You've experienced the shiny point-&-click surface of your Linux computer-now dive below & explore its depths with the power of the command line. The Linux Command Line takes you from your very first terminal keystrokes to writing full programs in Bash the most popular Linux shell. Along the way you'll learn the timeless skills handed down by generations of gray-bearded mouse-shunning gurus: file navigation environment configuration command chaining pattern matching with regular expressions & more. In addition to that practical knowledge author William Shotts reveals the philosophy behind these tools & the rich heritage that your desktop Linux machine has inherited from Unix supercomputers of yore. As you make your way through the book's short easily-digestible chapters you'll learn how to: * Create & delete files directories & symlinks * Administer your system including networking package installation & process management * Use standard input & output redirection & pipelines * Edit files with Vi the world's most popular text editor * Write shell scripts to automate common or boring tasks * Slice & dice text files with cut paste grep patch & sed Once you overcome your initial shell shock " you'll find that the command line is a natural & expressive way to communicate with your computer. Just don't be surprised if your mouse starts to gather dust."