[ubuntu-uk] Help needed with ssh

[William Anderson]

John Matthews wrote:
> Hi, thank you for your message. So as I understand it then, if I have a 
> folder on the desktop called title, that is called a directory then yes? 
> I wanted to copy that folder to the home directory.

Hi John,

directories = folders, it's just different nomenclatures.  Many of us
grew up with Linux (and various other UNIX systems) at the command line,
so calling a folder a directory is just habit.  Assume they're the same
thing, because the are :)

> So what is the difference between scp and cp ~r

Secure CoPy (scp) is used to copy data to and from remote systems over
the SSH protocol.  CoPy (cp) is used to copy data around on a local system.

> I really am not getting it, its very confusing. This page is showing two 
> different ways of copying. I am more confused now.

They are two different ways of copying, but they're different tools to
achieve different things.

> I need to find a night school, so I can get somebody to show me, this is 
> just not working.

Someone earlier suggested finding a local Linux User Group and attending
one of their meetings - see www.lug.org.uk to find your nearest.  LUGs
are usually full of bright, patient and helpful people, as you're
finding here I hope!  I'm sure at least one person will have a laptop
and will be able to give you a quick few minutes demonstrating various
shell concepts and commands.

> I have never felt so frustrated in all my life as I have since trying to 
> learn Linux. I used to be an Intensive Care nurse, and I never found it 
> as hard as this. It was intense, but not as hard to work out what to do.

Keep at it.  Try to remember there is a wealth of information now to
help you, via manual (or man) pages, Google, LUGs, HOWTO files, etc.  I
know you stated at one point that you preferred to be shown things
rather than have to read about them, but at some point it's best to just
... well, read stuff!  The man pages are usually good at going in depth
as to a command's function, while invariably typing the command name
followed by --help will bring up a quick list of the command's function
and optional parameters for usage, e.g. cp --help

As I and others will say, we were all beginners once, just at different
times :)  I was a Linux beginner way back in 1994, and even today I'm
still learning stuff.

Please continue to ask questions, but please also take a stab at reading
the documentation for the commands you want to play with, or seek out
some FAQs and HOWTOs :)

-n