Book Image

Linux Utilities Cookbook

By : James Kent Lewis
Book Image

Linux Utilities Cookbook

By: James Kent Lewis

Overview of this book

<p>Linux is a stable, reliable and extremely powerful operating system. It has been around for many years, however, most people still don't know what it can do and the ways it is superior to other operating systems. Many people want to get started with Linux for greater control and security, but getting started can be time consuming and complicated. <br /><br />A practical, hands-on guide that provides you with a number of clear step-by-step examples to help you solve many of the questions that crop up when using an operating system you may not be familiar with.</p> <p>Presenting solutions to the most common Linux problems in a clear and concise way, this helpful guide starts with spicing up the terminal sessions by command retrieval and line editing, and shell prompt variables. We will then get to know the different desktops (GUIs) available for Linux systems and which is the best fit for you. We will then explore the world of managing files and directories, connectivity, and what to do when it goes wrong. We will also learn a range of skills, from creating and managing user accounts to securing your system, managing and limiting processes, and letting information flow from one process to another using pipes. Later, we will master disk management, working with scripts and automating tasks quickly, and finally, understand the need for a custom kernel and tips on how to build one.</p> <p><br />Based on the author's extensive experience, there is a section on best practices that every Linux user should be familiar with.</p>
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Linux Utilities Cookbook
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Finding files using find and locate


The find command is normally used to search for files starting from the current directory. The locate command uses the updatedb database to find files or directories on the entire system (with some exceptions).

How to do it...

Let's use find and locate to look for some common Linux files:

  1. First change the directory to /usr:

    cd /usr
    
  2. Run the following command:

    find -name bash
    
  3. Now try it with a wildcard:

    find -name bash*
    
  4. It will also find directories:

    find -name bin
    

Now suppose we want to look for a file, but don't really know where it might be on the system. The find command is also slow at times, because it has to search the filesystem from the current point. Here's where locate comes in real handy.

  1. You can be in any directory for this example. Run the following command:

    locate gnome-terminal
    
  2. Now try the command:

    locate vim
    
  3. See how fast this is? Now try:

    locate ifconfig
    
  4. To ignore case do:

    locate -i sudo
    

There's more...

The find command has over 100 parameters...