Module 1: Chapter 2: Using the Shell

A command runs a process on the operating system, which then causes the computer to perform a ___.

Job

The ___ is where the command "comes from."

Source

Internal Commands, also called ____, these commands are built-in to the shell itself. A good example is the cd (change directory) command as it is part of the Bash shell.

Built-in commands

These commands are stored in files that are searched by the shell

External Commands

An ___ can override a built-in command, function, or a command that is found in a file.

Alias

What can also be built using existing commands to either create new commands, override commands built-in to the shell or commands stored in files?

Functions

The ___ command allows us to display information from the APT database cache.

apt-cache

A ____ is a collection of commands that is typically executed at the command line

script file

To determine what aliases are set on the current shell use the ____ command.

alias

What is an example of an alias?

Instead of executing the full command each time, you can create an alias called mycal and run the alias: alias mycal=”cal 2030”

Aliases created this way only persist while the shell is open.

True

Once the shell is closed, the new aliases are lost.

True

Each shell has its own aliases, so, aliases created in one shell won’t be available in a new shell that’s opened.

True

An ____ can be used to specify something for the command to act upon

Argument

The ____ command is used to create empty files or update the timestamp of existing files. It requires at least one argument to specify the file name to act upon.

touch

Arguments that contain unusual characters like spaces or non-alphanumeric characters will usually need to be___.

Quoted

What will prevent the shell from interpreting some of these special characters?

Double quotes

What prevents the shell from interpreting any special characters?

Single quotes

The ____ command displays text to the terminal and is used extensively in shell scripting.

echo

What do two exclamation (!!) points mean?

The shell interprets the !! characters as special characters. It means to perform the last command that was executed.

The double quotes block the expansion of some special characters, but not all of them.

True; unfortunately, double quotes do not block the expansion of the exclamation !! characters:

If you enclose text within the ' single quote characters, then all characters have their literal meaning

True

What can be used with commands to expand or modify the way a command behaves?

Options

Short options are specified with a ____ followed by a single character. Short options are how options were traditionally specified.

hyphen (-)

What option specifies tab size?

-T

Long options for commands are preceded by a ____.

double hyphen (- -)

Commands that support long options will often also support arguments that may be specified _______.

with or without an equal sign; for example: ls - -sort time, and ls - - sort=time

What does the lone double hyphen -- option represent?

Indicates the end of all options for the command

The _______ version of UNIX used options with no hyphen at all.

Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)

common use of the exec command is in what is known as ____.

wrapper scripts

What does a wrapper script do?

Simply configure and launch another program

The _____ command displays system information.

uname

To display information about what kernel version the system is running, use the _____.

-r option (uname -r)

To display all information about the system, use the ____ command.

uname -a or uname - -all

To display information about the kernel name of the system, use the ____ command

uname -s or uname - -kernel-name

To display information about the network node name of the system, use the ____ command.

uname -n or uname - -node-name

To display the kernel release version of the system, use the ____ command,

uname -r or uname - -kernel-release

To display kernel version of the system, use the ____ command.

uname -v or uname - -kernel-version

To display the machine hardware name, use the ____ command.

uname -m or uname - -machine

To display the processor type or unknown of the system, use the ____ command.

uname -p or uname - -processor

To display the operating system of the machine, use the ____ command.

uname -o or uname - -operating-system

To display the help information of the system, use the ____ command.

uname - -help

To display the version information of the system, use the ____ command.

uname - -version

What command searches for the location of a command in the system by searching the PATH variable?

which

Which command is used in order to view the manual page for a topic?

man

When controlling the Man Page Display, what command is used to go down one line?

Return (Enter)

When controlling the Man Page Display, what command goes down one page?

Space

When controlling the Man Page Display, what command search for term?

/term

When controlling the Man Page Display, what command finds next search item?

n

When controlling the Man Page Display, goes to the beginning of the page?

1G

When controlling the Man Page Display, goes to the end of the page?

G

When controlling the Man Page Display, displays help?

h

When controlling the Man Page Display, displays quit man page?

q

Which of the following man page sections provides the name of the command a very brief description?

NAME

Which of the following man page sections shows a summary of how the command line syntax of the program looks?

SYNOPSIS

Which of the following man page sections provides a more detailed description of the command?

DESCRIPTION

Which of the following man page sections lists the options for the command as well as a description of how they are used? Often this information is found in the description section and not in a seperate options section.

OPTIONS

Which of the following man page sections lists files that are associated with the command as well as a description of how they are used?

FILES

Which of the following man page sections provides the name of the person who created the man page and (sometimes) how to contact the person?

AUTHOR

Which of the following man page sections shows where you can find additional information?

SEE ALSO

Executable programs or shell commands for man pages can be found in what section?

1

System calls (functions provided by the kernel) for man pages can be found in what section?

2

Library calls (functions within program libraries) for man pages can be found in what section?

3

Special files (usually found in /dev) for man pages can be found in what section?

4

File formats and conventions, e.g. /etc/passwd for man pages can be found in what section?

5

Games can be found in what section of man pages?

6

Miscellaneous (including macro packages and conventions), e.g. man (7), groff (7) for man pages can be found in what section?

7

System administration commands (usually only for root) for man pages can be found in what section?

8

Kernel routines [non-standard] for man pages can be found in what section?

9

If you forget the name of the man page you’re looking for, what command will help you?

-k

For example, man -k password