2.1 Read (at least) these things (All The Words)Index

1. Week 03 Notes HTML – this file – Read All The Words
2. File System and Pathnames – ROOT, absolute, relative, dot, dot dot
3. Directories: ROOT, /root, HOME, /home, and current
4. Searching for and finding files by name, size, use, modify time, etc.
5. For next week: Shell GLOB patterns (wildcard pathname matching)
6. List of Commands You Should Know
7. Video Tutorials on Lynda.com – tagged by week number
8. Linux and Sysadmin News in the World

• Create your lynda.com account and watch these sections of Unix for Mac OS X Users
  • these videos are for all Unix/Linux students, not just Mac OSX users
  • 2. Filesystem Basics
    • The working directory 2m 49s
      • pwd
    • Listing files and directories 3m 59s
      • pwd, ls, hidden files
    • Moving around the filesystem 4m 58s
      • cd, TAB filename completion, absolute/relative paths
    • Filesystem organization 4m 12s
      • ROOT, standard Unix folders
  • 3. Working with Files and Directories
    • Naming files 5m 41s
      • Unix is case-sensitive, OSX is case-insensitive!
      • avoid special characters or blanks in Unix pathnames
    • Creating files 2m 19s
      • touch
    • Unix text editors 6m 39s
      • vi/vim, nano
      • head, tail
    • Reading files 5m 35s
      • cat, more, less
    • Reading portions of files 3m 27s
      • head, tail
    • Creating directories 2m 40s
      • mkdir
    • Moving and renaming files and directories 8m 32s
      • mv (including using ..)
    • Copying files and directories 3m 7s
      • cp
    • Deleting files and directories 3m 38s
      • rm, rmdir
    • Searching for files and directories 6m 32s
      • find using “wildcard” (GLOB) patterns - same as shell GLOB
  • 5. Commands and Programs
    • Command basics 4m 4s
      • commands are usually small programs; ways to exit from programs
    • Using the command history 8m 16s
      • shell command history is saved your .bash_history file

2.2 Assignments this weekIndex

Check the due date for each assignment and put a reminder in your agenda, calendar, and digital assistant. Just like in the Real World, not all due dates are on the same days or at the same times.

• Review last week. Did you do everything assigned last week?
• Read All The Words, Do, and then Submit via Blackboard:
  • Assignment #03 HTML – working with files and pathnames: PS1 find mkdir mv cp rm touch file
  • OPTIONAL: Read The VI (VIM) Text Editor and optionally do the bonus Assignment #04 HTML.
  • Assignment #05 HTML will be out soon – using GLOB wildcard patterns, selecting files using GLOB, redirection and pipes
  • Really do Read All The Words. You don’t get a second chance to get it right.

2.3 Lab work this weekIndex

• Last week you used some simple commands on the Course Linux Server. This week, you use the commands from the two Worksheets.
• First, do the weekly readings on Pathnames, Directories, and Finding Files, also listed above.
• Then complete and save the ODT or PDF versions of Worksheet #02 HTML and Worksheet #03 HTML
  • These worksheets require you to understand the weekly readings, above.
• Then do Assignment #03 HTML – working with files and pathnames: PS1 find mkdir mv cp touch file
  • This assignment requires you to understand the material in the two worksheets.
• Complete and save the ODT or PDF versions of Worksheet #04 HTML and Worksheet #05 HTML in preparation for doing Assignment #05 HTML
• OPTIONAL: Read The VI (VIM) Text Editor and optionally do the bonus Assignment #04 HTML.

2.4 Upcoming testsIndex

For full marks, read the Test Instructions (all the words) before your midterm tests. Put these dates into your phone! Use the Algonquin Registered Name Game link to test your name before the test. I don’t answer questions about the instructions during the test.

1. First Midterm test: 45 minutes; in your one-hour lecture class on Thursday or Friday in Week 5 (October 5 or 6).
2. Second Midterm test: 45 minutes; in your one-hour lecture class on Thursday or Friday in Week 9 (November 2 or 3).

Tests take place in your 50-minute lecture class, not in your lab period. Each midterm test is 45 minutes long and contains approximately 45 multiple-choice questions similar to those found in Practice Tests and Answers. You must write the test in the lecture class in which you are registered.

2.5 Assignment #2: Read All The WordsIndex

• As of midnight Sunday, 205 of 228 students had submitted Assignment #02 HTML.

• Only two students used the wrong file name this time:

  Bad file name: cal.txt
  Bad file name: assignement02.txt

• Two students did not upload the output of the checking program.

Please Read All The Words.

3.1 Drawing File System DiagramsIndex

Draw File System Diagrams on paper to understand where files are when you do the worksheets, the assignments, and the tests and exams!

See the note in Assignment #03 HTML about drawing file system diagrams on paper. Do it!

• File System Drawing V1
• File System Drawing V2
• File System Drawing V3
• Pathnames Diagram on Whiteboard

3.2 Did not change password – CLS access revokedIndex

Students will have their CLS accounts disabled if they have not changed their default password. (I do not want people breaking into my machine because of you.)

See my online timetable for how to make an office appointment to see me if you want your account back.

3.3 Fifteen minute rule: don’t waste your timeIndex

See the Course Introduction: fifteen minute rule

3.4 Commands UsedIndex

Keep a notebook with a List of Commands in it.

