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From VMS to Linux HOWTO By Guido Gonzato, guido@ibogfs.cineca.it v1.0.1, 31 October 1997 This HOWTO is aimed at all those who have been using VMS and now need or want to switch to Linux, the free UNIX clone. The transition is made (hopefully) painless with a step--to--step comparison between commands and available tools. 1. Introduction 1.1. Why Linux? You've heard that UNIX is difficult and balk at the prospect of leaving VMS, right? Don't worry. Linux, one of the finest UNIX clones, is not more difficult to use than VMS (actually, I find it much easier), and it's much more powerful and versatile. Linux and VMS accomplish essentially the same tasks, but Linux' tools are superior, its syntax is much more concise, and has some features missing in VMS that help save a lot of time. (You'll often hear that VMS and UNIX have a different `philosophy'.) Moreover, Linux is available for PCs while VMS is not, and a Pentium-based Linux box can outperform a VAX. I guess this is the reason why you want to swap VMS to Linux. I imagine you're a university researcher or a student, and that you use VMS for the following everyday tasks: ╖ writing papers with TeX/LaTeX; ╖ programming in Fortran; ╖ doing some graphics; ╖ using Internet services; ╖ et cetera. In the following sections I'm going to explain to you how to do these tasks under Linux, exploiting your experience with VMS. Prerequisites: ╖ Linux and X Window System are properly installed; ╖ there's a system administrator to take care of the technical details (please get help from them, not from me ;-) ; ╖ your shell---the equivalent of DCL---is bash (ask your sysadm). Please note that this HOWTO is not enough to acquaint you fully with Linux: it only contains the bare essential to get you started. You should learn more about Linux to make the most of it (advanced bash features, programming, regular expressions...). From now on, RMP means `please read the man pages for further details'. The man pages are the equivalent of the command HELP. The Linux Documentation Project documents, available on sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/LDP, are an important source of information. I suggest that you read Larry Greenfield's ``Linux User Guide''---it's invaluable for the novice user. And now, go ahead. 1.2. Comparing Commands and Files This table attempts to compare VMS' and Linux' most used commands. Please keep in mind that the syntax is often very different; for more details, refer to the following sections. VMS Linux Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @COMMAND command must be executable COPY file1 file2 cp file1 file2 CREATE/DIR [.dirname] mkdir dirname only one at a time CREATE/DIR [.dir1.dir2] mkdirhier dir/name DELETE filename rm filename DIFF file1 file2 diff -c file1 file2 DIRECTORY ls DIRECTORY [...]file find . -name file DIRECTORY/FULL ls -al EDIT filename vi filename, you won't like it emacs filename, EDT compatible jed filename ditto---my favourite FORTRAN prog.for g77 prog.f, no need to do LINK f77 prog.f, fort77 prog.f HELP command man command must specify `command' info command ditto LATEX file.tex latex file.tex LOGIN.COM .bash_profile, `hidden' file .bashrc ditto LOGOUT.COM .bash_logout ditto MAIL mail, crude elm, much better pine better still PRINT file.ps lpr file.ps PRINT/QUEUE=laser file.ps lpr -Plaser file.ps PHONE user talk user RENAME file1 file2 mv file1 file2 not for multiple files RUN progname progname SEARCH file "pattern" grep pattern file SET DEFAULT [-] cd .. SET DEFAULT [.dir.name] cd dir/name SET HOST hostname telnet hostname, not exactly the same rlogin hostname SET FILE/OWNER_UIC=joe chown joe file completely different SET NOBROADCAST mesg SET PASSWORD passwd SET PROT=(perm) file chmod perm file completely different SET TERMINAL export TERM= different syntax SHOW DEFAULT pwd SHOW DEVICE du, df SHOW ENTRY lpq SHOW PROCESS ps -ax SHOW QUEUE lpq SHOW SYSTEM top SHOW TIME date SHOW USERS w STOP kill STOP/QUEUE kill, for processes lprm for print queues SUBMIT command command & SUBMIT/AFTER=time command at time command TEX file.tex tex file.tex TYPE/PAGE file more file less file much better But of course it's not only a matter of different command names. Read on. 2. Short Intro This is what you absolutely need to know before logging in the first time. Relax, it's not much. 2.1. Files ╖ Under VMS filenames are in the form filename.extension.version;. Under Linux, the version number doesn't exist (big limitation, but see Section ``RCS in a Nutshell''); the filename has normally a limit of 255 characters and can have as many dots as you like. Example of filename: This.is_a_FILEname.txt. ╖ Linux distinguishes between upper case and lower case characters: FILENAME.txt and filename.txt are two different files; ls is a command, LS is not. ╖ A filename starting with a dot is a `hidden' file (that is, it won't normally show up in dir listings), while filenames ending with a tilde '~' represent backup files. Now, a table to sum up how to translate commands from VMS to Linux: VMS Linux --------------------------------------------------------------------- $ COPY file1.txt; file2.txt; $ cp file1.txt file2.txt $ COPY [.dir]file.txt;1 [] $ cp dir/file.txt . $ COPY [.dir]file.txt;1 [-] $ cp dir/file.txt .. $ DELETE *.dat.* $ rm *dat $ DIFF file1 file2 $ diff -c file1 file2 $ PRINT file $ lpr file $ PRINT/queue=queuename file $ lpr -Pprintername file $ SEARCH *.tex.