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

Using the file command


We talked about text files above. In general, humans can read and edit text files rather easily. A binary file is different, it is (loosely) what the computer "reads". For example, when you run a command such as vim filename1.txt vim is a binary file and filename1.txt is a text file.

How to do it...

The following is an example of running the Linux file command:

  1. Change the directory to /tmp as usual:

    cd /tmp
    
  2. Let's create a text file:

    ls > temp1.txt
    
  3. What kind of file is it? Run the following command:

    file temp1.txt
    
  4. As you can see, the file command can tell us what kind of file something is.

  5. Now run the following command:

    file /bin/bash
    
  6. All of that information means it's a binary file. It also shows what platform bash was written for, and some other info.

  7. Try running file on some different files on your system to get an idea of what there is out there.

Tip

You must have the proper permissions to run the file command as it must perform an open operation on the file.

There...