linux commands

Basic Basic Linux/Unix

In linux your location (or the location of files) is known as a path. Paths on linux are either relative or absolute. Absolute paths begin with / (a.k.a. root). Relative paths start implicitly in the present working directory (.). A path can then append directories or files to the present working directory. There are a couple special directories: the parent directory (..) of any directory and your home directory ( ∼ ). Table 1.2 shows some basic path symbols.

Table 1.1: Basic linux commands

Linux commands are typed in a terminal to cause some action. Many commands have arguments denoted by words following a command. A common argument is a path that uniquely identifies a directory (dir) or file. Many commands also have options denoted by a hyphen and a letter. When an option or argument is optional it is shown in square braces. Some common commands are listed in Table 1.2.

We also recommend the UNC ITS LearnIT program1. This program provides a portal to opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to learn about the use of information technology (IT) to increase productivity and to engage in discussions about technology's role and impact on the University mission. We recommend the following courses be taken to complete this section of the training2.

Introduction to HPC, a Research Computing Server

Linux: Introduction at Software Carpentry

Linux: Intermediate at Software Carpentry

Shell Scripting at Software Carpentry

Table 1.2:

Basic linux commands