Linux - Cal

The following in a Linux dictionary word of the day:

cal – command which has the ability to display a 12-month calendar beginning in January.

-j parameter is for Julian dates (shows days numbered 1 to 365 starting from January 1).

-y parameter is for the display of the entire current year.

[month][year] options to display a calendar applicable to the month and year given. 

Examples:

cal

cal -j

cal -y

cal 01 2000

Linux - Cache

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

cache – a small fast memory holding recently accessed data, designed to speed up subsequent access to the same data.

In Linux, caching is a mechanism used to store frequently accessed data in memory to improve system performance. 

Types of Cache:

Page Cache: Stores cached files.

Dentry and Inode Cache: Stores directory and file attributes.

Linux - C Shell

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

C Shell – shell written to look similar to the C programming language. The program name is csh.

The C shell (csh) was created by Bill Joy in the late 1970s at the University of California, Berkeley. It was designed to improve interactive use and to have a syntax similar to the C programming language.

Key Features of C Shell:

C-like Syntax: The syntax of C shell is inspired by the C programming language.

Interactive Use: Has features such as command history, job control, and aliasing.

Scripting: C shell can be used to write shell scripts.

Linux - Bye

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bye – exit command from shell being utilized.

Example: bye

Note: In many Linux systems this command can be utilized via the exit command.

Linux - Bzip2

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bzip2 – compress or decompress named file(s).

-d parameter for decompression of compressed files.

-z parameter to force compression.

Examples:

bzip2 -z testfile.txt

bzip2 -d testfile.txt.bz2

Linux - Builtin

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

builtin – runs shell or functionality which is incorporated into the operating system.

In Linux, built-in commands are integrated directly into the shell itself, rather than being separate executable files. Such commands are executed within the shell process, making them faster and more efficient. 

Linux - BS

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bs – executes the battleship game.

-b parameter that stands for blitz and allows a side to shoot for as long as it continues to score hits

-s parameter that stands for salvo and allows a player one shot per turn for each of the ships still afloat.

-c parameter that stands for close pack and allows ships to be placed adjacently.

Examples: bs

bs -b

Linux - Break

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

break – shell script variable which accounts for exiting from a loop

n option number of how many times loop runs, the default is 1.

Example:

                #!/bin/bash

for ((i=1;i<=5;i++)); do

           echo $i

           if [ $i -eq 3 ]; then

           break

     fi

done

Linux - Boot Loader

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

boot loader – software which is stored on the master boot record of a bootable storage disk. It is capable of loading one or more operating systems by reading file system-based information.

A boot loader is a component in the Linux boot process, responsible for loading the operating system kernel into memory.

Some common bootloaders are:

GNU GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader

LILO (Linux Loader)

SYSLINUX

systemd-boot

Linux - Boot

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

boot – process of loading a computer's operating system. If the system is working properly, the operating system boots when turned on.

The Linux boot process has several stages that transform a powered-off machine into a fully operational system. The steps are as such:

BIOS/UEFI Stage

Boot Loader Stage

Kernel Stage

Init/Systemd Stage

Linux - Bmconf

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bmconf – installer and configurator for the smart boot manager (SMB), which is a program that runs at boot up, and gives one the ability to select which operating system to run.

The bmconf command in Linux is used to configure the Smart Boot Manager (SBM). Smart Boot Manager is a bootloader which allows one to boot from various devices, including hard drives, CD-ROMs, and USB drives. 

The basic syntax for bmconf is:

/usr/sbin/bmconf [options]

Linux - Biff

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

biff – program which notifies when new mail arrives and displays who it is from.

y option that allows mail notification.

n option that disables mail notification.

Examples: biff y

biff n

Linux - Bind

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bind – set, display and assign functions and macros to a key or a sequence of keys and function bindings.

This is utilized so that it is known what functions occur when certain keys are pressed.

-l parameter to list names of functions.

-P parameter to list function names and bindings.

Example: bind -l

Linux - BG

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bg – sends foreground jobs to background.