* "geology" $ grep geology *tex For other examples involving directories, see below; for details about protections, ownership, and advanced topics, see Section ``Advanced Topics''. 2.2. Directories ╖ Within the same node and device, directories names under VMS are in the form [top.dir.subdir]; under Linux, /top/dir/subdir/. On the top of the directory tree lies the so--called `root directory' called /; underneath there are other directories like /bin, /usr, /tmp, /etc, and others. ╖ The directory /home contains the so--called users' `home directories': e.g. /home/guido, /home/warner, and so on. When a user logs in, they start working in their home dir; it's the equivalent of SYS$LOGIN. There's a shortcut for the home directory: the tilde '~'. So, cd ~/tmp is the same as, say, cd /home/guido/tmp. ╖ Directory names follow the same rules as file names. Furthermore, each directory has two special entries: one is . and refers to the directory itself (like []), and .. that refers to the parent directory (like [-]). And now for some other examples: DOS Linux --------------------------------------------------------------------- $ CREATE/DIR [.dirname] $ mkdir dirname $ CREATE/DIR [.dir1.dir2.dir3] $ mkdirhier dir1/dir2/dir3 n/a $ rmdir dirname (if dirname is empty) $ rm -R dirname $ DIRECTORY $ ls $ DIRECTORY [...]file.*.* $ find . -name "file*" $ SET DEF SYS$LOGIN $ cd $ SET DEF [-] $ cd .. $ SET DEF [top.dir.subdir] $ cd /top/dir/subdir $ SET DEF [.dir.subdir] $ cd dir/subdir $ SHOW DEF $ pwd For protections, ownership, and advanced topics, see Section ``Advanced Topics''. 2.3. Programs ╖ Commands, compiled programs, and shell scripts (VMS' `command files') don't have compulsory extensions like .EXE or .COM and can be called whatever you like. Executable files are marked by an asterisk '*' when you issue ls -F. ╖ To run an executable file, just type its name (no RUN PROGRAM.EXE or @COMMAND). Caveat: it's essential that the file be located in a directory included in the path of executables, which is a list of directories. Typically, the path includes dirs like /bin, /usr/bin, /usr/X11R6/bin, and others. If you write your own programs, put them in a directory you have included in the path (see how in Section ``Configuring''). As an alternative, you may run a program specifying its complete path: e.g., /home/guido/data/myprog; or ./myprog, if the current directory isn't in the path. ╖ Command switches are obtained with /OPTION= under VMS, and with -switch or --switch under Linux, where switch is a letter, more letters combined, or a word. In particular, the switch -R (recursive) of many Linux commands performs the same action as [...] under VMS; ╖ You can issue several commands on the command line: $ command1 ; command2 ; ... ; commandn ╖ Most of the flexibility of Linux comes from two features awkwardly implemented or missing in VMS: I/O redirection and piping. Redirection is a side feature under VMS (remember the switch /OUTPUT= of many commands), or a fastidious process, like: $ DEFINE /USER SYS$OUTPUT OUT $ DEFINE /USER SYS$INPUT IN $ RUN PROG which has the simple Linux (UNIX) equivalent: $ prog < in > out Piping is simply impossible under VMS (?), but has a key role under UNIX. A typical example: $ myprog < datafile | filter_1 | filter_2 >> result.dat 2> errors.log & which means: the program myprog gets its input from the file datafile (via <), its output is piped (via |) to the program filter_1 that takes it as input and processes it, the resulting output is piped again to filter_2 for further processing, the final output is appended (via >>) to the file result.dat, and error messages are redirected (via 2>) onto the file errors.log. All this in background (& at the end of the command line). More about this in Section ``Examples''. For multitasking, `queues', and the like, see Section ``Advanced Topics''. 2.4. Quick Tour Now you are ready to try Linux out. Enter your login name and password exactly as they are. For example, if your login name and password are john and My_PassWd, don't type John or my_passwd. Remember, UNIX distinguishes between capital and small letters. Once you've logged in, you'll see a prompt; chances are it'll be something like machinename:$. If you want to change the prompt or make some programs start automatically, you'll have to edit a `hidden' file called .profile or .bash_profile (see example in Section ``Configuring''). This is the equivalent of LOGIN.COM. Pressing ALT--F1, ALT--F2, ... ALT--F6 switches between `virtual consoles'. When one VC is busy with a full--screen application, you can flip over to another and continue to work. Try and log in to another VC. Now you may want to start X Window System (from now on, X). X is a graphic environment very similar to DECWindows---actually, the latter derives from the former. Type the command startx and wait a few seconds; most likely you'll see an open xterm or equivalent terminal emulator, and possibly a button bar. (It depends on how your sysadm configured your Linux box.) Click on the desktop (try both mouse buttons) to see a menu. While in X, to access the text mode (`console') sessions press CTRL--ALT--F1 ... CTRL--ALT--F6. Try it. When in console, go back to X pressing ALT--F7. To quit X, follow the menu instructions or press CTRL--ALT--BS. Type the following command to list your home dir contents, including the hidden files: $ ls -al Press SHIFT--PAG UP to back-scroll. Now get help about the ls command typing: $ man ls pressing 'q' to exit. To end the tour, type exit to quit your session. If now you want to turn off your PC, press CTRL--ALT--DEL and wait a few seconds (never switch off the PC while in Linux! You could damage the filesystem.) If you think you're ready to work, go ahead, but if I were you I'd jump to Section ``Advanced Topics''. 