Operation Manual

The Linux Command Line
163
Notes:
Lesson 6.4: Creating and destroying files and directories
Finally, let’s look at creating and destroying file and directories, as well as taking
a closer look at the mount command.
Create a new empty file
To create a new empty file, go to where you want the file to be and type:
$touch<lename>
The “touch” command actually updates a file’s “last accessed” time to the current
time and date, but if such a file doesn’t already exist then it will create a new file
of that name, with a file size of 0.
To find out more about the “touch” command, see its Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_(Unix)
touch
Update the named file’s access time and modification time (and
dates) to the current time and date. If a file doesn’t exist then a
new file will be created with a file size of 0.
Create a new empty directory
To create a new directory, go to where you want the directory to be and type:
$ mkdir <directory name>
To find out more about “mkdir” command, see its Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mkdir
mkdir
Create one or more directories in the current location.
Remove a file
To delete a file, go that file's location and type:
$rm<lename>
To find out more about the “rm” command, see its Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rm_%28Unix%29
rm
Remove (delete) one or more files in the current location.