Linux is an open source operating system similar to Unix based around the Linux kernel originally created by Linus Torvalds. Linux is available in many different distributions, which are basically different flavors of the system put together by different groups. Many of the other parts of a typical Linux distribution besides the kernel are provided by or at least use the same license as the GNU project. GNU is a recursive(refers to itself) acronym for "GNU's Not Unix".
On Linux each user has a separate account, and users must login before using the system, whether accessing it locally or remotely. This is typically done using a username and password. There are other options for authenticating to the system, especially over SSH, but for now let's keep it simple.
In Linux (and Unix) commands to tell the system what to do are entered through a shell. Which shell you use is configurable, but the most common shell today is Bash from GNU, which stands for Bourne again shell. It is an expanded version fo the Bourne shell, thus "Bourne again".
Inside bash or a similar shell, you will have a prompt which is where you enter your commands; in other words it prompts you for your command to input.
The first commands we are going to learn are actually commands for getting help. A command can be followed by options and arguments as part of the command line. Hitteng the return key at the end of the line causes the command to run when you are finished typing it. As long as you have not pressed return yet you can move around with the arrow keys or use backspace to correct any mistakes in your command.
Try these commands out at the prompt.
ls -l
echo "Hello"
Each user in Linux has a home directory. A directory is like a folder in a graphical operating system. It's just part of the hierarchy or tree of files and directories(folders) which can hold files or other directories. Usually your home directory will be located at /home/yourusername where yourusername will be whatever your login username is. Also, a path is just a way of specifying a location for a file or directory in the file system which is just a way of refering to all the files and things on the computer (more or less).
In Linux (and Unix) files and directories have owners, groups, and permissions. The permissions control who can see that the files exist, read or access the files, and who can modify the files. The permissions system also controls which files or directories are executable. If a file is executable it means you can run it (or try) as a program. If you have execute permissions for a directory it means you are allowed to navigate inside that directory.
In Linux you have what is called a current directory or working directory. This is where you are in a kind of way. You can refer to files inside the current directory without using their entire path.
You change directories with the cd command (change directory). With no arguments it will take you to your home directory or given a path it will take you to that directory. The special value .. refers to the parent of the current directory. So cd .. takes you one directory higher in the tree of directories. The command pwd tells you what your current directory is (it stands for print working directory).
The ls command is used for listing files. If you want more information try ls -l and to make sure you see everything try ls -Fal.
You can make a new directory with the mkdir command.
mkdir stuff
mkdir junk
You can remove a directory as long as it's empty with rmdir.
rmdir junk
Why don't you try changing to the stuff directory now? Try these commands:
cd stuff
pwd
ls
touch something
ls -l
What happened?
Type this into your prompt, the little marks are backticks and depending on your keyboard are probably the key to the left of the number 1.
cowsay `fortune -s`
The fortune command outputs a random saying, some wise, some absurd. Adding the "-s" just makes it choose a short saying. The backticks around a command let you send its output on the command line as arguments to another command. In this case that command is cowsay which does just what it sounds like.
There are a lot of ways to get some help when you don't know or can't remember how to do something. Try these out:
man man
info bash
ls --help
man -k files
If you want to rename or relocate a file or directory, you use the mv command. But pay attention, becuase it can do different things depending on what kind of argument you give it.
mv oldname newname - As long as newname does not already exist, this command will rename the file oldname to newname, BUT if newname exists and is a directory, it will move oldname inside newname where it will still be named oldname. This is true including when oldname is actually a directory itself.
mv somefile somedir - Again, if somedir is a directory it will move somefile into somedir, as in somefile/somedir.
Copying files is done with the cp command. Just like mv it takes an old name and a new name, and just like mv it acts differently if the destination is an existing directory, by putting the destination inside of it instead of using it as a new name.
cp oldname newname
cp myfile newdir
You can delete a file with the rm command. Be sure to use caution with rm. It also takes additional options that allow you to do things like delete all files and directories recursively under a directory.
touch killme
ls
rm killme
ls
You can view the contents of a text file by using the cat, more, or less commands. The > and >> symbols in the example below redirect command output to a file. You'll learn more about those later.
echo "Line1" > some.txt
echo "Line2" >> some.txt
cat some.txt
more some.txt
less some.txt
You can also send the output of one command into another command, like more using a pipe, by using the | symbol. Try this out:
ls --help | less
It's a lot easier to use that way than when it flies off the screen isn't it? Also note that depending on your terminal setup you can usually use the mouse wheel or Shift + PageUP to view things that already scrolled off the screen.
Of course sometimes you want to edit a file, not just jam things onto the end of it. A good editor for text files for beginners is nano. It has simple commands and shows the most basic ones at the bottom of the screen to help you. Control key + 'o' saves and Control key + 'x' exits(quits) the program.
nano some.txt
The aspell command for Linux lets you spell check words. Run this command then type in words spelled correctly or otherwise.
aspell -a
If the word is spelled correctly, aspell will print an asterisk; otherwise it will suggest words you may have meant.
When you are finished, hold down the Contro key and press 'D'.
You can interactively spell check and correct an entire text file with the -c option.
echo "The quick broun fox jumped over the fince." > myfile.txt
aspell -c myfile.txt
That is probably enough for our first lesson. Feel free to explore the shell and commands on your own
TODO: add all appropriate copyrights.