The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction, 2nd Edition

In addition to that practical knowledge, author William Shotts reveals the philosophy behind these tools and 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 and delete files, directories, and symlinks

* Administer your system, including networking, package installation, and process management

* Use standard input and output, redirection, and pipelines

* Edit files with Vi, the world's most popular text editor

* Write shell scripts to automate common or boring tasks

* Slice and dice text files with cut, paste, grep, patch, and sed

Once you overcome your initial "shell shock," you'll find that the command line is a natural and expressive way to communicate with your computer. Just don't be surprised if your mouse starts to gather dust.