Shell Basics

Tom Ferrin

April 4, 2017

Portions Copyright © 2005-06 Python Software Foundation.

Part I: Shell Basics

  • Most modern tools have a graphical user interface (GUI)
    • They're easier to use
    • A picture is worth a thousand words
  • But command-line user interfaces (CLUIs) still have their place
    • Easier to build a simple CLUI than a simple GUI
    • Higher action-to-keystroke ratio
      • (Once you're over the learning curve)
    • Easier to see and understand what the computer is doing on your behalf
      • (Which is part of what this course is about)
    • Most important: it's easier to combine CLUI tools than GUI tools
      • (Small tools, combined in many ways, can be very powerful)
  • This lecture focuses on Linux (aka Unix)

The Shell

[A Shell in Action]

A Shell in Action

  • The most important command-line tool is the command shell
    • Usually just called “the shell”
    • Looks (and works) like an interactive terminal circa 1980
  • Manages a user's interactions with the operating system by:
    • Reading commands from the keyboard
    • Executing those commands...
    • ...or running another program
    • Displaying the output
  • The shell is just one program among many
    • Many different shells have been written
    • The Bourne shell, called “sh”, is an ancestor of many of them
    • We'll use “bash” (the Bourne Again Shell) in this course

The Shell is Not the Operating System

[Operating System]

Operating System

  • The operating system (OS) is not just another program
    • Automatically loaded when the computer boots up
    • Runs everything else (including shells)
  • The OS manages the computer's hardware
    • Provides a common interface to different chips, disks, network cards, etc.
    • So that user-level applications can run anywhere
  • The OS also keeps track of what programs are running, what privileges they have, etc.
    • Which makes it crucial to security

The File System

[A Directory Tree]

A Directory Tree

  • The file system is the set of files and directories the computer can access
    • Basically it's everything that doesn't go away when you reboot
  • Data is stored in files
    • By convention, files have two part names, like notes.txt or home.html
    • Most operating systems allow you to associate a filename extension with an application
      • E.g., “.txt” is associated with an editor, and “.html” with a web browser
    • But this is all just convention: you can call files (almost) anything you want
  • Files are stored in directories (often called folders)
    • Directories can contain other directories, too
    • Results in the familiar directory tree
    • Everything in a particular directory must have a unique name
      • (Otherwise, how would you identify it?)
    • But items in different directories can have the same name
  • On Linux, the file system has a unique root directory called “ / ”
    • Every other directory is a child of it, or a child of a child, etc.

Paths

  • A path is a description of how to find something in a file system
    • An absolute path describes a location from the root directory down
      • Equivalent to a street address
      • Always starts with “/”
      • /home/hpotter is Harry Potter's home directory
      • /courses/swc/wlec/shell.html is some random file
      • (Notice that both directories and files are just names and you can't tell one from the other just by it's name.)
    • A relative path describes how to find something from some other location
      • Equivalent to saying, "Four blocks north, and seven blocks east"
      • From /courses/swc, the relative path to the file noted above is wlec/shell.html
  • Every program (including the shell) has a current working directory
    • It's like asking "Where am I?"
    • Relative paths are deciphered relative to this location
    • It can change while a program is running

Paths - continued

[Parent Directories]

Parent Directories

  • Two special directory names:
    • “ . ” (pronounced "dot") is the current directory
    • “ .. ” (pronounced "dot dot") is the directory one level up
      • Also called the parent directory
      • In directory /courses/swc/data, .. is /courses/swc
      • In directory /courses/swc/data/elements, .. is /courses/swc/data

Navigating the File System

  • Easiest way to learn basic Linux commands is to see them in action
    • Type pwd (short for "print working directory") to find out where you are
    • (Many Unix commands have cryptic names like this)
    • 
         $ pwd
         /home/hpotter/swc
      				
    • Then type ls (for "listing") to see what's in the current directory
    • 
         $ ls
         LICENSE.txt     conf        data        docs    index.swc   license.swc     print.css   swc.css     tests
         Makefile        config.mk   depend.mk   img     lec         press           sites       swc.dtd     util
      				
    • To see what's in the data directory, type ls data
    • 
         $ ls data
         bio   elements   haiku.txt   morse.txt   pdb   solarsystem.txt
      				

      (The “$” in the examples above is the shell "prompt" character. It means the shell is waiting for keyboard input.)