• You need to write down yourself what each command does.
• Check the updated list of commands each week.
• I will check for this list in your lab periods.
• Bring your notes to class! Stop wasting time looking up commands.

• You can tell whether a file system name is a directory or a file by using the file command or by looking for a letter d on the left in the output of ls -l. Ordinary files are indicated by a dash - character on the left. The first two output lines, below, are files. The last three output lines are directories.

  $ ls -l /
  -rw-r--r--    1 root    root    22528 Sep  4 11:01 aquota.group
  -rw-r--r--    1 root    root    73728 Sep  4 11:01 aquota.user
  drwxr-xr-x    2 root    root     4096 Sep  3 15:57 bin
  drwxr-xr-x  147 root    root    12288 Sep 17 14:30 etc
  drwxr-xr-x 1586 root    root    36864 Sep 15 12:23 home

• The rmdir command will only remove an empty directory.
  • You know this from doing Section 5 of Worksheet #02 HTML.
  • How do you remove a directory and everything inside it? You know the answer from doing the Worksheets, especially Section 5 of Worksheet #03 HTML.

• The copy command cp will not copy directories unless you use the right option. You know this option from doing Section 3 of Worksheet #03 HTML.

• The copy command cp and rename/move command mv can both accept a directory as the destination, and will put all the source files into that destination directory using the source file name(s):
  • If bar is a directory, then cp foo bar creates file bar/foo
  • If bar is a directory, then mv foo bar creates file bar/foo (and removes file foo)
  • If bar is not a directory, then cp foo bar creates file bar
  • If bar is not a directory, then mv foo bar creates file bar (and removes file foo)

  You learn this in Worksheet #03 HTML.

• You can use pathnames anywhere you can use a file name, even for output redirection, e.g.:

  $ date >date.txt                # date.txt in the current directory
  $ date >../date.txt             # date.txt in the parent directory
  $ mkdir foo
  $ date >foo/date.txt            # date.txt in the foo directory
  $ mkdir foo/bar
  $ date >foo/bar/date.txt        # date.txt in the foo/bar directory

  You will need to know this for Assignment #03 HTML.

• Are you making notes from the worksheets on how each command works?
  • What do the options used in the worksheets mean, for each command?
  • Don’t copy and use options that you don’t understand!

• The stupid nano text editor. (Learn vim instead!)

• Using GLOB patterns as -name arguments to find
  • Remember to quote the find GLOB patterns to hide them from the shell!
  • GLOB patterns are NOT needed in Assignment 3. See Assignment 5.
• Confused about redirection and the copy and move commands? These are wrong:
  • cp cal.txt >calnew,txt # WRONG: error message from cp
  • mv cal.txt ../../ >cal.txt # WRONG: what is now in cal.txt ?
  • No example in any of the notes or worksheets ever uses redirection and cp or mv together. These commands do not produce anything on standard output that is worth redirecting. Usually, the commands produce no output at all. Do not use redirection with mv or cp.
• Confused about pathnames and blanks on the command line? This is wrong:
  • cp file.txt ../../../ file.copy # WRONG
  • Blanks separate arguments. This is covered in detail in Command Arguments and Options. You are giving the copy command three pathnames (three arguments), where you should have only two. The first argument is the source; the second is the destination:
  • cp file.txt ../../../file.copy # RIGHT

3.5 Not Reading All The WordsIndex

These do not produce the same output file:

$ find . >foo ; mv foo dir/foo
$ find . >dir/foo

If the assignment asks you to redirect the output into a file in a specific directory, then only the second answer above is correct. The first answer, using mv, will have the wrong pathnames in it.

3.6 Working hard, not working smartIndex

• Stop using cd Windows People! Use pathnames! This is very inefficient:

  $ cd CST8207-17F
  $ cd Assignments
  $ cd assignment03
  $ cd topdir
  $ cd other
  $ cat foo.txt

  This is all you need to do (using the TAB key to help you):

  $ cat CST8207-17F/Assignments/assignment03/topdir/other/foo.txt

  No employer wants to pay you to type six commands when one will do the job. Work smarter, not harder.

• Stop using cd Windows People! Use pathnames! This is very inefficient:

  $ cd dir1
  $ cd subdir
  $ touch file
  $ cd ..
  $ cd ..
  $ cd dir2
  $ cd subdir
  $ touch file
  $ cd ..
  $ cd ..
  [...etc...]

  This is all you need to do (using the TAB key to help you):

  $ touch dir1/subdir/file dir2/subdir/file [...etc...]

  No employer wants to pay you to type ten commands when one will do the job. Work smarter, not harder.

• If a pathname doesn’t work, use ls to find out why. Usually it’s because you’re spelling it wrong. Use the TAB key and the shell will complete the pathname for you, with no spelling errors.

3.7 Not doing worksheets: working hard, not smartIndex

This student below (from a previous term) didn’t do the worksheets and doesn’t know about any options to the mkdir command. Instead of typing one command to make the directory tree, he has to use ten (!), and gets the name wrong, too. He also didn’t hear me talk about not using cd all the time, so he marks himself as a Windows newbie. This won’t look good in a job interview:

$ mkdir 1ldIr
$ cd 1ldIr
$ mkdir one
$ mkdir two
$ mkdir one/0neOne
$ cd one
$ ls
$ cd ..
$ ls
$ mkdir two/tw0two

Don’t be this guy. No employer wants to pay you to type ten commands when one will do the job. Work smarter, not harder. Do the worksheets!