Table des matières

Last updated on: 2020/01/30 03:28

Basic Shell Commands and Text Manipulation Tools

To do - You are currently the root user in your terminal. Before proceeding further, type exit and hit the ↵ Enter key.

Use of Basic Shell Commands

The stty Command

Using this command with the -a switch allows you to identify which combination of keys should be used to control a foreground process:

trainee@debian8:~$ stty -a
speed 38400 baud; rows 23; columns 80; line = 0;
intr = ^C; quit = ^\; erase = ^?; kill = ^U; eof = ^D; eol = <undef>;
eol2 = <undef>; swtch = <undef>; start = ^Q; stop = ^S; susp = ^Z; rprnt = ^R;
werase = ^W; lnext = ^V; flush = ^O; min = 1; time = 0;
-parenb -parodd -cmspar cs8 -hupcl -cstopb cread -clocal -crtscts
-ignbrk -brkint -ignpar -parmrk -inpck -istrip -inlcr -igncr icrnl ixon -ixoff
-iuclc -ixany -imaxbel -iutf8
opost -olcuc -ocrnl onlcr -onocr -onlret -ofill -ofdel nl0 cr0 tab0 bs0 vt0 ff0
isig icanon iexten echo echoe echok -echonl -noflsh -xcase -tostop -echoprt
echoctl echoke
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ stty -a
speed 38400 baud; rows 26; columns 80; line = 0;
intr = ^C; quit = ^\; erase = ^?; kill = ^U; eof = ^D; eol = <undef>;
eol2 = <undef>; swtch = <undef>; start = ^Q; stop = ^S; susp = ^Z; rprnt = ^R;
werase = ^W; lnext = ^V; discard = ^O; min = 1; time = 0;
-parenb -parodd -cmspar cs8 -hupcl -cstopb cread -clocal -crtscts
-ignbrk -brkint -ignpar -parmrk -inpck -istrip -inlcr -igncr icrnl ixon -ixoff
-iuclc -ixany -imaxbel -iutf8
opost -olcuc -ocrnl onlcr -onocr -onlret -ofill -ofdel nl0 cr0 tab0 bs0 vt0 ff0
isig icanon iexten echo echoe echok -echonl -noflsh -xcase -tostop -echoprt
echoctl echoke -flusho -extproc
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ stty -a
speed 38400 baud; rows 26; columns 80; line = 0;
intr = ^C; quit = ^\; erase = ^?; kill = ^U; eof = ^D; eol = <undef>;
eol2 = <undef>; swtch = <undef>; start = ^Q; stop = ^S; susp = ^Z; rprnt = ^R;
werase = ^W; lnext = ^V; flush = ^O; min = 1; time = 0;
-parenb -parodd -cmspar cs8 -hupcl -cstopb cread -clocal -crtscts
-ignbrk -brkint -ignpar -parmrk -inpck -istrip -inlcr -igncr icrnl ixon -ixoff
-iuclc -ixany -imaxbel -iutf8
opost -olcuc -ocrnl onlcr -onocr -onlret -ofill -ofdel nl0 cr0 tab0 bs0 vt0 ff0
isig icanon iexten echo echoe echok -echonl -noflsh -xcase -tostop -echoprt
echoctl echoke
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> stty -a
speed 38400 baud; rows 24; columns 80; line = 0;
intr = ^C; quit = ^\; erase = ^?; kill = ^U; eof = ^D; eol = <undef>;
eol2 = <undef>; swtch = <undef>; start = ^Q; stop = ^S; susp = ^Z; rprnt = ^R;
werase = ^W; lnext = ^V; flush = ^O; min = 1; time = 0;
-parenb -parodd -cmspar cs8 -hupcl -cstopb cread -clocal -crtscts
-ignbrk -brkint -ignpar -parmrk -inpck -istrip -inlcr -igncr icrnl ixon -ixoff
-iuclc -ixany -imaxbel -iutf8
opost -olcuc -ocrnl onlcr -onocr -onlret -ofill -ofdel nl0 cr0 tab0 bs0 vt0 ff0
isig icanon iexten echo echoe echok -echonl -noflsh -xcase -tostop -echoprt
echoctl echoke

The two most important combinations are intr = ^C and susp = ^Z. The former kills the process whilst the latter suspends its execution.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the stty command to view the command line switches.

The date command

This command's output gives the current system date and time. The command can also be used to set the system date:

trainee@debian8:~$ date
Fri 19 Aug 04:44:26 BST 2016
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ date
Fri 30 Sep 15:19:21 CEST 2016
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ date
Thu 29 Sep 04:53:58 CEST 2016
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> date
Fri 30 Sep 15:19:54 CEST 2016

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the date command to view the command line switches.

The who Command

This command's output shows who is currently connected to the system:

trainee@debian8:~$ who
trainee  pts/0        2016-08-18 23:33 (10.0.2.2)
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ who
trainee  pts/0        2016-09-29 20:36 (10.0.2.2)
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ who
trainee  pts/0        2016-09-28 23:29 (gateway)
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> who
trainee  pts/0        2016-09-30 10:24 (10.0.2.2)

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the who command to view the command line switches.

The df Command

This command's output shows the free space on each mounted block device:

trainee@debian8:~$ df
Filesystem     1K-blocks    Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1        9947060 3386724   6031956  36% /
udev               10240       0     10240   0% /dev
tmpfs             101256    4796     96460   5% /run
tmpfs             253132       0    253132   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs               5120       4      5116   1% /run/lock
tmpfs             253132       0    253132   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
tmpfs              50628       0     50628   0% /run/user/1000
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ df
Filesystem     1K-blocks    Used Available Use% Mounted on
udev              230832       0    230832   0% /dev
tmpfs              50028    2864     47164   6% /run
/dev/sda1        9480420 4269160   4706636  48% /
tmpfs             250124       0    250124   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs               5120       4      5116   1% /run/lock
tmpfs             250124       0    250124   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
tmpfs              50028       0     50028   0% /run/user/1000
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ df
Filesystem     1K-blocks    Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2       10229760 4274948   5954812  42% /
devtmpfs          236036       0    236036   0% /dev
tmpfs             250388       0    250388   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs             250388    4716    245672   2% /run
tmpfs             250388       0    250388   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
tmpfs             250388      72    250316   1% /tmp
/dev/sda1         201388  201368        20 100% /boot
tmpfs              50080       0     50080   0% /run/user/1000
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> df
Filesystem     1K-blocks    Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /
devtmpfs          188376       0    188376   0% /dev
tmpfs             197260       0    197260   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs             197260    5716    191544   3% /run
tmpfs             197260       0    197260   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /.snapshots
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/lib/mariadb
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/lib/libvirt/images
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/lib/mailman
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/tmp
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/lib/pgsql
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /usr/local
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /tmp
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/spool
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /srv
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/opt
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /opt
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/log
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/lib/mysql
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /home
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/crash
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /var/lib/named
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /boot/grub2/x86_64-efi
/dev/sda2       18867200 3510848  15185952  19% /boot/grub2/i386-pc

The units are shown as blocks. In order to humanize the output, it is possible to use the -h switch (also known as a parameter, option or flag):

trainee@debian8:~$ df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1       9.5G  3.3G  5.8G  36% /
udev             10M     0   10M   0% /dev
tmpfs            99M  4.7M   95M   5% /run
tmpfs           248M     0  248M   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs           5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
tmpfs           248M     0  248M   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
tmpfs            50M     0   50M   0% /run/user/1000
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev            226M     0  226M   0% /dev
tmpfs            49M  2.8M   47M   6% /run
/dev/sda1       9.1G  4.1G  4.5G  48% /
tmpfs           245M     0  245M   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs           5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
tmpfs           245M     0  245M   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
tmpfs            49M     0   49M   0% /run/user/1000
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2       9.8G  4.1G  5.7G  42% /
devtmpfs        231M     0  231M   0% /dev
tmpfs           245M     0  245M   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs           245M  4.7M  240M   2% /run
tmpfs           245M     0  245M   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
tmpfs           245M   72K  245M   1% /tmp
/dev/sda1       197M  197M   20K 100% /boot
tmpfs            49M     0   49M   0% /run/user/1000
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /
devtmpfs        184M     0  184M   0% /dev
tmpfs           193M     0  193M   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs           193M  5.6M  188M   3% /run
tmpfs           193M     0  193M   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /.snapshots
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/lib/mariadb
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/lib/libvirt/images
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/lib/mailman
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/tmp
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/lib/pgsql
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /usr/local
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /tmp
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/spool
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /srv
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/opt
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /opt
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/log
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/lib/mysql
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /home
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/crash
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /var/lib/named
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /boot/grub2/x86_64-efi
/dev/sda2        18G  3.4G   15G  19% /boot/grub2/i386-pc

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the df command to view the command line switches.

The free Command

This command's output shows the memory usage:

trainee@debian8:~$ free
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:        506268     499724       6544       3048     125976     121412
-/+ buffers/cache:     252336     253932
Swap:      2046972       1756    2045216
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ free
              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:         500252       88116        8820        1460      403316      387464
Swap:       1997820       10604     1987216
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ free
              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:         500780      192460       11580        3356      296740      245128
Swap:       2096124        3852     2092272
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> free
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:        394524     385872       8652       5120        452     296176
-/+ buffers/cache:      89244     305280
Swap:      2103292        600    2102692

The units are shown as blocks. In order to humanize the output, it is possible to use the -h switch:

trainee@debian8:~$ free -h
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:          494M       488M       6.3M       3.0M       123M       118M
-/+ buffers/cache:       246M       247M
Swap:         2.0G       1.7M       2.0G
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ free -h
              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           488M         86M        8.5M        1.4M        393M        378M
Swap:          1.9G         10M        1.9G
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ free -h
              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           489M        188M         11M        3.3M        289M        239M
Swap:          2.0G        3.8M        2.0G
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> free -h
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:          385M       376M       8.4M       5.0M       452K       289M
-/+ buffers/cache:        87M       298M
Swap:         2.0G       600K       2.0G

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the free command to view the command line switches.

The whoami Command

This command's output indicates the user name associated with the current effective user ID:

trainee@debian8:~$ whoami
trainee
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ whoami
trainee
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ whoami
trainee
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> whoami
trainee

Now become the system administrator root:

trainee@debian8:~$ su -
Password: fenestros
root@debian8:~#
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ sudo su -
[sudo] password for trainee: trainee
root@ubuntu1604:~# 
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ su -
Password: fenestros
Last login: Wed Sep 28 12:08:28 CEST 2016 on pts/0
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> su -
Password: fenestros
SLES12SP1:~ # 

Important : Note that the password will not be visible.

Now use the whoami command again:

root@debian8:~# whoami
root
root@debian8:~#  
root@ubuntu1604:~# whoami
root
root@ubuntu1604:~#
[root@centos7 ~]# whoami
root
[root@centos7 ~]# 
SLES12SP1:~ # whoami
root
SLES12SP1:~ #  

Important : Note the current effective user ID is root.

Finally execute the exit command to return as trainee:

root@debian8:~# exit
logout
trainee@debian8:~
root@ubuntu1604:~# exit
logout
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ 
[root@centos7 ~]# exit
logout
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ 
SLES12SP1:~ # exit
logout
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> 

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the whoami command to view the command line switches.

The pwd Command

This command's output shows the current working directory:

trainee@debian8:~$ pwd
/home/trainee
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ pwd
/home/trainee
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ pwd
/home/trainee
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> pwd
/home/trainee

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the help command with pwd option to view the command line switches.

The cd Command

This command's output changes the current working directory to that specified by the argument:

trainee@debian8:~$ cd /tmp
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ pwd
/tmp
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ 
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ cd /tmp
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ pwd
/tmp
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$  
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ cd /tmp
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ pwd
/tmp
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ 
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> cd /tmp
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> pwd
/tmp
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> 

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the help command with cd option to view the command line switches.

The ls Command

This commands output lists information about the files in directory specified as an argument. If no argument is specified, the output lists the files in the current working directory:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ ls
hsperfdata_root  inode  pulse-PKdhtXMmr18n
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ ls
hsperfdata_root
inode
systemd-private-cd33d40e1d3a4e08a9cde3de3603311e-systemd-timesyncd.service-bxC1MJ
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ ls
hsperfdata_root  inode  systemd-private-45071248a58f4fd2a4de940a5734c8ec-cups.service-ODc5L6
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> ls
hsperfdata_root
inode
managera1411267841657715235client
managera3336001029897679475server
managera4847938942232964844client
managera5050357016347721452server
systemd-private-04f820fa26c745be8ddba814c6292f21-rtkit-daemon.service-o4lKP5
systemicontmp5578677472245134133dat
systemicontmp7082392205020802884dat

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the ls command to view the command line switches.

