The UNIX Operating System
I. Introduction, vi, mail
II. Utilities, Batch
III. Programming the Shell

Claude Cantin (claude.cantin@nrc.ca)

Scientific Computing Support Group
Science Affairs Office
National Research Council

This document was produced by Claude Cantin of the National Research Council of Canada. Reproductions are permitted for non-profit purposes provided the origin of the document is acknowledged.


Claude Cantin
National Research Council of Canada

• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Introduction, vi, mail
  • Introduction
    • History
      • BSD: Berkeley System Distribution
      • XENIX
      • AT&
    • History (continued)
    • The UNIX Operating System
      • Multi-tasking, Time Sharing
      • Multi-user
      • Network Capabilities
      • Portability
      • Flexibility
      • Software Available
      • Virtual Memory
      • Case Sensitivity
    • UNIX Philosophy
    • Exercises
  • File System
    • File and Directory Names
      • Length
      • Conventions
    • Structure of Directories, Files
    • Permissions/File Access Modes
      • chmod: Change Mode (Permissions)
    • Exercises
  • Tour of the File system
    • /: Root
    • /bin and /usr/bin: Commands
    • /dev: Devices
    • /etc and /usr/etc: Management
    • Home Directories
    • /lib and /usr/lib: Libraries
    • /tmp and /usr/tmp: Temporary Directories
    • /usr: Directories
      • /usr/adm: Administration
      • /usr/demo(s): Demonstration
      • /usr/lib/dict: Dictionary
      • /usr/include: Include Files
      • /usr/local: Local Programs
      • /usr/man: Manuals
      • /usr/catman: Formatted Manuals
      • /usr/mail: System Mailboxes
      • /usr/spool: Spooling Areas
    • Exercises
  • Shells I
    • Input/Output Redirection
      • <: Input Redirection
      • >, >>: Standard Output
      • 2>, >&: Standard Diagnostic Output
    • |: Pipes
    • Pipes and Redirections
    • &: Background Processing
    • Metacharacters (Wildcards)
      • : Any Character(s)
      • [,]: List of Characters
      • : Any Single Character
      • {,}: Alternatives (except Korn Shell)
      • : Escape
    • Exercises
  • Basic Security
    • File Permissions
    • Passwords
    • Root Password
    • Exercises
  • Commands I
    • A Command is a File
    • Syntax
    • Login Related Commands
      • Logging On
      • Changing Password
      • Logging Out
    • Help
      • man: Manual Pages
      • Manuals on CDs
    • File system Commands: Directories
      • cd: Change Directory
      • mkdir: Make Directory
      • rmdir: Remove Directory
      • pwd: Print Working Directory
      • cp: Copy
      • mv: Move
    • File system Commands: Files
      • ls: Listing
      • cp: Copy
      • mv: Move
      • touch: Update
      • rm: Remove
      • cat: Concatenate
      • more: Browser
      • head: Header
      • tail: Tail End
      • wc: Word Count
      • diff: Difference
      • file: Type of File
    • Printer Commands
      • lpr/lp: Line Printer
      • lpq/lpstat: Line Printer Queue, Statistics
      • lprm: Line Printer Remove
    • User Related Commands
      • who: Who is On
      • who am i, whoami: Who Am I
    • Other Miscellaneous Commands
      • date: Display Date
      • clear: Clear the Screen
    • Exercises
  • Editors
    • ``ed" Editor
      • Accessing ed
      • Moving Within a File
      • Finding a Pattern
      • ``s" Substitute
      • ``c" Change Line
      • ``a" Append Text
      • ``i" Input Text
      • ``." Current Line
      • ``p" Print Line(s)
      • ``d" Delete
      • ``w" Write
      • ``q" Quit
    • ``vi" Visual Editor - Introduction
      • Invoking vi
      • vi, command and input modes
      • ``vi" visual Editor - vi mode
      • Moving the Cursor
      • ``^ f" Forward One Screen
      • ``^ b" Backwards One Screen
      • ``G" End of File
      • ``x, d" Delete Character
      • ``dd" Delete Line
      • ``p" Put Buffer
      • ``u" Undo
      • ``." (dot) Repeat
      • ``vi" visual Editor - command mode
      • ``:q" Quit
      • ``:w" Write
      • ``:r" Read
      • ``:num" Line Number
      • ``/string/" Finding a Pattern
