Chapter 5. Command-Line Utilities

File Operations and Filtering
cat, tail, head, tee: File Printing Commands
grep: Locate Strings in Files
wc: Calculation Elements in Files
sort: Sorting File Content
find: Find Files According to Certain Criteria
Commands Startup Scheduling
crontab: reporting or editing your crontab file
at: schedule a command, but only once
Archiving and Data Compression
tar: Tape ARchiver
bzip2 and gzip: Data Compression Programs
Many, many more...

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce a small number of command-line tools that may prove useful for everyday use. Of course, you may skip this chapter if you only intend to use a graphical environment, but a quick glance may change your opinion.

Each command will be illustrated by an example, but this chapter is meant as an exercise in order for you to fully grasp their function and use.