UNIX Basics

NOTE: All icons are representative only. You should read your screen to determine the exact items you need.

About UNIX

Generally, UNIX commands are entered in lower-case letters. However, UNIX is case sensitive so any letters that you should type in upper-case will appear in upper-case letters in the instructions.

Getting Started

There are several UNIX commands that are easy and fun to use. They are listed below with a description of what they do.

To practice with any of these commands, type the command at the ds9{username}#: prompt, then press ENTER

who

returns your username, the date and time of logon, and the logged on workstation's IP number or name.
date

returns the current date and time.
uptime

returns the current time, number of current users, and the number of days that INYUNIX has been up and running.
whoami

returns your username.
finger

returns a list of all users currently logged onto INDYUNIX.
finger userid

returns information about that user.
cal x yyyy

(where x=month and yyyy=year) returns a calendar for the given month and year.
clear

empties the screen and moves the prompt to the upper left corner.

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Listing Your Files

To list the contents of your file list, type: ls
Press ENTER
Your home (UserID) directory also may include one or more "hidden" files whose name starts with "."
For example, .elm. These files are hidden so that you don't accidentally erase or modify them. They are required to keep your UNIX environment working properly. If you are not familiar with UNIX and how to manipulate these files, do NOT edit or delete them.
If you do need to manipulate these files, they may be displayed, together with the "regular" files, by typing: ls -a

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Displaying a File's Contents

Several commands allow you to see a file's contents displayed on the screen.

The commands follow this form: command filename

For example, to see the contents of a file named holiday.plan, type: cat holiday.plan
Press ENTER

cat filename

(for conCATenate) continuously scrolls the indicated file's contents, coming to rest on the final screen of information.

To stop the scroll, simultaneously press CTRL-S
To re-start the scroll, simultaneously press CTRL-Q

more filename

pauses the display to show one screen of information at a time and shows the percent of the file already viewed.

To view the next screen, press SPACEBAR

pg filename

displays a file's contents, one page at a time.

To proceed to the next page, at the : prompt, press ENTER
To return to the ds9{username}#: prompt, at the (EOF): prompt, press ENTER

nroff filename

displays the file's contents fully justified with one inch margins, blank lines (where present) and leading spaces on lines.

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Redirecting Command Output

Almost any UNIX command's output can be redirected to a new file, or the output from one command used as input for another command. The redirection symbol is >

To use redirection, follow this form: command > newfilename
- For example, to redirect the output of the ls command to a file named directory.listing, type: ls -a > directory.listing
  Press ENTER
  You can then view the contents of the directory.listing using the cat command as previously described.
NOTE: If you redirect a command's output to an existing filename, that file's contents will be overwritten. To append a redirection output to an existing file use the symbol: >>
For example, to append the current directory listing to an existing file named directory.listing, type: ls -a >> directory.listing

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Using Directory Commands

UNIX is based on a tree-type directory structure that allows you to embed directories and files within other directories.

The following commands will help you as you work with directories on INDYUNIX:

mkdir directoryname

makes a subdirectory within the working (current) directory.

For example, if you are in your home directory, to make a subdirectory named Documents, at the ds9{username}#: prompt, type: mkdir Documents

NOTE: It often can be difficult to distinguish between directories and files when you issue the ls command. One suggestion is to name files with lower-case letters and directories with an initial upper-case letter. For example, pr actice.txt (a file) and Memos (a subdirectory).

cd directoryname

changes to a lower level subdirectory.

For example, suppose you have a subdirectory named Documents. To change to that subdirectory from your home directory, type: cd Documents
You can also change directly to an embedded lower subdirectory with the command: cd directoryname/directoryname

cd ..

changes to the next higher level subdirectory.

NOTE:

cd

changes from whatever subdirectory you are currently in to your home directory.

pwd

displays the current path.

For example, suppose you have a subdirectory named Documents, with a Test directory within the Documents subdirectory. Use the cd command to move into the Test directory and type pwd to display a statem ent similar to the following: /jsmith/Documents/Test

rmdir directoryname

removes the specified directory.

