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(TIP) Little Stuff
...tips to ease the move to Linux
by @admin, november 03, 2019, 12:10am utc

These are just some small tips when you're first moving to Linux from Windows/Mac. These are things that you are likely to use; so it may be helpful to have them all in one place.

Item on Windows on Linux
Naming files. Names are case insensitive Case Counts!1
These are 3 different files:
xyz.txt, XYZ.txt, Xyz.txt
Make a folder in the command prompt. c:\>md $ mkdir
Start a program/.bat and return to the prompt. c:\>start [program] $ [program] & disown
This will continue to send status messages to calling window. To suppress these messages (which can be useful), wrap the previous command in parenthesis. e.g. ( [program] & disown )
List a text file out. c:\>type xyz.txt | more $ cat xyz.txt | less
(less allows you to move through the file with the up/dn arrow keys)
Copy a file. c:\ > copy $ cp
Remove a file. c:\ > delete $ rm
ASK before overwriting or deleting. $ cp -i
$ rm -i
(Here is how to do this "globally")
Check the version of most CLI2 commands. $ [program] --version
Get quick help on using most CLI commands. $ [program] --help
Get in-depth help on most programs. $ man [program]
rm'd files are potentially recoverable.
For greater security, see shred.
see $ shred -- help | less
If you want Hillary Clinton-level hiding, see Bleachbit. $ sudo apt-get install bleachbit


To find your current OS version use lsb_release:

$ lsb_release -a No LSB modules are available. Distributor ID: Debian Description: Debian GNU/Linux 9.9 (stretch) Release: 9.9 Codename: stretch

To find your current kernel version, use uname:

$ uname -mrs Linux 4.9.0-8-amd64 x86_64

Some other notes.

Although there are others, the most common Linux version of a Windows DOS .BAT file is a #Bash shell script. Unlike .BAT files, it is not the file extension that makes a bash script a bash script. It is the fact that it is executable and contains #!/bin/bash as the first line. That said, it is a common practice to name bash scripts with a .sh extension; so that you know what they are. #debian-ish distributions will also try to execute a .sh file as a bash script by default, even without the starting line of #!/bin/bash.


1 Case in Linux most often counts.
  So for example, these "a"s are 2 different parameters:

   $ tree -a # All files are listed.
   $ tree -A # Print ANSI lines graphic indentation lines.

Comments in bash scripts (and python, and config files, and other places) are preceded with a "#" character.

2 CLI is Command Line Interface, which would be the command prompt/DOS on Windows.

tags: All users, Tips
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