3. Editing Files Linux doesn't have EDT, but there are scores of editors available. The only one that's guaranteed to be included in every UNIX version is vi---forget it, your sysadm must have installed something better. Probably the most popular editor is emacs, which can emulate EDT to a certain degree; jed is another editor that provides EDT emulation. These two editors are particularly useful for editing program sources, since they have two features unknown to EDT: syntax hilighting and automatic indentation. Moreover, you can compile your programs from within the editor (command ESC-X compile); in case of a syntax error, the cursor will be positioned on the offending line. I bet that you'll never want to use the true blue EDT again. If you have emacs: start it, then type ESC-X edt-emulation-on. Pressing ALT--X or ESC-X is emacs' way of issuing commands, like EDT's CTRL--Z. From now on, emacs acts like EDT apart from a few commands. Differences: ╖ don't press CTRL--Z to issue commands (if you did, you stopped emacs. Type fg to resume it); ╖ there's an extensive on-line help. Press CTRL-H ?, or CTRL-H T to start a tutorial; ╖ to save a file, press CTRL-X CTRL-S; ╖ to exit, press CTRL-X CTRL-C; ╖ to insert a new file in a buffer, press CTRL-X CTRL-F, then CTRL-X B to switch among buffers. If you have jed: ask your sysadm to configure jed properly. Emulation is already on when you start it; use the normal keypad keys, and press CTRL--H CTRL--H or CTRL-? to get help. Commands are issued in the same way as emacs'. In addition, there are some handy key bindings missing in the original EDT; key bindings can also be tailored to your own taste. Ask your sysadm. In alternative, you may use another editor with a completely different interface. emacs in native mode is an obvious choice; another popular editor is joe, which can emulate other editors like emacs itself (being even easier to use) or the DOS editor. Invoke the editor as jmacs or jstar and press, respectively, CTRL-X H or CTRL-J to get online help. emacs and jed are much more powerful than good ol' EDT. 4. TeXing TeX and LaTeX are identical to their VMS counterparts---only quicker :-), but the tools to handle the .dvi and .ps files are superior: ╖ to run a TeX file through TeX, do as usual: tex file.tex; ╖ to turn a .dvi file into a .ps file, type dvips -o filename.ps filename.dvi; ╖ to visualize a .dvi file, type within an X session: xdvi filename.dvi &. Click on the page to magnify. This program is smart: if you edit and run TeX producing newer versions of the .dvi file, xdvi will update it automatically; ╖ to visualize a .ps file, type within an X session: ghostview filename.ps &. Click on the page to magnify. The whole document or selected pages can be printed. A newer and better program is gv. ╖ to print the .ps: usually the command lpr mypaper.ps will do, but if the PostScript printer is called, say, `ps' (ask your sysadm) you'll do: lpr -Pps mypaper.ps. For more information about print queues, go to Section ``Print Queues''. 5. Programming Programming under Linux is much better: there are lots of tools that make programming easier and quicker. For instance, the drudgery of editing--saving--exiting--compiling--re-editing can be cut short by using editors like emacs or jed, as seen above. 5.1. Fortran Not substantial differences here, but note that at the time of writing the available (free) compilers are not 100% compatible with VMS'; expect some minor quirks. (It's actually the VMS compiler which has non-standard extensions.) See /usr/doc/g77/DOC or /usr/doc/f2c/f2c.ps for details. Your sysadm has installed a native compiler called g77 (good but, as of version 0.5.21, still not perfectly compatible with DEC Fortran) or possibly the Fortran to C translator, f2c, and one of the front-ends that make it mimic a native compiler. In my experience, the package yaf77 is the one that provides best results. To compile a Fortran program with g77, edit the source, save it with extension .f, then do: $ g77 myprog.f which creates by default an executable called a.out (you don't have to link anything). To give the executable a different name and do some optimisation: $ g77 -O2 -o myprog myprog.f Beware of optimisations! Ask your sysadm to read the documentation that comes with the compiler and tell you if there are any problems. To compile a subroutine: $ g77 -c mysub.f This creates a file mysub.o. To link this subroutine to a program, you'll do $ g77 -o myprog myprog.f mysub.o If you have many external subroutines and you want to make a library, do the following: $ cd subroutines/ $ cat *f >mylib.f ; g77 -c mylib.f This will create mylib.o that you can link to your programs. Finally, to link an external library called, say, libdummy.so: $ g77 -o myprog myprog.f -ldummy If you have f2c, you only have to use f77 or fort77 instead of g77. Another useful programming tool is make, described below. 