How to Use this Document

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Key words or jargon (you can look up their meaning in the glossary

) are in italics. Unfortunately the responses and error messages Unix produces often differ from implementation to implementation. In our examples we use generic BSD and System V commands and responses.

Unix Commands Can be Copied Directly from the Screen

Unix commands appear in two formats:

If a Unix command is being described the command will be monospaced bold type and filenames and other user supplied options are in italics.
Examples Unix commands are preceded by a system prompt ($ or %) and written in bold type. A sample computer response follows in monospaced type.

If you are working on a UNIX machine you may copy (via cut and paste) these commands to your machine and try them there. You should not to copy the system prompt. Be aware that some commands require system specific variables (e.g. directory names, file names, or user id's.) You will need to change these variables to fit your account after you copy these commands. It is a good idea to create a few scratch files * to practice new commands on.

If You Have Problems Executing a Unix Command

Did you copy the correct portion of the command? You need to copy from after the prompt ($ or %) to the end of the bold type.
Did you set your variables correctly? Directory names, file names, and user names will need to be changed to ones appropriate to your individual account.
Some commands only work in certain UNIX implementations. Command variations are frequently given for the BSD and System V shell. If a command is not recognized or does not do what you expect you may want to check which shell the command is intended for.

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