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- RoboDonut, on 09/09/2008, -22/+89Should be "9 useful Linux commands that everyone already knows!"
- brisbin33, on 09/09/2008, -2/+42i agree with RoboDonut, most people on digg hanging out in the "linux" category already know these; but it's really refreshing to see a "here's why you should be happy to use the terminal" article, rather than the typical "don't be scared, you don't need that crazy terminal thing in modern distributions!" article.
when i got into linux i _loved_ the idea that you can control your entire computer (and in a much more powerful way) from a simple textual input, and i hate it when people downplay it's value simply to entice a newbie into switching. the terminal is a killer tool that should be embraced, mastered, and showcased; not shamed into oblivion because it's "scary hacker stuff" to a prospective convert. - neasteflorin, on 09/09/2008, -4/+43Not everyone knows these commands, and remember that this tutorial is aimed at the Linux newbies, help them get started.
- neasteflorin, on 09/09/2008, -2/+37This article is clearly aimed at the linux newbies who don't know these basic commands. The old time linux veterans may bury this - but I think it's important to educate new users about the terminal, because Linux is so much more powerful than Windows, and it would really be a shame to let them live just in the GUI garden.
- WhiskeyLemur, on 06/30/2009, -4/+26Sudo make me a sandwich.
- enantiodromia, on 09/10/2008, -9/+29"Just switched from Windows or still a bit scared about the command line? You shouldn't be!"
WORST. ADVICE. EVER.
if you are not terrified of the command line, you aren't using it right. - medfreak, on 09/10/2008, -5/+23"The command line is a very powerful, fast and intuitive tool to get things done without clicking buttons and navigating through windows"
Clicking two buttons on a mouse and pointing your hand around is supposed to be harder than using two hands and mashing tens of buttons on your keyboard memorizing in the process all sorts of commands and making sure you didn't commit a single spelling mistake?
Powerful? Perhaps. Fast and intuitive? No way. - inactive, on 09/09/2008, -1/+14Knowledge is power.
- MadHarvey, on 09/10/2008, -1/+14If you are going to educate new users about the command line, you should start by explaining the Unix philosophy:
1. Everything in Unix is represented as a file in the directory structure.
2. Great command line tools, are small, razor sharp, and do one thing to files really, really ***** well.
3. These small tools can be chained together to do amazingly complex things to files. And, because everything is a file, that means you can do virtually anything to your system.
-----------------------------------
Then you should explain that the TAB key will auto-complete directory and command names for you in most shells. It is simply amazing how many guides forget to mention this. The TAB key is your new best friend.
-----------------------------------
Then you should explain |, , &, &&, etc.
-----------------------------------
Then, and ONLY THEN, should you get into specific commands starting with
'man'
So many new Linux users are turned off from the shell because they think its all about memorizing command syntax, and typing in ungodly long sequences (ala no tab key).
But, when you explain the underlying concepts and the Unix philosophy, and it 'clicks', you have a life long Unix shell user on your hands. - rollerboy, on 09/10/2008, -0/+10"whoami" command just shows your name, it doesn't answer the question philosophically.
- quisph, on 09/10/2008, -2/+12"The command line is a very powerful, fast and intuitive tool to get things done"
Powerful, yes. Fast, usually. Intuitive, my ass.
And this article is not helping matters by including commands like "shutdown [-h] [-r] now" without explaining what the brackets mean, and that you're not actually supposed to type them.
Also, what's up with the condescending tone of the article? Does the author think that all Linux newbies are in grade school? - nedzeve, on 09/10/2008, -0/+10It's a REALLY BAD tutorial for newbies if that's the case.
- Vegiemaster, on 09/10/2008, -0/+10Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!
I've had to reformat more than a few times in my earlier days of Linux. : P - sembetu, on 09/10/2008, -1/+11sudo apt-get stfu
- knight666, on 09/10/2008, -0/+9I hope one day MY son can explain how easy the holo-terminal works and what a breeze it is to just upload to the Consience.
- santasing, on 09/10/2008, -0/+9That's not why CLI is better than GUI.
Its the ability to pipe commands that makes CLI much better. So, instead of waving my hands and pushing buttons for 10 different tasks, I could get it all done in 1 line.
