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The "man" pages

Under Linux, as with all UNIX(tm) systems, you have access to pages of the manual, called "man". They reference the majority of applications supplied with Linux-Mandrake, but also, for example, all the commands of C/C++ etc.

For example, you might want to know the parameters of the command "ls" which, by default, lists the contents of a directory. In a shell type:

man ls

And you will see displayed the man page for ls.

**Figure:** man page for ``ls''
$\resizebox*{0.6\textwidth}{!}{\includegraphics{psshots/man-ls.ps}}$

To browse through the man pages, it is essential to know that:

.: tapping "ENTER" displays a new line
.: tapping "SPACE" displays the next page
.: you can move around with the arrow keys (in all directions!)
.: pressing "q" quits the man page.

The manual pages installed by default in Linux-Mandrake are in English.

1999-01-27