Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming, A

by Sobell, Mark G.

• ISBN13: 9780131478237
• ISBN10: 0131478230
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr

Summary

Praise for Mark Sobell's Books "I keep searching for books that collect everything you want to know about a subject in one place, and keep getting disappointed. Usually the books leave out some important topic, while others go too deep in some areas and must skim lightly over the others. A Practical Guide to Red Hatreg; Linuxreg; is one of those rare books that actually pulls it off. Mark G. Sobell has created a single reference for Red Hat Linux that cannot be beat! This marvelous text (with a 4-CD set of Linux Fedora Core 2 included) is well worth the price. This is as close to an 'everything you ever needed to know' book that I've seen. It's just that good and rates 5 out of 5." -Ray Lodato, Slashdot contributor "Mark Sobell has written a book as approachable as it is authoritative." -Jeffrey Bianchine, Advocate, Author, Journalist "Excellent reference book, well suited for the sysadmin of a linux cluster, or the owner of a PC contemplating installing a recent stable linux. Don't be put off by the daunting heft of the book. Sobell has striven to be as inclusive as possible, in trying to anticipate your system administration needs." -Wes Boudville, Inventor "A Practical Guide to Red Hatreg; Linuxreg; is a brilliant book. Thank you Mark Sobell." -C. Pozrikidis, University of California at San Diego "This book presents the best overview of the Linux operating system that I have found. . . . It should be very helpful and understandable no matter what the reader's background is: traditional UNIX user, new Linux devotee, or even Windows user. Each topic is presented in a clear, complete fashion and very few assumptions are made about what the reader knows. . . . The book is extremely useful as a reference, as it contains a 70-page glossary of terms and is very well indexed. It is organized in such a way that the reader can focus on simple tasks without having to wade through more advanced topics until they are ready." -Cam Marshall, Marshall Information Service LLC, Member of Front Range UNIX Users Group FRUUG, Boulder, Colorado "Conclusively, this is THE book to get if you are a new Linux user and you just got into RH/Fedora world. There's no other book that discusses so many different topics and in such depth." -Eugenia Loli-Queru, Editor in Chief, OSNews.com The Most Useful Linux Tutorial and Reference Ever, with Hundreds of High-Quality Examples Covering Every Linux Distribution!To be truly productive with Linux, you need to thoroughly master the shells and the command line. Until now, you had to buy two books to gain that mastery: a tutorial on fundamental Linux concepts and techniques, plus a separate reference. Worse, most Linux references offer little more than prettied-up man pages. Now, there's a far better solution. Renowned Linux expert Mark Sobell has brought together comprehensive, insightful guidance on the tools system administrators, developers, and power users need most, and an outstanding day-to-day reference, both in the same book. This book is 100 percent distribution and release agnostic: You can use it on any Linux system, now and for years to come. What's more, it's packed with hundreds of high-quality examples: better examples than you'll find in any other Linux guidebook. This is Linux from the ground up: the clearest explanations and most useful knowledge about everything from filesystems to shells, editors to utilities, and programming tools to regula