5.2. Using make The utility make is a tool to handle the compilation of programs that are split into several source files. Let's suppose you have source files containing your routines, file_1.f, file_2.f, file_3.f, and a source file of the main program that uses the routines, myprog.f. If you compile your program manually, whenever you modify one of the source files you have to figure out which file depends on which, which file to recompile first, and so on. Instead of getting mad, you can write a `makefile'. This is a text file containing the dependencies between your sources: when one is modified, only the ones that depend on the modified file will be recompiled. In our example, you'd write a makefile like this: ______________________________________________________________________ # This is makefile # Press the <TAB> key where you see <TAB>! # It's important: don't use spaces instead. myprog: myprog.o file_1.o file_2.o file_3.o <TAB>g77 -o myprog myprog.o file_1.o file_2.o file_3.o # myprog depends on four object files myprog.o: myprog.f <TAB>g77 -c myprog.f # myprog.o depends on its source file file_1.o: file_1.f <TAB>g77 -c file_1.f # file_1.o depends on its source file file_2.o: file_2.f file_1.o <TAB>g77 -c file_2.f file_1.o # file_2.o depends on its source file and an object file file_3.o: file_3.f file_2.o <TAB>g77 -c file_3.f file_2.o # file_3.o depends on its source file and an object file # end of makefile. ______________________________________________________________________ Save this file as Makefile and type make to compile your program; alternatively, save it as myprog.mak and type make -f myprog.mak. And of course, RMP. 5.3. Shell Scripts Shell scripts are the equivalent of VMS' command files and, for a change, are much more powerful. To write a script, all you have to do is write a standard ASCII file containing the commands, save it, then make it executable with the command chmod +x <scriptfile>. To execute it, type its name. Writing scripts under bash is such a vast subject it would require a book by itself, and I will not delve into the topic any further. I'll just give you a more-or-less comprehensive and (hopefully) useful example you can extract some basic rules from. EXAMPLE: sample.sh ______________________________________________________________________ #!/bin/sh # sample.sh # I am a comment # don't change the first line, it must be there echo "This system is: `uname -a`" # use the output of the command echo "My name is $0" # built-in variables echo "You gave me the following $# parameters: "$* echo "First parameter is: "$1 echo -n "What's your name? " ; read your_name echo notice the difference: "hi $your_name" # quoting with " echo notice the difference: 'hi $your_name' # quoting with ' DIRS=0 ; FILES=0 for file in `ls .` ; do if [ -d ${file} ] ; then # if file is a directory DIRS=`expr $DIRS + 1` # this means DIRS = DIRS + 1 elif [ -f ${file} ] ; then FILES=`expr $FILES + 1` fi case ${file} in *.gif|*jpg) echo "${file}: graphic file" ;; *.txt|*.tex) echo "${file}: text file" ;; *.c|*.f|*.for) echo "${file}: source file" ;; *) echo "${file}: generic file" ;; esac done echo "there are ${DIRS} directories and ${FILES} files" ls | grep "ZxY--!!!WKW" if [ $? != 0 ] ; then # exit code of last command echo "ZxY--!!!WKW not found" fi echo "enough... type 'man bash' if you want more info." ______________________________________________________________________ 5.4. C Linux is an excellent environment to program in C. Taken for granted that you know C, here are a couple of guidelines. To compile your standard hello.c you'll use the gcc compiler, which comes as part of Linux and has the same syntax as g77: $ gcc -O2 -o hello hello.c To link a library to a program, add the switch -l<libname>. For example, to link the math library and optimize do $ gcc -O2 -o mathprog mathprog.c -lm (The -l<libname> switch forces gcc to link the library /usr/lib/lib<libname>.a; so -lm links /usr/lib/libm.a). When your program is made of several source files, you'll need to use the utility make described above. Just use gcc and C source files in the makefile. You can invoke some help about the C functions, that are covered by man pages, section 3; for example, $ man 3 printf There are lots of libraries available out there; among the first you'll want to use are ncurses, to handle text mode effects, and svgalib, to do graphics. 6. Graphics Among the scores of graphic packages available, gnuplot stands out for its power and ease of use. Go to X and type gnuplot, and have two sample data files ready: 2D-data.dat (two data per line), and 3D- data.dat (three data per line). Examples of 2-D graphs: gnuplot> set title "my first graph" gnuplot> plot '2D-data.dat' gnuplot> plot '2D-data.dat' with linespoints gnuplot> plot '2D-data.dat', sin(x) gnuplot> plot [-5:10] '2D-data.dat' Example of 3-D graphs (each `row' of X values is followed by a blank line): gnuplot> set parametric ; set hidden3d ; set contour gnuplot> splot '3D-data.dat' using 1:2:3 with linespoints A single-column datafile (e.g., a time series) can also be plotted as a 2-D graph: gnuplot> plot [-5:15] '2D-data-1col.dat' with linespoints or as a 3-D graph (blank lines in the datafile, as above): gnuplot> set noparametric ; set hidden3d gnuplot> splot '3D-data-1col.dat' using 1 with linespoints To print a graph: if the command to print on your Postscript printer is lpr -Pps file.ps, issue: gnuplot> set term post gnuplot> set out '| lpr -Pps' gnuplot> replot then type set term x11 to restore. Don't get confused---the last print will come out only when you quit gnuplot. For more info, type help or see the examples in directory /usr/lib/gnuplot/demos/, if you have it. 7. Mail and Internet Tools Since Internet was born on UNIX machines, you find plenty of nice and easy-to-use applications under Linux. Here are just some: ╖ Mail: use elm or pine to handle your email; both programs have on- line help. For short messages, you could use mail, as in mail -s "hello mate" user@somewhere < msg.txt. You may like programs like xmail or some such. ╖ Newsgroups: use tin or slrn, both very intuitive and self- explanatory. ╖ ftp: apart from the usual character-based ftp, ask your sysadm to install the full-screen ncftp or a graphical ftp client like xftp. ╖ WWW: the ubiquitous netscape, or xmosaic, chimera, and arena are graphical web browsers; a character-based one is lynx, quick and effective. 