Introducing UNIX and Linux

Getting started

Overview
Using UNIX
      Usernames
      Logging in
Logging out
Commands
      Typing in commands
      Commands and options
Communication with other users
      Email
      Other communication facilities
Files
      The editor Vi
            Vi commands (command mode)
            Vi commands (colon mode)
      Other editors
Input and output
      Scripts
      Here-documents
      Pipes
      Making copies of input and output
      Pagers
Emergencies
Getting help
Summary
Exercises

Overview

This chapter discusses

conducting a simple dialogue with a UNIX machine;
simple use of the text editor Vi;
getting help via the command man;
using email with UNIX;
input and output streams; and
input and output redirection and pipes.

This chapter describes how you start (and finish) a session on a UNIX computer, together with some of the basic commands which you can use. We assume that you are now using a UNIX or Linux system which has a system administrator. If you are using a stand-alone Linux system, then you are the system administrator. From now on, any reference to UNIX should be interpreted as 'UNIX or Linux', since the two operating systems appear virtually identical to the user.