% refers to previous job.

%n refers to job by a number

%str refers to a job that was begins with the command starting with str.

-help parameter for help.

Example: bg %1

Linux - Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND)

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) – a domain name service implementation developed by the University of California at Berkeley. BIND listens for requests and queries root name servers to translate Internet protocol (IP) addresses to corresponding domain names and vice versa.

Here are some key points about BIND:

Open Source: BIND is free under the BSD License.

Versatility: Supports a variety of features and is utilized from personal projects to large-scale enterprise solutions.

DNS Management: BIND is essential for managing the domain name system, which lets users access websites and other resources by name instead of by IP address.

Linux - Bdiff

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bdiff – calculates and reports the differences between two files.

-s parameter for the output to be silent

Examples: bdiff testfile.txt testfile2.txt

bdiff testfile.txt testfile2.txt -s

Linux - BC

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bc – basic calculator for arbitrary precision mathematics.

-h parameter of help.

-i parameter for interactive mode.

Example: echo “20+10” | bc

Linux - Batch

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

batch – reads commands from standard input or a specified file and then executes them when the system load levels permit.

Example: batch testfile.txt

Note: the testfile.txt would have in it the commands to run. Also note that batch doesn’t have any parameters that can be utilized with its usage.

Linux - Bash

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

bash – GNU’s Not Unix! (GNU) Bourne shell which has built in file management commands and support for completion of commands and paths using the tab key on the keyboard.

Key Features of Bash:

Command Execution: Allows one to execute commands and scripts.

Scripting: Supports the writing of scripts to automate tasks.

Job Control: Manages the aspect of multiple tasks running in the background.

Command History: Keeps a history of commands executed, allowing one to recall and reuse them.

Tab Completion: Helps to complete file names and commands by using the tab key.

Linux - BaseOS

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

baseos – foundation for an installation which provides the core set of the underlying operating system functionality.

The baseos is a fundamental component in many Linux distributions.

Core Functionality: The baseos repository includes packages which are critical for basic operation of the system. This includes: kernel, system libraries, and essential utilities.

Linux - Base64

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

base64 – base64 utilized to encode/decode data and print it to standard output.

-d parameter is used to decode data.

-i parameter is used when decoding to ignore non-alphabet characters.

-w used to wrap encoded lines Utilize 0 to disable line wrapping (example: -w0).

Example: base64 testfile.txt > testencode.txt

Linux - Base32

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

base32 – base32 utilized to encode/decode data and then print it to standard output.

-d parameter is used to decode data

-i parameter is used when decoding to ignore non-alphabet characters

-w used to wrap encoded lines Utilize 0 to disable line wrapping (example: -w0)

Example: base32 testfile.txt > testencode.txt

Linux - Basename

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

basename – strip directory and suffix from filenames.

Example: basename /usr/local/bin/

Linux - Awk

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

awk – used for pattern matching, text processing and reporting.

The name Awk is derived from the last name initials of its designers: Alfred V. Aho, Peter J. Weinberger, and Brian W. Kernighan. The first version of Awk was written in 1977.

The syntax of awk is as such:

awk options 'selection_criteria { action }' input-file > output-file

Example: Using awk to show how to extract column 5 (the file size) from the output of ls -l.

ls –l | awk ‘{print $5}’

Note: notice that the output of the awk ‘{print $5}’ is the fifth column of the ls -l command

as shown for reference.

print is the command to print out output.

print $5 means print the fifth column.

Linux - Aspell

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

aspell  – spell checker which checks for misspellings and allows for changes to be made.

check – argument to spell check a single file.

Example: aspell check my_file.txt

Linux - Ar

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

ar – utilized to create, modify, and extract files from an archive.

-r parameter for creating an archive file.

Example: ar r archive_file_name.a *.txt

Linux - Aptitude

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

aptitude – utilized to view, upgrade, search and install software packages.

A powerful package management tool for Linux distributions.

Key Features of Aptitude:

Interactive Mode: Allows one to navigate through packages using a text-based interface.