  • Alternatively:
    • Type cd data to 'go into' directory data
      • I.e., change the current working directory to data
    • Type ls on its own
    • Type cd .. to go up one level in the directory hierarchy
      • I.e., back to the directory you started from in this example
    • 
         $ cd data
         $ pwd
         /home/hpotter/swc/data
         $ ls
         bio   elements   haiku.txt   morse.txt   pdb   solarsystem.txt
         $ cd ..
         $ pwd
         /home/hpotter/swc
      				

Program Execution

  • When you type a command like ls, the OS:
    • Reads characters from the keyboard
    • Passes them to the shell (because it's the currently active window)
  • The shell:
    • Breaks the line of text it receives into words
    • Looks for a program with the same name as the first word
      • (We'll see in a moment how the shell knows where to look)
    • Executes that program
  • That program's output then goes back to the shell...
    • ...which gives it to the OS...
    • ...which displays it on the screen
  • All well-designed software systems work this way:
    • Breaks a (potentially complex) task down into managable pieces
    • Provides a tool that solves each sub-problem
    • Hooks all the pieces together to provide the overall solution
  • This approach allows you to:
    • Develop and test components independently
    • Replace or re-use components incrementally
    • Add new components as you go along
[Running a Program]

Running a Program

Providing Options

  • You can make ls produce more informative output by giving it some flags
    • By convention, flags for Unix tools start with “ - ”, as in “ -c ” or “ -l ”
    • Some flags take arguments (such as filenames)
  • Indicate directories by adding a trailing slash character
    
       $ ls -F
       LICENSE.txt     conf/       data/       docs/   index.swc   print.css   swc.css     tests/
       Makefile        config.mk   depend.mk   img/    lec/        sites/      swc.dtd     util/
    			
  • Show all files and directories, including those whose names begin with “ . ”
    • By default, ls doesn't show things whose names begin with “ . ”
    • So that . and .. don't always show up
      
         $ ls -a
         .   .svn        Makefile    config.mk   depend.mk   img         lec         sites   swc.dtd util
         ..  LICENSE.txt conf        data        docs        index.swc   print.css   swc.css tests
      					
  • Flags can be combined
    • 
         $ ls -a -F
         .   .svn/       Makefile    config.mk   depend.mk   img/        lec/        sites/  swc.dtd util/
         ..  LICENSE.txt conf/       data/       docs/       index.swc   print.css   swc.css tests/
      					

Creating Files and Directories

  • Rather than messing with the course files, let's create a temporary directory and play around in there:
    • 
         $ mkdir tmp
         $ cd tmp
         $ ls
      			
    • Note that there's normally no output from mkdir, but mkdir -v (verbose) would print a confirmation message
  • Use a plain text editor of your choice to create a file called earth.txt with the following contents:
    • 
         Name: Earth
         Period: 365.26 days
         Inclination: 0.00
         Eccentricity: 0.02
      			
    • TextEdit (on OS X) also runs in a window of its own
    • Pico or Vim (on Unix) takes over the shell window temporarily
  • The easiest way to create a similar file venus.txt is to copy earth.txt and edit it...
    
       $ cp earth.txt venus.txt
       $ edit venus.txt
       $ ls -t
       venus.txt   earth.txt
    		
    • “ -t ” tells ls to list by modification time, instead of alphabetically

Looking at Files

  • Check the contents of the file using cat (short for "concatenate")
    • Prints the contents of a file to the screen
    • 
         $ cat venus.txt
         Name: Venus
         Period: 224.70 days
         Inclination: 3.39
         Eccentricity: 0.01
      				
  • Compare the sizes of the two files using ls -l
    • 
         $ ls -l
         total 2
         -rwxr-xr-x  1 gvwilson bmi219 73 Jan  4 15:58 earth.txt
         -rwxr-xr-x  1 gvwilson bmi219 73 Jan  4 15:58 venus.txt
      				
    • (“ -l ” meaning "long form"; fifth column is size in bytes.)
  • wc (for "word count")
    • 
         $ wc earth.txt venus.txt
           4   9  73 earth.txt
           4   9  73 venus.txt
           8  18 146 total
      				
    • Columns show lines, words, and characters

Basic Tools

manDocumentation for commands. mkdirMake directories.
catConcatenate and display text files. morePage through a text file.
cdChange working directory. mvMove (rename) files and directories.
clearClear the screen. odDisplay the bytes in a file.
cpCopy files and directories. pwdPrint current working directory.
dateDisplay the current date and time. rmRemove files.
diffShow differences between two text files. rmdirRemove directories.
echoPrint arguments. sortSort lines.
grepPrint lines matching a pattern. tailDisplay the last few lines of a file.
headDisplay the first few lines of a file. uniqRemove adjacent duplicate lines.
lsList files and directories. wcCount lines, words, and characters in a file.

