who COMMAND:

who command can list the names of users currently logged in, their terminal, the time
they have been logged in, and the name of the host from which they have logged in.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
who [options] [file]

OPTIONS:

Print the username of the invoking user, The 'am' and 'i' must be space
am i
separated.
-b Prints time of last system boot.
-d print dead processes.
-H Print column headings above the output.
Include idle time as HOURS:MINUTES. An idle time of . indicates
-i
activity within the last minute.
-m Same as who am i.
-q Prints only the usernames and the user count/total no of users logged in.
-T,-w Include user's message status in the output.
EXAMPLE:

1. who -uH

Output:

NAME LINE TIME IDLE PID COMMENT

hiox ttyp3 Jul 10 11:08 . 4578

This sample output was produced at 11 a.m. The "." indiacates activity within the
last minute.

2. who am i

who am i command prints the user name.

date COMMAND:
date command prints the date and time.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
date [options] [+format] [date]

OPTIONS:
 Slowly adjust the time by sss.fff seconds (fff represents fractions of a
-a second). This adjustment can be positive or negative.Only system
admin/ super user can adjust the time.
-s date Sets the time and date to the value specfied in the datestring. The datestr
-string may contain the month names, timezones, 'am', 'pm', etc.
Display (or set) the date in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT-universal
-u
time).

Format:

%a Abbreviated weekday(Tue).
%A Full weekday(Tuesday).
%b Abbreviated month name(Jan).
%B Full month name(January).
%c Country-specific date and time format..
%D Date in the format %m/%d/%y.
%j Julian day of year (001-366).
%n Insert a new line.
%p String to indicate a.m. or p.m.
%T Time in the format %H:%M:%S.
%t Tab space.
%V Week number in year (01-52); start week on Monday.
EXAMPLE:

1. date command

date

The above command will print Wed Jul 23 10:52:34 IST 2008

2. To use tab space:

date +"Date is %D %t Time is %T"

The above command will remove space and print as

Date is 07/23/08 Time is 10:52:34

3. To know the week number of the year,

 date -V

The above command will print 30

4. To set the date,

date -s "10/08/2008 11:37:23"

The above command will print Wed Oct 08 11:37:23 IST 200

head COMMAND:
head command is used to display the first ten lines of a file, and also specifies how
many lines to display.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
head [options] filename

OPTIONS:

-n To specify how many lines you want to display.

-n The number option-argument must be a decimal integer whose sign
number affects the location in the file, measured in lines.
The number option-argument must be a decimal integer whose sign
-c number
affects the location in the file, measured in bytes.
EXAMPLE:

1. head index.php

This command prints the first 10 lines of 'index.php'.

2. head -5 index.php

The head command displays the first 5 lines of 'index.php'.

3. head -c 5 index.php

The above command displays the first 5 characters of 'index.php'.

tail COMMAND:
tail command is used to display the last or bottom part of the file. By default it
displays last 10 lines of a file.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
tail [options] filename
OPTIONS:

-l To specify the units of lines.

-b To specify the units of blocks.
-n To specify how many lines you want to display.
The number option-argument must be a decimal integer whose sign
-c number
affects the location in the file, measured in bytes.
The number option-argument must be a decimal integer whose sign
-n number
affects the location in the file, measured in lines.
EXAMPLE:

1. tail index.php

It displays the last 10 lines of 'index.php'.

2. tail -2 index.php

It displays the last 2 lines of 'index.php'.

3. tail -n 5 index.php

It displays the last 5 lines of 'index.php'.

4. tail -c 5 index.php

It displays the last 5 characters of 'index.php'.

tar COMMAND:
tar command is used to create archive and extract the archive files.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
tar [options] [archive-file] [File or directory to be archived]

OPTIONS:

-c Creates Archive
-x Extract the archive
-f creates archive with give filename
-t displays or lists files in archived file
-u archives and adds to an existing archive file
-v Displays Verbose Information
-A Concatenates the archive files
EXAMPLE:
 1. To archive a directory or file :

tar -cvf backup.tar /etc

This command creates a tarfile called backup.tar which is the archive of /etc
directory.