Table of Contents

Preface	xxvii
Welcome to Linux	1	(18)
The GNU--Linux Connection	2	(3)
The History of GNU--Linux	2	(2)
The Code Is Free	4	(1)
Have Fun!	5	(1)
The Heritage of Linux: UNIX	5	(1)
What Is So Good About Linux?	6	(4)
Why Linux Is Popular with Hardware Companies and Developers	7	(1)
Linux Is Portable	8	(1)
Standards	8	(1)
The C Programming Language	9	(1)
Overview of Linux	10	(5)
Linux Has a Kernel Programming Interface	10	(1)
Linux Can Support Many Users	10	(1)
Linux Can Run Many Tasks	11	(1)
Linux Provides a Secure Hierarchical Filesystem	11	(1)
The Shell: Command Interpreter and Programming Language	12	(2)
A Large Collection of Useful Utilities	14	(1)
Interprocess Communication	14	(1)
System Administration	14	(1)
Additional Features of Linux	15	(1)
GUIs: Graphical User Interfaces	15	(1)
(Inter)networking Utilities	16	(1)
Software Development	16	(1)
Chapter Summary	16	(1)
Exercises	17	(2)
PART I The Linux Operating System	19	(118)
Getting Started	21	(20)
Conventions Used in This Book	22	(2)
Logging In	24	(1)
Logging In from a Terminal	24	(1)
Logging In Remotely: Terminal Emulation, ssh, and telnet	25	(1)
Working with the Shell	25	(3)
Which Shell Are You Running?	26	(1)
Correcting Mistakes	26	(2)
Curbing Your Power: Superuser Access	28	(1)
Getting the Facts: Where to Find Documentation	29	(6)
The--help Option	29	(1)
man: Displays the System Manual	30	(2)
info: Displays Information About Utilities	32	(2)
HOWTOs: Finding Out How Things Work	34	(1)
Using the Internet to Get Help	34	(1)
More About Logging In	35	(3)
What to Do If You Cannot Log In	36	(1)
Logging Out	36	(1)
Using Virtual Consoles	36	(1)
Changing Your Password	37	(1)
Chapter Summary	38	(1)
Exercises	39	(1)
Advanced Exercises	39	(2)
Command Line Utilities	41	(34)
Special Characters	42	(1)
Basic Utilities	43	(2)
Is: Lists the Names of Files	43	(1)
cat: Displays a Text File	44	(1)
rm: Deletes a File	44	(1)
less Is more: Displaying a Text File One Screen at a Time	45	(1)
hostname: Displays the System Name	45	(1)
Working with Files	45	(7)
cp: Copies a File	45	(1)
mv: Changes the Name of a File	46	(1)
lpr: Prints a File	47	(1)
grep: Finds a String	48	(1)
head: Displays the Beginning of a File	49	(1)
tail: Displays the End of a File	49	(1)
sort: Displays a File in Order	50	(1)
uniq: Removes Duplicate Lines from a File	51	(1)
diff: Compares Two Files	51	(1)
file: Tests the Contents of a File	52	(1)
(Pipe): Communicates Between Processes	52	(1)
Four More Utilities	53	(3)
echo: Displays Text	53	(1)
date: Displays the Time and Date	54	(1)
script: Records a Linux Session	54	(1)
unix2dos: Converts Linux Files to Windows Format	55	(1)
Compressing and Archiving Files	56	(5)
bzip2: Compresses a File	56	(1)
bunzip2 and bzcat: Decompress a File	57	(1)
gzip: Compresses a File	58	(1)
tar: Packs and Unpacks Files	58	(3)
Locating Commands	61	(2)
which and whereis: Locate a Utility	61	(1)
apropos: Searches for a Keyword	62	(1)
slocate: Searches for a File	63	(1)
Obtaining User and System Information	63	(4)
who: Lists Users on the System	64	(1)
finger: Lists Users on the System	64	(2)
w: Lists Users on the System	66	(1)
Communicating with Other Users	67	(2)
write: Sends a Message	67	(1)
mesg: Denies or Accepts Messages	68	(1)
Email	69	(1)
Chapter Summary	69	(3)
Exercises	72	(1)
Advanced Exercises	73	(2)
The Linux Filesystem	75	(32)
The Hierarchical Filesystem	76	(1)
Directory and Ordinary Files	77	(11)
Filenames	78	(2)
mkdir: Creates a Directory	80	(1)
The Working Directory	81	(1)
Home Directory	82	(1)
Absolute Pathnames	83	(1)
Relative Pathnames	84	(2)
Important Standard Directories and Files	86	(2)