Part I: Summary

  • Command-line tools are easiest way to do many simple tasks
  • Easiest way to see what the computer is actually doing
  • A handful of basic commands (like those in the previous table) will get you a long way

Part I: Exercises

  • Exercise 3.1:
    • Suppose ls shows you this:
      
         Makefile    biography.txt   data    enrolment.txt   programs    thesis
      				
    • What argument(s) will make it print the names in reverse, like this?
      
         thesis  programs    enrolment.txt   data    biography.txt   Makefile
      				
  • Exercise 3.2:
    • What does the command cd ~ do?    What about cd ~hpotter?
  • Exercise 3.3:
    • What command will show you the first 10 lines of a file?  The first 25?  The last 12?
  • Exercise 3.4:
    • What do the commands pushd, popd, and dirs do?  Where do their names come from?
  • Exercise 3.5:
    • How would you send the file earth.txt to the default printer?  How would you check if made it (other than wandering over to the printer and standing there)?
  • Exercise 3.6:
    • The instructor wants you to use a hitherto unknown command for manipulating files. How would you get help on this command?

Part I: Exercises (continued)

  • Exercise 3.7:
    • diff finds and displays the differences between two text files. For example, if you modify earth.txt to create a new file earth2.txt that contains:
      
         Name: Earth
         Period: 365.26 days
         Inclination: 0.00 degrees
         Eccentricity: 0.02
         Satellites: 1
      				
      You can then compare the two files like this:
      
         $ diff earth.txt earth2.txt
         3c3
         < Inclination: 0.00
         ---
         > Inclination: 0.00 degrees
         4a5
         > Satellites: 1
      				
      (The rather cryptic header "3c3" means that line 3 of the first file must be changed to get line 3 of the second; "4a5" means that a line is being added after line 4 of the original file.)
      What flag(s) should you give diff to tell it to ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines? What if you want to ignore changes in case (i.e., treat lowercase and uppercase letters as the same)?

Part II: Shell Programming

  • The shell is more than just a clumsy way to move around a file system
    • It's a component-based programming environment
    • Small tools that each do one job...
    • ...and can be connected together to create ad hoc solutions to larger problems
  • The shell is a good model, even when you're building large GUI or web applications

Wildcards

  • Some characters (called wildcards) mean special things to the shell
    • “ * ” matches zero or more characters
      • So ls bio/*.txt lists all the text files in the bio directory:
        
           $ ls bio/*.txt
           bio/albus.txt   bio/ginny.txt   bio/harry.txt   bio/hermione.txt    bio/ron.txt
        					
    • “ ? ” matches any single character
      • So ls jan-??.txt lists text files whose names start with "jan-" followed by two characters
      • And you can probably guess what "ls jan-??.*" does
  • Note:
    • It's the shell that expands wildcards, not individual applications!
    • So ls can't tell whether it was invoked as ls *.txt or as ls earth.txt venus.txt
    • Wildcards only work with filenames, not with command names. I.e., ta* does not find the tabulate command.

Redirecting Input and Output

  • A running program is called a process
  • Every process automatically has three connections to the outside world:

  •  
    [Redirecting Standard Input and Output]

    Redirecting stdin and stdout

  • You can tell the shell to connect standard input and standard output to files instead:
    command < input_file
    ...reads from input_file instead of from the keyboard. You don't need to use this very often, because most Unix commands let you specify the input file (or files) as command-line arguments.
    Similarily,
    command > output_file
    ...writes to output_file instead of to the screen. Only "normal" output goes to the file, not error messages.
    Finally,
    command < input_file > output_file
    ...does both.
    Note that redirection takes effect command-by-command, rather than permanently.

