A Comparison of Common DOS and Linux Commands

Red Hat Linux 8.0: The Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide
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# Appendix C. A Comparison of Common DOS and Linux Commands

Many Linux commands typed at a shell prompt are similar to the commands you would type in MS-DOS. In fact, some commands are identical.

This appendix provides common commands used at the MS-DOS prompt in Windows and their counterparts in Linux. Basic examples of how the command are used at the Linux shell prompt are also provided. Note that these commands usually have a number of options. To learn more about each command, read its associated man page (for example, type `man ls` at the shell prompt to read about the `ls` command).

Table C-1. Similar Commands

Command's Purpose | MS-DOS | Linux | Basic Linux Example
--- | --- | --- | ---
Copies files | `copy` | `cp` | `cp `thisfile.txt` /home/`thisdirectory``
Moves files | `move` | `mv` | `mv `thisfile.txt` /home/`thisdirectory``
Lists files | `dir` | `ls` | `ls`
Clears screen | `cls` | `clear` | `clear`
Closes prompt window | `exit` | `exit` | `exit`
Displays or sets date | `date` | `date` | `date`
Deletes files | `del` | `rm` | `rm `thisfile.txt``
"Echoes" output on the screen | `echo` | `echo` | `echo `this message``
Edits files with simple text editor | `edit` | `pico`([a]) | `pico `thisfile.txt``
Compares the contents of files | `fc` | `diff` | `diff `file1` `file2``
Finds a string of text in a file | `find` | `grep` | `grep `this word or phrase`` `thisfile.txt`
Formats a diskette | `format a:` (if diskette is in `A:`) | `mke2fs` or `mformat`([b]) | `/sbin/mke2fs /dev/fd0` (`/dev/fd0` is the Linux equivalent of `A:`)
Displays command help | ``command` /?` | `man`([c]) | `man `command``
Creates a directory | `mkdir` | `mkdir` | `mkdir `directory``
View a file | `more` | `less`([d]) | `less `thisfile.txt``
Renames a file | `ren` | `mv` | `mv `thisfile.txt` `thatfile.txt``([e])
Displays your location in the file system | `chdir` | `pwd` | `pwd`
Changes directories with a specified path (absolute path) | `cd `pathname`` | `cd `pathname`` | `cd `/directory/directory``
Changes directories with a relative path | `cd ..` | `cd ..` | `cd ..`
Displays the time | `time` | `date` | `date`
Shows amount of RAM and use | `mem` | `free` | `free`
Notes: a. Pico is a simple text editor; other editors you can use in place of Pico include Emacs and vi. b. This formats a disk for the DOS filesystem. c. You can also use `info` for some commands. d. The `more` pager can also be used to page through a file a screen at a time. e. The `mv` command can both move a file and, if you want to rename a file in the same directory, you "move" that file to the same directory with a new name, as in this example.

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