Working with Directories	88	(3)
rmdir: Deletes a Directory	88	(1)
Pathnames	89	(1)
mv, cp: Moves or Copies a File	90	(1)
mv: Moves a Directory	90	(1)
Access Permissions	91	(5)
Is --1: Displays Permissions	91	(1)
chmod: Changes Access Permissions	92	(2)
Setuid and Setgid Permissions	94	(1)
Directory Access Permissions	94	(2)
Links	96	(6)
Hard Links	97	(2)
Symbolic Links	99	(2)
rm: Removes a Link	101	(1)
Chapter Summary	102	(1)
Exercises	103	(2)
Advanced Exercises	105	(2)
The Shell	107	(30)
The Command Line	108	(5)
Syntax	108	(3)
Processing the Command Line	111	(2)
Executing the Command Line	113	(1)
Standard Input and Standard Output	113	(12)
The Screen as a File	114	(1)
The Keyboard and Screen as Standard Input and Standard Output	115	(1)
Redirection	116	(6)
Pipes	122	(3)
Running a Program in the Background	125	(2)
Filename Generation/Pathname Expansion	127	(5)
The ? Special Character	128	(1)
The Special Character	129	(1)
The [ ] Special Characters	130	(2)
Builtins	132	(1)
Chapter Summary	133	(1)
Utilities and Builtins Introduced in This Chapter	134	(1)
Exercises	134	(2)
Advanced Exercises	136	(1)
PART II The Editors	137	(116)
The vim Editor	139	(56)
History	140	(1)
Tutorial: Creating and Editing a File with vim	141	(7)
Starting vim	141	(1)
Command and Input Modes	142	(2)
Entering Text	144	(1)
Getting Help	144	(3)
Ending the Editing Session	147	(1)
The compatible Parameter	148	(1)
Introduction to vim Features	148	(6)
Online Help	149	(1)
Modes of Operation	149	(1)
The Display	150	(1)
Correcting Text as You Insert It	151	(1)
Work Buffer	151	(1)
Line Length and File Size	151	(1)
Windows	151	(1)
File Locks	152	(1)
Abnormal Termination of an Editing Session	152	(1)
Recovering Text After a Crash	153	(1)
Command Mode: Moving the Cursor	154	(4)
Moving the Cursor by Characters	155	(1)
Moving the Cursor to a Specific Character	155	(1)
Moving the Cursor by Words	156	(1)
Moving the Cursor by Lines	156	(1)
Moving the Cursor by Sentences and Paragraphs	157	(1)
Moving the Cursor Within the Screen	157	(1)
Viewing Different Parts of the Work Buffer	158	(1)
Input Mode	158	(2)
Inserting Text	158	(1)
Appending Text	159	(1)
Opening a Line for Text	159	(1)
Replacing Text	159	(1)
Quoting Special Characters in Input Mode	159	(1)
Command Mode: Deleting and Changing Text	160	(4)
Undoing Changes	160	(1)
Deleting Characters	160	(1)
Deleting Text	160	(2)
Changing Text	162	(1)
Replacing Text	163	(1)
Changing Case	163	(1)
Searching and Substituting	164	(6)
Searching for a Character	164	(1)
Searching for a String	164	(2)
Substituting One String for Another	166	(4)
Miscellaneous Commands	170	(1)
Join	170	(1)
Status	171	(1)
(Period)	171	(1)
Yank, Put, and Delete Commands	171	(3)
The General-Purpose Buffer	171	(1)
Named Buffers	172	(1)
Numbered Buffers	173	(1)
Reading and Writing Files	174	(1)
Reading Files	174	(1)
Writing Files	174	(1)
Identifying the Current File	175	(1)
Setting Parameters	175	(5)
Setting Parameters from Within vim	175	(1)
Setting Parameters in a Startup File	176	(1)
The .vimrc Startup File	176	(1)
Parameters	177	(3)
Advanced Editing Techniques	180	(4)
Using Markers	180	(1)
Editing Other Files	181	(1)
Macros and Shortcuts	182	(1)
Executing Shell Commands from Within vim	182	(2)
Units of Measure	184	(4)
Character	184	(1)
Word	185	(1)
Blank-Delimited Word	185	(1)
Line	185	(1)
Sentence	186	(1)
Paragraph	186	(1)
Window	187	(1)
Repeat Factor	187	(1)
Chapter Summary	188	(5)
Exercises	193	(1)
Advanced Exercises	194	(1)
The emacs Editor	195	(58)
History	196	(2)
Evolution	196	(1)
emacs Versus vim	197	(1)
Tutorial: Getting Started with emacs	198	(6)
Starting emacs	198	(1)
