at bg banner cp cal

cd chmode chgrp clear cmp

chown cron dd date du
dump diff echo exit find
grep head kill ln more
ls lp lpd mkdir mail ps
man mv news page or pg rm
pwd pr passwd rmdir write
tar tail tee wc mesg
who wall touch talk tty

1. at
This command is used to scheduled tasks to be at a future date.
Syntax
at time
at [options ] job-ids
The system assigns the job ids when you use the at command.
Options
-l List current jobs
-r Removes specific jobs
time The time when the command should be run. Unless specify otherwise (with a.m. or
p.m. as a suffix), the system assumes military time.

2. bg
bg jobs Places the current job (or, by using the alternative form, the specified jobs) in the
background, suspending its execution so that a new user prompt appears immediately. Use
the jobs command to discover the identities of background jobs. Resumes a suspended job.
Syntax:
bg PID

3. banner
The banner command creates posters by blowing up its argument on the screen. On each
line it can display a maximum of ten characters.
Syntax:
banner text
Example:
$ banner UNIX
4. cp - Copy files
Copies the content of one file into another file.
Syntax:
cp myfile yourfile
Example:
Copy the files "myfile" to the file "yourfile" in the current working directory. This command
will create the file "yourfile" if it doesn't exist. It will normally overwrite it without warning if
it exists.
cp -i myfile yourfile
With the "-i" option, if the file "yourfile" exists, you will be prompted before it is overwritten.
cp -i /data/myfile
Copy the file "/data/myfile" to the current working directory and name it "myfile". Prompt
before overwriting the file.
cp -dpr srcdir destdir
Copy all files from the directory "srcdir" to the directory "destdir" preserving links
(-poption), file attributes (-p option), and copy recursively (-r option). With these options, a
directory and all it contents can be copied to another dir

5. cal month year

Display the current month in calendar form. Prints a calendar for the specified month of the
specified year.
Syntax:
cal
cal month year
cal year
Ex:
cal month year

6. cd - change directories
Use cd to change directories. Type cd followed by the name of a directory to access that
directory. Keep in mind that you are always in a directory and can navigate to directories
hierarchically above or below.
Syntax:
cd DIRECTORY_NAME
Example
$ cd progs
7. clear
Clears the terminal screen.
Syntax:
clear

8. cmp
Compares two files, reporting all discrepancies. Similar to the diff command, though the
output format differs.
Syntax
cmp file1 file2
Example
cmp emp emp1

9. chown - change file owner and group

Changes the ownership of a given file. There are two commands meant to manipulate the
ownership of a file or a directory. They can be used only by the owner of the file (or the
system administrator). The chown (change ownership) command gives away the ownership
of the file to the user. It accepts as its arguments the login-id of the user to whom
ownership is to be given away, along with a list of file names.
Syntax:
chown owner filename
Ex:
Chown kumar emp
Usage
chown [OPTION] OWNER[:[GROUP]] FILE
chown [OPTION] :GROUP FILE
chown [OPTION] --reference=RFILE FILE
Options
Change the owner and/or group of each FILE to OWNER and/or GROUP. With --reference,
change the owner and group of each FILE to those of RFILE.
-c, changes like verbose but report only when a change is made
-dereference affect the referent of each symbolic link, rather than the symbolic link itself
-h, no-dereference affect each symbolic link instead of any referenced file (useful only on
systems that can change the ownership of a symlink)
-from=CURRENT_OWNER:CURRENT_GROUP
change the owner and/or group of each file only if its current owner and/or group match
those specified here. Either may be omitted, in which case a match is not required for
the omitted attribute.
-no-preserve-root do not treat `/' specially (the default)
-preserve-root fail to operate recursively on `/'
-f, -silent, -quiet suppress most error messages
-reference=RFILE use RFILE's owner and group rather than the specifying OWNER:GROUP
values
-R, -recursive operate on files and directories recursively
-v, -verbose output a diagnostic for every file processed
The following options modify how a hierarchy is traversed when the -R option is also
specified. If more than one is specified, only the final one takes effect.
-H if a command line argument is a symbolic link to a directory, traverse it
-L traverse every symbolic link to a directory encountered
-P do not traverse any symbolic links (default)