Where,
backup.tar - Is a tar file created
/etc - Is a directory archived

2. To archive a directory or file and store it in a storage device:

tar -cvf /dev/fd0 /home/user1/HGB

This command will archive /etc directory and store it in floppy-disk.

Where,
/dev/fd0 - Is a floppy-disk name where the archive is stored
/home/user1/HGB - Is a directory archived

3. To Extract the archive:

tar -xvf backup.tar

This command will extract the backup.tar file

4. To List The File In An Archive:

tar -tvf backup.tar

The above command will display the files and directories that arc

ls COMMAND:
ls command lists the files and directories under current working directory.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
ls [OPTIONS]... [FILE]

OPTIONS:

Lists all the files, directories and their mode, Number of links, owner of
-l
the file, file size, Modified date and time and filename.
-t Lists in order of last modification time.
-a Lists all entries including hidden files.
-d Lists directory files instead of contents.
 -p Puts slash at the end of each directories.
-u List in order of last access time.
-i Display inode information.
-ltr List files order by date.
-lSr List files order by file size.
EXAMPLE:

1. Display root directory contents:

ls /

lists the contents of root directory.

2. Display hidden files and directories:

ls -a

lists all entries including hidden files and directories.

3. Display inode information:

ls -i
7373073 book.gif
7373074 clock.gif
7373082 globe.gif
7373078 pencil.gif
7373080 child.gif
7373081 email.gif
7373076 indigo.gif

The above command displays filename with inode value.

pwd COMMAND:
pwd - Print Working Directory. pwd command prints the full filename of the current
working directory.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
pwd [options]

OPTIONS:

-P The pathname printed will not contain symbolic links.

-L The pathname printed may contain symbolic links.
EXAMPLE:

1. Displays the current working directory.

pwd

If you are working in home directory then, pwd command displays the current
working directory as /home.

mkdir COMMAND:
mkdir command is used to create one or more directories.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
mkdir [options] directories

OPTIONS:

-m Set the access mode for the new directories.

-p Create intervening parent directories if they don't exist.
-v Print help message for each directory created.
EXAMPLE:

1. Create directory:

mkdir test

The above command is used to create the directory 'test'.

2. Create directory and set permissions:

mkdir -m 666 test

The above command is used to create the directory 'test' and set the read and write
permission.

rmdir COMMAND:
rmdir command is used to delete/remove a directory and its subdirectories.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
rmdir [options..] Directory

OPTIONS:
 Allow users to remove the directory dirname and its parent directories
-p
which become empty.
EXAMPLE:

1. To delete/remove a directory

rmdir tmp

rmdir command will remove/delete the directory tmp if the directory is empty.

2. To delete a directory tree:

rm -ir tmp

This command recursively removes the contents of all subdirectories of the tmp
directory, prompting you regarding the removal of each file, and then removes the
tmp directory itself.

rmdir COMMAND:
rmdir command is used to delete/remove a directory and its subdirectories.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
rmdir [options..] Directory

OPTIONS:

Allow users to remove the directory dirname and its parent directories
-p
which become empty.
EXAMPLE:

1. To delete/remove a directory

rmdir tmp

rmdir command will remove/delete the directory tmp if the directory is empty.

2. To delete a directory tree:

rm -ir tmp

This command recursively removes the contents of all subdirectories of the tmp
directory, prompting you regarding the removal of each file, and then removes the
tmp directory itself.
cd COMMAND:
cd command is used to change the directory.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
cd [directory | ~ | ./ | ../ | - ]

OPTIONS:

-L Use the physical directory structure.

-P Forces symbolic links.
EXAMPLE:

1. cd linux-command

This command will take you to the sub-directory(linux-command) from its parent
directory.

2. cd ..

This will change to the parent-directory from the current working directory/sub-
directory.

