Become a Linux command line black-belt

David M Williams
Sunday, 08 March 2009 06:59

Opinion and Analysis

I could go on but you really ought to check out Command-line-fu yourself. It’s a breathtakingly simple site. Commands are clearly listed – in retro green text on black terminal fashion – and the ranking (plus up and down voting links) are straightforward and effective.

Clicking on a command highlights it for you, ready for copy and paste right into your own terminal window.

Now, it has to be said: you might think the command line is passé. Some critics will try to misinform that it’s the only way to drive Linux and that makes Linux a poor choice, in their view.

Yet, not only can Linux be fully graphically-driven – like Windows – the command line does give great power. It’s ironic that after years spent decrying Linux on this point, Microsoft have in recent years resorted to serious command-line administration themself with PowerShell being the power-user tool of choice for the newest range of Microsoft server products.

Linux users can be proud from having never needed to flip-flop on this point, unlike Redmond.

You can check Command-line-fu on a regular basis to keep abreast of what the collective Linux intelligentsia are submitting. You can also subscribe to an RSS feed, with options to listen to any update, or just those relating to specific functions (like ssh) or users.

Alternatively, updates are tweeted via Twitter. There are three Twitter accounts you can choose to listen to. One broadcasts each new command whereas the other two are for the more discerning and only notify on commands that get a minimum of 3 or 10 votes respectively.