Chapter 19. The Ubuntu Command Line

Secrets in This Chapter

  • Using the Terminal Program

  • Using the Command Line

  • Ubuntu File Commands

Although Ubuntu is known for its fancy, user-friendly graphical desktop interface, there may be times when you have to interface directly with the underlying Ubuntu operating system at a more primitive level. The core of the Ubuntu operating system is Linux, and the main mechanism for interfacing with Linux is the command line. The command line provides direct control over what's running on the system. Knowing how to use the command line is a great benefit to anyone but is a necessity for server system administrators. This chapter discusses how to use the Terminal program, which is an easy way to get to the Ubuntu command line from the graphical desktop, then walks through how to perform some basic filesystem functions from the command line.

The GNOME Terminal Program

Ubuntu uses the GNOME Terminal software package to provide a graphical interface to the command line. To start the GNOME Terminal, select Applications

The GNOME Terminal Program
The main GNOME Terminal window.

Figure 19.1. The main GNOME Terminal window.

Although the Terminal program provides basic access to the Ubuntu command line, it has several features that can come in handy. This section walks through the various parts of configuring and using the GNOME ...

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