Of course it depends on the app. A GUI is obviously better for browsing but for grep-ing through files, a CLI is much better. - neasteflorin, on 09/10/2008, -0/+9Yep, that easy if you know how what's the name of the app and it's in the database(repository).
- 0x1B, on 09/10/2008, -2/+9Yeah, it's that easy. There's no compiling, because the packages are already built for you and sitting in a thing called a "repository". You're merely pulling them down from there and installing them locally. As an added bonus, the apt package manager will also check dependencies for you. So if you want to install soem program called 'foo', and it requires another called 'bar' (which may in turn require who knows how many other packages or libraries or whateer), it'll figure it all out and fetch what it needs. And it'll give you the option of saying "no thanks, that's too much stuff, don't think I'll install" if you don't want it installed after all. (Though removal is pretty simple as well.)
As far as the package name, you can find that out via the package manager as well. For example, say you wanted to install a game emulator your buddy was mentioning, and the only thing you recall is that it had the word 'atari' in the name. No sweat finding out what you need:
# apt-cache search atari
atari-fdisk-cross - Partition editor for Atari (running on non-Atari)
circuslinux - The clowns are trying to pop balloons to score points!
madbomber - A Kaboom! clone
tcs - Character set translator.
atari800 - Atari emulator for svgalib/X/curses
stella - Atari 2600 Emulator for X windows
xmess-x - X binaries for Multi-Emulator Super System
So the 'atari800' package was the emulator you wanted. No problem installing it:
# apt-get update
# apt-get install atari800
So you type that and you're on your way. The first command updates the package database, makes sure that you'll get the most current stuff. The second does the install. (That's done as the root user for clarity's sake. You can tell it's the root account because it has the '#' symbol at the beginning of the prompt.)
If you prefer a GUI, there's an app called Synaptic that's available. It's pretty easy to use. See here for more: https://help.ubuntu.com/7.04/add-applications/C/ad ...
As someone who has had to perform such mind-numbingly boring tasks as compile and install things such as KDE and ImageMagick (w/ the GD stuff) from source on older Unix machines, I can assure you that package managers make life very easy. - WhiskeyLemur, on 06/30/2009, -5/+12TunaFish, people like you are *exactly* why Linux isn't going to catch on among the casual user any time soon. If ever.
- aserer511, on 09/10/2008, -0/+7is intsalling in linux THIS easy? "sudo apt-get install application-of-your-choice"
does that require self-compiling, or will that do it all for you? - inactive, on 09/09/2008, -2/+8Not everybody in /linux_unix/ is a Linux guru. I read it from time to time just to see what the news is with Linux. I don't use it, myself, nor am I familiar with the commands. So something like this is useful to others.
- kd420, on 09/10/2008, -2/+8It wouldn't be funny, because someone would probably try it (even you posting it might lead to that) and wipe their system. You probably didn't mean it in a bad way, but imagine if your whole computer was wiped (imagine you were a newbie with everything on 1 partition). *Shudders at the thought*
- mizike, on 09/10/2008, -1/+7I love how both the current time and the current month are "cool statistics".
- santasing, on 09/10/2008, -0/+6Nice article. At least it tells you something. Not like those flamebaits that go "20 reasons to switch from X to Y"
- dooooo, on 09/10/2008, -5/+10It would have been a good article If It didn't include distro-specific commands .
Imagine a new (let's say) Mandriva user waiting for the first wonder to happen :
$ sudo apt-get install vlc
"What the f*** is wrong with the system" he would shout . - JQP123, on 09/10/2008, -1/+6"Sure. I find typing the name of my application more efficient than navigating 3 or layers of "start" menu."
Typing the name is quick and easy.
Finding out precisely what "name" to type ... not so quick and easy.
Unless you just happen to know the name, it's much more efficient to simply navigate those 3 menu layers.
- ohplease, on 09/10/2008, -3/+8"Just switched from Windows or still a bit scared about the command line? You shouldn't be! The command line is a very powerful, fast and intuitive tool to get things done without clicking buttons and navigating through windows."
Intuitive! just like DOS 2.1!
