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UNIX operating systems have been around for decades, but they can still seem cryptic to new users. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll cover some basic UNIX concepts and commands to help you get started.
What is UNIX?
UNIX is an operating system originally developed in the 1960s as a joint project between AT&T’s Bell Labs, General Electric, and MIT. Some key developers of early UNIX include Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie.
UNIX was designed with three main goals in mind:
- Portability — To run on different hardware architectures
- Multi-tasking — To allow multiple processes to run concurrently
- Multi-user — To allow multiple users to use the system simultaneously
These principles make UNIX a very flexible and powerful operating system even today.
Navigating the Filesystem
When you first log into a UNIX system, you start in your home directory. This is a personal space for each user to store files. You can refer to your home directory using the tilde (~) symbol.
UNIX organizes files into a hierarchical directory structure. Directories are separated by the / forward slash character. You should avoid using / in regular…
