Basic Commands

Archives and Storage

compress used to compress files
tar "tape archive"; create archives, and read/write from tapes and diskettes

File Management

cat "concatenate"; used to display files, or concatenate files
cd "change directory"
cp "copy"; used to copy files and directories
file used to determine a file's "type"
ls "list"; list files and directories
mkdir "make directory"; used to create new directories
more control the display of files (one screenful at a time)
mv "move"; used to move files and directories
pwd "print working directory"
rm "remove"; used to remove files and directories
wc "word count"; used to count characters, words, and lines in text files and/or standard input

Printing

cancel used to cancel print requests
lp "line printer"; used to submit print jobs
lpstat "line printer statistics"; used to display information about printer queues

Searching

find a powerful command used to find files and directories with a wealth of search criteria
grep "general regular expression parser"; would be better named "search" or "textsearch"

System Status

df "disk free"; used to show information about free disk space on filesystems
du "disk usage"; most often used to determine the size of directories
ps "process statistics"; used to show the processes currently running on the system
who used to show who is logged in

Text Processing

grep "general regular expression parser"; would be better named "search" or "textsearch"
sort used to sort information provided on standard input

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