I hope one day we can all return to the all powerful A:> prompt and discard these pointless GUIs. - johndavidjack, on 09/09/2008, -6/+10Hey, it's nice to help "newbies" into linux, and I think it's important. But this should never make the front page, especially on a site that has been devoted to tech news (pre-election 2008 anyway)...
This isn't ground-breaking, or interesting at all, to say the least.
How about "9 useful Solaris commands everyone should use"... - WhiskeyLemur, on 06/30/2009, -1/+5You totally missed the "Just switched from Windows?" part of that article, didn't you....
- Acglaphotis, on 09/10/2008, -0/+4You haven't been here for very long.
- nedzeve, on 09/10/2008, -2/+6Yes, but who uses Mandriva?
- WhiskeyLemur, on 06/30/2009, -1/+5Newbies =/= n00bs.
- skyshock1, on 09/10/2008, -0/+4SCREEN.
- inactive, on 09/09/2008, -5/+9Go, Linux, go.
I ask my son, the genius, whenever I've a problem. - skyshock1, on 09/10/2008, -0/+4and if you don't....
apt-cache search {searchTerm}
And of it's already on the system, but you can't remember what it's called....
man -k {searchTerm} - MrTea, on 09/10/2008, -0/+4seconded and dugg
- Acglaphotis, on 09/10/2008, -0/+4Linux users (myself included) often lose track of time...
- sjaxso, on 09/11/2008, -0/+4You made a typo with 'typo'
That's a win in my book. Well done Sir/Ma'am. - n0ia, on 09/10/2008, -0/+4Even though I've been running Linux for ~10 years, I'm not terrified of the command line, cause I know important things like " --help", "man ", and the power of Google, in the event that I can't figure it out on my own. But even when I first started I wasn't scared of it. Just know that sometimes the fix is just a reinstall away.
- nedzeve, on 09/10/2008, -2/+5"Fast and intuitive?"
Sure. I find typing the name of my application more efficient than navigating 3 or layers of "start" menu.
"Powerful?"
Absolutely. Once you master those simple commands, they can be tied together in simple to build scripts that save you time and open up endless possibilities. - 4321234, on 09/10/2008, -0/+3We'll blame neasteflorin, k?
Digg headline="Explained: 9 useful Linux commands everyone should use!" - Dubbsacc, on 09/10/2008, -0/+3It's like the Carls Jr. burgers of OSes...
- 0x1B, on 09/10/2008, -0/+3I came here to say the same thing. I've been using Unix for almost 20 years now, and the one thing I can say about the CLI is that it's anything but intuitive. I'm still learning new things, even after all these years. Hell, I still need to occasionally look at the find(1) man page to make sure what I want is what I think I need. That old saying holds true: "Unix is very user-friendly. It's just very selective about who its friends are."
I also found the tone annoying. - Kenzan, on 09/10/2008, -1/+4Mainly fear, ignorance and unwillingness to learn, grow, and evolve has kept most folks from experiencing the joys of Linux.
That's why the Ubuntu project is so awesome. - Khabi, on 09/10/2008, -0/+3"cp Folder /user/home -r"
Anyone else find it odd that he puts the -r at the end of the command? - klitzbtc, on 09/10/2008, -0/+3Dugg for using Linux rather than the cornering Debian/Ubuntu malarkey most people use.
Thanks neasteflorin - nedzeve, on 09/10/2008, -1/+4FTA:
apt-get
pwd
cd
ls
mkdir
cp
mv
rm
date
cal
uptime
whoami
whereis
df
shutdown
man
That's more than 9, but they clumped many together, and didn't count other ones they explained. - cesclaveria, on 09/10/2008, -0/+3I use linux literally for a living, know my way around the command line better than I know my house, and I didn't knew about cal until now, so, see, this lists are helpful even if you know most of the stuff.
- twigboy, on 09/11/2008, -0/+3despite all the article-haters, i thank the guy for taking the time to write it for the linux noobs
all you linux "pros" out there, get your fat ego out of your asses and realise that not everyone knows as much as you do
its asking help from people like you that put noobs off from learning linux - sjaxso, on 09/11/2008, -0/+3It was nine years before I discovered the TAB completion, by accident. Seriously.
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