The lsof Command

This command's output shows information about open files:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ su -
Password: fenestros
root@debian8:~# lsof | more
COMMAND     PID   TID        USER   FD      TYPE             DEVICE SIZE/OFF       NODE NAME
systemd       1              root  cwd       DIR                8,1     4096          2 /
systemd       1              root  rtd       DIR                8,1     4096          2 /
systemd       1              root  txt       REG                8,1  1309064      26423 /lib/systemd/systemd
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1    18640      26081 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libattr.so.1.1.0
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1    14664      26064 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdl-2.19.so
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1   448440      26091 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpcre.so.3.13.1
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1    31784      26076 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/librt-2.19.so
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1    92888      26135 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libkmod.so.2.2.8
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1    19016      26113 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcap.so.2.24
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1   113024      26093 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libaudit.so.1.0.0
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1    64024      26096 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpam.so.0.83.1
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1   142728      26137 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libselinux.so.1
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1  1738176      26061 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc-2.19.so
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1   137440      26041 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread-2.19.so
systemd       1              root  mem       REG                8,1   140928      26058 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ld-2.19.so
systemd       1              root    0u      CHR                1,3      0t0       5593 /dev/null
systemd       1              root    1u      CHR                1,3      0t0       5593 /dev/null
systemd       1              root    2u      CHR                1,3      0t0       5593 /dev/null
systemd       1              root    3w      CHR               1,11      0t0       5599 /dev/kmsg
systemd       1              root    4u     0000                0,9        0       5589 anon_inode
systemd       1              root    5u     0000                0,9        0       5589 anon_inode
systemd       1              root    6r      DIR               0,20        0          1 /sys/fs/cgroup/systemd
--More--
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ sudo su -
[sudo] password for trainee: trainee
root@ubuntu1604:~# lsof | more
COMMAND     PID   TID             USER   FD      TYPE             DEVICE SIZE/OFF       NODE NAME
systemd       1                   root  cwd       DIR                8,1     4096          2 /
systemd       1                   root  rtd       DIR                8,1     4096          2 /
systemd       1                   root  txt       REG                8,1  1577232     325621 /lib/systemd/systemd
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1    18976     266610 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libuuid.so.1.3.0
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1   262408     266418 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libblkid.so.1.1.0
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1    14608     266450 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdl-2.23.so
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1   456632     266555 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpcre.so.3.13.2
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1  1864888     266426 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc-2.23.so
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1   138744     266572 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread-2.23.so
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1   286824     266502 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libmount.so.1.1.0
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1    64144     266408 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libapparmor.so.1.4.0
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1    92864     266489 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libkmod.so.2.3.0
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1   117288     266416 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libaudit.so.1.0.0
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1    55904     266542 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpam.so.0.83.1
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1   252152     266583 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libseccomp.so.2.2.3
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1    31712     266580 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/librt-2.23.so
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1    23128     266429 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcap.so.2.24
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1   130224     266584 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libselinux.so.1
systemd       1                   root  mem       REG                8,1   162632     266398 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ld-2.23.so
systemd       1                   root    0u      CHR                1,3      0t0          6 /dev/null
systemd       1                   root    1u      CHR                1,3      0t0          6 /dev/null
systemd       1                   root    2u      CHR                1,3      0t0          6 /dev/null
--More--
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ su -
Password: fenestros
Last login: Thu Sep 29 06:24:28 CEST 2016 on pts/0
[root@centos7 ~]# lsof | more
COMMAND     PID   TID           USER   FD      TYPE             DEVICE  SIZE/OFF       NODE NAME
systemd       1                 root  cwd       DIR                8,2      4096        128 /
systemd       1                 root  rtd       DIR                8,2      4096        128 /
systemd       1                 root  txt       REG                8,2   1494056   33607555 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     20032   17241167 /usr/lib64/libuuid.so.1.3.0
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2    252696   20114965 /usr/lib64/libblkid.so.1.1.0
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     90632   18751025 /usr/lib64/libz.so.1.2.7
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     19888   17326380 /usr/lib64/libattr.so.1.1.0
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     19520   17239651 /usr/lib64/libdl-2.17.so
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2    153192   18023397 /usr/lib64/liblzma.so.5.0.99
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2    398272   18105157 /usr/lib64/libpcre.so.1.2.0
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2   2107816   17239525 /usr/lib64/libc-2.17.so
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2    142304   17240882 /usr/lib64/libpthread-2.17.so
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     88720   17511831 /usr/lib64/libgcc_s-4.8.5-20150702.so.1
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     44096   17241011 /usr/lib64/librt-2.17.so
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2    260784   20114966 /usr/lib64/libmount.so.1.1.0
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     91768   18023376 /usr/lib64/libkmod.so.2.2.10
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2    118792   17326381 /usr/lib64/libaudit.so.1.0.0
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     61648   18105139 /usr/lib64/libpam.so.0.83.1
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2     20024   17326423 /usr/lib64/libcap.so.2.22
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2    147120   18447456 /usr/lib64/libselinux.so.1
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2    164440   21744303 /usr/lib64/ld-2.17.so
systemd       1                 root  mem       REG                8,2   1333123   50334524 /etc/selinux/targeted/contexts/files/file_contexts.bin
--More--
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> su -
Password: 
SLES12SP1:~ # lsof | more
COMMAND     PID  TID       USER   FD      TYPE             DEVICE SIZE/OFF       NODE NAME
systemd       1            root  cwd       DIR               0,34      156        256 /
systemd       1            root  rtd       DIR               0,34      156        256 /
systemd       1            root  txt       REG               0,34  1218976      74832 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34    18904      23416 /lib64/libdl-2.19.so
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34   416064      24152 /usr/lib64/libpcre.so.1.2.1
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34  1974416      23410 /lib64/libc-2.19.so
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34   137440      23438 /lib64/libpthread-2.19.so
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34    42672      23442 /lib64/librt-2.19.so
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34   150128      24032 /usr/lib64/libseccomp.so.2.1.0
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34    43960      25095 /lib64/libapparmor.so.1.0.4
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34    84864      24581 /usr/lib64/libkmod.so.2.2.7
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34    18976      24919 /lib64/libcap.so.2.22
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34   100312      24963 /usr/lib64/libaudit.so.1.0.0
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34    60096      59333 /lib64/libpam.so.0.83.1
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34    40880      23873 /lib64/libwrap.so.0.7.6
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34   138792      25858 /lib64/libselinux.so.1
systemd       1            root  mem       REG               0,34   158192      23402 /lib64/ld-2.19.so
systemd       1            root    0u      CHR                1,3      0t0       4298 /dev/null
systemd       1            root    1u      CHR                1,3      0t0       4298 /dev/null
systemd       1            root    2u      CHR                1,3      0t0       4298 /dev/null
systemd       1            root    3r     0000               0,10        0       4268 anon_inode
systemd       1            root    4u     0000               0,10        0       4268 anon_inode
--More--

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the lsof command to view the command line switches.

The touch Command

This command updates the access and modification times of one or several file(s) to the current time. If the file does not exist, the system creates an empty file:

root@debian8:~# exit
logout
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ touch test
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ ls
hsperfdata_root  inode  pulse-PKdhtXMmr18n  test
root@ubuntu1604:~# exit
logout
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ touch test
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ ls
hsperfdata_root
inode
systemd-private-cd33d40e1d3a4e08a9cde3de3603311e-systemd-timesyncd.service-bxC1MJ
test
[root@centos7 ~]# exit
logout
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ touch test
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ ls
hsperfdata_root  systemd-private-45071248a58f4fd2a4de940a5734c8ec-cups.service-ODc5L6
inode            test
SLES12SP1:~ # exit
logout
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> touch test
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> ls
hsperfdata_root
inode
managera1411267841657715235client
managera3336001029897679475server
managera4847938942232964844client
managera5050357016347721452server
systemd-private-04f820fa26c745be8ddba814c6292f21-rtkit-daemon.service-o4lKP5
systemicontmp5578677472245134133dat
systemicontmp7082392205020802884dat
test

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the touch command to view the command line switches.

The echo Command

This command writes the arguments to the standard output (i.e. the screen):

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ echo fenestros
fenestros
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ echo fenestros
fenestros
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ echo fenestros
fenestros
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> echo fenestros
fenestros

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the help command with echo option to view the command line switches.

The cp Command

This command is used to copy a source to a destination or multiple sources to a directory:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ cp test ~
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ ls -l ~
total 36
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Documents
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Downloads
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Music
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Public
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Templates
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee trainee    0 Aug 19 16:14 test
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Videos
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee trainee  391 Aug 18 23:34 vitext
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ cp test ~
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ ls -l ~
total 48
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Documents
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Downloads
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee trainee 8980 mai    3 07:27 examples.desktop
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Music
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Public
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Templates
-rw-rw-r-- 1 trainee trainee    0 oct.   4 13:31 test
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Videos
-rw-rw-r-- 1 trainee trainee  442 sept. 30 11:35 vitext
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ cp test ~
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ ls -l ~
total 4
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Documents
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Downloads
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Music
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Public
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Templates
-rw-rw-r--. 1 trainee trainee   0 Sep 29 17:23 test
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Videos
-rw-rw-r--. 1 trainee trainee 442 Sep 29 00:53 vitext
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> cp test ~
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> ls -l ~
total 4
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  1 15:58 bin
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  2 16:11 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  2 16:11 Documents
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  2 16:11 Downloads
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  2 16:11 Music
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  2 16:11 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  2 16:11 Public
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users  20 May  1 15:58 public_html
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  2 16:11 Templates
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee users   0 Oct  1 06:01 test
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users   0 May  2 16:11 Videos
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee users 391 Sep 30 10:27 vitext

Note the use of the ~ (tilde) character which is a shortcut to the current user's home directory. In the case of this example : /home/trainee.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the cp command to view the command line switches.

The file Command

This command determines a file type:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ file ~/test
/home/trainee/test: empty
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ file ~/test
/home/trainee/test: empty
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ file ~/test
/home/trainee/test: empty
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> file ~/test
/home/trainee/test: empty

Important - Note that in the case of the first line of the above output, tha command file is incapable of informing you of the type of file since test is empty.

Using the > key, redirect the output of echo fenestros into the /home/trainee/test file as follows:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ echo "fenestros" > ~/test
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ echo "fenestros" > ~/test
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ echo "fenestros" > ~/test
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> echo "fenestros" > ~/test

Now use the file command once again to determine the file type:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ file ~/test
/home/trainee/test: ASCII text
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ file ~/test
/home/trainee/test: ASCII text
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ file ~/test
/home/trainee/test: ASCII text
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> file ~/test
/home/trainee/test: ASCII text

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the file command to view the command line switches.

The cat Command

This commands concatenate files, or standard input, to standard output. In the case of only one file as an argument, the effective result is to print the file contents to the screen:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ cat ~/test
fenestros
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ cat ~/test
fenestros
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ cat ~/test
fenestros
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> cat ~/test
fenestros

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the cat command to view the command line switches.

The mv Command

This command renames a source to a destination or moves sources to a directory:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ mv ~/test .
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ ls -l ~
total 36
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Documents
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Downloads
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Music
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Public
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Templates
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 May  1 20:42 Videos
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee trainee  391 Aug 18 23:34 vitext
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ mv test TeSt
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ ls -l
total 16
drwxr-xr-x 2 root    root    4096 Aug 18 11:33 hsperfdata_root
drwxr-xr-x 2 root    root    4096 Aug 18 13:36 inode
drwx------ 2 root    root    4096 Aug 18 11:29 pulse-PKdhtXMmr18n
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee trainee   10 Aug 19 16:20 TeSt
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ mv ~/test .
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ ls -l ~
total 48
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Documents
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Downloads
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee trainee 8980 mai    3 07:27 examples.desktop
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Music
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Public
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Templates
drwxr-xr-x 2 trainee trainee 4096 mai    3 08:03 Videos
-rw-rw-r-- 1 trainee trainee  442 sept. 30 11:35 vitext
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ mv test TeSt
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ ls -l
total 16
drwxr-xr-x 2 root    root    4096 sept. 28 10:34 hsperfdata_root
drwxr-xr-x 2 root    root    4096 sept. 29 10:32 inode
drwx------ 3 root    root    4096 sept. 29 10:19 systemd-private-cd33d40e1d3a4e08a9cde3de3603311e-systemd-timesyncd.service-bxC1MJ
-rw-rw-r-- 1 trainee trainee   10 oct.   4 13:36 TeSt
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ mv ~/test .
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ ls -l ~
total 4
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Documents
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Downloads
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Music
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Public
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Templates
drwxr-xr-x. 2 trainee trainee   6 Apr 30 11:54 Videos
-rw-rw-r--. 1 trainee trainee 442 Sep 29 00:53 vitext
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ mv test TeSt
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ ls -l
total 4
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root    root     80 Sep 28 10:52 hsperfdata_root
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root    root    100 Sep 28 12:30 inode
drwx------. 3 root    root     60 Sep 28 10:49 systemd-private-45071248a58f4fd2a4de940a5734c8ec-cups.service-ODc5L6
-rw-rw-r--. 1 trainee trainee  10 Sep 29 17:28 TeSt
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> mv test TeSt
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> ls -l
total 12
drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root      8 Sep 30 10:26 hsperfdata_root
drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users    48 Aug 18 13:14 inode
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera1411267841657715235client
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera3336001029897679475server
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera4847938942232964844client
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera5050357016347721452server
drwx------ 1 root    root      6 May  3 13:54 systemd-private-04f820fa26c745be8ddba814c6292f21-rtkit-daemon.service-o4lKP5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 systemicontmp5578677472245134133dat
drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 systemicontmp7082392205020802884dat
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee users    10 Oct  1 06:06 TeSt

Note the use of the shortcut . which indicates the current working directory.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the mv command to view the command line switches.

The mkdir Command

This command creates the directory(ies) if it (they) does (do) not exist:

trainee@debian8:/tmp$ cd ~
trainee@debian8:~$ mkdir testdir
trainee@debian8:~$ ls
Desktop  Documents  Downloads  Music  Pictures  Public  Templates  testdir  Videos  vitext
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ cd ~
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ mkdir testdir
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ ls
Desktop    Downloads         Music     Public     testdir  vitext
Documents  examples.desktop  Pictures  Templates  Videos
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ cd ~
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ mkdir testdir
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ ls
Desktop  Documents  Downloads  Music  Pictures  Public  Templates  testdir  Videos  vitext
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> cd ~
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> mkdir testdir
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> ls
bin      Documents  Music     Public       Templates  Videos
Desktop  Downloads  Pictures  public_html  testdir    vitext

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the mkdir command to view the command line switches.

The rmdir Command

This command removes the directory(ies) if it (they) is (are) empty:

trainee@debian8:~$ rmdir testdir
trainee@debian8:~$ ls
Desktop  Documents  Downloads  Music  Pictures  Public  Templates  Videos  vitext
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ rmdir testdir
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ ls
Desktop    Downloads         Music     Public     Videos
Documents  examples.desktop  Pictures  Templates  vitext
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ rmdir testdir
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ ls
Desktop  Documents  Downloads  Music  Pictures  Public  Templates  Videos  vitext
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> rmdir testdir
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> ls
bin      Documents  Music     Public       Templates  vitext
Desktop  Downloads  Pictures  public_html  Videos

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the rmdir command to view the command line switches.

