Boston Python Workshop 6/Friday/OSX terminal navigation: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 20:26, 17 March 2012 (view source) imported>Jesstess (Created page with "There are three commands that we'll be using at a command prompt to navigate the filesystem on your computer: * <code>ls</code> * <code>pwd</code> * <code>cd</code> <code>ls<...")		Latest revision as of 22:34, 29 March 2012 (view source) imported>Jesstess No edit summary
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Line 1: __NOTOC__ The filesystem on your computer is like a tree made up of folders (also called "directories") and files. The filesystem has a root directory called <tt>/</tt>, and everything on your computer lives in subdirectories of this root directory. We often navigate the filesystem graphically by clicking on graphical folders. We can do the exact same navigation from the command line. There are three commands that we'll be using at a command prompt to navigate the filesystem on your computer: * <code>ls</code> Line 16 ⟶ 22: ===Practice using <code>ls</code>, <code>pwd</code>, and <code>cd</code>=== (that's an l the letter, not the number 1) Before you practice these commands, let's make sure you are really at a terminal prompt. Recall that a terminal prompt will look like <code>jesstess$</code> and a Python prompt will look like <code>>>></code>. Make sure you are at a terminal prompt and not a Python prompt; if you are at a Python prompt, you can type <code>exit()</code> on a line by itself and then hit enter to exit Python and return to a terminal prompt. Great! Type each of these commands and hit enter: Line 64 ⟶ 68: This lists the contents of the root directory, confirming where you are. ===Tips=== ~~<br />~~ * You can use Tab to auto-complete directory and file names. So from inside the root directory <tt>/</tt>, if you type <code>cd UUs</code> and hit Tab, the command prompt will auto-complete the directory name, asand ~~much~~you ascan itthen ~~can~~hit enter to change into the <code>/Users</code> directory. * The command prompt maintains a command history. You can use the up arrow to cycle through old commands. ===Check your understanding=== Answer these questions. Experiment at the command line if you need to! If you aren't sure about an answer, ask a helper. # What directory are you in after starting a new command line prompt? # After starting a new command line prompt, how would you get to the root directory? # How do you check what files and directories are in your current working directory? # If you are in directory <tt>/Users</tt>, and you want to get to <tt>/Users/jesstess/projects</tt>, how would you do that? # What are 2 ways to avoid typing out a full navigation command? (hint: one requires that you've run the command before) # What is the difference between a command prompt and a Python prompt? ===Success!===