One of the biggest challenges when becoming truly proficient with computers of all kinds is getting started with a command line interpreter. The “prompt” can feel intimidating at first. GUI programs can not always predict all possible needs. Though not as visually appealing text-based programs have powerful features that GUI programs do not. Simple new commands can be added almost instantly.
I have tried many times to explain or teach how to get started with a command line to an interested, eager and otherwise resourceful person. What I have been missing is a useful & concise list of resources to help them. There are many excellent resources already available to help during such “teachable” moments. There are different guides for different kinds of people depending on one’s familiarity & computer brand. To help people I have started collecting Learning the Command Line resources which I will be enhancing from feedback and additional research.
I would be thrilled to collaborate with berkeleylug.com regulars, beginners and professionals alike. Please comment below with your favorite resources or with feedback about the ones I’ve already listed. You may also join me and others in the #berkeleylug IRC channel. My computer is always online and I hope happen to be looking when you try. If you leave a message there I should get it. I look forward to people sharing their stories of how they learned to use their command line. I will try to highlight the best resources available in a way that is accessible to newcomers.
I would like to find a better collaboration platform for this effort but as I need Learning the Command Line now I will write an HTML page until something better is used. It’s a work in progress and could use some additional appeal and organization, particularly focusing on helping those curious to try a command line on Linux, Mac or Windows computers for the first time.
As it is also the 2nd Sunday of the month I hope the meeting at Bobby G’s Pizzeria goes well. I look forward to some pizza when I return.
Within grantbow’s helpful and continually enhanced “Learning the Command Line” resource webpage is my own subset of easily downloadable and Basic-level “Learning the Command Line” files. The major advantage of this particular subset is that once each each listed file is downloaded ONline, it then becomes permanently viewable OFFline through a web browser or with a simple text-editor. IMHO, this is especially nice for portable study or review during times that an Internet connection is unavailable.
Linux For Newbies / Command Line
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Linux_For_Newbies/Command_Line
TLDP’s Introduction to Linux; A Hands on Guide
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/intro-linux.html
TLDP’s GNU/Linux Command-Line Tools Summary
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/GNU-Linux-Tools-Summary/html/GNU-Linux-Tools-Summary.html
In the Beginning was the Command Line
You can download the PC.zip file from http://www.cryptonomicon.com/command.zip , and then run
‘unzip command.zip’ in order to grant you the ability to read the document in your simple text-editor
An A-Z Index of the Bash command line for Linux
http://ss64.com/bash/
Besides this relatively small handful of resources, I look forward to grantbow and others’ submission of ADDITIONAL web resources meeting the above criteria.