The rm Command

This command removes a directory, empty of not, as well as files:

trainee@debian8:~$ mkdir testdir1
trainee@debian8:~$ cd /tmp
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ echo "fenestros" > TeSt
trainee@debian8:/tmp$ cd ~
trainee@debian8:~$ mv /tmp/TeSt ~/testdir1
trainee@debian8:~$ ls -lR testdir1/
testdir1/:
total 4
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee trainee 10 Aug 19 17:01 TeSt
trainee@debian8:~$ rmdir testdir1/
rmdir: failed to remove ‘testdir1/’: Directory not empty
trainee@debian8:~$ rm -rf testdir1/
trainee@debian8:~$ ls
Desktop  Documents  Downloads  Music  Pictures  Public  Templates  Videos  vitext
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ mkdir testdir1
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ cd /tmp
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ echo "fenestros" > TeSt
trainee@ubuntu1604:/tmp$ cd ~
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ mv /tmp/TeSt ~/testdir1
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ ls -lR testdir1/
testdir1/:
total 4
-rw-rw-r-- 1 trainee trainee 10 oct.   4 14:17 TeSt
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ rmdir testdir1/
rmdir: failed to remove 'testdir1/': Directory not empty
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ rm -rf testdir1/
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ ls
Desktop    Downloads         Music     Public     Videos
Documents  examples.desktop  Pictures  Templates  vitext
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ mkdir testdir1
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ cd /tmp
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ echo "fenestros" > TeSt
[trainee@centos7 tmp]$ cd ~
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ mv /tmp/TeSt ~/testdir1
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ ls -lR testdir1/
testdir1/:
total 4
-rw-rw-r--. 1 trainee trainee 10 Sep 29 18:13 TeSt
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ rmdir testdir1/
rmdir: failed to remove ‘testdir1/’: Directory not empty
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ rm -rf testdir1/
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ ls
Desktop  Documents  Downloads  Music  Pictures  Public  Templates  Videos  vitext
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> mkdir testdir1
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> cd /tmp
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> echo "fenestros" > TeSt
trainee@SLES12SP1:/tmp> cd ~
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> mv /tmp/TeSt ~/testdir1
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> ls -lR testdir1/
testdir1/:
total 4
-rw-r--r-- 1 trainee users 10 Oct  1 06:47 TeSt
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> rmdir testdir1/
rmdir: failed to remove ‘testdir1/’: Directory not empty
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> rm -rf testdir1/
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> ls
bin      Documents  Music     Public       Templates  vitext
Desktop  Downloads  Pictures  public_html  Videos

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the rm command to view the command line switches.

The sort Command

This command writes a sorted concatenation of all files to standard output:

trainee@debian8:~$ touch aac abc bca xyz
trainee@debian8:~$ ls
aac  bca      Documents  Music     Public     Videos  xyz
abc  Desktop  Downloads  Pictures  Templates  vitext
trainee@debian8:~$ ls | sort
aac
abc
bca
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
Music
Pictures
Public
Templates
Videos
vitext
xyz
trainee@debian8:~$ ls | sort -r
xyz
vitext
Videos
Templates
Public
Pictures
Music
Downloads
Documents
Desktop
bca
abc
aac
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ touch aac abc bca xyz
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ ls
aac  bca      Documents  examples.desktop  Pictures  Templates  vitext
abc  Desktop  Downloads  Music             Public    Videos     xyz
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ ls | sort
aac
abc
bca
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
examples.desktop
Music
Pictures
Public
Templates
Videos
vitext
xyz
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ ls | sort -r
xyz
vitext
Videos
Templates
Public
Pictures
Music
examples.desktop
Downloads
Documents
Desktop
bca
abc
aac
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ touch aac abc bca xyz
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ ls
aac  bca      Documents  Music     Public     Videos  xyz
abc  Desktop  Downloads  Pictures  Templates  vitext
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ ls | sort
aac
abc
bca
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
Music
Pictures
Public
Templates
Videos
vitext
xyz
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ ls | sort -r
xyz
vitext
Videos
Templates
Public
Pictures
Music
Downloads
Documents
Desktop
bca
abc
aac
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> ls | sort
aac
abc
bca
bin
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
Music
Pictures
Public
public_html
Templates
Videos
vitext
xyz
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> ls | sort -r
xyz
vitext
Videos
Templates
public_html
Public
Pictures
Music
Downloads
Documents
Desktop
bin
bca
abc
aac

Important - Note the use of the | character, called a pipe. A pipe is used to channel the standard output of the command that precedes it into the standard input of the command that follows it.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the sort command to view the command line switches.

The more Command

This command is used to display a long file page by page:

trainee@debian8:~$ more /etc/services
# Network services, Internet style
#
# Note that it is presently the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known
# port number for both TCP and UDP; hence, officially ports have two entries
# even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations.
#
# Updated from http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers and other
# sources like http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/src/etc/services .
# New ports will be added on request if they have been officially assigned
# by IANA and used in the real-world or are needed by a debian package.
# If you need a huge list of used numbers please install the nmap package.

tcpmux		1/tcp				# TCP port service multiplexer
echo		7/tcp
echo		7/udp
discard		9/tcp		sink null
discard		9/udp		sink null
systat		11/tcp		users
daytime		13/tcp
daytime		13/udp
netstat		15/tcp
qotd		17/tcp		quote
msp		18/tcp				# message send protocol
--More--(4%)
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ more /etc/services
# Network services, Internet style
#
# Note that it is presently the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known
# port number for both TCP and UDP; hence, officially ports have two entries
# even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations.
#
# Updated from http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers and other
# sources like http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/src/etc/services .
# New ports will be added on request if they have been officially assigned
# by IANA and used in the real-world or are needed by a debian package.
# If you need a huge list of used numbers please install the nmap package.

tcpmux		1/tcp				# TCP port service multiplexer
echo		7/tcp
echo		7/udp
discard		9/tcp		sink null
discard		9/udp		sink null
systat		11/tcp		users
daytime		13/tcp
daytime		13/udp
netstat		15/tcp
qotd		17/tcp		quote
msp		18/tcp				# message send protocol
--More--(4%)
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ more /etc/services
# /etc/services:
# $Id: services,v 1.55 2013/04/14 ovasik Exp $
#
# Network services, Internet style
# IANA services version: last updated 2013-04-10
#
# Note that it is presently the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known
# port number for both TCP and UDP; hence, most entries here have two entries
# even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations.
# Updated from RFC 1700, ``Assigned Numbers'' (October 1994).  Not all ports
# are included, only the more common ones.
#
# The latest IANA port assignments can be gotten from
#       http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers
# The Well Known Ports are those from 0 through 1023.
# The Registered Ports are those from 1024 through 49151
# The Dynamic and/or Private Ports are those from 49152 through 65535
#
# Each line describes one service, and is of the form:
#
# service-name  port/protocol  [aliases ...]   [# comment]

tcpmux          1/tcp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
--More--(0%)
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> more /etc/services
#
# Network services, Internet style
#
# Note that it is presently the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known
# port number for both TCP and UDP; hence, most entries here have two entries
# even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations.
#
# This list could be found on:
#            http://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-port-numbers/service-names-port-numbe
rs.xml
#
# See also: services(5)
#
#
# SERVICE NAME AND TRANSPORT PROTOCOL PORT NUMBER REGISTRY
#
# (last updated on 2011-11-23)
#
# ************************************************************************
# * Since we merged and converted this registry it loads more slowly. We *
# * know it should load faster and are working on ways to achieve that.  *
# * Thank you for your patience.                                         *
# ************************************************************************
# 
--More--(0%)

Important - The ↵ Enter key scrolls down line by line, the Space Bar key scrolls down page by page and the Q key comes back to the command line prompt.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the more command to view the command line switches.

The less Command

The less command produces a similar result to that of the more command. Practice using the less command and refer to the help using less –help. Which command seems the most powerful and versatile ?

trainee@debian8:~$ less /etc/services
# Network services, Internet style
#
# Note that it is presently the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known
# port number for both TCP and UDP; hence, officially ports have two entries
# even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations.
#
# Updated from http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers and other
# sources like http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/src/etc/services .
# New ports will be added on request if they have been officially assigned
# by IANA and used in the real-world or are needed by a debian package.
# If you need a huge list of used numbers please install the nmap package.

tcpmux          1/tcp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
echo            7/tcp
echo            7/udp
discard         9/tcp           sink null
discard         9/udp           sink null
systat          11/tcp          users
daytime         13/tcp
daytime         13/udp
netstat         15/tcp
qotd            17/tcp          quote
msp             18/tcp                          # message send protocol
/etc/services
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ less /etc/services
# Network services, Internet style
#
# Note that it is presently the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known
# port number for both TCP and UDP; hence, officially ports have two entries
# even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations.
#
# Updated from http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers and other
# sources like http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/src/etc/services .
# New ports will be added on request if they have been officially assigned
# by IANA and used in the real-world or are needed by a debian package.
# If you need a huge list of used numbers please install the nmap package.

tcpmux          1/tcp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
echo            7/tcp
echo            7/udp
discard         9/tcp           sink null
discard         9/udp           sink null
systat          11/tcp          users
daytime         13/tcp
daytime         13/udp
netstat         15/tcp
qotd            17/tcp          quote
msp             18/tcp                          # message send protocol
/etc/services
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ less /etc/services
# /etc/services:
# $Id: services,v 1.55 2013/04/14 ovasik Exp $
#
# Network services, Internet style
# IANA services version: last updated 2013-04-10
#
# Note that it is presently the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known
# port number for both TCP and UDP; hence, most entries here have two entries
# even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations.
# Updated from RFC 1700, ``Assigned Numbers'' (October 1994).  Not all ports
# are included, only the more common ones.
#
# The latest IANA port assignments can be gotten from
#       http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers
# The Well Known Ports are those from 0 through 1023.
# The Registered Ports are those from 1024 through 49151
# The Dynamic and/or Private Ports are those from 49152 through 65535
#
# Each line describes one service, and is of the form:
#
# service-name  port/protocol  [aliases ...]   [# comment]

tcpmux          1/tcp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
/etc/services
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> less /etc/services
#
# Network services, Internet style
#
# Note that it is presently the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known
# port number for both TCP and UDP; hence, most entries here have two entries
# even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations.
#
# This list could be found on:
#            http://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-port-numbers/service-names-port-numbers.xml
#
# See also: services(5)
#
#
# SERVICE NAME AND TRANSPORT PROTOCOL PORT NUMBER REGISTRY
#
# (last updated on 2011-11-23)
#
# ************************************************************************
# * Since we merged and converted this registry it loads more slowly. We *
# * know it should load faster and are working on ways to achieve that.  *
# * Thank you for your patience.                                         *
# ************************************************************************
/etc/services lines 1-22/16228 0%

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the less command to view the command line switches.

The find Command

This command is used to search for a specific file or directory. The default path is the current directory and default expression is -print:

trainee@debian8:~$ find acc
find: `acc': No such file or directory
trainee@debian8:~$ find aac
aac
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ find acc
find: ‘acc’: No such file or directory
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ find aac
aac
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ find acc
find: ‘acc’: No such file or directory
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ find aac
aac
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> find acc
find: ‘acc’: No such file or directory
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> find aac
aac

Important : Note that when the file cannot be found, the find command informs you clearly. However when the file is found, the find command just prints the name of the file to standard output.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the find command to view the command line switches.

The su Command

This command is used to change the effective user id and group id to that of the user passed as an argument. When executed with no argument, the system assumes the destination user is root:

trainee@debian8:~$ su -
Password: fenestros
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ sudo su -
[sudo] password for trainee: trainee
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ su -
Password: fenestros
Last login: Thu Sep 29 17:08:56 CEST 2016 on pts/0
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> su -
Password: fenestros

Important : Note that the password will not be visible.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the su command to view the command line switches.

The updatedb and locate Commands

The locate command is used to list files in databases that match a pattern supplied as an argument to the command. The locate command uses a database. This database needs to be created using the updatedb command before using the locate command.

The default database is /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db:

root@debian8:~# ls -l /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db 
-rw-r----- 1 root mlocate 2067895 Aug 19 07:35 /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db
root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -l /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db
-rw-r----- 1 root mlocate 5293946 oct.   2 07:35 /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db
[root@centos7 ~]# ls -l /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db
-rw-r-----. 1 root slocate 3887117 Sep 29 03:46 /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db
SLES12SP1:~ # ls -l /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3804323 Sep 30 10:30 /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db

Important : For information concerning the database format, please see man 5 locatedb.

The updatedb command is configured by editing the /etc/updatedb.conf file:

root@debian8:~# cat /etc/updatedb.conf
PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS="yes"
# PRUNENAMES=".git .bzr .hg .svn"
PRUNEPATHS="/tmp /var/spool /media"
PRUNEFS="NFS nfs nfs4 rpc_pipefs afs binfmt_misc proc smbfs autofs iso9660 ncpfs coda devpts ftpfs devfs mfs shfs sysfs cifs lustre tmpfs usbfs udf fuse.glusterfs fuse.sshfs curlftpfs"
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat /etc/updatedb.conf
PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS="yes"
# PRUNENAMES=".git .bzr .hg .svn"
PRUNEPATHS="/tmp /var/spool /media /home/.ecryptfs /var/lib/schroot"
PRUNEFS="NFS nfs nfs4 rpc_pipefs afs binfmt_misc proc smbfs autofs iso9660 ncpfs coda devpts ftpfs devfs mfs shfs sysfs cifs lustre tmpfs usbfs udf fuse.glusterfs fuse.sshfs curlftpfs ecryptfs fusesmb devtmpfs"
[root@centos7 ~]# cat /etc/updatedb.conf
PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS = "yes"
PRUNEFS = "9p afs anon_inodefs auto autofs bdev binfmt_misc cgroup cifs coda configfs cpuset debugfs devpts ecryptfs exofs fuse fuse.sshfs fusectl gfs gfs2 hugetlbfs inotifyfs iso9660 jffs2 lustre mqueue ncpfs nfs nfs4 nfsd pipefs proc ramfs rootfs rpc_pipefs securityfs selinuxfs sfs sockfs sysfs tmpfs ubifs udf usbfs"
PRUNENAMES = ".git .hg .svn"
PRUNEPATHS = "/afs /media /mnt /net /sfs /tmp /udev /var/cache/ccache /var/lib/yum/yumdb /var/spool/cups /var/spool/squid /var/tmp"
SLES12SP1:~ # cat /etc/updatedb.conf
# /etc/updatedb.conf: config file for mlocate