8. Advanced Topics Here the game gets tough. Learn these features, then you'll be ready to say that you `know something about Linux' ;-) 8.1. Permissions and Ownership Files and directories have permissions (`protections') and ownership, just like under VMS. If you can't run a program, or can't modify a file, or can't access a directory, it's because you don't have the permission to do so, and/or because the file doesn't belong to you. Let's have a look at the following example: $ ls -l /bin/ls -rwxr-xr-x 1 root bin 27281 Aug 15 1995 /bin/ls* The first field shows the permissions of the file ls (owner root, group bin). There are three types of ownership: owner, group, and others (similar to VMS owner, group, world), and three types of permissions: read, write (and delete), and execute. >From left to right, - is the file type (- = ordinary file, d = directory, l = link, etc); rwx are the permissions for the file owner (read, write, execute); r-x are the permissions for the group of the file owner (read, execute); r-x are the permissions for all other users (read, execute). To change a file's permissions: $ chmod <whoXperm> <file> where who is u (user, that is owner), g (group), o (other), X is either + or -, perm is r (read), w (write), or x (execute). Examples: $ chmod u+x file this sets the execute permission for the file owner. Shortcut: chmod +x file. $ chmod go-wx file this removes write and execute permission for everyone except the owner. $ chmod ugo+rwx file this gives everyone read, write, and execute permission. A shorter way to refer to permissions is with numbers: rwxr-xr-x can be expressed as 755 (every letter corresponds to a bit: --- is 0, --x is 1, -w- is 2...). For a directory, rx means that you can cd to that directory, and w means that you can delete a file in the directory (according to the file's permissions, of course), or the directory itself. All this is only part of the matter---RMP. To change a file's owner: $ chown username file To sum up, a table: VMS Linux Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SET PROT=(O:RW) file.txt $ chmod u+rw file.txt $ chmod 600 file.txt SET PROT=(O:RWED,W) file $ chmod u+rwx file $ chmod 700 file SET PROT=(O:RWED,W:RE) file $ chmod 755 file SET PROT=(O:RW,G:RW,W) file $ chmod 660 file SET FILE/OWNER_UIC=JOE file $ chown joe file SET DIR/OWNER_UIC=JOE [.dir] $ chown joe dir/ 8.2. Multitasking: Processes and Jobs More about running programs. There are no `batch queues' under Linux as you're used to; multitasking is handled very differently. Again, this is what the typical command line looks like: $ command -s1 -s2 ... -sn par1 par2 ... parn < input > output & where -s1, ..., -sn are the program switches, par1, ..., parn are the program parameters. Now let's see how multitasking works. Programs, running in foreground or background, are called `processes'. ╖ To launch a process in background: $ progname [-switches] [parameters] [< input] [> output] & [1] 234 the shell tells you what the `job number' (the first digit; see below) and PID (Process IDentifier) of the process are. Each process is iden¡ tified by its PID. ╖ To see how many processes there are: $ ps -ax This will output a list of currently running processes. ╖ To kill a process: $ kill <PID> You may need to kill a process when you don't know how to quit it the right way... ;-). Sometimes, a process will only be killed by one of the following: $ kill -15 <PID> $ kill -9 <PID> In addition to this, the shell allows you to stop or temporarily suspend a process, send a process to background, and bring a process from background to foreground. In this context, processes are called `jobs'. ╖ To see how many jobs there are: $ jobs jobs are identified by the numbers the shell gives them, not by their PID. ╖ To stop a process running in foreground: $ CTRL-C (it doesn't always work) ╖ To suspend a process running in foreground: $ CTRL-Z (ditto) ╖ To send a suspended process into background (it becomes a job): $ bg <job> ╖ To bring a job to foreground: $ fg <job> ╖ To kill a job: $ kill <%job> 8.3. Files, Revisited More information about files. ╖ stdin, stdout, stderr: under UNIX, every system component is treated as if it were a file. Commands and programs get their input from a `file' called stdin (standard input; usually, the keyboard), put their output on a `file' called stdout (usually, the screen), and error messages go to a `file' called stderr (usually, the screen). Using < and > you redirect input and output to a different file. Moreover, >> appends the output to a file instead of overwriting it; 2> redirects error messages (stderr); 2>&1 redirects stderr to stdout, while 1>&2 redirects stdout to stderr. There's a `black hole' called /dev/null: everything redirected to it disappears; ╖ wildcards: '*' is almost the same. Usage: * matches all files except the hidden ones; .