Stopping emacs	199	(1)
Inserting Text	199	(1)
Deleting Characters	199	(1)
Moving the Cursor	200	(2)
Editing at the Cursor Position	202	(1)
Saving and Retrieving the Buffer	203	(1)
Basic Editing Commands	204	(5)
Keys: Notation and Use	204	(1)
Key Sequences and Commands	205	(1)
META-x: Running a Command Without a Key Binding	205	(1)
Numeric Arguments	205	(1)
Point and the Cursor	206	(1)
Scrolling Through a Buffer	206	(1)
Erasing Text	207	(1)
Searching	207	(2)
Online Help	209	(3)
Advanced Editing	212	(13)
Undoing Changes	212	(1)
Mark and Region	213	(2)
Cut and Paste: Yanking Killed Text	215	(1)
Inserting Special Characters	216	(1)
Global Buffer Commands	217	(2)
Files	219	(1)
Buffers	220	(2)
Windows	222	(2)
Foreground Shell Commands	224	(1)
Background Shell Commands	224	(1)
Language-Sensitive Editing	225	(10)
Selecting a Major Mode	226	(1)
Human-Language Modes	226	(3)
C Mode	229	(3)
Customizing Indention	232	(1)
Comments	233	(1)
Special-Purpose Modes	233	(2)
Customizing emacs	235	(5)
The .emacs Startup File	236	(1)
Remapping Keys	237	(2)
A Sample .emacs File	239	(1)
More Information	240	(1)
Access to emacs	240	(1)
Chapter Summary	241	(7)
Exercises	248	(2)
Advanced Exercises	250	(3)
PART III The Shells	253	(132)
The Bourne Again Shell	255	(84)
Background	256	(1)
Shell Basics	257	(20)
Startup Files	257	(3)
Commands That Are Symbols	260	(1)
Redirecting Standard Error	260	(3)
Writing a Simple Shell Script	263	(4)
Separating and Grouping Commands	267	(4)
Job Control	271	(3)
Manipulating the Directory Stack	274	(3)
Parameters and Variables	277	(15)
User-Created Variables	278	(3)
Variable Attributes	281	(2)
Keyword Variables	283	(8)
Special Characters	291	(1)
Processes	292	(3)
Process Structure	293	(1)
Process Identification	293	(1)
Executing a Command	294	(1)
History	295	(17)
Variables That Control History	295	(2)
Reexecuting and Editing Commands	297	(8)
The Readline Library	305	(7)
Aliases	312	(3)
Single Versus Double Quotation Marks in Aliases	312	(1)
Examples of Aliases	313	(2)
Functions	315	(3)
Controlling bash Features and Options	318	(4)
Command Line Options	318	(1)
Shell Features	319	(3)
Processing the Command Line	322	(10)
History Expansion	323	(1)
Alias Substitution	323	(1)
Parsing and Scanning the Command Line	323	(1)
Command Line Expansion	323	(9)
Chapter Summary	332	(2)
Exercises	334	(2)
Advanced Exercises	336	(3)
The TC Shell	339	(46)
Shell Scripts	340	(1)
Entering and Leaving the TC Shell	341	(2)
Startup Files	342	(1)
Features Common to the Bourne Again and TC Shells	343	(6)
Command Line Expansion (Substitution)	344	(4)
Job Control	348	(1)
Filename Substitution	348	(1)
Manipulating the Directory Stack	349	(1)
Command Substitution	349	(1)
Redirecting Standard Error	349	(1)
Working with the Command Line	350	(5)
Word Completion	350	(3)
Editing the Command Line	353	(1)
Correcting Spelling	354	(1)
Variables	355	(13)
Variable Substitution	356	(1)
String Variables	356	(1)
Arrays of String Variables	357	(1)
Numeric Variables	358	(2)
Braces	360	(1)
Special Variable Forms	361	(1)
Shell Variables	361	(7)
Control Structures	368	(9)
if	368	(3)
goto	371	(1)
Interrupt Handling	371	(1)
if...then...else	372	(1)
foreach	373	(2)
while	375	(1)
break and continue	376	(1)
switch	376	(1)
Builtins	377	(4)
Chapter Summary	381	(1)
Exercises	382	(2)
Advanced Exercises	384	(1)
PART IV Programming Tools	385	(196)
Programming Tools	387	(48)
Programming in C	388	(8)
Checking Your Compiler	388	(1)
A C Programming Example	389	(4)
Compiling and Linking a C Program	393	(3)
Using Shared Libraries	396	(3)
Fixing Broken Binaries	397	(1)
Creating Shared Libraries	398	(1)
