You want to switch from DOS to Linux? Good idea, but beware: it might not be useful for you. IMHO, there is no such thing as ``the best computer'' or ``the best operating system'': it depends on what one has to do. That's why I don't believe that Linux is the best solution for everyone, even if it is technically superior to many commercial oses. You're going to benefit immensely from Linux if what you need is sw for programming, the Internet, TeX... technical sw in general, but if you mostly need commercial sw, or if you don't feel like learning and typing commands, look elsewhere.
Linux is not (for now) as easy to use and configure as Windows or the Mac, so be prepared to hack quite a bit. In spite of these warnings, let me tell you that I'm 100% confident that if you belong to the right user type you'll find in Linux your computer Nirvana. It's up to you. And remember that Linux + DOS/Windows can coexist on the same machine, anyway.
Prerequisites for this howto: I'll assume that
COMMAND.COM
---is bash
;
(
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/LDP
).
This howto replaces the old ``From DOS to Linux - Quick!'' mini-howto.
You installed Linux and the programs you needed on the PC. You gave
yourself an account (if not, type adduser
now!) and Linux
is running. You've just entered your name and password, and now you are
looking at the screen thinking: ``Well, now what?''
Now, don't despair. You're almost ready to do the same things you used to do with DOS, and many more. If you were running DOS instead of Linux, you would be doing some of the following tasks:
AUTOEXEC.BAT
and CONFIG.SYS
;
QBasic
programs;
You'll be glad to know that these tasks can be accomplished under Linux in a fashion similar to DOS. Under DOS, the average user uses very few of the 100+ commands available: the same, up to a point, holds for Linux.
A few things to point out before going on:
$ help
(this gives help about bash
), or get info about a command typing
$ man command
which, if you have installed the man pages, will invoke the manual
(``man'') page associated to command
. You may also try:
$ apropos command
$ whatis command
and press 'q' to exit;
<...>
means something that must be specified,
while [...]
something optional. Example:
$ tar -tf <file.tar> [> redir_file]
file.tar
must be indicated, but redirection to redir_file
is
optional.
Want to strike out? Have a look at this:
DOS Linux Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACKUP tar -Mcvf device dir/ completely different
CD dirname\ cd dirname/ almost the same syntax
COPY file1 file2 cp file1 file2 ditto
DEL file rm file beware - no undelete
DELTREE dirname rm -R dirname/ ditto
DIR ls not exactly the same syntax
EDIT file vi file I think you won't like it
emacs file this is better
jstar file feels like dos' edit
FORMAT fdformat,
mount, umount quite different syntax
HELP command man command same philosophy
MD dirname mkdir dirname/ almost the same syntax
MOVE file1 file2 mv file1 file2 ditto
NUL /dev/null ditto
PRINT file lpr file ditto
PRN /dev/lp0,
/dev/lp1 ditto
RD dirname rmdir dirname/ almost the same syntax
REN file1 file2 mv file1 file2 not for multiple files
RESTORE tar -Mxpvf device different syntax
TYPE file less file much better
WIN startx poles apart!
If you need more than a table of commands, please refer to the following sections.