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Linux Shell Basics for Beginners

The document introduces the Linux shell, which is the default command line interface. It discusses that the shell accepts commands and executes them, and is also called a command line interpreter. It describes the root or superuser account as having full administrative privileges, while normal user accounts have limited privileges. It also covers shell prompts, tilde expansion to represent home directories, and examples of different prompt formats.

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129 views20 pages

Linux Shell Basics for Beginners

The document introduces the Linux shell, which is the default command line interface. It discusses that the shell accepts commands and executes them, and is also called a command line interpreter. It describes the root or superuser account as having full administrative privileges, while normal user accounts have limited privileges. It also covers shell prompts, tilde expansion to represent home directories, and examples of different prompt formats.

Uploaded by

djmast
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Welcome to Shell

The Command Line Interface


to the Linux Operating System

What You Will Learn

What the shell is.


How to access the shell.
What the superuser account is.

What Is the Shell?

The default interface to Linux

What Is the Shell?

The default interface to Linux


A program that accepts your commands and
executes those commands

What Is the Shell?

The default interface to Linux


A program that accepts your commands and
executes those commands
Also called a command line interpreter

Command Line Interface vs a GUI

The command line is more powerful.


There will always be a command line.
Server distributions do not include GUIs.
Desktop distributions have GUIs and CLIs.

The Prompt
[jason@linuxsvr ~]$

The Prompt
[jason@linuxsvr ~]$
[root@linuxsvr:~]#

Root, the Superuser

Root is all powerful.


Normal accounts can only do a subset of the
things root can do.

Root, the Superuser

Root access is typically restricted to system


administrators.
Root access may be required to to install,
start, or stop an application.
Day to day activities will be performed using a
normal account.

The Prompt
jason@linuxsvr $
[jason@linuxsvr /tmp]$
linuxsvr:/home/jason>
jason@linuxsvr:~>
[16:45:51 linuxsvr ~]$
$
%
>

Tilde Expansion

~jason
~pat
~root
~ftp

=
=
=
=

/home/jason
/home/pat
/root
/srv/ftp

Multi-Line Prompts
linuxsvr:[/home/jason]
$
[Mon 14/02/18 18:22 EST][pts/0]
<jason@linuxsvr:~>
zsh 14 %

Summary

The shell is the default user interface.


Use the terminal application to get to the CLI.
Shell prompts can vary greatly in appearance.
Root is the superuser.

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