* matches all hidden files; *.* matches only those that have a '.' in the middle, followed by other characters; p*r matches both `peter' and `piper'; *c* matches both `picked' and `peck'. []. Usage: [abc]* matches files starting with a, b, c; *[I-N,1,2,3] matches files ending with I, J, K, L, M, N, 1, 2, 3; ╖ mv (RENAME) doesn't work for multiple files; that is, mv *.xxx *.yyy won't work; ╖ use cp -i and mv -i to be warned when a file is going to be overwritten. 8.4. Print Queues Your prints are queued, like under VMS. When you issue a print command, you may specify a printer name. Example: $ lpr file.txt # this goes to the standard printer $ lpr -Plaser file.ps # this goes to the printer named 'laser' To handle the print queues, you use the following commands: VMS Linux ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ $ PRINT file.ps $ lpr file.ps $ PRINT/QUEUE=laser file.ps $ lpr -Plaser file.ps $ SHOW QUEUE $ lpq $ SHOW QUEUE/QUEUE=laser $ lpq -Plaser $ STOP/QUEUE $ lprm <item> 9. Configuring Your sysadm has already provided you with a number of configuration files like .xinitrc, .bash_profile, .inputrc, and many others. The ones you may want to edit are: ╖ .bash_profile or .profile: read by the shell at login time. It's like LOGIN.COM; ╖ .bash_logout: read by the shell at logout. It's like LOGOUT.COM; ╖ .bashrc: read by non--login shells. ╖ .inputrc: this file customises the key bindings and the behaviour of the shell. To give you an example, I'll include my .bash_profile (abridged): ______________________________________________________________________ # $HOME/.bash_profile # don't redefine the path if not necessary echo $PATH | grep $LOGNAME > /dev/null if [ $? != 0 ] then export PATH="$PATH:/home/$LOGNAME/bin" # add my dir to the PATH fi export PS1='LOGNAME:\w\$ ' export PS2='Continued...>' # aliases alias bin="cd ~/bin" ; alias cp="cp -i" ; alias d="dir" alias del="delete" ; alias dir="/bin/ls $LS_OPTIONS --format=vertical" alias ed="jed" ; alias mv='mv -i' alias u="cd .." ; alias undel="undelete" # A few useful functions inst() # Install a .tar.gz archive in current directory. { gzip -dc $1 | tar xvf - } cz() # List the contents of a .zip archive. { unzip -l $* } ctgz() # List the contents of a .tar.gz archive. { for file in $* ; do gzip -dc ${file} | tar tf - done } tgz() # Create a .tgz archive a la zip. { name=$1 ; tar -cvf $1 ; shift tar -rf ${name} $* ; gzip -S .tgz ${name} } ______________________________________________________________________ And this is my .inputrc: ______________________________________________________________________ # $HOME/.inputrc # Last modified: 16 January 1997. # # This file is read by bash and defines key bindings to be used by the shell; # what follows fixes the keys END, HOME, and DELETE, plus accented letters. # For more information, man readline. "\e[1~": beginning-of-line "\e[3~": delete-char "\e[4~": end-of-line set bell-style visible set meta-flag On set convert-meta Off set output-meta On set horizontal-scroll-mode On set show-all-if-ambiguous On # (F1 .. F5) are "\e[[A" ... "\e[[E" "\e[[A": "info " ______________________________________________________________________ 10. Useful Programs 10.1. Browsing Files: less You'll use this file browser every day, so I'll give you a couple of tips to use it at best. First of all, ask your sysadm to configure less so as it can display not only plain text files, but also compressed files, archives, and so on. The main advantage of less over TYPE is that you can browse files in both directions. It also accepts several commands that are issued pressing a key. The most useful are: ╖ first of all, press q to leave the browser; ╖ h gives you extensive help; ╖ g to go to beginning of file, G to the end, number+g to go to line `number' (e.g. 125g), number+% to move to that percentage of the file; ╖ /pattern searches forwards for `pattern'; n searches forwards for the next match; ?pattern and N search backwards; ╖ m+letter marks current position (e.g. ma); '+letter go to the marked position. ╖ :e examines a new file; ╖ !command executes the shell command. 10.2. RCS in a Nutshell The lack of version numbers in files can be easily overcome by using RCS (Revision Control System). This allows you to maintain several versions of the same file, and offers many more advantages. I'll only explain the very basics of this powerful version control system. The most important commands are ci and co. The first (``check in'') is used to commit the changes you have done to your file, and create a new version. The second (``check out'') is used to obtain a working copy of your file from the RCS system, either to modify it or simply use it for browsing, printing, or whatever. Let's see an example. First of all you create an initial revision of your file, using your favourite editor. Let's suppose that the file you'll have under RCS control is called project.tex. Follow these steps: ╖ make a subdirectory called RCS/ in the directory containing project.tex. RCS/ will contain the revision control file; ╖ to put project.tex under RCS control, issue the command $ ci project.tex RCS/project.tex,v <-- project.tex enter description, terminated with a single '.' or end of file: NOTE: This is NOT the log message! >> ╖ you will write a line or more containing a description of the contents of your file. End it with a line containing a '.' by itself, and you'll see initial