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 prompt window
exit
exit
exit
Displays or sets date
date
date
date
Deletes files
del
rm
rm thisfile.txt
“Echoes” output on the screen
echo
echo
echo this message
Edits files with simple text editor
edit
pico[a]
pico thisfile.txt
Compares the contents of files
fc
diff
diff file1 file2
Finds a string of text in a file
find
grep
grep this word or phrase thisfile.txt
Formats a diskette
format a: (if diskette is inA:)
mke2fs (ormformat[b])
/sbin/mke2fs /dev/fd0 (/dev/fd0 is the Linux equivalent of A:)
Displays command help
command /?
man[c]
man command
Creates a directory
mkdir
mkdir
mkdir directory
View a file
more
less[d]
less thisfile.txt
Renames a file
ren
mv
mv thisfile.txt thatfile.txt[e]
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 and use
mem
free
free