# This file sets variables that are used by updatedb.
# For more info, see the updatedb.conf(5) manpage.

# Filesystems that are pruned from updatedb database
PRUNEFS="afs anon_inodefs auto autofs bdev binfmt binfmt_misc cgroup cifs coda configfs cramfs cpuset debugfs devfs devpts devtmps ecryptfs eventpollfs exofs futexfs ftpfs fuse fusectl gfs gfs2 hostfs hugetlbfs inotifyfs iso9660 jffs2 lustre misc mqueue ncpfs nfs NFS nfs4 nfsd nnpfs ocfs ocfs2 pipefs proc ramfs rpc_pipefs securityfs selinuxfs sfs shfs smbfs sockfs spufs sshfs subfs supermount sysfs tmpfs ubifs udf usbfs vboxsf vperfctrfs"

# Paths which are pruned from updatedb database
PRUNEPATHS="/tmp /var/tmp /var/cache /var/lock /var/run /var/spool /mnt /cdrom /usr/tmp /proc /media /sys /.snapshots /var/run/media"

# Folder names that are pruned from updatedb database
PRUNENAMES=".git .hg .svn CVS"

# Skip bind mounts.
PRUNE_BIND_MOUNTS="yes"

Use of these two commands is very simple:

root@debian8:~# updatedb
root@debian8:~# locate aac
/home/trainee/aac
/lib/modules/3.16.0-4-amd64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/lib/modules/3.16.0-4-amd64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libaacs.so.0
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libaacs.so.0.4.1
/usr/share/doc/libaacs0
/usr/share/doc/libaacs0/KEYDB.cfg.gz
/usr/share/doc/libaacs0/changelog.Debian.amd64.gz
/usr/share/doc/libaacs0/changelog.Debian.gz
/usr/share/doc/libaacs0/changelog.gz
/usr/share/doc/libaacs0/copyright
/usr/share/mime/audio/aac.xml
/var/cache/apt/archives/libaacs0_0.7.1-1+b1_amd64.deb
/var/lib/dpkg/info/libaacs0:amd64.list
/var/lib/dpkg/info/libaacs0:amd64.md5sums
/var/lib/dpkg/info/libaacs0:amd64.postinst
/var/lib/dpkg/info/libaacs0:amd64.postrm
/var/lib/dpkg/info/libaacs0:amd64.shlibs
root@ubuntu1604:~# updatedb
root@ubuntu1604:~# locate aac
/home/trainee/aac
/lib/modules/4.4.0-21-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/lib/modules/4.4.0-21-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
/lib/modules/4.4.0-38-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/lib/modules/4.4.0-38-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
/usr/share/app-install/desktop/krita-data:kde4__calligraactive.desktop
/usr/share/mime/audio/aac.xml
/usr/src/linux-headers-4.4.0-21/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/usr/src/linux-headers-4.4.0-21/drivers/scsi/aacraid/Makefile
/usr/src/linux-headers-4.4.0-21-generic/include/config/scsi/aacraid.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-4.4.0-38/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/usr/src/linux-headers-4.4.0-38/drivers/scsi/aacraid/Makefile
/usr/src/linux-headers-4.4.0-38-generic/include/config/scsi/aacraid.h
[root@centos7 ~]# updatedb
[root@centos7 ~]# locate aac
/home/trainee/aac
/usr/lib/modules/3.10.0-327.13.1.el7.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/usr/lib/modules/3.10.0-327.13.1.el7.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
/usr/lib/modules/3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/usr/lib/modules/3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/ipalib/plugins/caacl.py
/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/ipalib/plugins/caacl.pyc
/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/ipalib/plugins/caacl.pyo
/usr/share/gtk-doc/html/gst-plugins-good-plugins-1.0/gst-plugins-good-plugins-aacparse.html
/usr/share/gupnp-dlna-2.0/dlna-profiles/aac.xml
/usr/share/mime/audio/aac.xml
/usr/src/kernels/3.10.0-327.13.1.el7.x86_64/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/usr/src/kernels/3.10.0-327.13.1.el7.x86_64/drivers/scsi/aacraid/Makefile
/usr/src/kernels/3.10.0-327.13.1.el7.x86_64/include/config/scsi/aacraid.h
/usr/src/kernels/3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/usr/src/kernels/3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64/drivers/scsi/aacraid/Makefile
/usr/src/kernels/3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64/include/config/scsi/aacraid.h
SLES12SP1:~ # locate aac
/lib/modules/3.12.49-11-default/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid
/lib/modules/3.12.49-11-default/kernel/drivers/scsi/aacraid/aacraid.ko
/usr/share/YaST2/scrconf/aaconf.scr
/usr/share/mime/audio/aac.xml

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the updatedb and locate commands to view their command line switches.

The whereis Command

This command is used to show the full paths of the executable, the configuration files and the manuals associated with the argument:

root@debian8:~# whereis passwd
passwd: /usr/bin/passwd /etc/passwd /usr/share/man/man1/passwd.1ssl.gz /usr/share/man/man1/passwd.1.gz /usr/share/man/man5/passwd.5.gz
root@ubuntu1604:~# whereis passwd
passwd: /usr/bin/passwd /etc/passwd /usr/share/man/man5/passwd.5.gz /usr/share/man/man1/passwd.1.gz /usr/share/man/man1/passwd.1ssl.gz
[root@centos7 ~]# whereis passwd
passwd: /usr/bin/passwd /etc/passwd /usr/share/man/man1/passwd.1.gz /usr/share/man/man5/passwd.5.gz
SLES12SP1:~ # whereis passwd
passwd: /usr/bin/passwd /etc/passwd /etc/passwd.YaST2save /usr/share/man/man1/passwd.1ssl.gz /usr/share/man/man1/passwd.1.gz /usr/share/man/man5/passwd.5.gz

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the whereis command to view the command line switches.

The which Command

This command searches the PATH variable and returns to standard output the first full path associated with the argument:

root@debian8:~# which passwd
/usr/bin/passwd
root@ubuntu1604:~# which passwd
/usr/bin/passwd
[root@centos7 ~]# which passwd
/bin/passwd
SLES12SP1:~ # which passwd
/usr/bin/passwd

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the which command to view the command line switches.

The uptime Command

This command prints to standard output the current time, the length of time the system has been up, the number of users on the system and the average number of jobs in the run queue over the last 1, 5 and 15 minutes:

root@debian8:~# uptime
 18:02:14 up 1 day,  6:33,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.01, 0.05
root@ubuntu1604:~# uptime
 15:18:02 up 1 day, 13:10,  1 user,  load average: 0,00, 0,03, 0,0
[root@centos7 ~]# uptime
 19:18:57 up 1 day,  8:30,  1 user,  load average: 0.10, 0.09, 0.07
SLES12SP1:~ # uptime
 07:48am  up  21:25,  1 user,  load average: 0.10, 0.05, 0.05

Command Line Switches

The switches associated with this command are:

To do : Use the –help option of the uptime command to view the command line switches.

The w Command

This command outputs the same data as the uptime command on the first line and then complements this information with the details of each user connected to the system, including what each user is currently doing. This is the replacement under Linux for the Unix command whodo:

root@debian8:~# w
 18:11:31 up 1 day,  6:42,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.01, 0.05
USER     TTY      FROM             LOGIN@   IDLE   JCPU   PCPU WHAT
trainee  pts/0    10.0.2.2         14:16    0.00s  0.13s  0.03s sshd: trainee [priv]
root@ubuntu1604:~# w
 15:27:17 up 1 day, 13:19,  1 user,  load average: 0,10, 0,06, 0,06
USER     TTY      FROM             LOGIN@   IDLE   JCPU   PCPU WHAT
trainee  pts/0    10.0.2.2         lun.17    0.00s  0.11s  0.00s sshd: trainee [priv]
[root@centos7 ~]# w
 19:28:55 up 1 day,  8:40,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.01, 0.05
USER     TTY      FROM             LOGIN@   IDLE   JCPU   PCPU WHAT
trainee  pts/0    gateway          15:22    7.00s  0.16s  0.12s sshd: trainee [priv]
SLES12SP1:~ # w
 07:57:55 up 21:34,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.03, 0.05
USER     TTY      FROM             LOGIN@   IDLE   JCPU   PCPU WHAT
trainee  pts/0    10.0.2.2         04:09    0.00s  0.12s  0.00s sshd: trainee [priv]

The JCPU time is the time used by all processes attached to the tty. It does not include past background jobs, but does include currently running background jobs.

The PCPU time is the time used by the current process, named in the what field.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the w command to view the command line switches.

The uname Command

This command prints system information to the standard output:

root@debian8:~# uname -a
Linux debian8 3.16.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.16.7-ckt25-2 (2016-04-08) x86_64 GNU/Linux
root@debian8:~# uname -s
Linux
root@debian8:~# uname -n
debian8
root@debian8:~# uname -r
3.16.0-4-amd64
root@debian8:~# uname -v
#1 SMP Debian 3.16.7-ckt25-2 (2016-04-08)
root@debian8:~# uname -m
x86_64
root@debian8:~# uname -p
unknown
root@debian8:~# uname -i
unknown
root@debian8:~# uname -o
GNU/Linux
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -a
Linux ubuntu1604 4.4.0-21-generic #37-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 18 18:33:37 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -s
Linux
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -n
ubuntu1604
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -r
4.4.0-21-generic
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -v
#37-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 18 18:33:37 UTC 2016
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -m
x86_64
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -p
x86_64
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -i
x86_64
root@ubuntu1604:~# uname -o
GNU/Linux
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -a
Linux centos7.fenestros.loc 3.10.0-327.13.1.el7.x86_64 #1 SMP Thu Mar 31 16:04:38 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -s
Linux
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -n
centos7.fenestros.loc
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -r
3.10.0-327.13.1.el7.x86_64
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -v
#1 SMP Thu Mar 31 16:04:38 UTC 2016
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -m
x86_64
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -p
x86_64
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -i
x86_64
[root@centos7 ~]# uname -o
GNU/Linux
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -a
Linux SLES12SP1 3.12.49-11-default #1 SMP Wed Nov 11 20:52:43 UTC 2015 (8d714a0) x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -s
Linux
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -n
SLES12SP1
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -r
3.12.49-11-default
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -v
#1 SMP Wed Nov 11 20:52:43 UTC 2015 (8d714a0)
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -m
x86_64
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -p
x86_64
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -i
x86_64
SLES12SP1:~ # uname -o
GNU/Linux

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the uname command to view the command line switches.

The du Command

This command summarizes disk usage of each file, recursively for directories:

root@debian8:~# du -sh /* 2>/dev/null
12M	/bin
31M	/boot
0	/dev
6.9M	/etc
1.9M	/home
0	/initrd.img
207M	/lib
4.0K	/lib64
16K	/lost+found
8.0K	/media
4.0K	/mnt
152M	/opt
0	/proc
59M	/root
4.7M	/run
8.5M	/sbin
4.0K	/srv
0	/sys
100K	/tmp
2.0G	/usr
767M	/var
0	/vmlinuz
root@ubuntu1604:~# du -sh /* 2>/dev/null
13M	/bin
100M	/boot
4,0K	/cdrom
0	/dev
13M	/etc
1,7M	/home
0	/initrd.img
0	/initrd.img.old
584M	/lib
4,0K	/lib64
16K	/lost+found
4,0K	/media
4,0K	/mnt
155M	/opt
0	/proc
6,1M	/root
4,1M	/run
13M	/sbin
4,0K	/snap
4,0K	/srv
0	/sys
72K	/tmp
2,9G	/usr
341M	/var
0	/vmlinuz
0	/vmlinuz.old
[root@centos7 ~]# du -sh /* 2>/dev/null
0	/bin
187M	/boot
0	/dev
33M	/etc
20M	/home
0	/lib
0	/lib64
0	/lost+found
0	/media
0	/mnt
173M	/opt
0	/proc
43M	/root
8.7M	/run
0	/sbin
0	/srv
0	/sys
64K	/tmp
3.6G	/usr
228M	/var
SLES12SP1:~ # du -sh /* 2>/dev/null
5.1M	/bin
44M	/boot
0	/dev
19M	/etc
216K	/home
190M	/lib
16M	/lib64
0	/mnt
151M	/opt
0	/proc
6.1M	/root
5.4M	/run
11M	/sbin
0	/selinux
64K	/srv
0	/sys
60K	/tmp
2.6G	/usr
133M	/var

Important : Note the use of the 2>/dev/null redirection. This sends all eventual errors in the file descriptor 2 directly to /dev/null so that they do not appear in the output. File descriptors are covered in the The Command Line Interface unit.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the du command to view the command line switches.

The clear Command

This command is used to clear the current screen of the terminal:

root@debian8:~# clear

root@debian8:~# 
root@ubuntu1604:~# clear

root@ubuntu1604:~# 
[root@centos7 ~]# clear

[root@centos7 ~]# 
SLES12SP1:~ # clear

SLES12SP1:~ #  

The exit Command

This command exits the current shell:

root@debian8:~# exit
logout
trainee@debian8:~$ 
root@ubuntu1604:~# exit
logout
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ 
[root@centos7 ~]# exit
logout
[trainee@centos7 ~]$ 
SLES12SP1:~ # exit
logout
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> 

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the help command with exit option to view the command line switches.

The logout Command

This command logs out a user from a login shell writing the utmp and wtmp entries in the log files.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the help command with logout option to view the command line switches.

The sleep Command

This command pauses for a number seconds. The number is specified as the first argument.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the sleep command to view the command line switches.

The wall Command

When using RHEL/CentOS 7:

Wall sends a message to everybody logged in with their mesg(1) permission set to yes. The message can be given as an argument to wall, or it can be sent to wall's standard input. When using the standard input from a terminal, the message should be terminated with the EOF key (usually Control-D). The length of the message is limited to 20 lines. For every invocation of wall a notification will be written to syslog, with facility LOG_USER and level LOG_INFO.

