Be Shell Command Descriptions

• awk-- the GNU awk text processing/filtering tool
• bash-- the GNU bash (Bourne-Again) shell
• basename-- print only the trailing filename component of a path
• bc-- an arbitrary precision calculator using standard notation
• bison-- a YACC compatible parser generator
• cat-- print a file to stdout
• chmod-- change the permissions of a file
• ci-- the RCS source control system check-in utility
• cksum-- print the POSIX.2 check sum for a file
• co-- the RCS source control system check-out utility
• comm-- print common lines in two files
• compress-- standard Unix style compress (use "compress -d" to decompress)
• cp-- copy a set of files/directories
• csplit-- split a file into sections determined by context lines
• cut-- print only specified columns from the input
• dc-- an arbitrary precision calculator using RPN notation
• dd-- data dumper, copies and converts data
• diff-- compare two text files and print the differences
• diff3-- compare an original file and two descendants for differences
• dirname-- print only the directory component of a path
• du-- disk usage reporting utility
• echo-- echo the command line arguments
• egrep-- search for enhanced regular expression patterns in text files
• env-- print out all environment variables
• expand-- expand tabs into spaces
• expr-- print the result of the math expression on the command line
• false-- exit with a bad return code
• fgrep-- search for fixed patterns in text files
• flex-- a lex compatible lexical analyzer generator
• fmt-- format input text
• fold-- wrap long lines past a specified line length
• grep-- search for regular expression patterns in text files
• groups-- print the group-ids you are a part of
• gunzip-- uncompress a ".Z" or ".gz" file
• gzip-- compress a file (produces a ".gz" file)
• head-- print the first N lines of a file
• id-- print the current user-id and group-id
• ident-- identify RCS keyword strings in files
• install-- copy a file and install it with proper permissions
• join-- join lines of two files on a common field
• less-- paginate output so that it is printed one screenful at a time
• lesskey-- configuration program to specify key bindings for less
• logname-- print the login name of the current user
• ls-- list the contents of a directory
• mtools-- an introduction to the MS-DOS filesystem utilities
• mattrib-- MS-DOS "attrib" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mcd-- MS-DOS "cd" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mcopy-- MS-DOS "copy" command (works with the floppy drive)
• md5sum-- print a very robust check-sum
• mdel-- MS-DOS "del" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mdir-- MS-DOS "dir" command (works with the floppy drive)
• merge-- merge three files (original and two descendants) into one file
• mformat-- MS-DOS "format" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mkdir-- make a new directory
• mkmanifest-- create a shell script to restore Unix filenames
• mlabel-- MS-DOS "label" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mmd-- MS-DOS "md" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mrd-- MS-DOS "rd" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mread-- low-level copy from an MS-DOS filesystem
• mren-- MS-DOS "ren" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mtype-- MS-DOS "type" command (works with the floppy drive)
• mv-- move a file/directory to a new location
• mwrite-- low-level copy to an MS-DOS filesystem
• nl-- number the lines in the input
• od-- print an octal dump
• paste-- merge lines of files
• pathchk-- check whether file names are valid or portable
• pr-- convert text files for printing
• printenv-- print out all environment variables
• printf-- print a formatted string
• pwd-- print the current working directory
• rcsintro-- an introduction to the RCS source control utilities
• rcs-- change RCS file attributes
• rcsclean-- clean up working RCS files
• rcsdiff-- diff a file with a version in the RCS history
• rcsmerge-- merge RCS revisions
• rlog-- print the check-in log for a file
• rm-- remove a file/directory
• rmdir-- remove a directory if it is empty
• sdiff-- find differences between two files and merge interactively
• shar-- build a shell archive file
• sleep-- sleep for the specified number of seconds
• sort-- sort the input
• split-- split a file into multiple pieces
• stty-- set terminal characteristics/features
• sum-- print a unix compatible check-sum for a file
• tac-- print the input reversed, from last line to first
• tail-- print the last few lines of a file
• tee-- a pipeline tee, output both to stdout and a file
• test-- test the validity of an expression (file existence, etc)
• touch-- update the modification time of a file
• tr-- trans-literate input characters
• true-- always return a successful return value
• tty-- print the name of the tty device representing stdin/stdout
• uname-- print information about the underlying system
• unexpand-- convert spaces to tabs
• uniq-- print the unique lines of the file
• unshar-- extract a shell archive file
• uudecode-- decode a uuencoded file
• uuencode-- encode a file into the uuencode format
• wc-- print the number of words, lines and bytes in a file
• yes-- print "y" on the output forever
• zcat-- print a compress (".Z" or ".gz") file to standard output