208 lines
8.2 KiB
HTML
208 lines
8.2 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
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<HTML>
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9">
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<TITLE> From DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO : Introduction</TITLE>
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<LINK HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-2.html" REL=next>
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<LINK HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO.html#toc1" REL=contents>
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-2.html">Next</A>
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Previous
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO.html#toc1">Contents</A>
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<HR>
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<H2><A NAME="s1">1. Introduction</A></H2>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.1">1.1 Is Linux Right for You?</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>Let's start politically correct. Throughout this document I say ``Linux'',
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but I mean ``GNU/Linux''. Please go to
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<A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html</A> to see why.
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<P>You want to switch from the DOS/Windows world to Linux? Good idea: Linux is
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technically superior to DOS, Windows 9x and even Windows NT. But beware: it
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might not be useful for you. These are the main differences between
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DOS/Windows and Linux:
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI> Windows runs Microsoft Office and lots of games; is perceived to be
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easy to install and configure; is notoriously unstable; performs poorly;
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crashes are frequent.
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</LI>
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<LI> Linux runs StarOffice, scores of technical software and fewer games;
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can be tricky to install and configure; is rock solid; performs
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impeccably; crashes are extremely rare.
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>It's up to you to decide what you need. Furthermore, Linux gives you power,
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but it takes some time to learn how to harness it. Thus, if mostly need
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commercial sw, or if you don't feel like learning new commands and concepts,
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you had better look elsewhere. Be aware that many newcomers give up because
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of initial difficulties.
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<P>Work is underway to make Linux simpler to use, but <EM>don't expect to be
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proficient with it unless you read a lot of documentation and use it at
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least for a few months</EM>. Linux won't give you instant results. In spite
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of these warnings, I'm 100% confident that if you are the right user
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type you'll find in Linux your computer Nirvana. By the way, Linux + DOS/Win
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can coexist happily on the same machine.
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<P>Prerequisites for this howto: I'll assume that
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI> you know the basic DOS commands and concepts;
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</LI>
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<LI> Linux, possibly with X Window System (X11 for short), is properly
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installed on your PC;
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</LI>
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<LI> your shell (the equivalent of <CODE>COMMAND.COM</CODE>) is <CODE>bash</CODE>.
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>Unless specified, all information in this work is aimed at bad ol' DOS.
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There is information about Windows here and there, but bear in mind that
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Windows and Linux are totally different, unlike DOS that is sort of a UNIX
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poor relation.
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<P>Please also note that this work is neither a complete primer nor a
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configuration guide!
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<P>The latest version of this document is available in several formats on
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<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org">http://www.linuxdoc.org</A>.
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.2">1.2 It Is. Tell Me More</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>You installed Linux and the programs you needed on the PC. You gave yourself
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an account (if not, type <CODE>adduser yourname</CODE> <EM>now!</EM>) and Linux
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is running. You've just entered your name and password, and now you are
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looking at the screen thinking: ``Well, now what?''
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<P>Now, don't despair. You're almost ready to do the same things you used to do
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with DOS/Win, and many more. If you were running DOS/Win instead of Linux,
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you would be doing some of the following tasks:
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI> running programs and creating, copying, viewing, deleting, printing,
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renaming files;
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</LI>
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<LI> CD'ing, MD'ing, RD'ing, and DIR'ring your directories;
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</LI>
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<LI> formatting floppies and copying files from/to them;
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</LI>
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<LI> tailoring the system;
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</LI>
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<LI> surfing the Internet;
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</LI>
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<LI> writing .BAT files and programs in your favourite language;
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</LI>
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<LI> the remaining 1%.
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>You'll be glad to know that these tasks can be accomplished under Linux in a
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fashion similar to DOS. Under DOS, the average user uses very few of the
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100+ commands available: the same, up to a point, applies to Linux.
