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

The shell prompt


A standard terminal usually has a rather cryptic command line prompt. This should be changed by modifying the PS1 environment variable.

How to do it...

An example is shown in the following screenshot:

Refer to the line export PS1="\u \h \w \$ "

  1. The \u command means to show the current user of this shell.

  2. The \h command shows the hostname of this machine.

  3. The \w command means to show the full path of the current directory. This change is highly recommended, as the user doesn't have to type pwd (Print Working Directory) all the time to know what directory is being used.

  4. The \$ means to display a $ or # depending on the effective UID.

There's more...

There are many more options, such as showing the time and date, using colors, and so on. For more information, run man bash and search for PS1.