Redirection Examples

  • Save number of words in all text files to words.len:
    • 
         $ cd bio
         $ wc *.txt > words.len
      				
    • Nothing appears on the screen because all output is being sent to the file words.len
    • Check contents using cat
      
         $ cat words.len
            7   66  468 albus.txt
            5   46  311 ginny.txt
            5   49  342 harry.txt
            5   49  331 hermione.txt
            6   54  364 ron.txt
           28  264 1816 total
      				

Potential Pitfalls

  • Try typing cat > junk.txt
    • No input file specified, so cat reads from the keyboard with output sent to a file
    • The world's dumbest text editor
  • When you're done, use rm junk.txt to get rid of the file
    • NEVER type rm * unless you're really, really, REALLY sure that's what you want to do.
  • Don't redirect out to the same file, e.g. "sort words >words"
    • The shell sets up redirection before running the command
    • Redirecting output to an existing file truncates it, making it empty
    • sort then reads the empty file
    • Original contents of words is permantly lost

Pipes

  • Suppose you want to use the output of one program as the input to another. E.g., use wc -w *.txt to count the words in some files, then sort -n to sort numerically.
  • One obvious solution is to send output of first command to a temporary file, then read from that file:
    
       $ wc -w *.txt > words.tmp
       $ sort -n words.tmp
         46 ginny.txt
         49 harry.txt
         49 hermione.txt
         54 ron.txt
         66 albus.txt
        264 total
       $ rm words.tmp
    			

Pipes (continued)

  • But the right answer is to use a pipe
    • Written as “ | ”
    • Tells the OS to connect the standard output of the first program to the standard input of the second:
      
         $ wc -w *.txt | sort -n
           46 ginny.txt
           49 harry.txt
           49 hermione.txt
           54 ron.txt
           66 albus.txt
          264 total
      				
      				[Pipes]
      				
    • More convenient and less error prone than temporary files

Pipeline and Filters

  • Can chain any number of commands together
    • and combine with input and output redirection
      
         $ grep 'Title' spells.txt | sort | uniq -c | sort -n -r | head -10 > popular_spells.txt
      				
  • Any program that reads from standard input and writes to standard output can use redirection and pipes
    • Such programs are often called filters
    • If your programs work like filters, you (and other people) can combine them with other standard tools
    • A combinatorial explosion of goodness

Environment Variables

  • The OS stores some environment variables for every process
    • Like variables in a program, each has a name and a value
    • By convention, names are all upper case
    • Values are always strings
  • Type printenv at the command prompt to get a listing:
    
       $ printenv
       MANPATH=:/usr/local/sge/man
       XDG_SESSION_ID=2215
       HOSTNAME=watson.cgl.ucsf.edu
       TERM=xterm-256color
       SHELL=/usr/local/bin/bash
       HISTSIZE=1000
       SSH_CLIENT=169.230.11.112 63047 22
       OLDPWD=/home/socr/a/tef
       SSH_TTY=/dev/pts/2
       SVN_EDITOR=vi
       USER=tef
       SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/tmp/ssh-OLrXGv99V3/agent.33503
       MAIL=/var/spool/mail/tef
       PATH=/home/socr/a/tef/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/sge/bin/linux-x64:.
       LC_COLLATE=C
       PWD=/usr/local/www/rbvi/preview/htdocs/Outreach/bmi219/slides
       LANG=en_US.UTF-8
       SGE_ROOT=/usr/local/sge
       HISTCONTROL=ignoredups
       SHLVL=1
       HOME=/home/socr/a/tef
       LOGNAME=tef
       PRINTER=lys
       SSH_CONNECTION=169.230.11.112 63047 169.230.27.29 22
       LESSOPEN=||/usr/bin/lesspipe.sh %s
       XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/20021
       DISPLAY=localhost:10.0
    			

Environment Variables (continued)

  • Get a variable's value by putting “$” in front of its name:
    • So ls $HOME is the same as ls /home/rweasley (if you're Ron Weasley)
    • Use the echo command to print out a variable's value
      
         $ echo $HOME
         /home/socr/a/tef
      				

      (Don't confuse the shell prompt character (also “$”) with the “$” used to identify a variable.)

    • Question: why must you type echo $HOME, and not just “$HOME”?
    • If a variable hasn't been defined, its value is the empty string (rather than an error)

Important Environment Variables

NameTypical ValueNotes
SVN_EDITORviPreferred editor for use with svn command
HOME/home/socr/a/tefThe current user's home directory
HOSTNAMEcrick.cgl.ucsf.eduThis computer's name
LINES60The height in characters of the current display
HISTSIZE1000Number of shell commands remembered in history
PATH/home/socr/a/tef/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin/Where to look for programs
PWD/home/socr/a/tef/miscPresent working directory (sometimes CWD, for current working directory)
LOGNAMEtefLogin name
SHELL/usr/local/bin/bashWhat shell is being run
TERMxterm-256colorTerminal type
USERtefThe current user's ID

Setting Environment Variables

  • For the bash shell we're using in this course, use this syntax to set a variable:
    
       $ VILLAIN="Lord Voldemort"
    			

    Notice that values with spaces in them have to be quoted!

