several easy q/s in linux ...

[Guest_imported]

hello!
i installed mandrake yesterday and i have a few really easy questions.
a)in the command how do i make th efollowing command: "dir/p" in dos. i tried to do #XFree86 Setup and i cant see all the options.
b)how do i open a .tar file?? i cant play games or even read the linux guide!
c)how do i read a file (.txt) or how do i open file ? what files can i open (like .bat in dos)
d)can someone give me a website that teches u the basics of linux ?
thanks

 

[mithrilhall]

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/

 

[ifincham]

Hi,

a) The equivalent of 'dir' is 'ls'. 'ls -la' is a long version with hidden files included. To 'page' the output you pipe it to 'less' :

ls -l | less

b) tar xvf whatever.tar (extracts contents)
tar tf whatever.tar (lists contents)
tar tvf whatever.tar (same - verbose)

c) cat filename (e.g. cat /etc/fstab)

d) Try

http://www.linuxdot.org/nlm/

and

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/

Hope this helps

 

[yauncin]

at your command line:
man ls
man tar
man vim
man emacs

man is the command for the unix manual pages (tailored to your flavor of linux/gnu software) Almost all commands will have a man page, though they can be hard to understand at times. Hopefully this will help.

 

[Guest_imported]

I highly recommend taking an Introductory UNIX class at your nearby community college. If your familiar with working at a DOS command prompt, you'll find unix to be amazingly more functional and interesting.

 

[chiph]

Also, the "Linux for Dummies" book is actually very useful. A little embarrasing to buy... but useful.

Chip H.

 

[Guest_imported]

Thanks for your help!!