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Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Steven Greenberg

Unix/Linux command names were exactly what drove me crazy when I first had to use Unix. I wanted to list something on the terminal, or maybe type it. Who would have thought to "cat" it or "more" it. And then we have the aptly named utilities like "awk". I was so proud when it finally dawned on me what the letters "a" "w" and "k" stood for. So I eventually did learn all the commands, but I never thought about the problem of forgetting them until this digest entry. I had the same reaction to emacs in the beginning. Doing apropos in emacs is not helpful when the concept you associate with the task is nothing like the way it is named or described in Emacs. I have learned to write down in a diary on my computer every time I finally find the hard to find command in either Emacs or unix/linux. The next time I want to do the same thing and I have forgotten what the command is, and I finally give up trying to find it in emacs, I can search my diary. Chances are the diary entry will be associated with the word I mentally associate with the task. /Steve -- Steven Greenberg Email: steve(a)ssgreenberg.name 251 Holland Rd. Phone: (774)241-0095 Fiskdale, Massachusetts 01518-1231 Web: http://www.ssgreenberg.name Other Email: s.greenberg(a)ieee.org ssg(a)alum.mit.edu

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Tim Keller

I've gotten in the habit of doing a "ctrl-r" in my current shell and then searching for a command I've used. On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 9:19 PM, Franklin Moody <fmoody(a)moodman.org> wrote: > On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 07:24:17PM -0500, Gregory Avedissian wrote: > > The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. > > If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in > > your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do > > 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall > > what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can > help. > > > > You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the > > default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in > > other distros. > > > > Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite > > commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the > system > > crashes. > > > > Greg Avedissian > > I usually use "history | grep $blah" when looking for a particular > set of command line options... On machines where I don't intentionally > disable history for security... > > Frank > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Chuck Anderson

On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 03:56:02PM -0500, Ken Jones wrote: > output the contents of a file in txt characters, but could not for > the life of me remember 'more'. Where would I go for help (other > than sending a email to this list serve)? All the command > dictionaries I have are alphabetic. linuxcommand.org might be helpful.

Jan. 13, 2011

Old man and LINUX

by temljrmjrlmr＠comcast.net

Try "fc -l" (thats dash ell) no quotes shows a tail of whats in .bash_history I think Or - if you know the command's number in the history sequence "fc {$line_no}" Brings Previous command comes up in your default editor Default here (Ubuntu Hardy) was set to the nano editor for some reason so i did FCEDIT=vi ; export FCEDIT NOW things are more better Jay Louis J Rouleau Semi-Old Man South Hadley --------------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:02:29 -0500 From: Jorden M <jrm8005(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <AANLkTi=NDA=EenfiOTAcnROVGEjfajmH93mwss5vj9XQ(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 3:56 PM, Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> wrote: > Folks, > > I have? always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX > instructions in my head.? What would I do?if I were to start losing them? > Is there a tool to search for recall? > > Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? ?If I were to > remember that there is a command that will print on standard output the > contents of a file in txt characters,? but could not for the life of me > remember 'more'.? Where would I go for help (other than sending a email to > this list serve)?? All the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. > > Ken Jones (the elder) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > apropos, although that isn't always helpful. Google. There are also some sites that have commands listed categorically. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:00:25 -0500 From: "John Stoffel" <john(a)stoffel.org> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <19758.16537.740475.105771(a)quad.stoffel.home> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >>>>> "Ken" == Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> writes: Ken> Folks, Ken> I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing them? Is there a tool to search for recall? Ken> Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? If I Ken> were to remember that there is a command that will print on Ken> standard output the contents of a file in txt characters, but Ken> could not for the life of me remember 'more'. Where would I go Ken> for help (other than sending a email to this list serve)? All Ken> the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. man -k something where something is vaguely related to your needs. In this case, I just did 'man -k text' and the last things that popped up were 'zmore'. Plus a bunch of other system calls and library calls about text handling. Maybe pickup one of the linux for beginners books that O'Reilly puts out? Unix in a Nutshell, etc. That should help you find commands. Also, *any* text editor will let you read a text file, even if you don't want to edit it. John ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:24:17 -0500 From: Gregory Avedissian <avedis.g(a)verizon.net> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <4D2E4631.7020705(a)verizon.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can help. You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in other distros. Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the system crashes. Greg Avedissian On 01/12/2011 03:56 PM, Ken Jones wrote: > > Folks, > > I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX > instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing > them? Is there a tool to search for recall? > > Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? If I were to > remember that there is a command that will print on standard output the > contents of a file in txt characters, but could not for the life of me > remember 'more'. Where would I go for help (other than sending a email > to this list serve)? All the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. > > Ken Jones (the elder) > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:44:57 -0500 From: James Gray <jamespgray(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <AANLkTineh9rsmE0TaHudw2xa6nu6GTWGTO-9jKv27F9R(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 If Google and other search commands don't get what you want you could buy a reference book. Or you could create your own cheat sheet. On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 3:56 PM, Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> wrote: > Folks, > > I have? always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX > instructions in my head.? What would I do?if I were to start losing them? > Is there a tool to search for recall? > ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:52:13 -0500 From: Jorden M <jrm8005(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <AANLkTikB6P0JK-9nUJ9Lws2sVSvC5y2AzXF=bx8ggjjD(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 apropos is equivalent to man -k On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 7:00 PM, John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: >>>>>> "Ken" == Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> writes: > > Ken> Folks, > Ken> I have ?always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX instructions in my head. ?What would I do if I were to start losing them? ? Is there a tool to search for recall? > > Ken> Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? ?If I > Ken> were to remember that there is a command that will print on > Ken> standard output the contents of a file in txt characters, but > Ken> could not for the life of me remember 'more'. ?Where would I go > Ken> for help (other than sending a email to this list serve)? ?All > Ken> the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. > > man -k something > > where something is vaguely related to your needs. ?In this case, I > just did 'man -k text' and the last things that popped up were > 'zmore'. ?Plus a bunch of other system calls and library calls about > text handling. > > Maybe pickup one of the linux for beginners books that O'Reilly puts > out? ?Unix in a Nutshell, etc. ?That should help you find commands. > > Also, *any* text editor will let you read a text file, even if you > don't want to edit it. > > John > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:19:39 -0500 From: Franklin Moody <fmoody(a)moodman.org> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <20110113021937.GB13934(a)fmoody.moodman.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 07:24:17PM -0500, Gregory Avedissian wrote: > The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. > If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in > your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do > 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall > what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can help. > > You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the > default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in > other distros. > > Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite > commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the system > crashes. > > Greg Avedissian I usually use "history | grep $blah" when looking for a particular set of command line options... On machines where I don't intentionally disable history for security... Frank ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug End of Wlug Digest, Vol 87, Issue 9 ***********************************