NOTE: A directory must be empty (and can not be the current directory) before it can be removed.
You can directly remove an embedded lower subdirectory by the command: rmdir directoryname/directoryname
NOTE: Removing an embedded subdirectory in the manner previously described does NOT affect the first named subdirectory.

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Using File Commands

cp oldfilename newfilename

makes a duplicate of an existing file and gives it the specified new name.

For example, to make a copy of the file test.scores and name it temp.test.scores, type: cp test.scores temp.test.scores

rm filename

deletes the specified file.

For example, rm test.scores

mv oldfilename newfilename

renames an existing file and gives it the specified new name. (Remember, UNIX is case sensitive.)

For example, to rename the file farmer.brown to ag.mgr.brown, type: mv farmer.brown ag.mgr.brown

mv oldfilename directoryname

moves an existing file into the specified directory.

For example, previous examples described an account named jsmith with a subdirectory, Documents and within Documents, a subdirectory, Test.
- To move the file temp.test.scores from your home directory to the Documents subdirectory, from the home directory, type: mv temp.test.scores Documents
- To move the file temp.test.scores directly from your home directory to the Test subdirectory, from your home directory, type: mv temp.test.scores Documents/Test
- To move the file temp.test.scores from the Test subdirectory to the Documents directory, from within the Test subdirectory, type: mv temp.test.scores ..
  NOTE:There is one space between the filename and the ..
- To move the file temp.test.scores from the Test subdirectory to your home directory, from within the Test subdirectory, type:mv temp.test.scores ../..
  NOTE: There is one space between the filename and the first ..

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Getting Help

There are several types of online help available to help you learn UNIX:

learn

(tutorial) includes instruction and opportunity for practice on files, editor, morefiles, macros, eqn, and C.

To access learn, at the ds9{username}#: prompt, type: learn
Press ENTER
To leave learn:
- If you are in a lesson, type: bye
  Press ENTER
- If you are not in a lesson, type: q
  Press ENTER

apropos

locates commands by keyword. If you don't know a specific UNIX command name, use apropos to help locate that command.

Apropos displays any man pages containing the keyword for which you searched.
For example, if you need to change your password, but don't know the UNIX command for doing so, at the ds9{username}#: prompt, type: apropos password
- To stop lengthy information from scrolling, simultaneously press CTRL-S
- To resume the scroll, simultaneously press CTRL-Q

help

lists basic commands.

To access help, at the ds9{username}#: prompt, type: help
Press ENTER

man

(MANual pages)displays reference manual entries.

At the ds9{username}#: prompt, type: man command name
Press ENTER
- For example, to receive the manual entry on the passwd command, at the ds9{username}#: prompt, type: man passwd
- For example, to receive the manual entry on the man command, at the ds9{username}#: prompt, type: man man
To quit man, press Q

Info-Explorer

connects an online information base of articles by hypertext links. Hypertext links allow you to jump directly to information on specific keywords within an article without the need to traverse through layers of articles.

To access InfoExplorer, at the ds9{username}#: prompt, type: info
Press ENTER
To open InfoExplorer's pull-down menus, simultaneously press CTRL-O
Press UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW to move through the menus.
To return to InfoExplorer's text from within the menus, press ESC
To exit InfoExplorer,
1. Simultaneously press CTRL-O
2. Press E
3. Press ENTER

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Original: 1995 ALB - IT
Updated: 7 February 1996 Tom Johnson - IT

UNIX Basics

About UNIX

Menu

Getting Started

who

date

uptime

whoami

finger

finger userid

cal x yyyy

clear

Listing Your Files

Displaying a File's Contents

cat filename

more filename

pg filename

nroff filename

Redirecting Command Output

Using Directory Commands

mkdir directoryname

cd directoryname

cd ..

cd

pwd

rmdir directoryname

Using File Commands

cp oldfilename newfilename

rm filename

mv oldfilename newfilename

mv oldfilename directoryname

Getting Help

learn

apropos

help

man

Info-Explorer