Unix Bootcamp

While you are probably quite comfortable using your own Mac or Windows machine, much of the work you will need to do as a student in the CS department will involve the use of machines running Unix or Linux.

Since that is an environment that is likely to be far less familiar to most students, this collection of resources is meant to get you up to speed with the essentials as quickly as possible. There's always more to learn over time, but this should be sufficient to get you started.

A PDF handout that summarizes most of the material covered in these videos is available for download.

1 Intro

Video: ~25 minutes

This video introduces some basic concepts and terminology that are necessary to understand Unix. It explains the concept of an operating system, the relationship between Unix and Linux, the kernel, the shell, processes, files, programs, command line interfaces, terminal emulators, and credentials. It also demonstrates how to use ssh to connect to the wcit.cs.unh.edu computer.

2 Understanding the File System

Video: ~34 minutes

This video is focused on understanding the concepts that underlie the file system. It covers files, directories, directory trees, filenames, paths, pathnames, extensions, quotas, commands, command lines, flags, and hidden files. It also introduces the clear, pwd, quota, and ls commands.

3 Moving Around

Video: ~16 minutes

This video explains how to move around effectively within the Unix filesystem. It covers shell features such as autocompletion and the command history, goes deeper into directory trees, and introduces the cd command (and associated shortcuts) for navigating within them.

4 Working with Files

Video: ~30 minutes

This video explains how to manipulate files and directories. It introduces the mkdir, mv, cp, rm, rmdir, cat, and less commands.

5 Additional Tools

Video: ~32 minutes

This video explains redirection, piping, and the use of pattern matching in Unix command lines and the online manual.

6 Permissions

Video: ~30 minutes

This video explains the Unix file permissions system. It introduces the chmod command. Note that the last five minutes of this video may make more sense to you after you complete the Numbers for Computing videos.

7 Using scp

Video: ~17 minutes

This video explains how to use the scp command to move files and directories between network-connected systems.