• 2. A session in the shell

    In this unit we will go through a longer terminal session and get a better chance to understand the language of the shell. We start by exploring the system environment and then move on to screen handling. The commands we issue in this unit are simple and limited to getting information from the system, all "read-only". You also learn to how to record a terminal session. See the script 2.1 Instructions: A shell session for details. Then you have to upload the results on to 2.2 Assignment: A shell session.

    Commands you will learn: cal ; clear ; date ; echo ; exit ; hostname ; ncal ; reset ; resize ; top ; uptime

    • 2.1 Handout: A shell session Page

      We interact with the machine in the Unix shell. Learn the basic structure of Unix commands by examples, date, cal/ncal, uptime, top, hostname, uname, echo, $SHELL, $USER,.. And also get used to how the shell behaves with type-ahead and control commands (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+D,..).

      Not available unless: The activity 1.3 Test: Introduction, Your first log in is marked complete
    • 2.2 Assignment: A shell session

      When capturing a screen-cast the typical GUI user makes films, generating big video files which are sometimes not even sharp. The shell user captures his terminal in the terminal itself, for example in ttyrec. The resulting files are thousand times smaller and always sharp!

      Not available unless: The activity 2.1 Handout: A shell session is marked complete
    • 2.3 Test: A shell session Quiz

      Check what you've learned above by taking this MC test.

      Not available unless: The activity 2.2 Assignment: A shell session is marked complete
    • 2.4 Recording: A shell session URL
      Not available unless: The activity 2.1 Handout: A shell session is marked complete
    • Optional A. Miscellaneous tools for the terminal Forum

      https://edunet.lk/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=724In the course we learn only a subset of the "classical" commands. But the Unix system is built in such a way that the system administrator can add additional tools or even program tools on their own. The Linux distributers like Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch collect such additional tools, check their quality and add in to their repositories. So, in the case of Debian/Ubuntu it is a matter of # apt install xxxx to install them.

      I have installed the collection below in the lab machine - serious ones and less serious ones. Read about them, read the man page, test them, and post your findings here. Start a new discussion per tool. If somebody else has already taken the the tool you like and you have something to add, reply in that thread.

      Tools installed (by 5 February 2026): atop | axel | btop | cmatrix | csysdig | curl | ffmpeg | figlet | fortune | htop | iftop | iotop | jp2a | lynx | neofetch | linuxlogo | nmap | ntop | perf | powertop | ranger| speedtest-cli | s-tui | stress | tcpdump | tcptraceroute | tldr | traceroute | w3m | wget

      2026-02-22 Added sensors.

      Not available unless: The activity 2.3 Test: A shell session is marked complete