make: Keeps a Set of Programs Current	399	(8)
Implied Dependencies	401	(3)
Macros	404	(3)
Debugging C Programs	407	(10)
gcc: Compiler Warning Options	408	(3)
Symbolic Debugger	411	(6)
Threads	417	(1)
System Calls	417	(3)
strace: Traces System Calls	418	(1)
Controlling Processes	418	(1)
Accessing the Filesystem	419	(1)
Source Code Management	420	(10)
CVS: Concurrent Versions System	420	(10)
Chapter Summary	430	(1)
Exercises	431	(1)
Advanced Exercises	432	(3)
Programming the Bourne Again Shell	435	(92)
Control Structures	436	(34)
if...then	437	(3)
if...then...else	440	(2)
if...then...elif	442	(7)
for...in	449	(2)
for	451	(2)
while	453	(3)
until	456	(3)
break and continue	459	(1)
case	459	(7)
select	466	(2)
Here Document	468	(2)
File Descriptors	470	(4)
Parameters and Variables	474	(13)
Array Variables	474	(1)
Locality of Variables	475	(3)
Special Parameters	478	(2)
Positional Parameters	480	(5)
Expanding Null and Unset Variables	485	(2)
Builtin Commands	487	(14)
type: Displays Information About a Command	487	(1)
read: Accepts User Input	487	(4)
exec: Executes a Command	491	(2)
trap: Catches a Signal	493	(4)
kill: Aborts a Process	497	(1)
getopts: Parses Options	497	(3)
A Partial List of Builtins	500	(1)
Expressions	501	(9)
Arithmetic Evaluation	501	(2)
Logical Evaluation (Conditional Expressions)	503	(1)
String Pattern Matching	504	(1)
Operators	505	(5)
Shell Programs	510	(10)
A Recursive Shell Script	510	(3)
The quiz Shell Script	513	(7)
Chapter Summary	520	(2)
Exercises	522	(2)
Advanced Exercises	524	(3)
The gawk Pattern Processing Language	527	(36)
Syntax	528	(1)
Arguments	528	(1)
Options	529	(1)
Notes	529	(1)
Language Basics	530	(7)
Patterns	530	(1)
Actions	531	(1)
Comments	531	(1)
Variables	531	(1)
Functions	532	(1)
Arithmetic Operators	533	(1)
Associative Arrays	534	(1)
printf	534	(1)
Control Structures	535	(2)
Examples	537	(17)
Advanced gawk Programming	554	(5)
getline: Controlling Input	554	(3)
Coprocess: Two-Way I/O	557	(1)
Getting Input from a Network	558	(1)
Error Messages	559	(1)
Chapter Summary	560	(1)
Exercises	561	(1)
Advanced Exercises	561	(2)
The sed Editor	563	(18)
Syntax	564	(1)
Arguments	564	(1)
Options	564	(1)
Editor Basics	565	(3)
Addresses	565	(1)
Instructions	566	(1)
Control Structures	567	(1)
The Pattern Space and the Hold Space	568	(1)
Examples	568	(10)
Chapter Summary	578	(1)
Exercises	579	(2)
PART V Command Reference	581	(244)
Standard Multiplicative Suffixes	586	(1)
Common Options	587	(1)
The sample Utility	587	(238)
sample Very brief description of what the utility does	588	(1)
aspell Checks a file for spelling errors	589	(4)
at Executes commands at a specified time	593	(3)
bzip2 Compresses or decompresses files	596	(2)
cal Displays a calendar	598	(1)
cat Joins and displays files	599	(2)
cd Changes to another working directory	601	(2)
chgrp Changes the group associated with a file	603	(1)
chmod Changes the access mode (permissions) of a file	604	(4)
chown Changes the owner of a file and/or the group the file is associated with	608	(2)
cmp Compares two files	610	(2)
comm Compares sorted files	612	(2)
configure Configures source code automatically	614	(2)
cp Copies files	616	(3)
cpio Creates an archive or restores files from an archive	619	(5)
crontab Maintains crontab files	624	(3)
cut Selects characters or fields from input lines	627	(3)
date Displays or sets the system time and date	630	(3)
dd Converts and copies a file	633	(3)
df Displays disk space usage	636	(2)
diff Displays the differences between two files	638	(6)
du Displays information on disk usage by file	644	(3)
echo Displays a message	647	(2)
expr Evaluates an expression	649	(4)
