Learning Objectives

After this lesson, students will be able to:

• recognize the elements of the unix shell

Day 1

• Navigating Files and Directories
  • command pwd
  • the home directory and its variations
  • the two meaning of the “forward slash” /
  • the command ls
  • getting help with man ls
  • the option ls -F
  • options that throw errors
  • explore other directories with ls -F Desktop
  • changing locations down the file system with cd
  • going up in the file system with ..
  • . means the current directory
  • ls -F -a
  • using cd with no argument to go back home
  • using the “tilde” ~ as shortcut of the current home directory
  • using cd - to go back
  • defining commands, options and arguments
  • other names for options and arguments are parameters, switches or flags
  • capitalization is meaningful, example: ls -s vs ls -S
• Working With Files and Directories
  • creating directories with mkdir and mkdir -p
    • Read 10 Best Practices for Naming Files & Folders
  • list nested directories with ls -FR
  • use the finder to see the folders you just created
  • good names for files and directories do not use blank spaces
    • Read File Naming Best Practices
  • creating a text file with nano
  • using the nano text editor
  • homework challenge: creating a text file with touch
  • file extensions
  • moving files and directories with mv
  • copying files and directories with cp
  • removing files with rm and directories with rm -r
  • wildcards * and ?
  • Challenge
  • Homework activities