Command-Line Mode: Similar to apt-get, one can perform package management tasks directly from the terminal.

Dependency Resolution: Aptitude uses a sophisticated dependency resolver that can handle complex package dependencies.

Linux Apt-Get

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

apt-get – ability to search for and install software packages.

Example: apt-get download linux

Used for managing software packages. Here are some of the high level apt-get commands:
apt-get update - updates the package list from the repositories.
apt-get upgrade - upgrades installed packages to their latest versions.
apt-get install <package_name> - installs a specified package.
apt-get remove <package_name> -  removes a specified package.
apt-get autoremove- removes packages that were automatically installed so dependencies for other packages are no longer needed.

Linux Apt Tool

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

apt tool – higher-level package manager for systems.

The tool simplifies the process of managing software packages by automating the retrieval, configuration, and installation of software packages from repositories.

Some of the high level APT commands:

apt update - updates the package list from the repositories.

apt upgrade - upgrades the installed packages to the latest versions.

apt install <package_name> - installs a specified package.

apt remove <package_name> - removes a specified package.

Linux - Apt-Cache

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

apt-cache – used to search for packages and package names which are located in the package cache.

-a parameter to display all information about packages.

-h parameter to show help via a short usage summary.

-i parameter to display only important dependencies.

search – argument which searches the title and description of a package.

showpkg - argument to display package information.

stats – argument to display statistics.

Example: apt-cache search open

Linux - Apropos

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

apropos – searches the help manual pages (man -k) for a command similar to what was entered. This can be utilized when one isn’t sure of the exact command name.

-e parameter for exact word.

-w parameter for wildcard.

-? parameter to show the help list.

Examples:  apropos compress

apropos -e grep

apropos -w grep

       

Linux - Appstream

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

appstream – a managed application streaming service. It is utilized to centrally manage desktop applications and securely deliver them to any computer.

Linux - Anacron

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

anacron – used to run commands periodically with the frequency defined in days, weeks and months. The default location where the file which hold these jobs is in /etc/anacrontab.

-d parameter runs jobs in foreground so they can be seen.

-f parameter to force jobs to execute.

-h parameter to print short usage message then exits.

-n parameter to run jobs now.

-V parameter to print version information then exits.

-T parameter used to test the syntax of the anacron command.

Example: anacron -d -f

Linux - Alias

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

alias – built-in command for creating a shortcut to a command on a system.

-p parameter prints all the alias on the system.

Example: alias ll='ls -l'

Linux - Agrep

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

agrep – a utility similar to grep which searches through a given pattern and outputs a near match.

-i parameter stands for ignore case.

-w parameter stands for match of whole words only.

Example: agrep -i -w 'KMO'

Linux - Agetty

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

agetty – program the same as the Unix getty short for get tty  which manages physical or virtual terminals and is summoned by init. Once a connection is detected, it opens a tty port, asks for a user’s login name and calls the /bin/login command.

-8 parameter to use 8-bit tty.

-t parameter stands for timeout based on the number of seconds given.

- parameter stands for that the input is already connected to a tty port.

linux argument for the TERM environment variable to be utilized.  

Example: agetty -8 -t 5 - linux

Linux AFIO

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

afio – archive file manipulation program. Afio manipulates groups of files, copying them within or between filesystems and an afio archive.

-i parameter stands for install the archive file by unpacking it.

-t parameter stands for list table-of-contents of archive.

-r parameter stands for verify archive against filesystem.

-p parameter stands for copy files.

-Z parameter stands for compress.

Example: afio -i -Z name_of_archive

Linux - Addgroup

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

addgroup – adds a group to the system based on the default configuration specified in the /etc/adduser.conf file.

Example: addgroup name_of_group

Linux - AddUser

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

adduser – adds a user to the system based on the default configuration specified in the /etc/adduser.conf file.

Example: adduser username

Linux - Access Permissions

The following is a Linux dictionary word of the day:

access permissions – a set of permissions associated with every file and directory that determine who can read it, write to it, or execute it.