file Displays the classification of a file	653	(2)
find Finds files based on criteria	655	(6)
finger Displays information about users	661	(3)
fmt Formats text very simply	664	(2)
fsck Checks and repairs a filesystem	666	(5)
ftp Transfers files over a network	671	(7)
gcc Compiles C and C++ programs	678	(5)
grep Searches for a pattern in files	683	(5)
gzip Compresses or decompresses files	688	(3)
head Displays the beginning of a file	691	(2)
kill Terminates a process by PID	693	(2)
killall Terminates a process by name	695	(2)
less Displays text files, one screen at a time	697	(5)
In Makes a link to a file	702	(3)
lpr Sends files to printers	705	(3)
Is Displays information about one or more files	708	(7)
make Keeps a set of programs current	715	(6)
man Displays documentation for commands	721	(3)
mkdir Creates a directory	724	(1)
mkfs Creates a filesystem on a device	725	(3)
Mtools Uses DOS-style commands on files and directories	728	(4)
mv Renames or moves a file	732	(2)
nice Changes the priority of a command	734	(2)
nohup Runs a command that keeps running after you log out	736	(1)
od Dumps the contents of a file	737	(5)
paste Joins corresponding lines from files	742	(2)
pr Paginates files for printing	744	(2)
ps Displays process status	746	(4)
rcp Copies one or more files to or from a remote system	750	(2)
rlogin Logs in on a remote system	752	(1)
rm Removes a file (deletes a link)	753	(2)
rmdir Removes a directory	755	(1)
rsh Executes commands on a remote system	756	(2)
scp Securely copies one or more files to or from a remote system	758	(2)
sleep Creates a process that sleeps for a specified interval	760	(2)
sort Sorts and/or merges files	762	(9)
split Divides a file in into sections	771	(2)
ssh Securely executes commands on a remote system	773	(4)
strings Displays strings of printable characters	777	(1)
stty Displays or sets terminal parameters	778	(5)
tail Displays the last part (tail) of a file	783	(3)
tar Stores or retrieves files to/from an archive file	786	(5)
tee Copies standard input to standard output and one or more files	791	(1)
telnet Connects to a remote system over a network	792	(2)
test Evaluates an expression	794	(4)
top Dynamically displays process status	798	(3)
touch Changes a file's access and/or modification time	801	(3)
tr Replaces specified characters	804	(3)
tty Displays the terminal pathname	807	(1)
tune2fs Changes parameters on an ext2 or ext3 filesystem	808	(2)
umask Establishes the file-creation permissions mask	810	(2)
uniq Displays unique lines	812	(2)
w Displays information about system users	814	(2)
wc Displays the number of lines, words, and bytes	816	(1)
which Shows where in PATH a command is located	817	(2)
who Displays information about logged-in users	819	(2)
xargs Converts standard input into command lines	821	(4)
PART VI Appendixes	825	(34)
Appendix A: Regular Expressions	827	(10)
Characters	828	(1)
Delimiters	828	(1)
Simple Strings	828	(1)
Special Characters	828	(1)
Periods	829	(1)
Brackets	829	(1)
Asterisks	830	(1)
Carets and Dollar Signs	830	(1)
Quoting Special Characters	831	(1)
Rules	831	(1)
Longest Match Possible	831	(1)
Empty Regular Expressions	832	(1)
Bracketing Expressions	832	(1)
The Replacement String	833	(1)
Ampersand	833	(1)
Quoted Digit	833	(1)
Extended Regular Expressions	834	(1)
Appendix Summary	835	(2)
Appendix B: Help	837	(10)
Solving a Problem	838	(1)
Finding Linux-Related Information	839	(1)
Documentation	839	(1)
Useful Linux Sites	840	(1)
Linux Newsgroups	841	(1)
Mailing Lists	841	(1)
Words	841	(1)
Software	842	(2)
Office Suites and Word Processors	844	(1)
Specifying a Terminal	844	(3)