      • :set all
      • ``vi" visual Editor - input mode
      • ``i" Insert Mode
      • ``a" Append to Character Mode
      • ``A" Append to Line Mode
      • ``r" Replace Character
      • ``R" Replace Characters
      • ``cw" Change Word
    • Other Editors
      • GNU Emacs
      • textedit
      • xedit
      • jot
      • vuepad
    • Exercises
  • Electronic Mail
    • Mail interfaces at NRC
      • mail: System V based
      • Mail/mail: BSD based
      • elm/mail: public domain mail interface
    • Internet node: Machine Naming Convention
    • Sending Mail using (BSD) mail
      • ~ r filename: Read Filename
      • ~ v: Invoking the Visual Editor
    • Reading Mail with the BSD mail Interface
      • n: Next
      • p: Print
      • num: Print message num
      • s: Save
      • Sending a file to a printer
      • h: Header
      • d: Delete
      • r: Reply
      • s: Forward
      • ~ m: Incorporating current message
      • q: Quit
    • Configuring the BSD mail interface
    • BSD mail folders
      • Creating a Folder
      • Reading from a Folder
      • .record, a special folder
    • elm: Electronic mail system.
    • Sending mail with elm
      • Standalone mode
      • Within the Interface
      • Batch mode
    • Reading mail with elm
      • n: Next
      • s: Save
      • p: Printing to a printer
      • d: Delete current message
      • r: Reply to sender
      • f: Forward
      • q: Quit
    • Configuring elm
    • elm mail folders
      • Creating a Folder
      • Reading from a Folder
    • Signature Files
    • MIME: Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions
    • vacation Program
    • Exercises
• Utilities, batch
  • Shells II
    • C Shell
      • path: Search Path
      • history
      • alias
      • Shell Control
    • Tenex Shell
    • Bourne Shell
      • PATH
      • history
      • alias
    • Korn Shell
      • PATH: Search Path
      • history
      • aliases
      • Other Miscellaneous Commands
    • Exercises
  • Commands II
    • whereis: Where Is
    • which: Which Program
    • find: Find
    • Printer Commands (Berkeley)
      • lpr: Line Printer
      • lpq: Line Printer Queue, Statistics
      • lprm: Line Printer Remove
    • Printer Commands (System V)
      • lp: Line Printer
      • lpstat: Line Printer Queue, Statistics
      • cancel: Line Printer Remove
    • Process Commands
      • ps: Process Status
      • kill: Kill Process
    • Exercises
  • Utilities
    • Compression Utilities
      • compress/uncompress/zcat
      • pack, unpack
      • gzip/gunzip
    • uuencode/uudecode
    • mt: Magnetic Tape
    • tctl: Tape Control (IBM RS/6000 only)
    • tar: Tape Archive
    • dd: Image Copy
    • grep: Global Regular Expression Printer
    • sed: Stream Editor
    • sort: Sorting a File
    • Exercises
  • Text Formatters
    • nroff
      • .po: Page Offset
      • .ll: Line Length
      • .pl: Page Length
      • .pn: Page Number
      • .pb: Page Break
      • .ne: Next Lines Together
      • .ad: Adjust
      • .sp: Spaces
      • .ls: Line Space
      • .ce: Centre
      • .ul: Underline
    • 
    • Exercises
  • Networking/Internet
    • The Internet
    • Cost
    • Basic Internet Protocols
      • IP: Internet Protocol
      • TCP: Transmission Control Protocol
      • UDP: User Datagram Protocol
      • DNS: Domain Name Service
    • Node/Machine Names
    • finger: Point Finger To
    • rusers: Remote Users
    • talk: Talk To
    • write: Write To
    • telnet: Remote Logon
    • Logging to NRC from home
      • The PACX
      • The terminal server
      • Tips and Tricks on how to configure your modem
    • ftp: File Transfer Protocol
      • FTP Common Commands
      • .netrc: FTP in batch
      • Anonymous FTP
      • archie/xarchie: accessing FTP databases.
    • The Network News
      • NetNews terminology
      • newsgroup Organisation
      • FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
      • Newsreaders
    • gopher: go fer it!
      • gopher: the tool
      • Phone Books
      • Veronica: Searching Gophers
    • WWW
      • xmosaic and lynx: WWW browsers