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Aljerin Butler,Jr.

Try http://www.linuxmanpages.com/. It has every command you've probably ever used and then some. Al Butler http://customlinux.tripod.com/ --- On Thu, 1/13/11, wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org <wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org> wrote: From: wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org <wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org> Subject: Wlug Digest, Vol 87, Issue 9 To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Date: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 12:00 PM Send Wlug mailing list submissions to wlug(a)mail.wlug.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org You can reach the person managing the list at wlug-owner(a)mail.wlug.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Wlug digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Canceled due to weather: WLUG meeting Wed 1/12/2011 (Theo Van Dinter) 2. Old man and LINUX (Ken Jones) 3. Re: Old man and LINUX (Jorden M) 4. Re: Old man and LINUX (John Stoffel) 5. Re: Old man and LINUX (Gregory Avedissian) 6. Re: Old man and LINUX (James Gray) 7. Re: Old man and LINUX (Jorden M) 8. Re: Old man and LINUX (Franklin Moody) _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Franklin Moody

On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 07:24:17PM -0500, Gregory Avedissian wrote: > The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. > If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in > your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do > 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall > what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can help. > > You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the > default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in > other distros. > > Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite > commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the system > crashes. > > Greg Avedissian I usually use "history | grep $blah" when looking for a particular set of command line options... On machines where I don't intentionally disable history for security... Frank

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Jorden M

apropos is equivalent to man -k On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 7:00 PM, John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: >>>>>> "Ken" == Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> writes: > > Ken> Folks, > Ken> I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing them? Is there a tool to search for recall? > > Ken> Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? If I > Ken> were to remember that there is a command that will print on > Ken> standard output the contents of a file in txt characters, but > Ken> could not for the life of me remember 'more'. Where would I go > Ken> for help (other than sending a email to this list serve)? All > Ken> the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. > > man -k something > > where something is vaguely related to your needs. In this case, I > just did 'man -k text' and the last things that popped up were > 'zmore'. Plus a bunch of other system calls and library calls about > text handling. > > Maybe pickup one of the linux for beginners books that O'Reilly puts > out? Unix in a Nutshell, etc. That should help you find commands. > > Also, *any* text editor will let you read a text file, even if you > don't want to edit it. > > John > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by James Gray

If Google and other search commands don't get what you want you could buy a reference book. Or you could create your own cheat sheet. On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 3:56 PM, Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> wrote: > Folks, > > I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX > instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing them? > Is there a tool to search for recall? >

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Gregory Avedissian

The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can help. You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in other distros. Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the system crashes. Greg Avedissian On 01/12/2011 03:56 PM, Ken Jones wrote: > > Folks, > > I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX > instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing > them? Is there a tool to search for recall? > > Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? If I were to > remember that there is a command that will print on standard output the > contents of a file in txt characters, but could not for the life of me > remember 'more'. Where would I go for help (other than sending a email > to this list serve)? All the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. > > Ken Jones (the elder) > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by John Stoffel

>>>>> "Ken" == Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> writes: Ken> Folks, Ken> I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing them? Is there a tool to search for recall? Ken> Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? If I Ken> were to remember that there is a command that will print on Ken> standard output the contents of a file in txt characters, but Ken> could not for the life of me remember 'more'. Where would I go Ken> for help (other than sending a email to this list serve)? All Ken> the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. man -k something where something is vaguely related to your needs. In this case, I just did 'man -k text' and the last things that popped up were 'zmore'. Plus a bunch of other system calls and library calls about text handling. Maybe pickup one of the linux for beginners books that O'Reilly puts out? Unix in a Nutshell, etc. That should help you find commands. Also, *any* text editor will let you read a text file, even if you don't want to edit it. John

Jan. 13, 2011