Unix and Linux: Visual Quickstart Guide, Fifth Edition

14. Using Handy Utilities

In This Chapter

Calendaring with cal

Calculating with bc

Evaluating Expressions with expr

Converting with units

Looking It Up with look

Keeping a Record of Your Session with script

Getting Back to Your Place with screen

Acting On Found Files with xargs

Just when you thought Unix was great...it gets better! Unix gives you a plethora of handy-dandy utilities—small programs—that can make your life a bit easier. For example, you might want to use the calendar, calculator, or interactive spell-checker. None of these utilities is likely to be essential to your day-to-day Unix doings; however, they are handy to have and use. Ask your system administrator about which utilities you have available, or return to Chapter 1 to ...