Start a second session as trainee via ssh on your VM. Return to your first session as root and type :

[trainee@centos7 ~]$ su -
Password: fenestros
Last login: Thu Sep 29 17:08:56 CEST 2016 on pts/0
[root@centos7 ~]# wall this is a message from root
[root@centos7 ~]# 
Broadcast message from root@centos7.fenestros.loc (pts/0) (Fri Sep 30 05:35:26 2016):

this is a message from root
[Enter]
[root@centos7 ~]# 

In the second session you should see the following message :

[trainee@centos7 ~]$ 
Broadcast message from root@centos7.fenestros.loc (pts/0) (Fri Sep 30 05:35:26 2016):

this is a message from root                                                                             

Now look at the end of the/var/log/messages file :

[root@centos7 ~]# tail /var/log/messages
Sep 30 05:31:08 centos7 sh: Sleeping '' ''
Sep 30 05:34:16 centos7 sh: Sleeping '' ''
Sep 30 05:35:13 centos7 systemd: Started Session 311 of user trainee.
Sep 30 05:35:13 centos7 systemd-logind: New session 311 of user trainee.
Sep 30 05:35:13 centos7 systemd: Starting Session 311 of user trainee.
Sep 30 05:35:13 centos7 dbus[515]: [system] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.problems' (using servicehelper)
Sep 30 05:35:13 centos7 dbus-daemon: dbus[515]: [system] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.problems' (using servicehelper)
Sep 30 05:35:13 centos7 dbus[515]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.problems'
Sep 30 05:35:13 centos7 dbus-daemon: dbus[515]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.problems'
Sep 30 05:35:26 centos7 wall[27550]: wall: user root broadcasted 1 lines (29 chars)

Important : La commande wall ignore la variable d’environnement TZ. L’heure affichée dans la première page est basée sur les paramètres de régionalisation du système.

When using Debian 8, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and SLES 12:

wall displays a message, or the contents of a file, or otherwise its standard input, on the terminals of all currently logged in users.The command will wrap lines that are longer than 79 characters. Short lines are whitespace padded to have 79 characters. The command will always put a carriage return and new line at the end of each line. Only the superuser can write on the terminals of users who have chosen to deny messages or are using a program which automatically denies messages. Reading from a file is refused when the invoker is not superuser and the program is suid or sgid.

Start a second session as trainee via ssh on your VM. Return to your first session as root and type :

trainee@debian8:~$ su -
Password: fenestros
root@debian8:~# wall this is a message from root
                                                                               
Broadcast message from trainee@debian8 (pts/0) (Sat Aug 20 03:23:20 2016):     
                                                                               
this is a message from root
                                                                               
root@debian8:~# 
trainee@ubuntu1604:~$ sudo su -
[sudo] password for trainee: trainee
root@ubuntu1604:~# wall this is a message from root
                                                                               
Broadcast message from trainee@ubuntu1604 (pts/0) (Fri Oct  7 10:18:21 2016):  
                                                                               
this is a message from root
                                                                               
root@ubuntu1604:~#  
trainee@SLES12SP1:~> su -
Password: fenestros
SLES12SP1:~ # wall this is a message from root
                                                                               
Broadcast message from trainee@SLES12SP1 (pts/1) (Sat Oct  1 18:39:50 2016):   
                                                                               
this is a message from root
                                                                               
SLES12SP1:~ # 

In the second session you should see the following message :

Broadcast message from trainee@debian8 (pts/0) (Sat Aug 20 03:23:20 2016):     
                                                                               
this is a message from root                                                                               
Broadcast message from trainee@ubuntu1604 (pts/0) (Fri Oct  7 10:18:21 2016):  
                                                                               
this is a message from root                                                                              
Broadcast message from trainee@SLES12SP1 (pts/1) (Sat Oct  1 18:39:50 2016):   
                                                                               
this is a message from root

The seq Command

The seq command prints numbers from FIRST to LAST, in steps of INCREMENT:

For example :

root@debian8:~# seq 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
root@debian8:~# seq 20 30
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
root@debian8:~# seq 20 10 90
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
root@debian8:~# 
root@ubuntu1604:~# seq 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
root@ubuntu1604:~# seq 20 30
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
root@ubuntu1604:~# seq 20 10 90
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
root@ubuntu1604:~# 
[root@centos7 ~]# seq 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
[root@centos7 ~]# seq 20 30
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
[root@centos7 ~]# seq 20 10 90
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
[root@centos7 ~]#  
SLES12SP1:~ # seq 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
SLES12SP1:~ # seq 20 30
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
SLES12SP1:~ # seq 20 10 90
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
SLES12SP1:~ #  

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the seq command to view the command line switches.

The screen Command

Screen is a full-screen window manager that multiplexes a physical terminal between several processes (typically interactive shells). Each virtual terminal provides the functions of a DEC VT100 terminal and, in addition, several control functions from the ISO 6429 (ECMA 48, ANSI X3.64) and ISO 2022 standards (e.g. insert/delete line and support for multiple character sets). There is a scrollback history buffer for each virtual terminal and a copy-and-paste mechanism that allows moving text regions between windows.

The screen command is not installed by default under Debian 8, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and RHEL/CentOS 7. Use the appropriate package manager to install it:

root@debian8:~# which screen
root@debian8:~# apt-get install screen
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Suggested packages:
  iselect screenie byobu
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  screen
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 569 kB of archives.
After this operation, 930 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ jessie/main screen amd64 4.2.1-3+deb8u1 [569 kB]
Fetched 569 kB in 0s (3,163 kB/s)
Selecting previously unselected package screen.
(Reading database ... 82450 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../screen_4.2.1-3+deb8u1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking screen (4.2.1-3+deb8u1) ...
Processing triggers for systemd (215-17+deb8u4) ...
Processing triggers for install-info (5.2.0.dfsg.1-6) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.0.2-5) ...
Setting up screen (4.2.1-3+deb8u1) ...
Processing triggers for systemd (215-17+deb8u4) ...
root@debian8:~# which screen
/usr/bin/screen
root@ubuntu1604:~# which screen
root@ubuntu1604:~# apt-get install screen
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
  libpango1.0-0 libpangox-1.0-0
Use 'apt autoremove' to remove them.
Suggested packages:
  iselect | screenie | byobu
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  screen
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 1 not upgraded.
Need to get 560 kB of archives.
After this operation, 972 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 screen amd64 4.3.1-2build1 [560 kB]
Fetched 560 kB in 0s (2 306 kB/s)
Selecting previously unselected package screen.
(Reading database ... 207619 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../screen_4.3.1-2build1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking screen (4.3.1-2build1) ...
Processing triggers for systemd (229-4ubuntu10) ...
Processing triggers for ureadahead (0.100.0-19) ...
Processing triggers for install-info (6.1.0.dfsg.1-5) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.5-1) ...
Setting up screen (4.3.1-2build1) ...
Processing triggers for systemd (229-4ubuntu10) ...
Processing triggers for ureadahead (0.100.0-19) ...
root@ubuntu1604:~# which screen
/usr/bin/screen
[root@centos7 ~]#  which screen
/usr/bin/which: no screen in (/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/root/bin)
[root@centos7 ~]#  yum install screen
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, langpacks
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: ftp.rezopole.net
 * extras: centos.mirror.ate.info
 * updates: centos.mirror.fr.planethoster.net
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package screen.x86_64 0:4.1.0-0.23.20120314git3c2946.el7_2 will be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

=================================================================================
 Package    Arch       Version                                 Repository   Size
=================================================================================
Installing:
 screen     x86_64     4.1.0-0.23.20120314git3c2946.el7_2      updates     552 k

Transaction Summary
=================================================================================
Install  1 Package

Total download size: 552 k
Installed size: 914 k
Is this ok [y/d/N]: y
Downloading packages:
screen-4.1.0-0.23.20120314git3c2946.el7_2.x86_64.rpm      | 552 kB  00:00:01     
Running transaction check
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded
Running transaction
  Installing : screen-4.1.0-0.23.20120314git3c2946.el7_2.x86_64              1/1 
  Verifying  : screen-4.1.0-0.23.20120314git3c2946.el7_2.x86_64              1/1 

Installed:
  screen.x86_64 0:4.1.0-0.23.20120314git3c2946.el7_2                             

Complete!
[root@centos7 ~]# which screen
/bin/screen

However, the screen command is installed by default under SLES 12 :

SLES12SP1:~ # which screen
/usr/bin/screen

Create a session with screen:

root@debian8:~# screen -S mysession
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -S mysession
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -S mysession
SLES12SP1:~ # screen -S mysession

Important - When using RHEL/CentOS 7, you will notice that the title of the window holding the ssh session changes to [screen 0: root@centos7:~]. However when using Debian 8, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or SLES 12 you will not see this.

Now press the CTRL and A keys, release the A key and press the C key in order to create a second nested screen.

Important - When using RHEL/CentOS 7, you will notice that the title of the window holding the ssh session changes to [screen 1: root@centos7:~]. However when using Debian 8, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or SLES 12 you will not see this.

To return to the first screen, use the CTRL A A keys. This allows you to toggle between the last two screens used.

To see the status of all active screens, use the screen -ls command:

root@debian8:~# screen -ls
There is a screen on:
        27309.mysession (20/08/16 04:20:08)     (Attached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-root.
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -ls
There is a screen on:
        1745.mysession  (07/10/2016 11:00:55)   (Attached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-root
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -ls
There is a screen on:
        25812.mysession (Attached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-root.
SLES12SP1:~ # screen -ls
There is a screen on:
        11827.mysession (Attached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screens/S-root.

Now enter the following commands:

root@debian8:~# sleep 9999 &
[1] 2941
root@debian8:~# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
root@debian8:~# 
root@ubuntu1604:~# sleep 9999 &
[1] 9699
root@ubuntu1604:~# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
root@ubuntu1604:~# 
[root@centos7 ~]# sleep 9999 &
[1] 2272
[root@centos7 ~]# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
[root@centos7 ~]# 
SLES12SP1:~ # sleep 9999 &
[1] 19879
SLES12SP1:~ # jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
SLES12SP1:~ # 

In order to detach the current screen press the CTRL and A keys, release the A key and press the D key:

root@debian8:~# screen -S mysession
[detached from 27309.mysession]
root@debian8:~# 
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -S mysession
[detached from 1745.mysession]
root@ubuntu1604:~# 
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -S mysession
[detached from 25812.mysession]
[root@centos7 ~]# 
[detached from 11827.mysession]
SLES12SP1:~ # 

To re-attach the screen, execute the following command:

root@debian8:~# screen -r
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -r 
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -r
SLES12SP1:~ # screen -r

Using the jobs command, check if the process created by the sleep command is still running:unit

root@debian8:~# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
root@ubuntu1604:~# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
[root@centos7 ~]# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
SLES12SP1:~ # jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &

To move forward or backwards between screens press the CTRL and A keys, release the A key and press the N key or press the CTRL and A keys, release the A key and press the P key.

Once again detach the current screen by pressing the CTRL A keys, releasing the A key and then pressing D:

root@debian8:~# screen -S mysession
[detached from 27309.mysession] key
root@debian8:~# 
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -S mysession
[detached from 1745.mysession]
root@ubuntu1604:~# 
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -S mysession
[detached from 25812.mysession]
[root@centos7 ~]# 
[detached from 11827.mysession]
SLES12SP1:~ # 

Now create a new, non-nested screen:

root@debian8:~# screen -S mysession1
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -S mysession1
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -S mysession1
SLES12SP1:~ # screen -S mysession1

Use the screen -ls command to see what has happened:

root@debian8:~# screen -ls
There are screens on:
        10234.mysession1        (20/08/16 07:17:19)     (Attached)
        27309.mysession (20/08/16 04:20:08)     (Detached)
2 Sockets in /var/run/screen/S-root.
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -ls
There are screens on:
        15800.mysession1        (07/10/2016 13:58:29)   (Attached)
        1745.mysession  (07/10/2016 11:00:55)   (Detached)
2 Sockets in /var/run/screen/S-root.
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -ls
There are screens on:
        14942.mysession1        (Attached)
        25812.mysession (Detached)
2 Sockets in /var/run/screen/S-root.
SLES12SP1:~ # screen -ls
There are screens on:
        26655.mysession1        (Attached)
        11827.mysession (Detached)
2 Sockets in /var/run/screens/S-root.

To re-attach a specific screen, reference it by it's number:

root@debian8:~# screen -r 27309
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -r 1745
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -r 25812
SLES12SP1:~ # screen -r 11827

Finally, check out what has happened:

root@debian8:~# sleep 9999 &
[1] 2941
root@debian8:~# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &unit
root@debian8:~# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
root@debian8:~# screen -ls
There are screens on:
        10234.mysession1        (20/08/16 07:17:20)     (Attached)
        27309.mysession (20/08/16 04:20:09)     (Attached)
2 Sockets in /var/run/screen/S-root.
root@ubuntu1604:~# sleep 9999 &
[1] 9699
root@ubuntu1604:~# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
root@ubuntu1604:~# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
root@ubuntu1604:~# screen -ls
There are screens on:
        15800.mysession1        (07/10/2016 13:58:29)   (Attached)
        1745.mysession  (07/10/2016 11:00:55)   (Attached)
2 Sockets in /var/run/screen/S-root.
[root@centos7 ~]# sleep 9999 &
[1] 2272
[root@centos7 ~]# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
[root@centos7 ~]# jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
[root@centos7 ~]# screen -ls
There is a screen on:
        25812.mysession (Attached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-root.

[root@centos7 ~]# screen -ls
There are screens on:
        14942.mysession1        (Attached)
        25812.mysession (Attached)
2 Sockets in /var/run/screen/S-root.
SLES12SP1:~ # sleep 9999 &
[1] 19879
SLES12SP1:~ # jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
SLES12SP1:~ # jobs
[1]+  Running                 sleep 9999 &
SLES12SP1:~ # screen -ls
There are screens on:
        26655.mysession1        (Attached)
        11827.mysession (Attached)
2 Sockets in /var/run/screens/S-root.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the screen command to view the command line switches.

Switches and Arguments

Switches under Linux can either be short or long. Several differences are important to note.

Firstly short options are generally preceded by a single dash -, whilst long options are preceded by a double dash - -.

