Datasheet

10
Phase 1
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Working on the Command Line
Don’t shut down or reboot Linux by pressing the power or reset buttons on the
computer’s case. Like most modern OSs, Linux requires a controlled shutdown
to avoid damaging the data on its hard disk. If you want to shut down the system,
use a shutdown option at a GUI login prompt or type shutdown -h now as root.
Replace -h with -r if you want to reboot the computer rather than shut it down.
As a practical matter, if the computer has completely frozen, you may need to
perform an uncontrolled shutdown, but you should try to avoid this practice
whenever possible.
Criteria for Completion
You have completed this task when you’ve verified the presence of the whatis command in
/usr/bin and checked to see that it’s a shell script (that is, a program that consists of text-
mode commands that a shell executes). In the process, you’ll learn about file-examination
commands, command completion, command history, the Linux man system, and acquiring
superuser access. If a user were really having problems with the whatis command, though, it
might be missing or corrupt, in which case you’d be unable to find it in /usr/bin or it might
contain gibberish rather than text-mode commands.
Task 1.2: Manage Files and Directories
Many Linux features are implemented via files and directories. To perform some operations,
you may need to move, rename, delete, or otherwise modify files and directories. Thus, an
understanding of the commands used to accomplish these jobs is necessary for effective use of
Linux. This task gives you practice with these commands.
Scenario
A new project is starting at your place of work. To prepare, you must create a directory to hold
files that are to be accessible to all the members of this project, who are already members of
the users group. You must also populate this new directory with a few files (which, for pur-
pose of this exercise, you’ll copy from the /etc directory).
Scope of Task
This task requires creating, copying, and managing the permissions of both files and directories.
Duration
This task should take about half an hour to complete. Once you’ve learned the task, you
should be able to perform similar tasks in just a few minutes.
83484.book Page 10 Monday, September 18, 2006 8:58 AM