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<P>
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<P>
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<H3>Introductory Concepts</H3>
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<P>
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<P>The best way to learn something new is to get your feet wet. You are
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strongly encouraged to experiment and play with Linux: unless you login as
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``root'', you can't damage the system that way. A few points:
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI> first of all, how to quit Linux safely. If you see a text mode
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screen, press <CTRL-ALT-DEL>, wait for the system to reboot, then
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switch off the PC. If you are working under X Window System, press
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<CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE> first, then <CTRL-ALT-DEL>. <EM>Never</EM>
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switch off or reset the PC directly: this could damage the file system;
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</LI>
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<LI> unlike DOS or Windows, Linux has built-in security mechanisms. Files
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and directories have permissions associated to them; as a result, some
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cannot be accessed by the normal user; (see Section
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-4.html#Permissions">Permissions and Ownership</A>). DOS and Windows, on the contrary, will
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let you wipe out the entire contents of your hard disk;
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</LI>
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<LI> there's a special user called ``root'': the system administrator,
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with full power of life and death on the machine. If you work on your own
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PC, you'll be root as well. Working as root is <EM>dangerous</EM>: any
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mistake can seriously damage or destroy the system just like with
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DOS/Windows. Don't work as root unless absolutely necessary;
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</LI>
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<LI> much of the complexity of Linux comes from its extreme
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configurability: virtually every feature and every application can be
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tailored through one or more configuration files. Complexity is the price to
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pay for power;
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</LI>
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<LI> redirection and piping are a side DOS feature, a very inportant one
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and much more powerful under Linux. Simple commands can be strung together
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to accomplish complex tasks. I strongly suggest that you learn how to use
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them.
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H3>Getting Help</H3>
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<P>
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<P>There are many ways to get help with Linux. The most important are:
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI> <EM>reading the documentation</EM>---I mean it. Although the HOWTO
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you are reading may serve as an introduction to Linux, there are several
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books that you really should read: at least, Matt Welsh's ``Linux
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Installation and Getting Started'' (
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<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/gs/gs.html">http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/gs/gs.html</A>) and the Linux FAQ (
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<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/FAQ/Linux-FAQ/index.html">http://www.linuxdoc.org/FAQ/Linux-FAQ/index.html</A>). Feel a guilty
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conscience until you have read at least one of them;
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</LI>
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<LI> the documentation of the packages installed on the machine is often
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found in subdirectories under /usr/doc/;
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</LI>
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<LI> to get some help about the ``internal commands'' of the shell, type
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<CODE>help</CODE> or, better, <CODE>man bash</CODE> or <CODE>info bash</CODE>;
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</LI>
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<LI> to get help about a command, type <CODE>man command</CODE> that invokes
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the manual (``man'') page of <CODE>command</CODE>. Alternatively, type <CODE>info
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command</CODE> that invokes, if available, the info page pertinent of
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<CODE>command</CODE>; info is a hypertext-based documentation system, perhaps
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not intuitive to use at first. Finally, you may try <CODE>apropos command</CODE>
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or <CODE>whatis command</CODE>. With all of these commands, press `q' to exit.
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</LI>
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<LI> finally, on the Internet: the right place for getting help is Usenet,
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like
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<A HREF="news:comp.os.linux.setup">news:comp.os.linux.setup</A>. Please don't email me for help,
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because I'm quite overloaded.
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.3">1.3 Conventions</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>Throughout this work, examples will often follow the following format:
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<CODE><...></CODE> is a required argument, while <CODE>[...]</CODE> an optional one.
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Example:
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<P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
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<PRE>
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$ tar -tf <file.tar> [> redir_file]
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</PRE>
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</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
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<P><CODE>file.tar</CODE> must be indicated, but redirection to <CODE>redir_file</CODE>
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is optional.
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<P>``RMP'' means ``please Read the Man Pages for further information''. I can't
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stress enough how important reading the documentation is.
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<P>When the prompt of a command example is <CODE>#</CODE>, the command can only
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be performed by root.
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<P>
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<P>
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<HR>
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO-2.html">Next</A>
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Previous
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<A HREF="DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO.html#toc1">Contents</A>
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</HTML>
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