An example is the help option used with most commands:

Secondly, Linux short switches can be combined whereas long switches cannot be combined. For example ls -l -a -i can also be written as ls -lai, ls -lia or ls -ali:

root@debian8:~# ls -lai /tmp
total 40
130564 drwxrwxrwt 10 root root 4096 Aug 20 09:17 .
     2 drwxr-xr-x 22 root root 4096 Aug  1 12:38 ..
130572 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .font-unix
134332 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:33 hsperfdata_root
130570 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .ICE-unix
140612 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 13:36 inode
140574 srw-------  1 root root    0 Aug 18 11:32 .java_pid1704
140611 srw-------  1 root root    0 Aug 18 11:33 .java_pid2098
134331 drwx------  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:29 pulse-PKdhtXMmr18n
130573 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .Test-unix
130569 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .X11-unix
130571 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .XIM-unix
root@debian8:~# ls -ali /tmp
total 40
130564 drwxrwxrwt 10 root root 4096 Aug 20 09:17 .
     2 drwxr-xr-x 22 root root 4096 Aug  1 12:38 ..
130572 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .font-unix
134332 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:33 hsperfdata_root
130570 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .ICE-unix
140612 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 13:36 inode
140574 srw-------  1 root root    0 Aug 18 11:32 .java_pid1704
140611 srw-------  1 root root    0 Aug 18 11:33 .java_pid2098
134331 drwx------  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:29 pulse-PKdhtXMmr18n
130573 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .Test-unix
130569 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .X11-unix
130571 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .XIM-unix
root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -lai /tmp
total 40
390918 drwxrwxrwt 10 root root 4096 oct.   7 16:31 .
     2 drwxr-xr-x 24 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:40 ..
521792 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .font-unix
522570 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:34 hsperfdata_root
521777 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .ICE-unix
521308 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 sept. 29 10:32 inode
395765 srw-------  1 root root    0 sept. 28 10:34 .java_pid2124
521306 drwx------  3 root root 4096 sept. 29 10:19 systemd-private-cd33d40e1d3a4e08a9cde3de3603311e-systemd-timesyncd.service-bxC1MJ
521801 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .Test-unix
521757 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .X11-unix
521785 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .XIM-unix
root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -ali /tmp
total 40
390918 drwxrwxrwt 10 root root 4096 oct.   7 16:31 .
     2 drwxr-xr-x 24 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:40 ..
521792 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .font-unix
522570 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:34 hsperfdata_root
521777 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .ICE-unix
521308 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 sept. 29 10:32 inode
395765 srw-------  1 root root    0 sept. 28 10:34 .java_pid2124
521306 drwx------  3 root root 4096 sept. 29 10:19 systemd-private-cd33d40e1d3a4e08a9cde3de3603311e-systemd-timesyncd.service-bxC1MJ
521801 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .Test-unix
521757 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .X11-unix
521785 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .XIM-unix
[root@centos7 ~]# ls -lai /tmp
total 244
  11071 drwxrwxrwt. 10 root root    260 Sep 30 06:24 .
    128 dr-xr-xr-x. 18 root root   4096 Dec 10  2015 ..
  13635 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .font-unix
  24858 drwxr-xr-x.  2 root root    100 Sep 30 06:05 hsperfdata_root
  13597 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .ICE-unix
 287056 drwxr-xr-x.  2 root root    100 Sep 28 12:30 inode
  24861 srw-------.  1 root root      0 Sep 28 10:52 .java_pid3213
  25344 srw-------.  1 root root      0 Sep 28 10:52 .java_pid3302
  16615 drwx------.  3 root root     60 Sep 28 10:49 systemd-private-45071248a58f4fd2a4de940a5734c8ec-cups.service-ODc5L6
  13595 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .Test-unix
  13590 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .X11-unix
  13629 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .XIM-unix
8098838 -rw-------.  1 root root 242724 Sep 30 05:45 yum_save_tx.2016-09-30.05-45.FF7KO4.yumtx
[root@centos7 ~]# ls -ali /tmp
total 244
  11071 drwxrwxrwt. 10 root root    260 Sep 30 06:24 .
    128 dr-xr-xr-x. 18 root root   4096 Dec 10  2015 ..
  13635 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .font-unix
  24858 drwxr-xr-x.  2 root root    100 Sep 30 06:05 hsperfdata_root
  13597 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .ICE-unix
 287056 drwxr-xr-x.  2 root root    100 Sep 28 12:30 inode
  24861 srw-------.  1 root root      0 Sep 28 10:52 .java_pid3213
  25344 srw-------.  1 root root      0 Sep 28 10:52 .java_pid3302
  16615 drwx------.  3 root root     60 Sep 28 10:49 systemd-private-45071248a58f4fd2a4de940a5734c8ec-cups.service-ODc5L6
  13595 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .Test-unix
  13590 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .X11-unix
  13629 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .XIM-unix
8098838 -rw-------.  1 root root 242724 Sep 30 05:45 yum_save_tx.2016-09-30.05-45.FF7KO4.yumtx
SLES12SP1:~ # ls -lai /tmp
total 8
256 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root    802 Oct  2 01:00 .
256 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root    156 May  1 14:55 ..
258 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  3 13:54 .ICE-unix
261 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .Test-unix
257 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  3 13:53 .X11-unix
259 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .XIM-unix
373 drwx------ 1 trainee users    12 May  3 13:54 .esd-1000
279 drwx------ 1 gdm     gdm       0 May  3 13:54 .esd-486
260 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .font-unix
502 srw------- 1 root    root      0 Sep 30 10:26 .java_pid2399
462 srw------- 1 root    root      0 Aug 18 12:48 .java_pid2546
448 srw------- 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 .java_pid3281
403 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root      8 Sep 30 10:26 hsperfdata_root
488 drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users    48 Aug 18 13:14 inode
444 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera1411267841657715235client
439 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera3336001029897679475server
440 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera4847938942232964844client
443 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera5050357016347721452server
388 drwx------ 1 root    root      6 May  3 13:54 systemd-private-04f820fa26c745be8ddba814c6292f21-rtkit-daemon.service-o4lKP5
427 -rw-r--r-- 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 systemicontmp5578677472245134133dat
426 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 systemicontmp7082392205020802884dat
SLES12SP1:~ # ls -ali /tmp
total 8
256 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root    802 Oct  2 01:00 .
256 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root    156 May  1 14:55 ..
258 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  3 13:54 .ICE-unix
261 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .Test-unix
257 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  3 13:53 .X11-unix
259 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .XIM-unix
373 drwx------ 1 trainee users    12 May  3 13:54 .esd-1000
279 drwx------ 1 gdm     gdm       0 May  3 13:54 .esd-486
260 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .font-unix
502 srw------- 1 root    root      0 Sep 30 10:26 .java_pid2399
462 srw------- 1 root    root      0 Aug 18 12:48 .java_pid2546
448 srw------- 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 .java_pid3281
403 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root      8 Sep 30 10:26 hsperfdata_root
488 drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users    48 Aug 18 13:14 inode
444 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera1411267841657715235client
439 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera3336001029897679475server
440 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera4847938942232964844client
443 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera5050357016347721452server
388 drwx------ 1 root    root      6 May  3 13:54 systemd-private-04f820fa26c745be8ddba814c6292f21-rtkit-daemon.service-o4lKP5
427 -rw-r--r-- 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 systemicontmp5578677472245134133dat
426 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 systemicontmp7082392205020802884dat

However ls -l –all –inode cannot be written ls -l –allinode:

root@debian8:~# ls -l --all --inode /tmp
total 40
130564 drwxrwxrwt 10 root root 4096 Aug 20 09:17 .
     2 drwxr-xr-x 22 root root 4096 Aug  1 12:38 ..
130572 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .font-unix
134332 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:33 hsperfdata_root
130570 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .ICE-unix
140612 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 13:36 inode
140574 srw-------  1 root root    0 Aug 18 11:32 .java_pid1704
140611 srw-------  1 root root    0 Aug 18 11:33 .java_pid2098
134331 drwx------  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:29 pulse-PKdhtXMmr18n
130573 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .Test-unix
130569 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .X11-unix
130571 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 Aug 18 11:28 .XIM-unix

root@debian8:~# ls -l --allinode /tmp
ls: unrecognized option '--allinode'
Try 'ls --help' for more information.
root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -l --all --inode /tmp
total 40
390918 drwxrwxrwt 10 root root 4096 oct.   7 16:31 .
     2 drwxr-xr-x 24 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:40 ..
521792 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .font-unix
522570 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:34 hsperfdata_root
521777 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .ICE-unix
521308 drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 sept. 29 10:32 inode
395765 srw-------  1 root root    0 sept. 28 10:34 .java_pid2124
521306 drwx------  3 root root 4096 sept. 29 10:19 systemd-private-cd33d40e1d3a4e08a9cde3de3603311e-systemd-timesyncd.service-bxC1MJ
521801 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .Test-unix
521757 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .X11-unix
521785 drwxrwxrwt  2 root root 4096 sept. 28 10:31 .XIM-unix

root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -l --allinode /tmp
ls: unrecognized option '--allinode'
Try 'ls --help' for more information.
[root@centos7 ~]# ls -l --all --inode /tmp
total 244
  11071 drwxrwxrwt. 10 root root    260 Sep 30 06:24 .
    128 dr-xr-xr-x. 18 root root   4096 Dec 10  2015 ..
  13635 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .font-unix
  24858 drwxr-xr-x.  2 root root    100 Sep 30 06:05 hsperfdata_root
  13597 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .ICE-unix
 287056 drwxr-xr-x.  2 root root    100 Sep 28 12:30 inode
  24861 srw-------.  1 root root      0 Sep 28 10:52 .java_pid3213
  25344 srw-------.  1 root root      0 Sep 28 10:52 .java_pid3302
  16615 drwx------.  3 root root     60 Sep 28 10:49 systemd-private-45071248a58f4fd2a4de940a5734c8ec-cups.service-ODc5L6
  13595 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .Test-unix
  13590 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .X11-unix
  13629 drwxrwxrwt.  2 root root     40 Sep 28 10:48 .XIM-unix
8098838 -rw-------.  1 root root 242724 Sep 30 05:45 yum_save_tx.2016-09-30.05-45.FF7KO4.yumtx

[root@centos7 ~]# ls -l --allinode /tmp
ls: unrecognized option '--allinode'
Try 'ls --help' for more information
SLES12SP1:~ # ls -l --all --inode /tmp
total 8
256 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root    802 Oct  2 01:00 .
256 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root    156 May  1 14:55 ..
258 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  3 13:54 .ICE-unix
261 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .Test-unix
257 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  3 13:53 .X11-unix
259 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .XIM-unix
373 drwx------ 1 trainee users    12 May  3 13:54 .esd-1000
279 drwx------ 1 gdm     gdm       0 May  3 13:54 .esd-486
260 drwxrwxrwt 1 root    root      0 May  2 15:56 .font-unix
502 srw------- 1 root    root      0 Sep 30 10:26 .java_pid2399
462 srw------- 1 root    root      0 Aug 18 12:48 .java_pid2546
448 srw------- 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 .java_pid3281
403 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root      8 Sep 30 10:26 hsperfdata_root
488 drwxr-xr-x 1 trainee users    48 Aug 18 13:14 inode
444 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera1411267841657715235client
439 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera3336001029897679475server
440 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera4847938942232964844client
443 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root    root  50048 May  3 14:01 managera5050357016347721452server
388 drwx------ 1 root    root      6 May  3 13:54 systemd-private-04f820fa26c745be8ddba814c6292f21-rtkit-daemon.service-o4lKP5
427 -rw-r--r-- 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 systemicontmp5578677472245134133dat
426 drwxr-xr-x 1 root    root      0 May  3 14:01 systemicontmp7082392205020802884dat

SLES12SP1:~ # ls -l --allinode /tmp
ls: unrecognized option '--allinode'
Try 'ls --help' for more information.

Important - You should not combine any short options that take an argument.

Manipulating Text Files

Text files play a very important role under Linux. For example, almost all configuration files are simple text files and being able to manipulate them is of great importance. Manipulating text files is essentially achieved by using Regular Expressions. There are two types of Regular Expressions:

Regular Expressions

Regular Expressions use Metacharacters. Certain are common to both BREs and EREs:

Metacharacter Description
^string Match lines beginning with string
string$ Match lines ending with string
\Metacharacter Cancel any special effect associated with Metacharacter
[string] Match any of the characters within string
[^string] Exclude any of the characters in string
. Match any character except when at the end of a line
character* Match 0 or more occurrences of character
\< Match string at the beginning of a word
\> Match string at the end of a word

BREs

Certain Metacharacters are specific to BREs:

Metacharacter Description
\{x,y\} Match from x to y occurrences of the preceeding element
\{x\} Match exactly x occurrences of the preceeding element
\{x,\} Match x or more occurrences of the preceeding element
\(BRE) Commit to memory the BRE
\1 Recall the first BRE committed to memory
\2, \3 … Recall the second BRE committed to memory, recall the third BRE committed to memory …

EREs

Certain Metacharacters are specific to EREs:

Metacharacter Description
{x,y} Match from x to y occurrences of the preceeding element
{x} Match exactly x occurrences of the preceeding element
{x,}
? Matches 0 or 1 occurrence of the preceeding element
+ Matches 1 or more occurrence(s) of the preceeding element
| Matches either the expression before or the expression after the operator
() Combines the Reguler Expressions between the parentheses

Text-search Utilities

The grep Command

The grep command can be used to find lines containing a string of characters in a group of files. The -v or –invert-case option can be stipulated to find lines that do not contain the specified string.

The grep command is case sensitive. The -i or –ignore-case option can be specified in order to use grep in a non case sensitive search.

The grep command can also use BREs.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the grep command to view the command line switches.

The egrep Command

The egrep command is identical to the grep command when used with the -E switch. Both can use EREs.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the egrep command to view the command line switches.

The fgrep Command

The fgrep command is identical to the grep command when used with the -F switch. Both have no knowledge of Regular Expressions.

To do : Use the –help option of the fgrep command to view the command line switches.

