Author Archives: dannSWashko

The du command provides a summary of disk usage for files and directories. The default behavior is to show the amount of blocks used by the contents of a directory or directories the command is run on. Usage is calculated … Continue reading →

The df command is used to report file system usage. The df command will show you the amount of storage available, used, and free per partition for each fileystem currently mounted on the system. Values are shown in blocks. The … Continue reading →

The w command show who is currently logged in to the system and from where. As Linux gains more and more desktop usage one might wonder how useful this command could be in an environment that particularly caters to a … Continue reading →

The free command is a handy snapshot into your systems memory and how much of it is being used. In conjunction with other tools like top you can get begin to understand where your system resources are being utilized and … Continue reading →

Anyone using a Linux based system for some period of time will eventually have to deal with permissions. From setting a script executable to fixing group access to a directory, understanding the basics of Linux file permissions is a must … Continue reading →

Most desktop environments have a way to auto mount any device you connect to the system that is partitioned for storage. Plugging in a usb drive to a system running Gnome, KDE, or XfCE4 will generally offer to mount the … Continue reading →

Ever want to know how many lines are in a file? How about how many words are in a file or even how many characters? Well then the “wc” command is just for you.  The “wc” command, short for word … Continue reading →

The paste command merges the lines of two or more files or a file and standard in if a second file is not specified or a “-” is used in place of the second file.  Consider the following two files. … Continue reading →

The cut command, as the man page states, “removes sections from each line of a file.”  The cut command can also be used on a stream and it can do more than just remove section.  If a file is not … Continue reading →

The tr, or translate (aka: transliterate) command, substitutes one more characters for another set of characters or it will delete a specified set of characters.  The tr command takes input from standard in and writes to standard out.  This simple … Continue reading →