Appendix C: Keeping the System Up-to-Date	847	(12)
yum: Updates and Installs Packages	848	(1)
Configuring yum	848	(1)
Using yum	849	(1)
Apt: An Alternative to yum	850	(1)
Using Apt	851	(4)
BitTorrent	855	(1)
Prerequisites	856	(1)
How BitTorrent Works	856	(1)
Using BitTorrent	857	(2)
Glossary	859	(54)
Index	913

Excerpts

A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programmingexplains how to work with the Linux operating system from the command line. The first few chapters quickly bring readers with little computer experience up to speed. The rest of the book is appropriate for more experienced computer users. This book does not describe a particular release or distribution of Linux but rather pertains to all recent versions of Linux. Command line interface (CLI).In the beginning there was the command line (textual) interface (CLI), which enabled you to give Linux commands from the command line. There was no mouse or icons to drag and drop. Some programs, such as emacs , implemented rudimentary windows using the very minimal graphics available in the ASCII character set. Reverse video helped separate areas of the screen. Linux was born and raised in this environment. Naturally all of the original Linux tools were invoked from the command line. The real power of Linux still lies in this environment, which explains why many Linux professionals work exclusivelyfrom the command line. Using clear descriptions and lots of examples, this book shows you how to get the most out of your Linux system using the command line interface. Linux distributions.A Linux distribution comprises the Linux kernel, utilities, and application programs. Many distributions are available, including Debian, Red Hat, Fedora Core, SUSE, Mandriva (formerly Mandrake), KNOPPIX, and Slackware. Although the distributions differ from one another in various ways, all of them rely on the Linux kernel, utilities, and applications. This book is based on the code that is common to most distributions. As a consequence you can use it regardless of which distribution you are running. Overlap.If you read A Practical Guide to Red Hat Linux : Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Second Edition,or a subsequent edition, you will notice some overlap between that book and the one you are reading now. The introduction, the appendix on regular expressions, and the chapters on the utilities (Chapter 3 of this book--notPart V), the filesystem, and programming tools are very similar in the two books. The three chapters that cover the Bourne Again Shell ( bash ) have been expanded and rewritten for this text. Chapters that appear in this book and but not in A Practical Guide to Red Hat Linux, Second Edition,include those covering the vim and emacs editors, the TC Shell ( tcsh ), the gawk and sed languages, and Part V, which describes 80 of the most useful Linux utility programs in detail. Audience.This book is designed for a wide range of readers. It does not require programming experience, although some experience using a general-purpose computer is helpful. It is appropriate for the following readers: Studentstaking a class in which they use Linux Power userswho want to explore the power of Linux from command line Professionalswho use Linux at work System administratorswho need a deeper understanding of Linux and the tools that are available to them Computer science studentswho are studying the Linux operating system Programmerswho need to understand the Linux programming environment Technical executiveswho want to get a grounding in Linux Benefits.A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell