HU 2650: Web Design

Getting Around in UNIX

Using the command line

Before graphical user interfaces were common, everyone used a command line interface. It may seem like a step backwards to learn how to use such an interface, but you should be familar with goes on "behind the scenes" of serving your webpages.

Most of the time, what lies behind the scenes is a UNIX machine. The following is a quick list of commands to help you get around. These commands are case sensitive, but they almost always appear in lowercase:

*Some UNIX commands*
Cmd	Function	Examples	Translation

cd	change directory	cd	go to the home directory
		cd public_html	go to the "public_html" subdirectory
		cd ../	go to the parent directory (one directory up)

ls	list the files in a directory	ls	list the files in the current directory
		ls public_html	list the files in the "public_html" subdirectory
		ls ../	list the contents of the parent directory (one directory up)
		ls -la	list all the files in the current directory, with details
		ls -l foo.html	give me details about the file "foo.html"

rm	remove (delete) files	rm foo.html	remove the file "foo.html"
		rm -r /site	remove the directory "/site" and everything in it
		rm *.html	remove every file ending with ".html"
		rm -r *	remove everything in this directory and every subdirecotry (be careful!)

mv	move (or rename) files	mv foo.html ../	move the file "foo.html" to the parent directory (one directory up)
		mv foo.html bar.html	rename "foo.html," making it "bar.html" instead

pwd

print working directory

pwd

tell me what directory I'm in right now

pico

open the pico text editor

pico foo.html

edit the file "foo.html"

*Using pico*
[CTRL]+[D]	delete	works just like the delete key on a PC or Mac
[CTRL]+[O]	save	save the current file
[CTRL]+[X]	exit	exit pico
[CTRL]+[A]	home	go to the begining of the current line
[CTRL]+[E]	end	go to the end of the current line
[CTRL]+[Y]	page up	go up one screen
[CTRL]+[V]	page down	go down one screen
[CTRL]+[K]	kut	cut the current line
[CTRL]+[U]	un-cut	paste the lines you last cut
[CTRL]+[W]	where is...	find

Tips and Tricks

If you press the TAB key after you've started typing a command or filename, UNIX will try to automatically complete what you started. So, suppose I had a directory that only contained the file "foobar.html." If I wanted to delete it, I could just type rm f, and then hit the TAB key. The operating system will then fill in the rest of the line for me: rm foobar.html. But if the directory also contained a file called "foot.html," I would have to type rm foob before pressing TAB—the opeating system has to know for sure which file name I was trying to type before it can complete the line.
At the UNIX command prompt, use the up and down arrows to browse through prevously entered commands. Hit enter if you want to execute the command again.
If you type the backspace key and you get a bunch of ^H characters on the screen, hold down the control key as you type backspace.
To change your password on the UNIX machine, use the passwd command.
To set the permissions for your web folder so that others can see your files, use the permissions script. (See the permissions page for more details.)