3. cd ~

This command will move to the user's home directory which is

"/home/username".

cat COMMAND:
cat linux command concatenates files and print it on the standard output.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
cat [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

OPTIONS:

-A Show all.
-b Omits line numbers for blank space in the output.
-e A $ character will be printed at the end of each line prior to a new line.
-E Displays a $ (dollar sign) at the end of each line.
-n Line numbers for all the output lines.
-s If the output has multiple empty lines it replaces it with one empty line.
-T Displays the tab characters in the output.
 Non-printing characters (with the exception of tabs, new-lines and form-
-v
feeds) are printed visibly.

EXAMPLE:

1. To Create a new file:

cat > file1.txt

This command creates a new file file1.txt. After typing into the file press
control+d (^d) simultaneously to end the file.

2. To Append data into the file:

cat >> file1.txt

To append data into the same file use append operator >> to write into the file,
else the file will be overwritten (i.e., all of its contents will be erased).

3. To display a file:

cat file1.txt

This command displays the data in the file.

4. To concatenate several files and display:

cat file1.txt file2.txt

The above cat command will concatenate the two files (file1.txt and file2.txt) and
it will display the output in the screen. Some times the output may not fit the
monitor screen. In such situation you can print those files in a new file or display
the file using less command.

cat file1.txt file2.txt | less

5. To concatenate several files and to transfer the output to another file.

cat file1.txt file2.txt > file3.txt

In the above example the output is redirected to new file file3.txt. The cat
command will create new file file3.txt and store the concatenated output into
file3.txt.
cp COMMAND:
cp command copy files from one location to another. If the destination is an existing
file, then the file is overwritten; if the destination is an existing directory, the file is
copied into the directory (the directory is not overwritten).

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
cp [OPTIONS]... SOURCE DEST
cp [OPTIONS]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
cp [OPTIONS]... --target-directory=DIRECTORY SOURCE...

OPTIONS:

-a same as -dpR.
--backup[=CONTROL] make a backup of each existing destination file
-b like --backup but does not accept an argument.
if an existing destination file cannot be opened, remove it
-f
and try again.
-p same as --preserve=mode,ownership,timestamps.
preserve the specified attributes (default:
--
mode,ownership,timestamps) and security contexts, if
preserve[=ATTR_LIST]
possible additional attributes: links, all.
--no-
don't preserve the specified attribute.
preserve=ATTR_LIST
--parents append source path to DIRECTORY.

cp COMMAND:
cp command copy files from one location to another. If the destination is an existing
file, then the file is overwritten; if the destination is an existing directory, the file is
copied into the directory (the directory is not overwritten).

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
cp [OPTIONS]... SOURCE DEST
cp [OPTIONS]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
cp [OPTIONS]... --target-directory=DIRECTORY SOURCE...

OPTIONS:

-a same as -dpR.
 --backup[=CONTROL] make a backup of each existing destination file
-b like --backup but does not accept an argument.
if an existing destination file cannot be opened, remove it
-f
and try again.
-p same as --preserve=mode,ownership,timestamps.
preserve the specified attributes (default:
--
mode,ownership,timestamps) and security contexts, if
preserve[=ATTR_LIST]
possible additional attributes: links, all.
--no-
don't preserve the specified attribute.
preserve=ATTR_LIST
--parents append source path to DIRECTORY.

EXAMPLE:

1. Copy two files:

cp file1 file2

The above cp command copies the content of file1.php to file2.php.

2. To backup the copied file:

cp -b file1.php file2.php

Backup of file1.php will be created with '~' symbol as file2.php~.

3. Copy folder and subfolders:

cp -R scripts scripts1

The above cp command copy the folder and subfolders from scripts to scripts1.

mv COMMAND:
mv command which is short for move. It is used to move/rename file from one
directory to another. mv command is different from cp command as it completely
removes the file from the source and moves to the directory specified, where cp
command just copies the content from one file to another.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
mv [-f] [-i] oldname newname

OPTIONS:

This will not prompt before overwriting (equivalent to --reply=yes).