revision: 1.1 done Now the file project.tex has been taken over by RCS. 10.2.1. Using the latest version Whenever you want to use, but not modify, the latest version of project.tex, you issue the command $ co project.tex RCS/project.tex,v --> project.tex revision 1.1 done This extracts the latest version (read only) of your file. Now you can browse it, or compile it with tex, but you can't modify it. 10.2.2. Creating a new version When you want to modify your file, you must obtain a ``lock'' on it. This means that RCS knows that you're about to make a newer version. In this case, you use the command $ co project.tex RCS/project.tex,v --> project.tex revision 1.1 (locked) done You now have a working copy you can modify with your editor. When you're done editing it, you check it in again to commit the changes: $ ci project.tex RCS/project.tex,v <-- project.tex new revision 1.2; previous revision: 1.1 enter log message, terminated with a single '.' or end of file: >> (enter your description here) >> . done If you want to change the version number, type ci -f2.0 project.tex. 10.2.3. Comparing versions If you want to see the history of the changes in project.tex, issue $ rlog project.tex 10.2.4. Using an old version To extract an older version of your file (say, version 1.2 when you're working on 1.6), issue $ co -r1.2 project.tex Be aware that this overwrites your existing working file, if you have one. You may do: $ co -r1.2 -p project.tex > project.tex.1.2 10.3. Archiving: tar & gzip Under UNIX there are some widely used applications to archive and compress files. tar is used to make archives, that is collections of files. To make a new archive: $ tar -cvf <archive_name.tar> <file> [file...] To extract files from an archive: $ tar -xpvf <archive_name.tar> [file...] To list the contents of an archive: $ tar -tf <archive_name.tar> | less Files can be compressed to save disk space using compress, which is obsolete and shouldn't be used any more, or gzip: $ compress <file> $ gzip <file> that creates a compressed file with extension .Z (compress) or .gz (gzip). These programs don't make archives, but compress files individually. To decompress, use: $ compress -d <file.Z> $ gzip -d <file.gz> RMP. The unarj, zip and unzip utilities are also available. Files with extension .tar.gz or .tgz (archived with tar, then compressed with gzip) are very common in the UNIX world. Here's how to list the contents of a .tar.gz archive: $ gzip -dc <file.tar.gz> | tar tf - | less To extract the files from a .tar.gz archive: $ gzip -dc <file.tar.gz> | tar xvf - 11. Real Life Examples UNIX' core idea is that there are many simple commands that can linked together via piping and redirection to accomplish even really complex tasks. Look at the following examples; I'll only explain the most complex ones, for the others, please study the above sections and the man pages. Problem: ls is too quick and the file names fly away. Solution: $ ls | less Problem: I have a file containing a list of words. I want to sort it in reverse order and print it. Solution: $ cat myfile.txt | sort -r | lpr Problem: my datafile has some repeated lines! How do I get rid of them? Solution: $ sort datafile.dat | uniq > newfile.dat Problem: I have a file called 'mypaper.txt' or 'mypaper.tex' or some such somewhere, but I don't remember where I put it. How do I find it? Solution: $ find ~ -name "mypaper*" Explanation: find is a very useful command that lists all the files in a directory tree (starting from ~ in this case). Its output can be filtered to meet several criteria, such as -name. Problem: I have a text file containing the word 'entropy' in this directory, is there anything like SEARCH? Solution: yes, try $ grep -l 'entropy' * Problem: somewhere I have text files containing the word 'entropy', I'd like to know which and where they are. Under VMS I'd use search entropy [...]*.*.*, but grep can't recurse subdirectories. Now what? Solution: $ find . -exec grep -l "entropy" {} \; 2> /dev/null Explanation: find . outputs all the file names starting from the current directory, -exec grep -l "entropy" is an action to be performed on each file (represented by {}), \ terminates the command. If you think this syntax is awful, you're right. In alternative, write the following script: ______________________________________________________________________ #!/bin/sh # rgrep: recursive grep if [ $# != 3 ] then echo "Usage: rgrep --switches 'pattern' 'directory'" exit 1 fi find $3 -name "*" -exec grep $1 $2 {} \; 2> /dev/null ______________________________________________________________________ Explanation: grep works like search, and combining it with find we get the best of both worlds. Problem: I have a data file that has two header lines, then every line has 'n' data, not necessarily equally spaced. I want the 2nd and 5th data of each line. Shall I write a Fortran program...? Solution: nope. This is quicker: $ awk 'NL > 2 {print $2, "\t", $5}' datafile.dat > newfile.dat Explanation: the command awk is actually a programming language: for each line starting from the third in datafile.dat, print out the second and fifth field, separated by a tab. Learn some awk---it saves a lot of time. Problem: I've downloaded an FTP site's ls-lR.gz to check its contents. For each subdirectory, it contains a line that reads "total xxxx", where xxxx is size in kbytes of the dir contents. I'd like to get the grand total of all these xxxx values. Solution: zcat ls-lR.gz | awk ' $1 == "total" { i += $2 } END {print i}' Explanation: zcat outputs the contents of the .gz file and pipes to awk, whose man page you're kindly requested to read ;-) Problem: I've written a Fortran program, myprog, to calculate a parameter from a data file. I'd like to run it on hundreds of data files and have a list of the results, but it's a nuisance to ask each time for the file name. Under VMS I'd write a lengthy command file, and under Linux? Solution: a very short script. Make your program look for the data file 'mydata.dat' and print the result on the screen (stdout), then write the following script: ______________________________________________________________________ #!