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userub
February 11th, 2012, 02:16 PM
I've been using Ubuntu for about two years. I switched from Windows Vista because it was faster. However, I've had a lot of frustrations with it.

It seems from reading through message boards that people like to use Ubuntu for creating scripts. I don't know how to do that. I can barely understand how to use the Terminal. I only know some basic commands like 'cd' and 'ls'.

What do people do with the Terminal? For me, it's harder to navigate with the Terminal than it is with the GUI. I have to type out 'ls' after the 'cd' command just to see where I'm going. And then I have to copy the folder name if it has a lot of characters. I don't know how to do it any other way.

I've tried to learn more, but I'm at a loss as to where to begin.

mips
February 11th, 2012, 03:07 PM
You don't have to use the terminal. Why do you wan't to use it?
Ubuntu is actually going the way of the tablet/smart phone interface to 'dumb it down' for the masses that are already familiar with these interfaces.

Anyway, here is a free book for you http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1917688

infectedorganism
February 11th, 2012, 03:23 PM
I understand your frustration. I have used Ubuntu on and off for about a year and I still struggle with certain things. My advice: whenever you run into a problem or come upon a question, google it. Instead of the initial frustration, try and learn about how to solve or answer the question you have. That may not be what you want to hear, but consider how much time you have spent in the Windows environment. How long did it take you to learn all of that stuff? In my opinion, it is all relative. We will eventually learn the ins and outs of Ubuntu and Linux, it will just take some time; just as it took some time to learn Windows.

Linuxratty
February 11th, 2012, 03:57 PM
I don't use the terminal on my own. If I ever need to,I have someone from Linuxinternationals help me. I don't have any frustrations with Ubuntu and have used Linux for years..The only problematic distro I ever used was the buggy and now gone Klikit.

Version Dependency
February 11th, 2012, 04:05 PM
Here is a website some of you may be interested in: http://playterm.org/

It is a website consisting of recordings of terminal sessions. For those wishing to help others, you can record your own terminal sessions rather easily (using ttyrec (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ttyrec)), and upload them to the playterm site...or place them on your own website/blog.

wolfen69
February 11th, 2012, 04:13 PM
I've never created a script, and only use the terminal because I want to, not because I have to. And if someone gives you a terminal command during the course of getting help, it's because it's easier than saying: "go here, click that, look for this, open this tab, etc...

Plus, you don't need to memorize anything, just copy and paste. :)

philinux
February 11th, 2012, 04:43 PM
I've been using Ubuntu for about two years. I switched from Windows Vista because it was faster. However, I've had a lot of frustrations with it.

It seems from reading through message boards that people like to use Ubuntu for creating scripts. I don't know how to do that. I can barely understand how to use the Terminal. I only know some basic commands like 'cd' and 'ls'.

What do people do with the Terminal? For me, it's harder to navigate with the Terminal than it is with the GUI. I have to type out 'ls' after the 'cd' command just to see where I'm going. And then I have to copy the folder name if it has a lot of characters. I don't know how to do it any other way.

I've tried to learn more, but I'm at a loss as to where to begin.

I use the cli now and then as it can be quicker. I use the odd script as again it can be quick. As with all things its down to personal choice. If u want to know more about the cli then see this sticky from the beginners forum. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1909108

bryanl
February 11th, 2012, 05:12 PM
I'm at a loss as to where to begin.

to know where to begin, you have to know where you want to go.

The terminal in Linux is much like that in Windows. Scripts or batch files: same thing in essence. The commands and syntax may be different but the destination is style are the same.

What Ubuntu provides more than anything else is choices and options that are easier to find, easier to install, and easier to 'play' with. That is why the software center gets so much attention from Canonical.

If you can figure out what you want to do, then you can start to figure out how you want to do it.

Learning Linux 2011
February 11th, 2012, 05:16 PM
I recently discovered LinuxCommand.org (http://LinuxCommand.org)
It tells you how to write scripts from the very beginning.
It also covers alot of the basic commands for the terminal.

Linuxratty
February 11th, 2012, 05:50 PM
. And if someone gives you a terminal command during the course of getting help, it's because it's easier than saying: "go here, click that, look for this, open this tab, etc...

Plus, you don't need to memorize anything, just copy and paste. :)

This is true.
What I'd really like to see is a game made where one learns to use the terminal and even to write scripts...Doubt it will ever happen throughput.

Pogeymanz
February 11th, 2012, 07:08 PM
Never type out a whole filename if it's more than a few letters. Just type the first few letters and hit TAB. Hitting TAB twice gives you a list of all files/directories starting with the letters you typed.

;-)

screaminj3sus
February 12th, 2012, 01:06 AM
You don't have to use the terminal to create a script. You can just use gedit...

userub
February 12th, 2012, 01:31 PM
What is the purpose of writing scripts in Ubuntu?

I would like to learn how, but as I've said, I'm at a total loss.

For instance, for a couple of days I've been trying to find a good batch rename program for Ubuntu. GPrename doesn't work the way I want, and I don't understand how to use the Rename function in the Terminal (I've read many guides on the subject, but those tend to feature the code without explaining how the code works, so I don't know how to customize it for the situation I want). I installed Thunar, then found out it also installed xfce which slowed down the computer.

That's what I mean by frustration. People seem to know how to do this so easily and I can't figure out even the basics of it.

winh8r
February 12th, 2012, 02:09 PM
I recently discovered LinuxCommand.org (http://LinuxCommand.org)
It tells you how to write scripts from the very beginning.
It also covers alot of the basic commands for the terminal.

I discovered that resource a few years ago and also found it to be very straightforward and easy to understand.