LAB #1 - Using grep, egrep and fgrep

Download the following file by clicking on it's title:

greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£

Move the file to the /tmp directory:

root@debian8:~# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
root@ubuntu1604:~# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
[root@centos7 ~]# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
SLES12SP1:~ # mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest

Now use grep to search for lines containing at least one uppercase or lowercase letter:

root@debian8:~# grep '[a-zA-Z]' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
f
.fenestros
.fe
root@ubuntu1604:~# grep '[a-zA-Z]' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
f
.fenestros
.fe
[root@centos7 ~]# grep '[a-zA-Z]' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
f
.fenestros
.fe
SLES12SP1:~ # grep '[a-zA-Z]' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
f
.fenestros
.fe

Next use grep to search for lines containing at least one uppercase or lowercase letter or a number:

root@debian8:~# grep '[a-zA-Z0-9]' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
root@ubuntu1604:~# grep '[a-zA-Z0-9]' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
[root@centos7 ~]# grep '[a-zA-Z0-9]' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
SLES12SP1:~ # grep '[a-zA-Z0-9]' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe

To search for the NNN-NNNN pattern where N is a number, use the following command:

root@debian8:~# grep '[0-9]\{3\}-[0-9]\{4\}' /tmp/greptest
555-5555
root@ubuntu1604:~# grep '[0-9]\{3\}-[0-9]\{4\}' /tmp/greptest
555-5555
[root@centos7 ~]# grep '[0-9]\{3\}-[0-9]\{4\}' /tmp/greptest
555-5555
SLES12SP1:~ # grep '[0-9]\{3\}-[0-9]\{4\}' /tmp/greptest
555-5555

Lines containing just one character have that character both at the beginning (^) and at the end ($) of the line:

root@debian8:~# grep '^.$' /tmp/greptest
f
£
root@ubuntu1604:~# grep '^.$' /tmp/greptest
f
£
[root@centos7 ~]# grep '^.$' /tmp/greptest
f
£
SLES12SP1:~ # grep '^.$' /tmp/greptest
f
£

To search for a line containing a special character such as ., that character needs to be preceded by \:

root@debian8:~# grep '^\.' /tmp/greptest
.fenestros
.fe
root@ubuntu1604:~# grep '^\.' /tmp/greptest
.fenestros
.fe
[root@centos7 ~]# grep '^\.' /tmp/greptest
.fenestros
.fe
SLES12SP1:~ # grep '^\.' /tmp/greptest
.fenestros
.fe

The grep command can also be used to search for a string in all the files within a specific directory as follows grep -rnw 'directory' -e “pattern”. You can also search only within certain files by specifying the files extensions: grep –include={*.doc,*.xls} -rnw 'directory' -e “pattern”. Finally you can exclude certain file extensions as follows: grep –exclude=*.doc -rnw 'directory' -e “pattern”.

Download the following file by clicking on it's title:

greptest
# Starting comment
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment

Move the file to the /tmp directory:

root@debian8:~# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
root@ubuntu1604:~# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
[root@centos7 ~]# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
SLES12SP1:~ # mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest

Now use the grep command with the -E switch to remove all the comments and empty lines:

root@debian8:~# grep -E -v '^(#|$)' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
root@ubuntu1604:~# grep -E -v '^(#|$)' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
[root@centos7 ~]# grep -E -v '^(#|$)' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
SLES12SP1:~ # grep -E -v '^(#|$)' /tmp/greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£

The expression '^(#|$)' matches all lines beginning with the # character OR all lines with zero characters between the start and the end of the line.

Now use the egrep command to do the same thing, this time redirecting the output to the file /tmp/greptest1:

root@debian8:~# egrep -v '^(#|$)'  /tmp/greptest > /tmp/greptest1
root@debian8:~# cat /tmp/greptest1
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
root@ubuntu1604:~# egrep -v '^(#|$)'  /tmp/greptest > /tmp/greptest1
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat /tmp/greptest1
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
[root@centos7 ~]# egrep -v '^(#|$)'  /tmp/greptest > /tmp/greptest1
[root@centos7 ~]# cat /tmp/greptest1
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
SLES12SP1:~ # egrep -v '^(#|$)'  /tmp/greptest > /tmp/greptest1
SLES12SP1:~ # cat /tmp/greptest1 
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£

Important: The above command is very useful when you want to quickly ascertain which directives are active in a very long configuration file.

Download the following file by clicking on it's title:

greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment

Move the file to the /tmp directory:

root@debian8:~# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
root@ubuntu1604:~# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
[root@centos7 ~]# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest
SLES12SP1:~ # mv /home/trainee/Downloads/greptest /tmp/greptest

Now use fgrep to match the line starting with the ^ character:

root@debian8:~# fgrep '^' /tmp/greptest
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
root@ubuntu1604:~# fgrep '^' /tmp/greptest
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
[root@centos7 ~]# fgrep '^' /tmp/greptest
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
SLES12SP1:~ # fgrep '^' /tmp/greptest
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep

Compare the above output to that when using the grep command:

root@debian8:~# grep '^' /tmp/greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment
root@ubuntu1604:~# grep '^' /tmp/greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment
[root@centos7 ~]# grep '^' /tmp/greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment
SLES12SP1:~ # grep '^' /tmp/greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment

As you can see, grep matched every line that had a beginning. In order to get the same result as the grep command, you need to use the following command:

root@debian8:~# grep '^\^' /tmp/greptest
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
root@ubuntu1604:~# grep '^\^' /tmp/greptest
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
[root@centos7 ~]# grep '^\^' /tmp/greptest
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
SLES12SP1:~ # grep '^\^' /tmp/greptest
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep

The Stream EDitor SED

sed is an abbreviation of Stream EDitor and is a non-interactive text editor. sed's basic syntax is as follows:

sed [address] command [arguments] file

The specified commands are applied to each line in the file unless an address is specified. Sed prints all results to standard output and does not modify the source file. The address therefore specifies which lines are concerned by the command.

sed's addresses are as follows:

address Matching lines
x Line number x
$ The last line of the file
/BRE/ Lines matching the specified BRE
x,y From line x to line y
/ERb1/, /ERb2/ All lines from the first line that matches the first BRE to the first line that matches the second BRE

sed's commands are as follows:

command Description
d Do not show the matching line(s) on standard output
p Show the matching line(s) on standard output
s Do a substitution upon match
w Write the matching line(s) to a file
= Print the matching line's number
! Exclude the line(s) matching the address

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the fgrep command to view the command line switches.

LAB #2 - Using sed

Start by displaying the contents of the file /etc/services whilst inhibiting the display of the first 10 lines:

root@debian8:~# sed '1,10d' /etc/services | more
# If you need a huge list of used numbers please install the nmap package.

tcpmux		1/tcp				# TCP port service multiplexer
echo		7/tcp
echo		7/udp
discard		9/tcp		sink null
discard		9/udp		sink null
systat		11/tcp		users
daytime		13/tcp
daytime		13/udp
netstat		15/tcp
qotd		17/tcp		quote
msp		18/tcp				# message send protocol
msp		18/udp
chargen		19/tcp		ttytst source
chargen		19/udp		ttytst source
ftp-data	20/tcp
ftp		21/tcp
fsp		21/udp		fspd
ssh		22/tcp				# SSH Remote Login Protocol
ssh		22/udp
telnet		23/tcp
smtp		25/tcp		mail
--More--                   
root@ubuntu1604:~# sed '1,10d' /etc/services | more
# If you need a huge list of used numbers please install the nmap package.

tcpmux		1/tcp				# TCP port service multiplexer
echo		7/tcp
echo		7/udp
discard		9/tcp		sink null
discard		9/udp		sink null
systat		11/tcp		users
daytime		13/tcp
daytime		13/udp
netstat		15/tcp
qotd		17/tcp		quote
msp		18/tcp				# message send protocol
msp		18/udp
chargen		19/tcp		ttytst source
chargen		19/udp		ttytst source
ftp-data	20/tcp
ftp		21/tcp
fsp		21/udp		fspd
ssh		22/tcp				# SSH Remote Login Protocol
ssh		22/udp
telnet		23/tcp
smtp		25/tcp		mail
--More--                    
[root@centos7 ~]# sed '1,10d' /etc/services | more
# are included, only the more common ones.
#
# The latest IANA port assignments can be gotten from
#       http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers
# The Well Known Ports are those from 0 through 1023.
# The Registered Ports are those from 1024 through 49151
# The Dynamic and/or Private Ports are those from 49152 through 65535
#
# Each line describes one service, and is of the form:
#
# service-name  port/protocol  [aliases ...]   [# comment]

tcpmux          1/tcp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
tcpmux          1/udp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
rje             5/tcp                           # Remote Job Entry
rje             5/udp                           # Remote Job Entry
echo            7/tcp
echo            7/udp
discard         9/tcp           sink null
discard         9/udp           sink null
systat          11/tcp          users
systat          11/udp          users
daytime         13/tcp
--More--                    
SLES12SP1:~ # sed '1,10d' /etc/services | more
# See also: services(5)
#
#
# SERVICE NAME AND TRANSPORT PROTOCOL PORT NUMBER REGISTRY
#
# (last updated on 2011-11-23)
#
# ************************************************************************
# * Since we merged and converted this registry it loads more slowly. We *
# * know it should load faster and are working on ways to achieve that.  *
# * Thank you for your patience.                                         *
# ************************************************************************
# 
# Service names and port numbers are used to distinguish between different
# services that run over transport protocols such as TCP, UDP, DCCP, and
# SCTP.
# 
# Service names are assigned on a first-come, first-served process, as
# documented in [RFC6335].
# 
# Port numbers are assigned in various ways, based on three ranges: System
# Ports (0-1023), User Ports (1024-49151), and the Dynamic and/or Private
# Ports (49152-65535); the difference uses of these ranges is described in
--More--                   

Now display the same file without any commented lines:

root@debian8:~# sed '/^#/d' /etc/services | more

tcpmux		1/tcp				# TCP port service multiplexer
echo		7/tcp
echo		7/udp
discard		9/tcp		sink null
discard		9/udp		sink null
systat		11/tcp		users
daytime		13/tcp
daytime		13/udp
netstat		15/tcp
qotd		17/tcp		quote
msp		18/tcp				# message send protocol
msp		18/udp
chargen		19/tcp		ttytst source
chargen		19/udp		ttytst source
ftp-data	20/tcp
ftp		21/tcp
fsp		21/udp		fspd
ssh		22/tcp				# SSH Remote Login Protocol
ssh		22/udp
telnet		23/tcp
smtp		25/tcp		mail
time		37/tcp		timserver
--More--                        
root@ubuntu1604:~# sed '/^#/d' /etc/services | more

tcpmux		1/tcp				# TCP port service multiplexer
echo		7/tcp
echo		7/udp
discard		9/tcp		sink null
discard		9/udp		sink null
systat		11/tcp		users
daytime		13/tcp
daytime		13/udp
netstat		15/tcp
qotd		17/tcp		quote
msp		18/tcp				# message send protocol
msp		18/udp
chargen		19/tcp		ttytst source
chargen		19/udp		ttytst source
ftp-data	20/tcp
ftp		21/tcp
fsp		21/udp		fspd
ssh		22/tcp				# SSH Remote Login Protocol
ssh		22/udp
telnet		23/tcp
smtp		25/tcp		mail
time		37/tcp		timserver
--More--                        
[root@centos7 ~]# sed '/^#/d' /etc/services | more

tcpmux          1/tcp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
tcpmux          1/udp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
rje             5/tcp                           # Remote Job Entry
rje             5/udp                           # Remote Job Entry
echo            7/tcp
echo            7/udp
discard         9/tcp           sink null
discard         9/udp           sink null
systat          11/tcp          users
systat          11/udp          users
daytime         13/tcp
daytime         13/udp
qotd            17/tcp          quote
qotd            17/udp          quote
msp             18/tcp                          # message send protocol
msp             18/udp                          # message send protocol
chargen         19/tcp          ttytst source
chargen         19/udp          ttytst source
ftp-data        20/tcp
ftp-data        20/udp
ftp             21/tcp
ftp             21/udp          fsp fspd
--More--                        
SLES12SP1:~ # sed '/^#/d' /etc/services | more
tcpmux             1/tcp        # TCP Port Service Multiplexer  [Mark_Lottor]
tcpmux             1/udp        # TCP Port Service Multiplexer  [Mark_Lottor]
compressnet        2/tcp        # Management Utility 
compressnet        2/udp        # Management Utility 
compressnet        3/tcp        # Compression Process  [Bernie_Volz]
compressnet        3/udp        # Compression Process  [Bernie_Volz]
rje                5/tcp        # Remote Job Entry  [Jon_Postel]
rje                5/udp        # Remote Job Entry  [Jon_Postel]
echo               7/tcp        # Echo  [Jon_Postel]
echo               7/udp        # Echo  [Jon_Postel]
discard            9/tcp        # Discard  [Jon_Postel]
discard            9/udp        # Discard  [Jon_Postel]
discard            9/sctp       # Discard  [Randall_Stewart] [RFC4960]
discard            9/dccp       # Discard  [Eddie_Kohler] [RFC4340]
systat             11/tcp       # Active Users  [Jon_Postel]
systat             11/udp       # Active Users  [Jon_Postel]
daytime            13/tcp       # Daytime  [RFC867] [Jon_Postel]
daytime            13/udp       # Daytime  [RFC867] [Jon_Postel]
qotd               17/tcp       # Quote of the Day  [Jon_Postel]
qotd               17/udp       # Quote of the Day  [Jon_Postel]
msp                18/tcp       # Message Send Protocol (historic)  [Rina_Nethan
iel]
msp                18/udp       # Message Send Protocol (historic)  [Rina_Nethan
--More--                       

Important: Note that the BRE is preceeded and followed by the / character.

Continue by trying to just display the first two lines of /etc/passwd:

root@debian8:~# sed '1,2p' /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
...
root@ubuntu1604:~# sed '1,2p' /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
...
[root@centos7 ~]# sed '1,2p' /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
...
SLES12SP1:~ # sed '1,2p' /etc/passwd
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash
ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srv/ftp:/bin/bash
ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
...

Important: As you can see in the above output, the command used displays not only the first two lines but also the entire file. As a result the first two lines are displayed twice.