10. chmod - change file access permissions

changes the access permission on a given file. The mode is an o
Syntax:
Chmod mode filename
Usage
chmod [-r] permissions filenames
r Change the permission on files that are in the subdirectories of the directory that you are
currently in. permission Specifies the rights that are being granted. Below is the different
rights that you can grant in an alpha numeric format. filenames File or directory that you
are associating the rights with Permissions
u - User who owns the file.
g - Group that owns the file.
o - Other.
a - All.
r - Read the file.
w - Write or edit the file.
x - Execute or run the file as a program.
Numeric Permissions:
CHMOD can also to attributed by using Numeric Permissions:
400 read by owner
040 read by group
004 read by anybody (other)
200 write by owner
020 write by group
002 write by anybody
100 execute by owner
010 execute by group
001 execute by anybody

11. chgrp
Changes a file’s group ID, which is used for the group access permission. The chgrp
(change group) command changes the group ownership of the file. It shares a similar
Syntax like chown, and can be used by the owner of the file who is also a member of the
group owning it.
Syntax
chgrp groupname filename
Example
To pass on ownership of all the *.lst to bin, you need to use.
chgrp bin *.lst

12. cron
Tells cron to run a set of commands at specified times. The chronograph of the UNIX
system. It executes the commands that are listed in a control file (crontab) at a frequency
that is specified by the various fields in the file. The system can get deranged if either cron
is not running, or more than one instance of it is active.
Syntax
cron filename
13. dd
This is used to copying the diskettes. dd is a versatile command which is used to
perform variety of task.

14. date
Displays the current date. Or if you have superuser status can be used to set the system
date and time.
System
date [options]
Option
mmddHHMMMMYY sets month (mm),date
Example
date

15. du
The du (disk usages) command lets the administrator find out more details of disk
consumption. This may be necessary when there is insufficient space available, or if the disk
is being eaten away very fast. Display how much disk space is used by a directory (and all
its subdirectories), in blocks (usually 512 or 1,024 bytes each).
Syntax
du option directories
du options filenames
options
-a Display all information
-r Reports on files and subdirectories du cannot open.
-s Silent mode. Display only totals.
Example
When used without options, it merely reports the space used by the current directory and all
its sub directories.
#du

16. dump
A dump is a long listing of the contents of a file or portions of system memory, produced by
the UNIX kernel, under certain system failure. The listing includes the contents of the main
memory as well as the state of the system at the time of failure. The information is stored
in the file called core file. This file is used for troubleshooting by the system administrator.
This file can be found in the working directory of the program that failed.

17. diff
This command is used to compare the two files. It is used with different options.
Syntax:
diff options filename1 filename2
Options
-b Ignores blanks at the end of line.
-c generates a context diff.
-e Creates a script for the ed editor to make filename1 same as filename2.
Example
diff emp emp1

18. echo command

Echoes text to the standard output device.
Syntax
echo text
Example
echo good morning

19. exit
Quits the current session. The exit statement is used to prematurely terminate a program.
Syntax
exit
Example
grep “$1” $2 || exit 3
echo “Patter found – Job Over”

20. find
This command is used to find a file. find recursively examines a list of files in a sub-directory
to look for a file attribute.
Syntax
find / -name filename –print
Options
-print Prints the result of the search
Example
#find / -name .profile –print
/usr/kumar/.profile
/usr/tiwari/.profile
/usr/shrama/.profile
#_

21. grep
Searches file for a pattern.
Syntax:
grep options pattern filenames
Options
-c Display count of the number of occurrences
-l Display list of the filenames only.
-n display line numbers along with the lines.
-v Display all but the lines matching the expression
-i Ignores case for matching
Example
grep sales emp.lst
2233 | a.k. shukla |g.m. |sales |12/12/92/6000
1006 | anil agrawal |director |sales |02/09/92/6700

22. head
Displays the beginning of a file. The default is ten lines.
Syntax
head filename
Example1
head emp.lst
Example2
head -3 emp.lst

