Try using the command line to type in some commands - you might like it!
GUI (Graphical User Interface) is a wonderful thing. Some of us remember when there was only the black and white screen and you typed everything in. That scenario is called the Command Line. Most of us have BASH (Bourne Again Shell) with its set of commands for our default shell. We suggest that you get familiar with the command line so that if you have an emergency and need to use it, you will know how.
To use command line you will need to either use an X terminal or get out of GUI mode. There are a variety of X terminals found normally in System tools in your applications menu. The icon to look for is usually shaped like a computer monitor. To get out of GUI to a console terminal and back again is easy when you know how: To access console, use ctl+alt+F2. You can use F1-F6, but sometimes terminal 1(F1) is already being used by the system. Terminal 7 is used for your GUI; so to get back to graphic mode, use ctl+alt+F7.
Warning: Please log in as user to practice. You can do a lot of damage logged in as root when using this powerful way of getting things done! In fact, as has been said in other places, you should not normally be logged in as root unless you need to do something only root can do.
A good site for newbie command line info is http://linuxcommand.gds.tuwien.ac.at/index.php. That site has a great set of links to more information for Linux Shell Scripting in the “Where” section of their Who, What, Where, Why page.
If you’d rather get something you can download and work on offline, you can pick up the Bash-Prompt-HOWTO in single-page HTML or pdf format.
Our Quick Command List to print out for a helpful cheat sheet. In Welcome to the real world, we point out some more advanced usage of different commandline tools.
More detailed One Page Linux Manual in pdf format
We have also a place here on LinuxBasics.org where we collect recipes on how to combine different shell-commands into complex and powerful tools. Since this can be confusing for people who are new to the shell, we have put those pages into the advanced section here.
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