      • Concepts which xmosaic uses
    • Exercises
  • Public Domain Packages
    • a2ps: ASCII PostScript translator.
    • awf: nroff utility.
    • ghostview: X-based PostScript previewer.
    • gnuplot: 2-D plotting program.
    • imconv: image converter program.
    • : Text processor.
    • lwf: ASCII to PS converter.
    • pcal: calendar.
    • ps2eps: PostScript to EPS translator.
    • px2ps: convert to EPS.
    • screen: windows for ASCII terminals.
    • xdvi: DVI file previewer.
    • xmgr: interactive 2D plotting package.
    • xv: image viewer, editor.
    • Exercises
  • Special Files
    • .login and .cshrc: C Shell Login Files
    • .logout: Leaving UNIX
    • .profile: Bourne and Korn Shell Autoexec
    • .history: Content of History
    • .mailrc: Mail Customisation File
    • .elm/mailrc
    • calendar
    • Exercises
  • Compilers
    • C Compiler
      • cc: Invoking the C Compiler
    • FORTRAN Compiler
      • f77: Invoking FORTRAN
    • Common Flags
      • -o out_file: Output File
      • -O[level]: Optimisation
      • -g: Debugger Flag
      • -c: Suppress Linking
      • -l: Link to Library
    • make
    • Tools
      • fsplit: Split Fortran Program
      • pixie: Add Profiling Code to Program
      • prof: Profile Analyzer
      • cb: C Beautifier
      • lint: C Program Syntax Checker
    • Exercises
  • UNIX Batch Systems
    • &: Background
    • nohup: No Interruption
    • at: Execute at Specific Time
      • atq: Print at Queue
      • -l: List Jobs
      • at -r: Remove Jobs
    • batch: Batch Processor
    • NQS: Network Queueing System
    • cron: Job Scheduler
      • crontab [filename]
      • crontab -e [username]: Edit
      • crontab -l [username]: List
      • crontab -r [username]: Remove
    • Exercises
  • X-based Graphical User Interfaces
    • The X Window System
    • Open Look, Motif
    • The X Window System (continued...)
      • X Windows and X Terminals
      • Window Managers
      • Using X
      • .Xdefaults file
      • xterm: a typical utility
      • Fonts
      • Colours
      • Mouse Functionality
      • xdpr: X Window Dump to Printer
      • xdm: X Display Manager
      • Configuration Examples
    • Exercises
• Programming the Shell
  • Programming the Shells
    • Introduction
      • Bourne - C shell comparisons
      • Variables
    • A Simple Script
      • Running the Script
    • Special Characters
      • '...': Turn off Meaning of Special Characters.
      • "...": Turn off Meaning of Special Characters EXCEPT $ and `
      • `...`: Use Output as Content of Variable
    • Verbatim echo
    • Parameters and the Shell
      • $0: The Name of the Invoking Command
      • $1 $2 $3 ... $9, $*: Shell Parameters
      • $#: Number of Parameters
      • shift: Shifts Parameters
    • read: Reading Input from User
    • test: Comparisons
      • Testing/Comparing Numbers
      • Verifying File Types
      • Comparing Strings
      • Combining test: Expressions
    • Control Structures
      • for var in list
      • while condition
      • until loop
      • if statement
      • case: Selections
    • expr: Doing Arithmetic
    • Subroutines
    • Miscellaneous
      • break
      • $$: Process ID
      • $!: PID (Process ID) of the previous background command
      • $: Return Code
      • A || B: Either or
      • A && B: Both or Nothing
      • set: Change Command-line Parameters
    • trap: Trap signals
    • Tips Using Shell Commands
      • basename: Current Directory
      • dirname: Directory Path
      • stty -echo: Passwords
      • cut, awk: Cut Selected Fields
    • Exercises
• Solutions to Exercises
  • Solutions to Exercises
    • Introduction
    • File System
    • Tour of the File system
    • Shells
    • Security
    • Commands
    • Editors
    • Electronic Mail
    • Shells II
    • Commands II
    • Utilities
    • Text Formatters
    • Networking/Internet
    • Public Domain Packages
    • Special Files
    • Compilers
    • UNIX Batch Systems
    • X based Graphical User Interfaces
    • Programming the Shells
  • vi Quick Reference
  • Bibliography
• References
• About this document ...