers (aka: 'pagers' because
they display data one page (screen) at a time) in the standard
distribution. once you've had a quick look at what each one does
(don't try to memorize all the options and command keys in the
pagers.. your head will explode), pick a topic from the HOWTO list and
enter something like so:
$ gunzip [some subject]-HOWTO.gz
$ less [same subject]-HOWTO
and read to your heart's content.
mike stone <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 'net geek..
been there, done that, have network, will travel.
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