One tip when using the terminal is to try and use it at least once a day, even if it is only to restart your machine or start firefox.As you become more familiar with it write down the commands that you use often and write a short description of what the command does, in your own words, that way when you need help remembering what command you need to use, the information is there in language you can understand!

Also, using the "UP" arrow key on your keyboard at the terminal will go back through the most recently issued commands and will save a lot of typing and checking.

dragonfly41
February 12th, 2012, 02:42 PM
I find CLI Companion to be useful as a repository of commands.

Erik1984
February 12th, 2012, 03:51 PM
Don' t write scripts for the sake of writing scripts. First think what you want to achieve then how to do it. For example: suppose you want to backup your important files at regular intervals. This is something you could write a script for but there are also GUI tools like DejaDup to do it for you. My point is that often a script is not the only available solution. It can be a handy tool to do some tasks.

ikt
February 12th, 2012, 03:59 PM
That's what I mean by frustration. People seem to know how to do this so easily and I can't figure out even the basics of it.

Mass renaming files isn't exactly basic, just googling around it looks like you'd need to have a basic knowledge of regular expressions, which isn't just a command or two it has a whole theory behind it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_expression



I've tried to learn more, but I'm at a loss as to where to begin.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1909108

And just open the terminal and use it all the time.

ls, cd, vi, ssh, grep, cat, mv, rm.

Use Irssi as your IRC client, setup ssh on another computer and ssh into it, try and find files, edit them, etc

Also don't update using the update-manager, go into terminal

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

so much better mmm scrolling lines of text

Compile a few programs and you're pretty much set.

oldos2er
February 12th, 2012, 09:10 PM
I agree with wolfen69; I've never written a script, but I always have at least one terminal window open, and I use it all the time. Copy and paste commands, and once they are in your history (~/.bash_history, or type history into your terminal) it's fairly easy to retrieve them.

I use a few aliases to simplify things a bit; for example it's easier to type just i instead of sudo -i, etc.

http://www.catonmat.net/download/bash-history-cheat-sheet.pdf

http://www.thegeekstuff.com/tag/bash_aliases/

neu5eeCh
February 12th, 2012, 09:27 PM
You don't have to use the terminal. Why do you wan't to use it?
Ubuntu is actually going the way of the tablet/smart phone interface to 'dumb it down' for the masses...

I've heard this phrase a lot, or should I call it spin? I personally like using the terminal because of its profound appeal to my inner geek, but to say that an OS is being 'dumbed down' because programmers are taking advantage of what computers do best, simplifying complex tasks, is a characterization I take issue with. There's no reason to be proud of an OS that doesn't automate or simplify complex tasks. It's what computers are for. I remember this attitude in the Linux community in the early aughts. I always considered it defensive BS - a sort of reverse snobbery. As far as I'm concerned, the best OS allows users to interact with it at any level they choose - Linux's simplified and easier to use interface is a good thing. For the rest of us, there's the terminal -- because we just look so freakin' impressive when we use it. Those capabilities are far beyond Windows, but it also needs to be as easy to use and configure as windows.

keithpeter
February 12th, 2012, 10:01 PM
As far as I'm concerned, the best OS allows users to interact with it at any level they choose - Linux's simplified and easier to use interface is a good thing.

Hello VTPoet and all

Linux = Choice and Openness

I was attracted to GNU/Linux after playing with the terminal application in Mac OS some years ago. Pipe-lining commands, and a bit of Grep. I can get stuff done easily and automate things, like updating a Web site (http://sohcahtoa.org.uk/pages/publish-a-web-site-with-bash-scripts.html).

Most of my time is in GUI applications however.

drawkcab
February 12th, 2012, 10:17 PM
I don't mess around with in the terminal much but, let's face it, the cli is a powerful tool. I've taught myself bit by bit as I've needed to get something or other done that I couldn't accomplish through gui.

My guess is that you could install a second, testing partition in which you could begin experimenting and teaching yourself those aspects of the cli that are especially useful.

Codeyear does a program where you can learn basic aspects of java, etc. by completing one lesson/wk. It would be interesting to have similar structured lessons for noobs and dabblers in ubuntu's cli.

Arthur_D
February 13th, 2012, 04:45 AM
I'm using the terminal quite a bit for compiling and testing unreleased software (I'm part of a project), and I've written some bash scripts to simplify tasks. However, there's a lot of stuff I can't do, but with the little knowledge I have I've found I can save massive amounts of time and frustration.

Batch renaming is something also I would love a simple way of doing. I don't know one myself, and I am no good at regular expressions (too advanced for my puny mind).

Gremlinzzz
February 13th, 2012, 04:30 PM
Just use it,you'll learn from your mistakes,can't learn a musical instrument without hitting some sour notes.
u don't have too be smart to run the terminal just interested:popcorn:

SFBrother
February 13th, 2012, 05:27 PM
For me it is weird. When I want to open up the software center. I can't just click on it, because when I do, it just goes blank. I have to open up the terminal, and command it to open. sudo apt-get software center.
Then it will open up. Sure it is kind of confusing. But I am new to it, and so far it has been good.

lykwydchykyn
February 13th, 2012, 05:41 PM
I write scripts when I have some specific, off-the-beaten-path functionality that I need from time to time.

For instance, I have a series of scripts for converting video for my kids' portable media players. I have a script on my laptop that activates the external monitor and launches a web browser to a web presentation application that I often use on my television.

On another OS, I'd be hunting down some kind of shareware app, oem application, or doing a whole lot of tedious, repetitive clicking around to accomplish this stuff.