Appendix D. A Comparison of Common
DOS and Linux Commands
Many Linux commands typed at a shell prompt are similar to the
commands you would type in DOS. In fact, some commands are
identical.
This appendix provides common commands used at the DOS prompt in
Windows and their counterparts in Linux. Basic examples of how the
command are used at the Linux shell prompt are also provided. Note
that these commands usually have a number of options. To learn more
about each command, read its associated man page (for example, type
man ls at the shell prompt to read about
the ls command).
| Command's Purpose |
MS-DOS |
Linux |
Basic Linux Example |
| Copies files |
copy |
cp |
cp
thisfile.txt /home/thisdirectory |
| Moves files |
move |
mv |
mv
thisfile.txt /home/thisdirectory |
| Lists files |
dir |
ls |
ls |
| Clears screen |
cls |
clear |
clear |
| Closes shell prompt |
exit |
exit |
exit |
| Displays or sets
date |
date |
date |
date |
| Deletes files |
del |
rm |
rm
thisfile.txt |
| "Echoes" output to the
screen |
echo |
echo |
echo
this message |
| Edits text files |
edit |
gedit([a]) |
gedit
thisfile.txt |
| Compares the contents of
files |
fc |
diff |
diff
file1 file2 |
| Finds a string of text in
a file |
find |
grep |
grep
word or phrase thisfile.txt |
| Formats a diskette |
format a: (if diskette is in A:) |
mke2fs |
/sbin/mke2fs /dev/fd0 (/dev/fd0 is the Linux equivalent of A:) |
| Displays command
help |
command /? |
man or info |
man
command |
| Creates a directory |
mkdir |
mkdir |
mkdir
directory |
| Views contents of a
file |
more |
less([b]) |
less
thisfile.txt |
| Renames a file |
ren |
mv([c]) |
mv
thisfile.txt thatfile.txt |
| Displays your location in
the file system |
chdir |
pwd |
pwd |
| Changes directories with
a specified path (absolute path) |
cd
pathname |
cd
pathname |
cd
/directory/directory |
| Changes directories with
a relative path |
cd.. |
cd
.. |
cd
.. |
| Displays the time |
time |
date |
date |
| Shows amount of RAM in
use |
mem |
free |
free |
Notes:
a. Gedit is a
graphical text editor; other editors you can use in place of
Gedit include nano and vi.
b. The more
pager can also be used to page through a file one screen at a
time.
c. The mv
command can both move a file and, if you want to rename a file in
the same directory, "move" that file to the same directory with a
new name.
|
Table D-1. Similar Commands
