Most experienced support techs can drop to a command prompt and execute commands and utilities with confidence. However, if you're starting to support Linux desktops on your network, you may quickly find yourself lost when you open a Linux terminal session.
Figure A is a list of common DOS/Windows commands that you probably use on a daily basis and their Linux counterparts:
Figure A
|
What you want to do
|
How you did it in
DOS
|
How you do it in Linux
|
|
Copy a file
|
copy
path1\filename1 path2\filename2
|
cp
path1/filename1 path2/filename2
|
|
Copy subdirectory
|
xcopy
path1\. path2
/s
|
cp -R
path1 path2
|
|
Delete a file
|
del
filename
|
rm
filename
|
|
Move a file
|
move
path1\filename1 path2
|
mv
path1/filename1
path2
|
|
Rename a file
|
ren
filename1 filename2
|
mv
filename1 filename2
|
|
List a directory
|
dir
|
ls
|
|
Change directory
|
cd
\path
|
cd /path
|
|
Make directory
|
md
path
|
md
path
|
|
Delete a subdirectory
|
deltree \path1
|
rm -R
path
|
|
List text file contents
|
type
filename
|
cat
filename
|
|
Edit a file
|
edit
filename
|
pico
filename
|
|
Format floppy
|
format a:
|
fdformat /fd0H1440
|
|
Check for disk errors
|
chkdsk
drive
-or- scandisk
drive
|
fsck /device
|
|
Change file attribute
|
attrib +-
attribute
filename
|
chmod
mode filename
|
|
Clear screen
|
cls
|
clear
|
|
Display environment variables
|
set
|
env
|
|
Set environment variable
|
set
variable=value
|
env
variable=value
|
|
Set time
|
time
time
|
date
MMDDHHSS
|
|
Close command prompt
|
exit
|
exit
|
| |
|
|
|
DOS/Windows commands vs. Linux commands
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