[you must press ENTER after each command for it to execute]
% While in the pine mailer, prints a copy of the current e-mail
message
cal m yyyy prints a calendar for a given month of a given year.
E.g., cal 1 2000 would print a calendar on the screen
for January, 2000 (cal 2000 prints the whole year)
cat x scrolls file x on the screen without page breaks
cat a b > c Joins file b to the end of file a and names the new
combined file as file c
cd x changes the directory to a subdirectory (where "x" is the
name of the subdirectory)
cd \ [then hit ENTER *twice*] changes directory from a
subdirectory back to the main directory (do this
before changing from one subdirectory to another)
clear clears the screen
cp x y makes a copy of file x, naming the copy "y" [note: if your
computer does not respond to the command "cp" try typing the
command as "copy" since the two letter alias is not available
on all UNIX systems]
date prints the day, date, and time
finger shows who else is presently sharing use of your computer
finger @somehost shows all users logged-on at some remote host.
E.g., finger @bureau.ucc.ie will show all users
logged-on at University College Cork, in Cork City,
County Cork, Republic of Ireland
hostname shows the name of the computer on which you are logged-on
lp x prints a copy of file x at the printer currently specified
(or) for your terminal
lpr x)
ls lists the contents of your directory (if "ls" doesn't work,
try "list")
ls -a lists all files including the dotted (hidden) files
ls -l lists files with their size and date/time of last edit
man x invokes the UNIX manual, displaying information about the
queried function (where "x" is the name of the function)
mkdir x creates a directory named x as a subdirectory of the
directory in which you are when you create it
xxx | more displays output of the command before the pipe-sign one
screen at a time (where xxx stands for the command).
E.g., if the command is: finger | more
all users currently logged on a server will be displayed one
screen at a time. Press space bar to see the next screen
mv x y changes the name of file "x" to be file "y" [note: if your
computer does not respond to the command "mv" try typing the
command as "move"]
pg x pages through file x one page at a time (hit ENTER to see the
next page) [note: if your computer does not respond to the
command "pg" try typing the command as "page"]
pine puts you into the mailer function
pico x puts you into the "pico" editor (where "x" is the name of the
file to be edited) ...note that, if the file "x" has been
previously created, this command brings up file x for a new
editing session; if "x" is a new file (if you are just now
creating it) then the editor window will display the phrase
"new file" after you type "pico x"
ctrl x exits and saves file
ctrl d deletes the character that the cursor is on
ctrl k deletes the line that the cursor is on
ctrl u undeletes the last deletion and puts it where the cursor currently is
ctrl r imports (inserts) a file
!p reopens the last file edited
pwd tells you the directory in which you are currently working
rm x deletes (removes) the file named x (note: if, as a safety
feature, you are asked something like "remove x?" you respond
with a y (for "yes") and then hit ENTER to remove the file
rmdir x removes the directory named x (which must be empty...and you
must be one directory level above x to execute this command)
telnet somehost Establishes an Internet connection to some host, e.g.:
telnet darwin.helios.nd.edu
(you will then be asked for your afs userid and then
you will be asked for your password)
traceroute (remote host) returns the route of a transmission to the named
remote host
w gives some of the same information as "finger," plus
information on the processes being run by the users and some
information about the host computer (time up, load, etc.)
w userid Gives process being run by the named individual user
wc gives the number of lines, the number of words, and the number
of characters in a file. E.g., wc unix.html
who shows users on the current node and the name of the connection
at which they are working
whois (host) returns the identity and administrators for the named host
Some notes on memory size:
1 bit = the smallest unit of memory (electronically either "on" or
"off"...written in machine language as either "1" or "0")
1 byte = 8 bits (storage space for one keyboard character)
1 Kilobyte (1KB) = 1,024 bytes
1 Megabyte (1MB) = 1,024 Kilobytes (1,048,576 bytes)
1 Gigabyte (1 GB)= 1,024 Megabites (1,073,741,824 bytes)