Raspberry_Pi_Education_Manual

Notes:

Remove a directory

To delete a directory, go its location and type:

$ rm -r -f

This uses the “ rm ” command we used above, but the extra switches tell it to remove the directory, all its contents and also any sub-directories and their contents. The “-r” means “recursive”, which – in the case of a directory – removes the entire directory and all its contents, including sub-directories. Do be very sure that you mean this before using it – there’s no “undo” option! The “-f” switch indicates that the action is “forced” – that is, the program will remove write-protected files without prompting. This is also dangerous, so be very careful when using this as well.

A safer, but less powerful, option is to use the “ rmdir ” command:

$ rmdir

This will also delete directories, but only if they’re empty.

rmdir Remove (delete) one or more directories in the current location, provided they are empty.

Connect to a device or filing system

The “mount” command allows you to connect a Unix system to external devices. There is no “C” drive, as in Windows. What happens in Linux is that a device is “mounted” somewhere in the filing system. When you navigate to that place, the items offered by the device will appear at that point. This is a complex command. The switches, parameters and target of the mount command will vary according to the protocol of the system being mounted. Some things will “auto-mount”. This is why, when you plug an SD card into a modern Linux system, the filing system will automatically pick it up. Manual mounting requires a “mount point”. That means a directory that will be filled with the mounted device when it is mounted. Often, this is in the directory “/mnt/” somewhere. Generally, before mounting new media, you must first ensure that there is a mount point. If there isn’t, then you must create a directory at the point needed: for instance...

$ mkdir /mnt/netfolder

The Linux Command Line

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