The UNIX command prompt is a very powerful utility. Used properly you can protect your files, alter them online, learn more about other programs etc

Navigating Around

Like any other system you need to be able to move around your file structure. Under UNIX this is achieved by the ' cd [dir] ' command. You can also use ' cd ~ ' if you ever get lost and need to return to your home directory e.g. 'cd www' will move you into your Web Space directory.

Viewing the contents of a directory can be achieved by using the command ' ls '. A version with more information is available by typing ' ls -l '.You can even view the hidden .files typing
' ls -a '.
Use the ' | more ' comm and to pause the listing. eg ' ls -al | more '.

Moving Around

Moving or Renaming a file can be achieved by using the command ' mv [OLD] [NEW]'.

Deleting Files

Files can be deleted using the command ' rm [FILENAME]'.

Changing Permissions

Most files need to be World Readable. Others need to be Executable, otherwise programs won't run. Some even need to be World Writeable. To do this you can use a command called ' chmod [attributes] [filename] ' The attributes are what you want the file to be able to do, r=read w=write and x=executable. These can also be set, for the groups, u=user g=group and o=other. + and - set them or remove them. eg world readable and executable is : chmod go+rx [filename]

Changing Your Password

Your password can be changed by the command 'passwd'. This will ask for you existing password and then a new one twice. Your password will need to consist of upper and lowercase letters and numbers.

Checking Your Quota

Your quota can be checked by using the command 'quota'. This will display your current filesystem usage in the following way.

Disk quotas for user (XXXX) (uid XXX):
Filesystem blocks quota limit grace files quota limit grace
/usr 120 10000 10150 51 2000 2500

This report shows that currently 120K of 10MB of space is used for 51 of 2000 files.

Logging Out/Exiting

Once you have finished you will need to make sure that you disconnect properly. To do this you can use the 'logout' command.