UNIX Primer course outline

UNIX Primer

Duration: 5 days

Audience: Programmers, users, and administrators who will be using a UNIX system

Prequisites: No UNIX prerequisites

Objectives: Top Contents

On successful completion of this course each student will be able to:

* explain the meaning of common UNIX terminology
* list the functions of the UNIX operating system
* describe how UNIX controls its files
* use commands to manage files
* set file access permissions
* list the processes which are running
* explain how to use redirection, tee, pipe
* use vi to edit files
* issue ed commands from vi
* use sed to modify a file
* use grep to perform common tasks
* use grep to filter lines
* use awk to perform common tasks
* use awk to select parts of a record
* use the sort utility
* explain how Internet addresses are used
* use telnet to login to a remote host
* use ftp to copy files to/from a remote system
* list the shells which are used by UNIX
* write simple scripts, using common program logic
* describe how a UNIX system communicates with others (e.g. mainframe, PC)
* describe how UNIX handles standard input and output

Contents: Top Objectives

UNIX overview
Background and development of UNIX Various forms of UNIX e.g. Linux, HP/UX, AIX Open Systems, X/Window Multitasking, security, hardware used on UNIX systems; disk usage, sections, shadowing, RAID, disk striping, disk cache, memory usage, shared segments, CD-ROM; Bourne, Korn, and C shells.

Logging in
How a UNIX user logs in; files used at login; environment variables; controlling keyboard settings; miscellaneous commands, date; superuser; logging out.

File structure
File organisation, directories, paths, file security and permissions; database access; commands for controlling files: listing names, meta-characters, renaming, deleting, copying, listing contents, comparing, sorting, linking; command line editing; using find to search for files.

Running jobs and processes
Program development and execution; handling processes, daemons; nice, kill, jobs, fg; scheduler: CRON and its use.

Programs and I/O
How a program views files; filter, pipe, tee, redirection; the spooling system.

Using vi
Vi modes; invoking vi, exiting vi, saving changes; scrolling and controlling the cursor, navigating lines and words; searching and changing strings, global change; adding, deleting, copying text; using yank with buffers; undo; reading command output; using ed commands within vi; using sed commands; using ex.

Writing Korn shell scripts
Introduction to Shell scripts, syntax, features; making a script executable, executing a script; variables, assigning values to variables, arithmetic operations, environment variables; testing conditions, looping, case construct; using quotation marks; redirecting; predefined variables; SQL in scripts.

grep and awk
Using grep and egrep, regular expressions, processing files and command output. Using awk and nawk,: awk one-liners and scripts: program structure, awk variables, arithmetic, built-in functions, controlling statement flow, using printf, start/stop ranges.

Communications
Connections to PC and mainframe; data conversion; VT-100 and VT-220 emulation, TCP/IP, File Transfer, TELNET, LU 6.2, electronic mail; remote login; UNIX to UNIX communication.

UNIX administration
Backup, shutdown process, systems administration tasks.