Basic Linux Commands Exercise

Let's put some of our new knowledge into practice by creating a new directory to house some files we'll be using throughout the day.

Goal: Create a subdirectory in your home directory

While logged into Cypress, make a new subdirectory in your home directory:

• Navigate to your home directory by using the cd ~ command.
• Check that you are in your home directory by using the pwd command.

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 ~]$ cd ~
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 ~]$ pwd
  /home/workshop/tuhpc002
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 ~]$ 
  

• Make a new subdirectory called "examples" using the mkdir command.
• Check that the directory was created by using the ls command.

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 ~]$ mkdir examples
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 ~]$ ls
  examples
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 ~]$ 
  

Next, let's move some files into our new directory

• Move into the examples subdirectory using the cd command and the relative path directory examples

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 ~]$ cd examples/
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ 
  

• Now, check the contents of the directory "/lustre/project/workshop/textfiles" using the ls command and the absolute path directory (Hint, you can use the tab key to autocomplete partially typed commands)

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 textfiles]$ ls /lustre/project/workshop/textfiles/
  alphabet.txt  numbers.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 textfiles]$ 
  

• Copy the files to your current directory

Now, examine the contents of those files

• Use the cat command to examine the content of the numbers.txt file

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ cat numbers.txt 
  01
  02
  03
  04
  05
  06
  07
  08
  09
  10
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ 
  

• Use the tail command to list the last 4 lines of the numbers.txt file

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ tail -4 numbers.txt
  07
  08
  09
  10
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$
  

• Invoke the head command to list the first 5 lines of the alphabet.txt file

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ head -5 alphabet.txt
  a
  b
  c
  d
  e
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ 
  

Lastly, let's practice copying, moving, and removing files

• Copy the contents of the textfiles directory to your examples directory using the cp command
• Use the ls command to ensure that you've transferred the correct files to the correct directory

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ cp /lustre/project/workshop/textfiles/alphabet.txt alphabet.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ cp /lustre/project/workshop/textfiles/numbers.txt numbers.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ ls
  alphabet.txt  numbers.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ 
  

• Create a backup of the "numbers.txt" file named "numbers_backup.txt" using the cp command.

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ cp numbers.txt numbers_backup.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ ls
  alphabet.txt  numbers_backup.txt  numbers.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ 
  

• Remove the original "numbers.txt" file using the rm command

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ ls 
  alphabet.txt  numbers_backup.txt  numbers.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ rm numbers.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ ls
  alphabet.txt  numbers_backup.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ 
  

• rename the backup file "numbers.txt" using the mv command

  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ ls
  alphabet.txt  numbers_backup.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ mv numbers_backup.txt numbers.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ ls
  alphabet.txt  numbers.txt
  [tuhpc002@cypress1 examples]$ 
  

Challenge

• Move the file /lustre/project/workshop/animals to your home directory
• Create two new subdirectories in your home directory called "letters" and "digits".
• Move the alphabet.txt file to the letters directory and the numbers.txt file to the digits directory.
• Lastly remove the examples directory from your home directory.

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