Harley Hahn's Guide to Unix and Linux

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Glossary

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  D E F
  G H

Command
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Appendix B...

Summary of Unix Commands by Category

This appendix summarizes the 143 Unix commands discussed in this book, organized by category. At the end of each summary, the designation [X] provides a link to the chapter in which the command is explained. The categories are:


Building Blocks	Processes and Job Control
Command Tools	Shells
Comparing Files	Selecting Data
Directories	System Tools
Displaying Data	Terminals
Documentation	Text Formatting
Editing	Tools
Files	Users and Userids
Filesystems	Variables
Logging In and Out

Building Blocks


cat	Combine files; copy standard input to standard output [16]
tee	Copy standard input to a file and to standard output [15]
xargs	Run command using arguments from standard input [25]

Command Tools


alias	Create/display aliases [13]
type	Locate a command: display its pathname or alias [8]
unalias	Delete aliases [13]
whence	Locate a command: display its pathname or alias [8]
which	Locate a command: display its pathname or alias [8]

Comparing Files


cmp	Compare two files [17]
comm	Compare two sorted files, show differences [17]
diff	Compare two files, show differences [17]
sdiff	Compare two files, show differences [17]

Directories


cd	Change your working directory [24]
chmod	Change file permissions for files or directories [25]
dirs	Display/clear contents of the directory stack [24]
du	Display amount of disk storage used by files [24]
file	Analyze type of file [24]
ls	Display various types of information about files [24, 25]
mkdir	Create a directory [24]
mv	Move or rename files or directories [24, 25]
popd	Change working directory; pop name off directory stack [24]
pushd	Change working directory; push name on directory stack [24]
pwd	Display pathname of your working directory [24]
rm	Delete files or directories [25]
rmdir	Remove an empty directory [24]
tree	Display a diagram of a directory tree [24]

Displaying Data


cat	Combine files; copy standard input to standard output [16]
echo	Write arguments to standard output [12]
head	Select lines from beginning of data [16, 21]
hexdump	Display binary (non-text) files [21]
less	Pager: display data, one screenful at a time [21]
more	Pager: display data, one screenful at a time [21]
od	Display binary (non-text) files [21]
print	Write arguments to standard output [12]
tail	Select lines from end of data [16, 21]

Documentation


apropos	Display command names based on keyword search [9]
info	Display file from the Info reference system [9]
man	Display pages from the online Unix reference manual [9]
whatis	Display one-line summary of specified command [9]
xman	GUI-based: display pages from online reference manual [9]

Editing


sed	Non-interactive text editing [19]
vi	vi text editor [22]
view	Start vi text editor in read-only mode [22]
vim	Vim text editor [22]

Files


chmod	Change file permissions for files or directories [25]
cp	Copy files; copy directories [25]
du	Display amount of disk storage used by files [24]
find	Search for files in a directory tree; process results [25]
ln	Create a new link to a file [25]
locate	Search for files [25]
ls	Display various types of information about files [24, 25]
mkfifo	Create a named pipe [23]
mv	Move or rename files or directories [24, 25]
rm	Delete files or directories [25]
shred	Delete a file securely [25]
stat	Display information from an inode [25]
touch	Update access/modification times of file; create file [25]
umask	Set file mode mask for file creation [25]
whence	Locate a command: display its pathname or alias [8]
whereis	Find files associated with a command [25]

Filesystems


df	Display disk space used/available for filesystems [24]
dumpe2fs	Display filesystem information from superblock [24]
mount	Mount a filesystem [23]
umount	Unmount a filesystem [23]

Logging In and Out


login	Terminate a login shell and initiate a new login [4]
logout	Terminate a login shell [4]
passwd	Change your login password [4]

Processes and Job Control


&	Run a program in the background [26]
^Z	Suspend (pause) a foreground process [26]
bg	Move job to the background [26]
fg	Move job to the foreground [26]
fuser	Identify processes that are using specific files [26]
jobs	Display information about jobs [26]
kill	Terminate a process; send a signal to a process [26]
nice	Run a program using specified scheduling priority [26]
prstat	Display dynamic information about processes [26]
ps	Display information about processes [26]
pstree	Display diagram of a process tree [26]
ptree	Display diagram of a process tree [26]
renice	Change scheduling priority of a running program [26]
suspend	Suspend (pause) a shell [26]
top	Display data about the most CPU-intensive processes [26]

Selecting Data


cut	Extract specified columns/fields of data [17]
grep	Select lines containing a specified pattern [19]
head	Select lines from beginning of data [16, 21]
look	Select lines that begin with a specified pattern [19]
strings	Search for character strings in binary files [19]
tail	Select lines from end of data [16, 21]

Shells


bash	Bash shell [11]
bindkey	Set command-line editing mode [13]
chsh	Change your default shell [11]
csh	C-Shell [11]
exit	Exit a shell [4]
fc	Display/reexecute commands from the history list [13]
history	Display commands from the history list [13]
ksh	Korn shell [11]
sh	Bourne shell [11]
tcsh	Tcsh shell [11]
!	Reexecute command from the history list [13]
!!	Reexecute last command from the history list [13]
^^	Substitute/reexecute last command from history list [13]

System Tools


dmesg	Display boot messages (Linux) [6]
hostname	Display the name of your system [8]
init	Change to another runlevel [6]
reboot	Reboot the computer [6]
shutdown	Shutdown the computer [6]
su	Change to superuser or another userid [6]
sudo	Run a single command as superuser [6]
uname	Display the name of your operating system [8]
uptime	Display how long your system has been up [8]

Terminals


lock	Temporarily lock your terminal [8]
stty	Set/display operating options for your terminal [7]
tty	Display name of the special file for your terminal [23]

Text Formatting


colrm	Delete specified columns of data [16]
expand	Change tabs to spaces [18]
fmt	Format paragraphs to make them look nice [18, 22]
fold	Format long lines into shorter lines [18]
join	Combine columns of data based on common fields [19]
nl	Add line numbers to text [18]
paste	Combine columns of data [17]
pr	Format text into pages or columns [18]
rev	Reverse order of characters in each line of data [16]
sed	Non-interactive text editing [19]
split	Split a large file into smaller files [16]
tac	Combine files while reversing order of lines of text [16]
tr	Change or delete selected characters [19]
unexpand	Change spaces to tabs [18]
uniq	Remove adjacent repeated lines in a text file [19]

Tools


bc	Arbitrary-precision, easy-to-use calculator [8]
cal	Display a calendar [8]
calendar	Display current reminders from calendar file [8]
date	Display the time and date [8]
dc	Arbitrary-precision, stack-based calculator [8]
leave	Display reminder at a specified time [8]
sort	Sort data; check if data is sorted [19]
sleep	Delay for a specified interval [26]
tsort	Create a total ordering from partial orderings [19]
wc	Count lines, words and characters [18]

Users and Userids


groups	Display the groups to which a userid belongs [25]
id	Display current userid and groupid [25]
last	Check the last time userid has logged in [4]
quota	Display your system resource quotas [8, 24]
users	Display userids that are currently logged in [8]
w	Display info about userids and active processes [8]
who	Display info about currently logged in userids [8]
whoami	Display the userid that is currently logged in [8]

Variables


echo	Write arguments to standard output [12]
env	Display environment variables [12]
export	Export shell variables to the environment [12]
print	Write arguments to standard output [12]
printenv	Display environment variables [12]
set	Set/display shell options and shell variables [12]
setenv	Set/display environment variables [12]
unset	Delete shell variables [12]
unsetenv	Unset environment variables [12]

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Summary of Unix Commands Covered in This Book

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Summary of vi Commands

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