Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal (2015)

Mac OS X Command Line Quick Start

This book is mostly linear—later sections tend to build on earlier sections. For that reason, I strongly recommend starting from the beginning and working through the book in order (perhaps skimming lightly over any sections that explain already familiar concepts). You can use the items in the final chapter, Command-Line Recipes, at any time, but they’ll make more sense if you understand all the basics presented earlier in the book.

Find your bearings:

· Learn about the command line and its terminology; see Understand Basic Command-Line Concepts.

· Become familiar with the most common tool for accessing the command line; see Get to Know (and Customize) Terminal.

· Navigate using the command line; see Look Around.

Learn basic skills:

· Create, delete, and modify files and directories; see Work with Files and Directories.

· Run or stop programs and scripts; see Work with Programs.

· Make your command-line environment work more efficiently; see Customize Your Profile.

Go beyond the Terminal window:

· Integrate the command line and Mac OS X’s graphical interface; see Bring the Command Line into the Real World.

· Use the command line to control another Mac; see Log In to Another Computer.

Earn your propeller beanie:

· Learn about users, groups, permissions, and the infamous sudo command; see Work with Permissions.

· Learn Advanced Techniques such as piping and redirecting data, using the grep search tool, and adding logic to your shell scripts.

· Go beyond what’s built into Mac OS X by downloading third-party command-line programs; see Install New Software.

Put your skills into practice:

· Do cool (and practical) stuff on the command line; see Command-Line Recipes.