command syntax

rob1234

Hi,

For each command do you need to learn all the options. For example if you type man ls there is loads for each command do you need to learn them all and if not how do you know which ones to learn?

Thanks,

hiddenknight821

Once you get comfortable with the command line, you'd find that many commands have common options. And in fact, most commands options are very intuitive, which make them easier to remember. For example,

-V = print command version (many commands)
-r or -R = recursively (cp, rm)
-f = force (rm, cp, mv)
-h = help (most commands)
-n = surpress naming. Use number instead (tcpdump, netstat, ping)

I hope you get the idea, but you can always remember the full-name command options (with double-dash prefix) if you find them comfortable.

If you're wondering which commands you need to know, then I'd suggest you to follow the objectives for the Linux+ exam. You'd definitely need to know the basic so that you can move around the command-line such as cd, ls, mv, rm, cat, touch, mkdir, pwd, and so forth.

rob1234

OK thanks that should help a bit.

Just got worried when I ran man and saw loads of options thought I will never remember all of them!