[xubuntu-users] Is there a list for *ABSOLUTE* beginners with Xubuntu?

[Sébastien]

Le 2013-09-08 à 10h42, David Walland a écrit:
> I liked DOS SHELL so much when it first came out that I mostly
> use its modern equivalent - I can't even do the equivalent to
> *that* in Xubuntu, so I'm really pretty ######ed
> (...)
> So it's this most basic knowledge, which all the "HELP" files and
> knowledge bases *assume*, which I need to get my head around, so I
> can start to learn on my own.

To complement what others recommended, these might help to learn the
the basics of the command line interface (CLI). Being already familiar
with it is a plus (even though some of it is different now), won't make
you give up and go back to point and click too soon, and you will find
yourself in familiar grounds when they will from time to time explain
the history of the shell.

If you have access to and are into paper books, I would recommend:
The Linux Command Line: A complete Introduction (William E. Shotts Jr.)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1593273894/
There's also a Kindle version (and a PDF somewhere on the web)

Online, there are some good resources:
LinuxCommand - is a good, clear walkthrough through CLI.
http://www.linuxcommand.org

Learn Unix in 10 minutes - is more straightforward.
http://freeengineer.org/learnUNIXin10minutes.html


You don't have to know everything one program can do, only what you
need for a particular task, what you will need to do will often require
the use of several programs within a single command line. 
As you may have guessed it, the linux shell doesn't give you a
"multitool" that can read your mail, play songs, and view documents in
one program. It gives you building blocks tools, each does one task but
does it very well.

Then feel free to assemble them, send the resulting output to another
one that will parse it to whatever you want it to do, and manipulate
files that way. There, manpages (manuals) are very useful (even if you
don't understand most of them - you don't have to read from the
beginning, just search what you need). / to search through the manpage,
q to quit. Also, "info" and "whatis" (followed by the program name)

One more good site with answers to your possible questions that may
come useful at a later time.
http://unix.stackexchange.com/


Seeing that you were familiar with MSDOS, if you liked Norton Commander,
you might appreciate the efforts put into Midnight Commander (mc), which
is basically a clone with advanced features to meet today's needs.
It's in no way meant to replace the command line as you can use both
the at the same time, or customise it to your needs with easy to use
menus, with or without the mouse.

It takes some time before being used to it, especially if you never
used Norton Commander before, but it's a good escape route if you're
tired of typing commands or are not sure how to perform a task. Or if
you just want to give the shell learning a rest for a moment while not
completely changing your non-GUI environment. 

It may be already installed. Just run it by typing: mc

If it's not installed,
$ sudo apt-get install mc

Note that most resources online, mailing lists and websites will
mention commands starting them with a dollar sign: you don't have to
type it.


I may be too quick, but I want to say that once you find yourself
comfortable with it, know your way around the filesystem, can find
a file, output its specific contents, used to variables, etc. and
want to try a different but familiar approach to manipulate files, you
might want to dive into Bash shell scripting (you won't have to
relearn everything).


Hope this helps.

-- 
Sébastien