Lab exercise: introduction to a Unix-like operating system

Begin by logging into one of these lab computers. Use your RIT username and password.

To use the command-line interface, also known as the shell, you should start the XQuartz program. Click on Finder icon, then
```
         -> Applications
           -> Utilities
             -> XQuartz
    
```
When you have started XQuartz, a small window should appear on your screen, looking like this:

You can now type commands, which will be executed within this little window. Some of the most common commands are

ls: to print a list of files in this directory (or other directories)
cp: to create a copy of a file
mv: to rename a file
rm: to delete a file, or an entire directory
cd: to change to a new directory (or, with no arguments, to go to your home directory)
more: to show the contents of a file
nano: to edit a file
grep: to search for words or phrases within a file
wc: to count lines, words, and characters in a file

For more information

If you have never used any Linux or Unix system in the past, you may want to read a book or web site which describes the basic shell commands. Here are some possibilities:

Linux tutorial from the Linux Documentation Project
Tutorials on the shell from Linux Planet
- Part one
- Part two
Unix is a four-letter word ...
Linux Survival site