CLI-beginning Flashcards
Most commands can take [***], sometimes also called options or flags: arguments that modify how a command is carried out.
switches
The timestamp indicates…
the last time teh content was modified
Do we always need to be within a directory to use the list command?
No, we can pass the path of a directory as argument to the ls command.
For instance, from your home directory, you can type:
ls Documents/
ls Documents/my-website
ls Documents/my-website/css
Etc.
How to get the terminal to indicate the current location (current directory) by showing its absolute path?
pwd
Single-character arguments can often be [***]
combined together
ls -l -F
can be replaced by
ls -lF
(dash + lowercase “L” for details + uppercase “F” for trailing slash after directories’ names)
What character can be used when writting paths as a shortcut /alias for your home directory?
the tilde character: ~
For instance, the two following paths are actually the same:
- /Users/lecorre/Documents/my-website
- ~/Documents/my-website
What is the command to create a new directory/folder?
mkdir
Ex: mkdir css
Will create a folder named css in the active directory
What default character is used for the prompt?
The dollar character:
$
(It can be customized)
What is the command to list with the following options:
- with the details
- by time –> with the newest files at the bottom
ls -ltr
ls = listing
- l = with the details
- t = order by time (newest first)
- r = reverse order
Which switch will order by time with newest content first?
-t
What does the double dot stand for?
As on the web, the double dot (..) symbol represents the current directory’s parent.
So it also works from a shell prompt:
ls ..
cd ..
What is the switch for the ls (list) command that will add a trailing slash to the directories—to make it easier to distinguish files from folders?
-F
(dash + uppercased “F”)
Which switch will reverse the order?
-r
What does -rw-r–r-rwxr-xr-x mean on the output of a list command? And what does it mean when there’s a d before?
It’s the about the permissions: read, write, execute.
If there’s a d before, it’s to indicate that it’s a directory (not a file);
How to list the current working directory’s files and subdirectories?
By typing:
ls
(lowercase “L” and “S” –> like listing)
What is the command to remove a folder/directory? And what should we be aware of?
rm -r
Ex: rm -r css
It will remove the css folder in the active directory . It’s immediate and without confirmation! And it won’t even be placed in the thrash bin! It’s an immediate definitive deletion!
What is the command to change directory?
cd
What is the switch to get the details?
-l
(dash + lowercase “L”)
The file size is indicated in…
bytes
How can we distinguish between directories and files in the output of the ls -l or ls -lF command?
A d will show a the beginning of a line.
A trailing slash will follow the name if the command contained the argument -F