/bin/sh # myprog.sh: run the same command on many different files # usage: myprog.sh *.dat for file in $* # for all parameters (e.g. *.dat) do # append the file name to result.dat echo -n "${file}: " >> results.dat # copy current argument to mydata.dat, run myprog # and append the output to results.dat cp ${file} mydata.dat ; myprog >> results.dat done ______________________________________________________________________ Problem: I want to replace `geology' with `geophysics' in all my text files. Shall I edit them all manually? Solution: nope. Write this shell script: ______________________________________________________________________ #!/bin/sh # replace $1 with $2 in $* # usage: replace "old-pattern" "new-pattern" file [file...] OLD=$1 # first parameter of the script NEW=$2 # second parameter shift ; shift # discard first two parameters: the next are the file names for file in $* # for all files given as parameters do # replace every occurrence of OLD with NEW, save on a temporary file sed "s/$OLD/$NEW/g" ${file} > ${file}.new # rename the temporary file as the original file /bin/mv ${file}.new ${file} done ______________________________________________________________________ Problem: I have some data files, I don't know their length and have to remove their last but one and last but two lines. Er... manually? Solution: no, of course. Write this script: ______________________________________________________________________ #!/bin/sh # prune.sh: removes n-1th and n-2th lines from files # usage: prune.sh file [file...] for file in $* # for every parameter do LINES=`wc -l $file | awk '{print $1}'` # number of lines in file LINES=`expr $LINES - 3` # LINES = LINES - 3 head -n $LINES $file > $file.new # output first LINES lines tail -n 1 $file >> $file.new # append last line done ______________________________________________________________________ I hope these examples whetted your appetite... 12. Tips You Can't Do Without ╖ Command completion: pressing <TAB> when issuing a command will complete the command line for you. Example: you have to type less this_is_a_long_name; typing in less thi<TAB> will suffice. (If you have other files that start with the same characters, supply enough characters to resolve any ambiguity.) ╖ Back-scrolling: pressing SHIFT--PAG UP (the grey key) allows you to backscroll a few pages, depending on your PC's video memory. ╖ Resetting the screen: if you happen to more or cat a binary file, your screen may end up full of garbage. To fix things, blind type reset or this sequence of characters: echo CTRL-V ESC c RETURN. ╖ Pasting text: in console, see below; in X, click and drag to select the text in an xterm window, then click the middle button (or the two buttons together if you have a two-button mouse) to paste. ╖ Using the mouse: ask your sysadm to install gpm, a mouse driver for the console. Click and drag to select text, then right click to paste the selected text. It works across different VCs. 13. The End 13.1. Copyright Unless otherwise stated, Linux HOWTO documents are copyrighted by their respective authors. Linux HOWTO documents may be reproduced and distributed in whole or in part, in any medium physical or electronic, as long as this copyright notice is retained on all copies. Commercial redistribution is allowed and encouraged; however, the author would like to be notified of any such distributions. All translations, derivative works, or aggregate works incorporating any Linux HOWTO documents must be covered under this copyright notice. That is, you may not produce a derivative work from a HOWTO and impose additional restrictions on its distribution. Exceptions to these rules may be granted under certain conditions; please contact the Linux HOWTO coordinator at the address given below. In short, we wish to promote dissemination of this information through as many channels as possible. However, we do wish to retain copyright on the HOWTO documents, and would like to be notified of any plans to redistribute the HOWTOs. If you have questions, please contact Greg Hankins, the Linux HOWTO coordinator, at gregh@sunsite.unc.edu via email. 14. Disclaimer This work was written following the experience we had at the Settore di Geofisica of Bologna University (Italy), where a VAX 4000 is being superseded and replaced by Linux-based Pentium PCs. Most of my colleagues are VMS users, and some of them have switched to Linux. ``From VMS to Linux HOWTO'' was written by Guido Gonzato, guido@ibogfs.cineca.it, 1997. Many thanks to my colleagues and friends who helped me define the needs and habits of the average VMS user, especially to Dr. Warner Marzocchi. Please help me improve this HOWTO. I'm not a VMS expert and never will be, so your suggestions and bug reports are more than welcome. Enjoy, Guido =8-)