23. kill
You can terminate a process by using the kill command. kill a current process by ID number.
The command uses one or more PID numbers as its argument.
Syntax
kill process.id
Example1
kill 105
Example2
kill 121 122 125 132 138 144

24. ln
Links two or more files. Files are linked with the ln command, which takes two arguments.
Syntax
ln filename1 filename2
Example
To link the files emp.lst with, say employee, you should use
ln emo.lst employee

25. lp or lpd
UNIX provides a spooling facility by which you can queue up jobs for printing. This is done
with the lp(line printing) command. Sends a print request to a printer. Can be used to print
multiple files with one request. On some systems, you may need to use the lpr command
instead.
Syntax
lp filename
Example
lp chap01
Request id is 320

26. ls
List the contents of the specified directory. If no directory is specified, the contents of the
current directory are listed.
Syntax
ls names
where names refers to filenames or pathnames.
Options
-a list hidden files
-d list the name of the current directory
-F show directories with a trailing '/'
executable files with a trailing '*'
-g show group ownership of file in long listing
-i print the inode number of each file
-l long listing giving details about files and directories
-R list all subdirectories encountered
-t sort by time modified instead of name
Example1
$ ls
Example2
$ ls –x
Example3
$ ls –f –x

27. mkdir
This command will make a new subdirectory.
Syntax
mkdir option dirname
where dirname refers to the name of new directory.
Options:
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
-m, mode=MODE set permission mode (as in chmod), not rwxrwxrwx - umask
-p, parents no error if existing, make parent directories as needed
-v, verbose print a message for each created directory
-help display this help and exit
-version output version information and exit
Example
$ mkdir empdata

28. mail
This command is used to send the mail to the a user even if he is not logged in. It is used
for non-interactive communication.
Syntax
mail username
Example
mail rakesh
--------mailing text -------
Ctrl+d
29. more
Display all or the parts of a file. Type q to quit, spacebar to continue. Used to see the halted
output.
Syntax
more filename
Options
-c clears the screen before displaying the file.

30. man
Display the online-manual page for a command.
Syntax
man command
Example
man wc

31. mv command
mv command simply renames a file or a group of files. Moves a file or multiple files into
another or to a new name in the current directory.
Syntax
mv filename directory
or
mv filename newfilename
Option
-f moves file without checking for confirmation in case of an overwrite.
-i Prompts users if action would overwrite an existing file.
Example
$ mv chop01 man01

32. news
The news command is normally invoked by any user to read any message that is send by
the system administrator. Display all news items distributed systemwide.
Syntax:
news
news newsitems
Options
-a Display all of the news items
-n Display the names of all of the news items.
-s Display a count of all of the news items.
Example
$ cat/user/news/dinner
News----
--------
$_

33. page or pg
Display a file one page at a time.
Syntax
pg filename
Options
+n Starts the display at line number n.
+/string Searches for the string string.
Example
$ pg emp

34. ps
Returns the status of all current process.
Syntax
Ps
Options
-e Display expanded information about all current process.
-f Display fill information about processes.
Example
$ ps

35. pwd
You can always find out the directory where you are currently placed, by using the
pwd(present working directory) command. Returns current working directory.
Syntax:
pwd
Example
$ pwd
usr/kumar

36. pr
The pr command prepares a file for printing by adding suitable headers, footers and
formatted text. Prints a file or files to the default printer.
Syntax
pr filename | lp
Options
-d Double-spaces the text.
-h text Prints the header text at the beginning of the output.
-l Sets the page length
-w Sets the page width.
Example
$ pr dept.lst

37. passwd
Sets the user password. Administrator has privileges of changing anybody’s password
without knowing it.
Syntax:
passwd user
Example
# passwd kumar
Enter new password : <Enter the Password>
Re-nter new password : <Reenter the Password>

38. rmdir
Removes directories and files within the directories recursively.
Syntax:
rmdir directory
Ex:
rmdir amit

39. rm
Removes files.
Syntax:
rm filename
Ex:
rm emp

40. tar
Archive files to tar files, often on backup tapes.
Syntax:
tar options filenames
Options
c Create a new tar archive
f filename write archive to filename, often dev/tape.
t Print out a table of contents.
v Verbose mode: print out status information.
x Extract files from within the tar archive.
Example

