Java Reference
In-Depth Information
still swear by
csh
, a.k.a. the
C-shell
, though most of its best features have been
incorporated into
bash
.
TIP
There are actually quite a few shells to choose from, and several editors for
entering text. Our recommendation: If you learn only one shell, learn
bash
. If
you learn only one editor, learn
vi
. Some basic shell scripting will go a long way
to eliminating mundane, repetitive tasks. Some basic
vi
editing will let you do
things so much faster than what GUI editors support. (More on editing in
Chapter 2.)
Since commands could be developed and deployed apart from the operat-
ing system, UNIX and Linux have, over the years, had a wide variety of tools
and commands developed for them. In fact, much of what is called
Linux
is
really the set of GNU tools which began development as Open Source long
before Linux even existed. These tools, while not technically part of the operat-
ing system, are written to work atop any UNIX-like operating system and pro-
grammers have come to expect them on any Linux system that they use. Some
commands and utilities have changed over the years, some are much the same
as they first were in the early days of UNIX.
Developers, encouraged by the openness of Open Source (and perhaps
having too much free time on their hands) have continued to create new utili-
ties to help them get their job done better/faster/cheaper. That Linux supports
such a model has helped it to grow and spread. Thus Linux presents the first
time user with a mind-boggling array of commands to try to learn. We will
describe a few essential tools and help you learn about more.
1.3
B
ASIC
L
INUX
C
ONCEPTS AND
C
OMMANDS
There are some basic Linux commands and concepts that you should know in
order to be able to move around comfortably in a Linux filesystem. Check your
knowledge of these commands, and if need be, brush up on them. At the end
of the chapter, we list some good resources for learning more about these and
other commands. Remember, these are commands that you type, not icons for
clicking, though the windowing systems will let you set up icons to represent
those commands, once you know what syntax to use.
