Datasheet
-z Packs the resulting archive with gzip
-j Compresses the resulting archive with bzip2
-v Lists files processed
The archive files created by tar end with .tar. If the tar archive was also
compressed using gzip, the ending is .tgz or .tar.gz. If it was com-
pressed using bzip2, the ending is .tar.bz2. Application examples can
be found in Archives and Data Compression on page 263.
locate pattern(s) The locate command can find in which directory a
specified file is located. If desired, use wild cards to specify file names. The
program is very speedy, as it uses a database specifically created for the
purpose (rather than searching through the entire file system). This very
fact, however, also results in a major drawback: locate is unable to find any
files created after the latest update of its database. The database can be gen-
erated by root with updatedb.
updatedb [options(s)] This command performs an update of the database
used by locate. To include files in all existing directories, run the program
as root. It also makes sense to place it in the background by appending
an ampersand (&), so you can immediately continue working on the same
command line (updatedb &).
find [option(s)] With find, search for a file in a given directory. The first
argument specifies the directory in which to start the search. The option
-name must be followed by a search string, which may also include wild
cards. Unlike locate, which uses a database, find scans the actual direc-
tory.
Commands to Access File Contents
cat [option(s)] file(s) The cat command displays the contents of a file,
printing the entire contents to the screen without interruption.
-n Numbers the output on the left margin
less [option(s)] file(s) This command can be used to browse the con-
tents of the specified file. Scroll half a screen page up or down with
PgUp
and
PgDn or a full screen page down with
Space . Jump to the beginning
or end of a file using
Home and
End . Press
Q to exit the program.
274 21.3. Important Linux Commands