41. tail
Displays the final ten lines of a file.
Syntax
tail filename
Example1
tail emp.lst
Example2
tail -3 emp.lst

42. tee
Unix provides a feature by which you can save the standard output in a file, as well as
display it on the terminal (or pipe it to another process). It is made possible by the tee
command.
tee uses standard input and standard output, which means that it can be placed anywhere
in a pipeline. The additional feature it possesses is that it breaks up the input into two
components; one component is saved in a file which is used as an argument to the
command, and the other is simply connected to the standard output. tee doesn’t perform
any filtering option on its input; it gives out exactly what it takes:
Example
You can use tee to the output of the who command in a file, as well as display it:
$ who | tee user.lst
One channel is saved in the file user.lst, while the other is displayed on the standard output.
you can crosscheck the display with display with the content of the file user.lst.

43. wc
Counts the number of words, characters and lines in a text file or files. Print byte, word, and

line counts.
Syntax
wc [options] filenames
Options:
-c Print the number of characters in a text file.
-l Print the number of lines in a text file.
-w Print the number of words in a text file.
Ex:
wc dept

44. write
This is used to have a two-way communication with any person who is currently logged in.
Sends a text message to another user. User ctrl + d to exit
Syntax
write username
Example
$ write sharma
-------message ------
o
ctrl +d
last line of the message should be a single character (perfectly o) to indicate to the receiver
that the message is complete.
45. who
Display the names and other information about users on the system.
Syntax
who
Example
$ who

46. wall
The wall command has more urgency than the others, as it address all users. Though the
command is available in /etc, it can be invoked by any user by employing the absolute
pathnames of the command.
Example
$ /etc/wall
-----------message-------------
Ctrl + d
$_

47. touch
The access and modification times of a file change when you try to read or write into it,
respectively, you may sometimes require to set them to predefined them. The touch
command sets the modification time of the specified file to the current time.
Syntax
touch <options> <expression> <filenames>

48. talk
This is an interactive communication, where two users can chat. Once a user dials another
user to chat, he has to respond back by giving talk command, thereby establishing the link
for two way communication. Talk command divides the screen into two windows. One for
sending message and other for receiving message.
Syntax:
The specified user has to respond back by issuing talk command and specify and
specify the user name, who has send the dial.
Example:
$ talk ram (send by user1)
Ram respond back by giving talk user1 at his prompt.
talk is terminated by either user entering the interrupt key <Delete> in UNIX and Ctrl+c in
Linux).

49. mesg
Communication, single or two way, can be disconcerting to a user who might be watching
the output of a very important program on his terminal at that instant. He is obviously
wouldn’t like the screen to be disturbed by such unexpected instruction. In that case he can
user the mesg command to insulate himself.
Syntax:
mesg [options]
Options:
n – Do not allow messages via write
y – Allow message via write
Example:
$ mesg n
prevents other people from writing to his terminal, while
50. tty
This command is used to know your terminal number. It is called as teletype command.
Syntax
tty
Example
$ tty
/dev/tty01

Command Substitution
UNIX features the connecting of two commands in yet another way. While a pipe connects
the standard output of one to the standard input of the other, the shell enables the
argument of a command to be obtained from the output of another command. This feature
is called command substitution. When a command is enclosed within a pair of backquotes
(‘), the shell executes the command first, and the enclosed command test is replaced by the
output of the command. It can be considered to be a case of running a command within
another.
To consider a simple Example, suppose you wish to echo today’s date with the echo
statement. Using the feature of command grouping, you need to issue sequentially the echo
and date commands:
$ echo The date today is ; date
The date today is
Fri Jul 27 00:12:14 EST 1990
$_
Command substitution offers the facility of doing this in a single statement. Use the
expression ‘data’ as an argument to echo:
$ echo The date today is ‘data’
The date today is Fri Jul 27 00:12:14 EST 1990
$_
Example2
$ echo There are ‘ls | wc –l’ files in the current directory
There are 52 files in the current directory
$_
OR
$ echo “There are ‘ls | wc –l’ files in the current directory”