-f
mv -f will move the file(s) without prompting even if it is writing over
an existing target.
-i Prompts before overwriting another file.
EXAMPLE:

1. To Rename / Move a file:

mv file1.txt file2.txt

This command renames file1.txt as file2.txt

2. To move a directory

mv hscripts tmp

In the above line mv command moves all the files, directories and sub-directories
from hscripts folder/directory to tmp directory if the tmp directory already exists.
If there is no tmp directory it rename's the hscripts directory as tmp directory.

3. To Move multiple files/More files into another directory

mv file1.txt tmp/file2.txt newdir

This command moves the files file1.txt from the current directory and file2.txt
from the tmp folder/directory to newdir.

ln COMMAND:
ln command is used to create link to a file (or) directory. It helps to provide soft link
for desired files. Inode will be different for source and destination.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
ln [options] existingfile(or directory)name newfile(or directory)name

OPTIONS:
 Link files without questioning the user, even if the mode of target
-f
forbids writing. This is the default if the standard input is not a terminal.
-n Does not overwrite existing files.
-s Used to create soft links.
EXAMPLE:

1. ln -s file1.txt file2.txt

Creates a symbolic link to 'file1.txt' with the name of 'file2.txt'. Here inode for
'file1.txt' and 'file2.txt' will be different.

2. ln -s nimi nimi1

Creates a symbolic link to 'nimi' with the name of 'nimi1'.

rm COMMAND:
rm linux command is used to remove/delete the file from the directory.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
rm [options..] [file | directory]

OPTIONS:

-f Remove all files in a directory without prompting the user.

Interactive. With this option, rm prompts for confirmation before
-i
removing any files.
Recursively remove directories and subdirectories in the argument list.
The directory will be emptied of files and removed. The user is
-r (or) -R
normally prompted for removal of any write-protected files which the
directory contains.
EXAMPLE:

1. To Remove / Delete a file:

rm file1.txt

Here rm command will remove/delete the file file1.txt.

2. To delete a directory tree:

rm -ir tmp
 This rm command recursively removes the contents of all subdirectories of the
tmp directory, prompting you regarding the removal of each file, and then
removes the tmp directory itself.

3. To remove more files at once

rm file1.txt file2.txt

rm command removes file1.txt and file2.txt files at the same time.

echo COMMAND:
echo command prints the given input string to standard output.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
echo [options..] [string]

OPTIONS:

-n do not output the trailing newline

-e enable interpretation of the backslash-escaped characters listed below
-E disable interpretation of those sequences in STRINGs

Without -E, the following sequences are recognized and interpolated:

the character whose ASCII code is NNN

\NNN
(octal)
\a alert (BEL)
\\ backslash
\b backspace
\c suppress trailing newline
\f form feed
\n new line
\r carriage return
\t horizontal tab
\v vertical tab
EXAMPLE:

1. echo command

echo "hscripts Hiox India"

The above command will print as hscripts Hiox India

 2. To use backspace:

echo -e "hscripts \bHiox \bIndia"

The above command will remove space and print as hscriptsHioxIndia

3. To use tab space in echo command

echo -e "hscripts\tHiox\tIndia"

The above command will print as hscripts Hiox India

find COMMAND:
find command finds one or more files assuming that you know their approximate
filenames.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
find path [options]

OPTIONS:

It search for the given file, in the current directory or any other
-name
subdirectory.
True if the file was accessed n days ago. The access time of
-atime n
directories in path is changed by find itself.
-ctime n True if the file's status was changed n days ago.
True if the file belongs to the group gname. If gname is numeric
-group gname and does not appear in the /etc/group file, it is taken as a group
ID.
-mtime n True if the file's data was modified n days ago.
True if the file is n blocks long (512 bytes per block). If n is
-size n[c]
followed by a c, the size is in bytes.
EXAMPLE:

1. find -name 'cal.txt'

The system would search for any file named 'cal.txt' in the current directory and
any subdirectory.

2. find / -name 'cal.txt'

The system would search for any file named 'cal.txt' on the root and all
subdirectories from the root.