  • Setting an environment variable only affects that program (i.e., that shell)
    To see this, set a variable, then run a new shell, and echo the variable's value
    
       $ VILLAIN="Lord Voldemort"
       $ bash
       $ echo $VILLAIN
    
       $ exit
    			
  • If you want programs run from that shell to inherit the value, you must export it:
    
       $ VILLAIN="Lord Voldemort"
       $ export VILLAIN
       $ bash
       $ echo $VILLAIN
       Lord Voldemort
       $ exit
    			
  • You can perform both operations in a single step:
    
       $ export VILLAIN="Lord Voldemort"
       $ bash
       $ echo $VILLAIN
       Lord Voldemort
       $ exit
    			

[Setting a Variable Without Export It]

Setting a Variable Without Exporting It

[Exporting a Variable's Value]

Exporting a Variable's Value

Environment Configuration

  • To set a variable's value automatically when you log in, edit ~/.bashrc
    “~” is a shortcut meaning "your home directory"
    
       # Add personal tools directory to PATH.
       PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH
    
       # Personal settings
       export EDITOR=/local/bin/emacs
       export PRINTER=gryffindor-laserwriter
    
       # Change default behavior of commands.
       alias ls="ls -F"
    			
    Note: .bashrc files can become very complex...
  • Many applications look for personal configuration files in the user's home directory
    • By convention, their names begin with "." so that a normal ls won't show them
    • Once upon a time, the "rc" at the end meant "run commands"

How the Shell Finds Programs

  • The PATH environment variables defines the shell's search path
  • When you run a command like broom, the shell:
    • Splits $PATH into components to get a list of directories
    • Unix uses “ : ” as a separator
    • Looks for the program in each directory in left-to-right order
    • Runs the first one that it finds
  • Example:
    • PATH is /home/rweasley/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/python3
    • Both /usr/local/bin/broom and /home/rweasley/bin/broom exist
    • /home/rweasley/bin/broom will be run when you type broom at the command prompt
    • Can run the other one by specifying the path, instead of just the command name

Common Search Path Entries

  • /bin, /usr/bin: core tools like ls
    • Note: the word "bin" comes from "binary", which is geekspeak for "a compiled program"
  • /usr/local/bin: optional (but common) tools, like the gcc C compiler
  • $HOME/bin: tools you have built for yourself
    • Remember, $HOME is your home directory
  • It is also common to include “ . ” (the current working directory) in your path
    • Allows you to run a program in the current directory using whatever, instead of ./whatever

File Ownership and Permissions

  • On Unix, every user belongs to one or more groups
    • The groups command will show you which ones you are in
  • Every file is owned by a particular user and a particular group
    • Can assign read (r), write (w), and execute (x) permissions independently to user, group, and others
    • Read: can look at contents, but not modify them
    • Write: can modify contents
    • Execute: can run the file (e.g., it's a program)
  • ls -l shows this information
    • Along with the file's size and a few other things
  • Permissions displayed as three “rwx” triples
    • "Missing" permissions shown by “ - ”
    • So “rw-rw-r--” means:
      1. User and group can read and write
      2. Everyone else can read, but not write
      3. No one can execute

Directory Permissions

  • Execute permission means something different for directories
    • Allows you to "go into" a directory, but does not mean you can read its contents
  • If directory tools has permission “rwx--x--x”, then:
    • If someone other than the owner does ls tools permission is denied
    • But anyone who wants to can run the command tools/pfold

Changing Permissions

  • Change permissions using chmod
    • chmod u+x broom allows broom's owner to run it
    • chmod o-r notes.txt takes away the world's read permission for notes.txt
  • Any set of shell commands can be turned into a program!
    • If it's worth doing again, it's worth automating

Changing Permissions (continued)

  • Create a file called nojunk that contains the following two lines:
    
       #!/usr/bin/bash
       rm -f *.junk
    			
    • Use man rm to find out what the "-f" flag does
    • “#!/usr/bin/bash” means "interpret the contents of this file using the Bash shell"
      • Any program name can follow the "#!"
      • We'll see some possibilities later
  • Change permissions of nojunk to “rwxr-xr-x”
  • Run it with ./nojunk
    • Or if “$HOME/bin” is in your search path, move it there

Avoid this pitfall!

