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

Creating and running a crontab file


Here we will show an example of creating and running a user crontab file.

Getting ready

Be sure your system is set up as outlined in the Introduction. We will be using two terminal sessions, to see our results more easily.

How to do it...

The following is an example of how to create and run a crontab file:

  1. In a terminal session run tty and remember the output. This will be used in step 10.

  2. Open or use another terminal under a user account. I'll be using jklewis as in earlier chapters.

  3. Let's view the crontab file by running the following command:

    crontab -l
    
  4. It may say something like no crontab for jklewis which is fine.

  5. Now let's make one by running the following command:

    crontab -e
    
  6. It may say something like no crontab for jklewis - using an empty one which is good.

  7. Crontab should bring up a temporary file in vi (unless you have changed the EDITOR variable as I have, on my system). The file will not be used until it has been saved and the session has been ended...