Chapter 6: Directory Commands

DIR

A Windows command that displays a list of files and subdirectories in the current directory.

COPY

A Windows command used to duplicate files from one disk or directory to another.

ERASE

A Windows command used to permanently remove a file or folder.

DEL

A Windows command used to permanently remove a file. The file remains stored and is recoverable until the system reuses the storage space taken by the file.

wildcard character

A character you can use in a command to represent one or more unknown characters. Wildcards are useful, for example, to specify multiple filenames.

command-line interface (CLI)

A form of interface in which the user types commands using a special command language.

command prompt

A line area within the command window, usually indicated by a blinking cursor, where you type Windows or Linux commands.

XCOPY

A more powerful version of the Windows COPY command, with additional features.

standardized channel

A path or link through which information passes between two devices.

relative path

A path that is implied by the current working directory. If a user enters a command that refers to a file and the full path name is not entered, the current working directory becomes the path of the file to which the user referred.

absolute path

A path to a file that begins with the drive identifier and root directory or with a network share and ends with the complete filename.

long filename

A plain text name assigned to a file that can be 200 characters or more; it can include uppercase and lowercase letters as well as spaces.

command-line interpreter

A program that accepts typed commands from the keyboard and performs tasks as directed. The command-line interpreter, which is usually part of the operating system, is responsible for loading applications and directing the flow of information between them.

working directory

Another term for current directory.

white space

Blank areas of a page or window that contribute to its balance and visual appeal.

mkdir

The Linux command that creates a directory or subdirectory in the current directory of a folder.

ls

The Linux command that displays a list of files and subdirectories in the current directory or the directory specified in the command.

cp

The Linux command used to copy files, similar to the COPY command in Windows.

sort

The Linux command used to organize files in a particular order. Files can be organized in ascending or descending alphabetized order.

rmdir

The Linux command used to remove a directory. All folders need to be removed from the directory before it can be removed.

mv

The Linux command used to transfer a file or folder from one directory to another; similar to the MOVE command used in Windows.

RD

The Windows command to remove a directory.

REN

The Windows command to rename a file.

MOVE

The Windows command used to transfer a file or folder from one directory to another.

CD

The command that changes the current directory. The command must be lowercase in Linux or UNIX.

TREE

The command used in Windows to produce a graphical view of files in a directory or subdirectories.

home

The conventional starting directory for all regular users in CentOS 7.

current directory

The disk directory at the end of the active directory path; it is the directory that is searched first for a requested file, and the directory in which a new file is stored unless another directory is specified.

pipe symbol

The vertical line symbol (|) that appears on a virtual machine keyboard as the shift character on the backslash key (\). This symbol is used in Windows and Linux to transfer the output of one command to the input of a second command.

mount

To make a physical disk accessible to a computer's file system.

unmount

To remove a disk or device from active use.