3. find -name '*' -size +1000k

 The system would search for any file in the list that is larger than 1000k.

bc COMMAND:
bc command is used for command line calculator. It is similar to basic calculator. By
using which we can do basic mathematical calculations.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
bc [options]

OPTIONS:

Compile only. The output is dc commands that are sent to the standard
-c
output.
Define the math functions and initialize scale to 20, instead of the
-l
default zero.
Name of the file that contains the basic calculator commands to be
filename
calculated this is not a necessary command.
EXAMPLE:

1. bc

Output:

bc 1.06
Copyright 1991-1994,1997,1998,2000 Free Software Foundation,Inc.
This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
For details type `warranty'.
9*2
18

The above command used is for mathematical calculations.

2. bc -l

Output:

bc 1.06
Copyright 1991-1994,1997,1998,2000 Free Software Foundation,Inc.
This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
For details type `warranty'.
1+2
3

The above command displays the sum of '1+2'.

3. bc calc.txt
 Output:

bc 1.06
Copyright 1991-1994,1997,1998,2000 Free Software Foundation,Inc.
This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
For details type `warranty'.
3

'calc.txt' file have the following code:1+2. Get the input from file and displays the
output.

kill COMMAND:
kill command is used to kill the background process.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
kill [-s] [-l] %pid

OPTIONS:

Specify the signal to send. The signal may be given as a signal name or
-s
number.
Write all values of signal supported by the implementation, if no
-l
operand is given.
-pid Process id or job id.
-9 Force to kill a process.
EXAMPLE:

Step by Step process:

• Open a process music player.

xmms

press ctrl+z to stop the process.

• To know group id or job id of the background task.

jobs -l
• It will list the background jobs with its job id as,
• xmms 3956
kmail 3467

• To kill a job or process.

kill 3956

kill command kills or terminates the background process xmms.

chmod COMMAND:
chmod command allows you to alter / Change access rights to files and directories.
File Permission is given for users,group and others as,

Read Write Execute

User
Group
Others

Permission
Symbolic Mode

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
chmod [options] [MODE] FileName

File Permission

# File Permission
0 none
1 execute only
2 write only
3 write and execute
4 read only
5 read and execute
6 read and write
7 set all permissions

OPTIONS:

-c Displays names of only those files whose permissions are being changed
-f Suppress most error messages
-R Change files and directories recursively
-v Output version information and exit.
EXAMPLE:

1. To view your files with what permission they are:

ls -alt

This command is used to view your files with what permission they are.
 2. To make a file readable and writable by the group and others.

chmod 066 file1.txt

3. To allow everyone to read, write, and execute the file

chmod 777 file1.txt

mp COMMAND:
cmp linux command compares two files and tells you which line numbers are
different.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
cmp [options..] file1 file2

OPTIONS:

-cOutput differing bytes as characters.

Print the byte number (decimal) and the differing byte values (octal) for
-l
each difference.
- s Prints nothing for differing files, return exit status only.
EXAMPLE:

1. Compare two files:

cmp file1 file2

The above cmp command compares file1.php with file2.php and results as
follows.

file1.php file2.php differ: byte 35, line 3

2. Compare two files output differing bytes as characters:

cmp -c file1.php file2.php

The above cmp command compares file1.php with file2.php and results as
follows.

file1.php file2.php differ: byte 35, line 3 is 151 i 15

cal COMMAND:
cal command is used to display the calendar.
SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
cal [options] [month] [year]

OPTIONS:

-1 Displays single month as output.

-3 Displays prev/current/next month output.
-s Displays sunday as the first day of the week.
-m Displays Monday as the first day of the week.
-j Displays Julian dates (days one-based, numbered from January 1).
-y Displays a calendar for the current year.
EXAMPLE:

1. cal

Output:

September 2008
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30

cal command displays the current month calendar.

2. cal -3 5 2008

Output:

April 2008 May 2008 June 2008

Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
27 28 29 30 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 29 30

clear COMMAND:
This command clears the terminal screen.

SYNTAX:
The Syntax is
clear

OPTIONS:
There is no options for clearscreen command.
EXAMPLE:

1. clear

clear command clearscreen like cls command.

2. You can also have alias for this command.

alias c='clear'
c is the alias name for clear command.