Chapter 2. Getting onto the System and Using the Command Line

This is the second hour of Unix lessons, so it's time for you to log in to the system and try some commands. This hour focuses on learning the basics of interacting with your Unix machine.

Goals for This Hour

In this hour, you will learn how to

  • Log in and log out of the system

  • Change your password with the passwd command

  • Choose a memorable and secure password

  • Find out who the computer thinks you are

  • Find out who else is on the system

  • Find out what everyone is doing on the system

  • Check the current date and time

This hour introduces many commands, so it's very important that you have a Unix system available on which you can work through all examples. Most examples have been taken from a PC running ...

Get SAMS Teach Yourself Unix in 24 Hours FOURTH EDITION now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.