Unix Command Summary:

This is a brief description of the unix commands you should find
most useful.  The commands you will probably need most immediatly
are marked with an astrisk.  The others are useful and/or illustrate
how employing different options (called flags) can extend or change
a command.

Not all unix commands have the exactly same function on different 
computers, so if you have a question about a command please consult the 
man pages (use "man commandname") where there is a "complete" description 
for the command and its options for your computer.  You can also obtain
"hints" for the names of commands that you might be interested in by
using man -k keyword, where keyword is a word you think might be 
associated with the command you are interested in... doesn't always
work, but it is the best first step to finding what you want.

For moving around directories, and finding files:

     Command Syntax                      Description/Usage

* cd                          Change directory to $HOME
  cd 'directory name'         Change to directory named 'directory name'
  find . -name file-a -print  Find a file named file-a in any subdirectory, 
                              and print the location.
* ls                          Displays all files in directory.
* ls -l                       Displays all files in directory with file's
                              attributes (date created, read/write
                              permissions, etc.)
  ls -t                       Displays all files in directory in time order
                              (most recent file first)
  ls -lrt                     Displays all files in directory with file's
                              attributes in time order (oldest file first)
* ls -l file-a*               Displays attributes of ALL files that begin with
                              "file-a".
* pwd                         Displays present working directory.

For reading and writing files, creating and removing directories:

    Command Syntax                      Description/Usage

  cat filename                Displays data in named file.
  cat file-a file-b > file-c  Copies file-a and file-b to file-c.
* cp file-a file-b            Copies file-a to file-b
* grep value filename         Searches for value in named file and displays
                              found value's line of data.
* lpr filename                Prints named file to default printer.
* mkdir                       Make a directory.
* more filename               Displays named file. If the entire screen is
                              full, hit enter and additional lines will be
                              displayed along with the percent value of the
                              program displayed.  Hit 'h' for more commands.
* mv file-a file-b            Moves file-a to file-b. Will replace file-b, if
                              it currently exists.
* rm filename                 Removes named file.
* rmdir 'directory name'      Removes named directory. Cannot remove directory
                              until all files in that directory are removed.
  tail filename               Displays last 10 lines of named file.
  tail -1 filename            Displays last line of named file.
  tail -r filename            Display file in reverse order.  Pipe it to more
                              to read a file "backwards" 
                              (ie. tail -r filename | more)

Various applications for editing files and reading email (among a VERY
large number available):

    Command Syntax                      Description/Usage


* emacs filename              Edits named file using GNU editor called
                              emacs.  Very powerful and popular.
  emacs -nw filename          Edits a file using emacs in the same window
                              that the program is started in.  This is
                              very useful if you are NOT on an xterminal.
* pine                        A menu-driven email program that is configurable
                              and probably the easiest to use; recommended 
                              text only.
  vi filename                 Edits named file using VI editor. Found on
                              nearly every unix platform.
  evince filename             For viewing pdf or postscript files.
                              

Various commands for monitoring the system, and modifying your shell 
environment:

    Command Syntax                      Description/Usage

  echo string                 Echoes string value to screen. For example
                              "echo $PATH", prints the value of PATH for your
                              shell.
* passwd                      Used to change passwords. The system prompt you
                              to enter your old password. After you enter
                              that, the system will prompt you to enter your
                              new password. The password must be at least six
                              positions and contain at least two alpha
                              characters and 1 numeric value. After keying in
                              the new password, the system will ask you to
                              re-enter the new password for verification
                              purposes.
* printenv                    Prints all environment variables.  
                              Good for checking what a variable
                              like PATH (which is a list of directories your
                              shell searches for executable programs) is 
                              set to.
  top                         Prints out a list of the heaviest users of CPU
                              time.
* w                           Shows a list of all the users currently logged
                              in.