  • Don't call your temporary test programs “test”
    • There's already a /usr/bin/test program
    • Your PATH may cause that program to be run instead of yours
    • Confusion will result, so use something else, e.g. “tryit”

More Advanced Tools

chmodChange file and directory permissions.
duPrint the disk space used by files and directories.
findFind files with names that match patterns, that are of a certain age or size, etc.
grepPrint lines matching a pattern.
gunzipUncompress a file.
gzipCompress a file.
lprSend a file to a printer.
lprmRemove a print job from a printer's queue.
lpqCheck the status of a printer's queue.
psDisplay running processes.
tarArchive files.
whichFind the path to a program.
whoSee who is logged in.
xargsExecute a command for each line of input.

Part II: Summary

  • The shell is as powerful as many programming languages
    • And even has features that many programming languages don't
  • But its limits are as important as its capabilities
    • As soon as you need functions or data structures, you should switch to something more powerful like Python

Part II: Exercises

  • Exercise 4.1:
    
       -rwxr-xr-x   1 aturing   cambridge  69 Jul 12 09:17 mars.txt
       -rwxr-xr-x   1 ghopper   usnavy     71 Jul 12 09:15 venus.txt
    			
    According to the listing of the directory above, who can read the file earth.txt? Who can write it (i.e., change its contents or delete it)? When was >earth.txt last changed? What command would you run to allow everyone to edit or delete the file?
  • Exercise 4.2:
    Suppose you want to remove all files whose names (not including their extensions) are of length 3, start with the letter “a”, and have .txt as extension. What command would you use? For example, if the directory contains three files a.txt, abc.txt, and abcd.txt, the command should remove abc.txt, but not the other two files.
  • Exercise 4.3:
    You're worried your data files can be read by your nemesis, Dr. Evil. How would you check whether or not he can, and if necessary change permissions so only you can read or write the files?

Part II: Exercises (continued)

  • Exercise 4.4:
    What's the difference between the commands cd HOME and cd $HOME?
  • Exercise 4.5:
    Suppose you want to list the names of all the text files in the data directory that contain the word “carpentry”. What command or commands could you use?
  • Exercise 4.6:
    Suppose you have written a program called “analyze”. What command or commands could you use to display the first ten lines of its output? What would you use to display lines 50-100? To send lines 50-100 to a file called “tmp.txt”?
  • Exercise 4.7:
    The command ls data > tmp.txt writes a listing of directory data's contents into tmp.txt. Anything that was in the file before the command was run is overwritten. What command could you use to append the listing to tmp.txt instead?
  • Exercise 4.8:
    What command(s) would you use to find out how many subdirectories there are in the lectures directory?

Part II: Exercises (continued)

  • Exercise 4.9:
    What does "rm *.ch" do? What about "rm *.[ch]"?
  • Exercise 4.10:
    A colleague asks for your data files. How would you archive them to send as one file? How could you compress them?
  • Exercise 4.11:
    You have changed a text file on your home PC, and mailed it to the university terminal. What steps can you take to see what changes you may have made, compared with a master copy in your home directory?
  • Exercise 4.12:
    How would you change your password?
  • Exercise 4.13:
    Suppose you wanted ls to sort its output by filename extension, i.e., to list all .cmd files before all .exe files, and all .exe's before all .txt files. What command or commands would you use?

Part II: Exercises (continued)

  • Exercise 4.14:
    What does the alias command do? When would you use it?
  • Exercise 4.15:
    What command(s) could you use to find out how many instances of a program are running on your computer at once? For example, what would you do to find out how many instances of “bash” are running?

Part II: Exercises (continued)

  • Exercise 4.16:
    grep is one of the more useful tools in the toolbox. It finds lines in files that match a pattern and prints them out. For example, assume the files earth.txt and venus.txt contain lines like this:
    
       Name: Earth
       Period: 365.26 days
       Inclination: 0.00 degrees
       Eccentricity: 0.02
       Satellites: 1
    			
    grep can extract lines containing the text “Period” from all the files:
    
       $ grep Period *.txt
       earth.txt:Period: 365.26 days
       venus.txt:Period: 224.70 days
    			
    Search strings can use regular expressions, which will be discussed in a later lecture. grep takes many options as well; for example, grep -c /bin/bash /etc/passwd reports how many lines in /etc/passwd (the Unix password file) that contain the string “/bin/bash”, which in turn tells me how many users are using “bash“ as their shell.

    Suppose all you wanted was a list of the files that contained lines matching a pattern, rather than the matches themselves --- what flag or flags would you give to grep? What if you wanted the line numbers of matching lines?

At last...

 

The End