Linux Command Line Tutorial: the commands you need to know
The Linux command line, also called a terminal, shell, or console, is a text interface for your computer. With this computer program, you can interpret commands and write your own scripts.
It may look intimidating at first, but once you get used to it, it is easy to use. This article will walk you through some of the basics of the Linux command line, along with some real-world examples. We assume you have little or no prior knowledge.
Each Linux distribution comes with a command line. This article uses Ubuntu 20.04, the commands should work with most distributions.
Here’s what we will be covering today:
Learn advanced BASH commands and scripts
This course is for anyone interested in understanding the BASH shell. You’ll learn all the intricacies of advanced BASH scripting.
What is the Linux Command Line?
The Linux terminal gives you an interface where you can input commands and see the result printed as text. You can use the terminal to accomplish tasks like moving files or navigating a directory, without the use of a GUI. Terminals just transfer information. You need a shell for the operating system to understand this information.
With the Linux command line, you can execute commands manually by typing on the terminal. You can also automate commands using Shell Scripts.
Brief History of Linux Command Line
Let’s briefly go through the Linux command line history. Back in the early days of computing, there was an operating system called Unix, which was designed to run on mainframe computers as a multi-user system. Users connected to it remotely through terminals.
These terminals were very basic, as they could only send keystrokes and display data on the screen.
Since text is light on resources, users could interact quickly and efficiently. Every task the users performed was through this textual interface. To coordinate the execution of different programs, users would connect to single master programs.
The user commands were wrapped in “shell” programs. To make complex tasks easier, users could write shell scripts that automated a long series of shell commands.
Linux is a descendant of Unix. Its core part is designed to behave similarly to a Unix system. The Bourne Again Shell (BASH) was developed by Stephen Bourne and released in 1979 in the Version 7 Unix release. Over time, it has become the default shell for Linux systems.