The Linux commandline is your bestfriend as an engineer. The journey of learning the commandline never stops. So I think one key to getting around the commandline is how you view it. It’s a journey and if you learn a little everyday you’ll be a pro.
I find myself learning new tips and tricks everyday. It’s fun.
Here is probably the most useful tip that I found helpful.
The syntax for Linux commandline programs is usally:
command [options] <arguments>
For example ls would be
ls -la ~/Downloads
the command is ls the options are -la, which means long list all files / directories (folders), the argument is ~/Downloads which selects the downloads directory.
Some commands you may omit options or arguments, but generally that is the syntax to follow.
As a developer Linux has clicked. Using the commandline is like calling functions or a methods in code. When I made that connection, everything made sense.
The linux philosophy is:
Make each program do one thing well. To do a new job, build afresh rather than complicate old programs by adding new “features”
You’ll notice that a lot of commands or “programs” share similar options, so it’s not necessary to memorize the options. You’ll get more familiar with things the more you use them.
Also using google and other resources can be your bestfriend. Especially the man pages.
Man Pages
I know google is usually a first stop for unknowns in linux, however there is a resource of knowledge to choose from which are the man pages or manual pages.
To get started with man pages, type man followed by the command.
For example, to look up the man page for ls you’d type:
man ls
To naviate manpages, you can hit f on the keyboard for forward, b for back, and q to quit.
The man pages also have different categories. you can read more about the categories by typing: man man-pages
I’ll be posting more commandline tips and tricks soon, but I hope you’ve found this quick write up helpful.