Notes:
Lesson 6.2: Command syntax and file structure
Commands take the form:
In guides, such as this one, the brackets “<” and “>” are often used to indicate the place a command would take in a string of text being typed into the CLI. The horizontal line “|” is used to denote “or”. Confused? Okay, let’s look at the example above. We would read that as saying that commands can be used by themselves OR they can be used with: • Switches: single letters, preceded by a hyphen, that adjust what the command does • Parameters: things that the command needs to know in order to work • A target: the thing (such as a file) that the command will be applied to
Let’s look at an example. We’ll start with the “ ls ” command, which you can use to see a list of a folder’s contents.
ls -l /home/brian
Command Switch
Target
This command tells the command line to list, in long format, the contents of the directory “/home/brian”. The command is “ls”; the switch “-l” tells Linux that you want the list in long format; and the target of this command is the directory “/home/brian”. In this example, there are no parameters , so that part of the command is just skipped.
ls Lists the contents of directories.
For a slightly more detailed example, let’s look at the “ mount ” command, which tells Linux to incorporate a new file system (such as a CD or DVD) into its own file system structure so that you can browse it.
mount -F smbfs //workgroup;fred:foo@192.168.1.99/homes /mnt/net
Command
Switch
Parameters
Target
This command tells the operating system to use the username “fred” and password “foo” (parameters) to make the shared drive called “homes” on the Windows server at 192.168.1.99 (parameter) appear in the directory tree at the point “/mnt/net” (target) using the Server Message Block Filing System (the -F switch).
mount Makes a file structure available at a new location.
The Linux Command Line
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