To force sed to only display the lines you specify, use the -n switch:

root@debian8:~#  sed -n '1,2p' /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
root@ubuntu1604:~# sed -n '1,2p' /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 ~]# sed -n '1,2p' /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:~ # sed -n '1,2p' /etc/passwd
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash

Now you want to use sed to strip out the comments from /etc/services and save the result to /tmp/sedtest without displaying anything on standard output:

root@debian8:~# sed -n '/^#/!w /tmp/sedtest' /etc/services
root@debian8:~# more /tmp/sedtest

tcpmux		1/tcp				# TCP port service multiplexer
echo		7/tcp
echo		7/udp
discard		9/tcp		sink null
discard		9/udp		sink null
systat		11/tcp		users
daytime		13/tcp
daytime		13/udp
netstat		15/tcp
qotd		17/tcp		quote
msp		18/tcp				# message send protocol
msp		18/udp
chargen		19/tcp		ttytst source
chargen		19/udp		ttytst source
ftp-data	20/tcp
ftp		21/tcp
fsp		21/udp		fspd
ssh		22/tcp				# SSH Remote Login Protocol
ssh		22/udp
telnet		23/tcp
smtp		25/tcp		mail
time		37/tcp		timserver
--More--(2%)
root@ubuntu1604:~# sed -n '/^#/!w /tmp/sedtest' /etc/services
root@ubuntu1604:~# more /tmp/sedtest

tcpmux		1/tcp				# TCP port service multiplexer
echo		7/tcp
echo		7/udp
discard		9/tcp		sink null
discard		9/udp		sink null
systat		11/tcp		users
daytime		13/tcp
daytime		13/udp
netstat		15/tcp
qotd		17/tcp		quote
msp		18/tcp				# message send protocol
msp		18/udp
chargen		19/tcp		ttytst source
chargen		19/udp		ttytst source
ftp-data	20/tcp
ftp		21/tcp
fsp		21/udp		fspd
ssh		22/tcp				# SSH Remote Login Protocol
ssh		22/udp
telnet		23/tcp
smtp		25/tcp		mail
time		37/tcp		timserver
--More--(2%)
[root@centos7 ~]# sed -n '/^#/!w /tmp/sedtest' /etc/services
[root@centos7 ~]# more /tmp/sedtest

tcpmux          1/tcp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
tcpmux          1/udp                           # TCP port service multiplexer
rje             5/tcp                           # Remote Job Entry
rje             5/udp                           # Remote Job Entry
echo            7/tcp
echo            7/udp
discard         9/tcp           sink null
discard         9/udp           sink null
systat          11/tcp          users
systat          11/udp          users
daytime         13/tcp
daytime         13/udp
qotd            17/tcp          quote
qotd            17/udp          quote
msp             18/tcp                          # message send protocol
msp             18/udp                          # message send protocol
chargen         19/tcp          ttytst source
chargen         19/udp          ttytst source
ftp-data        20/tcp
ftp-data        20/udp
ftp             21/tcp
ftp             21/udp          fsp fspd
--More--(0%)
SLES12SP1:~ # sed -n '/^#/!w /tmp/sedtest' /etc/services
SLES12SP1:~ # more /tmp/sedtest
tcpmux             1/tcp        # TCP Port Service Multiplexer  [Mark_Lottor]
tcpmux             1/udp        # TCP Port Service Multiplexer  [Mark_Lottor]
compressnet        2/tcp        # Management Utility 
compressnet        2/udp        # Management Utility 
compressnet        3/tcp        # Compression Process  [Bernie_Volz]
compressnet        3/udp        # Compression Process  [Bernie_Volz]
rje                5/tcp        # Remote Job Entry  [Jon_Postel]
rje                5/udp        # Remote Job Entry  [Jon_Postel]
echo               7/tcp        # Echo  [Jon_Postel]
echo               7/udp        # Echo  [Jon_Postel]
discard            9/tcp        # Discard  [Jon_Postel]
discard            9/udp        # Discard  [Jon_Postel]
discard            9/sctp       # Discard  [Randall_Stewart] [RFC4960]
discard            9/dccp       # Discard  [Eddie_Kohler] [RFC4340]
systat             11/tcp       # Active Users  [Jon_Postel]
systat             11/udp       # Active Users  [Jon_Postel]
daytime            13/tcp       # Daytime  [RFC867] [Jon_Postel]
daytime            13/udp       # Daytime  [RFC867] [Jon_Postel]
qotd               17/tcp       # Quote of the Day  [Jon_Postel]
qotd               17/udp       # Quote of the Day  [Jon_Postel]
msp                18/tcp       # Message Send Protocol (historic)  [Rina_Nethan
iel]
msp                18/udp       # Message Send Protocol (historic)  [Rina_Nethan
--More--(0%)

Important: In the above command, we start by matching all lines in the /etc/services file that start with a #. We then tell sed to write all non-matching lines to the file /tmp/sedtest.

Finally, create a file containing user1,user2,user3. Replace the commas by spaces:

root@debian8:~# echo "user1,user2,user3" > /tmp/sedtest1
root@debian8:~# cat /tmp/sedtest1 | sed 's/,/ /g'
user1 user2 user3
root@ubuntu1604:~# echo "user1,user2,user3" > /tmp/sedtest1
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat /tmp/sedtest1 | sed 's/,/ /g'
user1 user2 user3
[root@centos7 ~]# echo "user1,user2,user3" > /tmp/sedtest1
[root@centos7 ~]# cat /tmp/sedtest1 | sed 's/,/ /g'
user1 user2 user3
SLES12SP1:~ # echo "user1,user2,user3" > /tmp/sedtest1
SLES12SP1:~ # cat /tmp/sedtest1 | sed 's/,/ /g'
user1 user2 user3

Important: The above sed command has the following format s/what is to be replaced (character, string or BRE)/replacement/g. The use of the g character forces sed to replace all occurences that match. If g is not stipulated, only the first matching occurence is replaced.

The Text Processor AWK

Presentation

The awk command acts as a filter and uses the following syntax:

awk [-F seperator] '[condition] {action}' [file]

Field Separation

A file or a text stream is treated by awk as a sequence of records. By default each line is a record. Awk analyzes each record, separating that record into fields and then storing the record and fields in variables:

Awk interprets a space as a separator between fields unless a different separator is specified with the -F option.

Awk then checks if the condition is met for each record and if so, executes the action.

For example, the following command takes the standard output of ls -l and prints fields 8, 3 and 4 to standard output:

root@debian8:~# ls -l | awk '{print $8 $3 $4}'

2016rootroot
2016rootroot
2016rootroot
2016rootroot
2016rootroot
root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -l | awk '{print $8 $3 $4}'

10:40rootroot
2016rootroot
2016rootroot
[root@centos7 ~]# ls -l | awk '{print $8 $3 $4}'

2015rootroot
19:09270users
2015rootroot
2015rootroot
SLES12SP1:~ # ls -l | awk '{print $8 $3 $4}'

06:55traineeusers
06:55traineeusers
06:55traineeusers
09:04traineeusers
15:41traineeusers
2016traineeusers
2016traineeusers
14:00traineeusers
15:59traineeusers
16:16traineeusers
16:16traineeusers
17:00traineeusers
16:14traineeusers
2016traineeusers
2016traineeusers
2016traineeusers
2016traineeusers
2016traineeusers
15:46traineeusers
03:59traineeusers
2016traineeusers
10:27traineeusers
06:55traineeusers

Since there is no condition, the action is applied to every record.

To make the output easier to read, you can include spaces between each field:

root@debian8:~# ls -l | awk '{print $8 " " $3 " " $4}'
  
2016 root root
2016 root root
2016 root root
2016 root root
2016 root root
root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -l | awk '{print $8 " " $3 " " $4}'
  
10:40 root root
2016 root root
2016 root root
[root@centos7 ~]# ls -l | awk '{print $8 " " $3 " " $4}'
  
2015 root root
19:09 270 users
2015 root root
2015 root root
SLES12SP1:~ # ls -l | awk '{print $8 " " $3 " " $4}'
  
06:55 trainee users
06:55 trainee users
06:55 trainee users
09:04 trainee users
15:41 trainee users
2016 trainee users
2016 trainee users
14:00 trainee users
15:59 trainee users
16:16 trainee users
16:16 trainee users
17:00 trainee users
16:14 trainee users
2016 trainee users
2016 trainee users
2016 trainee users
2016 trainee users
2016 trainee users
15:46 trainee users
03:59 trainee users
2016 trainee users
10:27 trainee users
06:55 trainee users

Conditions

A regular expression applied to a record
A regular expression applied to a field
Comparisons

Operators

Operator Condition
< Less than
Less than or equal to
== Equal to
!= Different
> Greater than
>= Greater than or equal to
Logical Operators

Operators

Operator Condition
|| OR
&& AND
! NO
Built-in Variables

Variables

Variable Description
NR Total number of records
NF Total number of fields
FILENAME Name of current input file
FS The field separator, by default a space or tab
RS The record separator, by default newline
OFS Output field separator, by default a space
ORS Output record separator, by default newline
OFMT Numeric output format, by default“%.6g”

Awk Scripts

To combine several clauses composed of conditions and actions in the same statement, it is advisable to create an awk script. Awk scripts are comprised of three sections:

For example:

root@debian8:~# cat > awkscript
BEGIN {
  print "List of the currently mounted file systems"}
{print $0}
END {
  print "=========================================="}
[^D]
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat > awkscript
BEGIN {
  print "List of the currently mounted file systems"}
{print $0}
END {
  print "=========================================="}
[^D]
[root@centos7 ~]# cat > awkscript
BEGIN {
  print "List of the currently mounted file systems"}
{print $0}
END {
  print "=========================================="}
[^D]
SLES12SP1:~ # cat > awkscript
BEGIN {
  print "List of the currently mounted file systems"}
{print $0}
END {
  print "=========================================="}
[^D]

Now apply the awk script to /etc/fstab :

root@debian8:~# awk -f awkscript /etc/fstab
List of the currently mounted file systems
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=4a230056-285f-42f4-bfe0-5a73dbc5b745 /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=da5a77e9-344d-42aa-aed6-a38d381ba436 none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/sr0        /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto     0       0
==========================================
root@ubuntu1604:~# awk -f awkscript /etc/fstab
List of the currently mounted file systems
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=c27fce7f-cc8a-4c6f-b19b-d929a4d570f2 /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=68f67549-63f1-4833-b792-3566455bbe95 none            swap    sw              0       0
==========================================
[root@centos7 tmp]# awk -f awkscript /etc/fstab
Liste des systèmes de fichiers montés

#
# /etc/fstab
# Created by anaconda on Sun Mar  8 12:38:10 2015
#
# Accessible filesystems, by reference, are maintained under '/dev/disk'
# See man pages fstab(5), findfs(8), mount(8) and/or blkid(8) for more info
#
UUID=b35de665-5ec8-4226-a533-58a1b567ac91 /                       xfs     defaults        1 1
UUID=e8d3bd48-1386-411c-9675-41c3f8f1a309 /boot                   xfs     defaults        1 2
UUID=11a4d11d-81e4-46a7-82e0-7796cd597dc9 swap                    swap    defaults        0 0
=====================================
SLES12SP1:~ # awk -f awkscript /etc/fstab
List of the currently mounted file systems
UUID=9e0e4497-5e47-419a-8ff4-9e2dd7d6a11b swap swap defaults 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 / btrfs defaults 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /boot/grub2/i386-pc btrfs subvol=@/boot/grub2/i386-pc 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /boot/grub2/x86_64-efi btrfs subvol=@/boot/grub2/x86_64-efi 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /home btrfs subvol=@/home 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /opt btrfs subvol=@/opt 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /srv btrfs subvol=@/srv 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /tmp btrfs subvol=@/tmp 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /usr/local btrfs subvol=@/usr/local 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/crash btrfs subvol=@/var/crash 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/lib/libvirt/images btrfs subvol=@/var/lib/libvirt/images 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/lib/mailman btrfs subvol=@/var/lib/mailman 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/lib/mariadb btrfs subvol=@/var/lib/mariadb 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/lib/mysql btrfs subvol=@/var/lib/mysql 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/lib/named btrfs subvol=@/var/lib/named 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/lib/pgsql btrfs subvol=@/var/lib/pgsql 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/log btrfs subvol=@/var/log 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/opt btrfs subvol=@/var/opt 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/spool btrfs subvol=@/var/spool 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /var/tmp btrfs subvol=@/var/tmp 0 0
UUID=65337196-2d6b-4c8b-b917-30c3867bf265 /.snapshots btrfs subvol=@/.snapshots 0 0
==========================================

Important: Note the use of the -f switch which instructs awk to use the script.

The printf function

The integrated function printf is used to format output and has the following syntax:

printf ("string",expression1,expression2,...,expressionn)

string contains as many formats as there are expressions.

Examples of formats commonly used are:

Format Description
%30s Displays a right-justified string of 30 characters
%-30s Displays a left-justified string of 30 characters
%4d Displays a right-justified decimal number of 4 digits
%-4d Displays a left-justified decimal number of 4 digits

Control Statements

awk can use the following control statements:

if
if condition { 

    command
    command
    ...
}

else {

    command
    command
    ...
}

or:

if condition

    command

else

    command
for
for variable in list {

    command
    command
    ...

}

or:

for variable in list

    command

or in the case of a table:

for key in table {

    print key , table[key]

}
while
while condition {

     command
     command
     ...

}
do-while
do {

     command
     command
     ...

} while condition

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the awk command to view the command line switches.

LAB #3 - Using awk

Download the file sales.txt by clicking on the title below:

sales
# FenestrOs.com
# Annual sales by French department
# 83
Desktops§100
Portables§50
Servers§21
Ipads§4
 
# 06
Desktops§99
Portables§60
Servers§8
Ipads§16
 
# 13
Desktops§130
Portables§65
Servers§12
Ipads§56

Now download the awk script sales.awk by clicking on the title below:

sales.awk
# BEGIN
BEGIN {
    FS="§"
}
# TABLE
$1 !~ /^#/ && $1 !~ /^$/ {
	sales[$1]+=$2
}
# END
END {
	for (pc in sales)
	printf("PC Type :  %s \t Sales (06+13+83) : %10d\n",pc,sales[pc]);
}

This script contains 13 lines. The purpose of this script is to calculate the total number of computers sold in the three French departments from the data present in the sales file:

     1	# BEGIN
     2	BEGIN {
     3		FS="§"
     4	}
     5	# TABLE
     6	$1 !~ /^#/ && $1 !~ /^$/ {
     7		sales[$1]+=$2
     8	}
     9	# END
    10	END {
    11		for (pc in sales)
    12		printf("PC Type :  %s \t Sales (06+13+83) : %10d\n",pc,sales[pc]);
    13	}

It is important that you understand the key lines in the above script:

Now execute the script and check the output is correct:

root@debian8:~# awk -f /home/trainee/Downloads/sales.awk /home/trainee/Downloads/sales.txt 
PC Type :  Portables 	 Sales (06+13+83) :        175
PC Type :  Ipads 	     Sales (06+13+83) :         76
PC Type :  Desktops 	 Sales (06+13+83) :        329
PC Type :  Servers 	     Sales (06+13+83) :         41
root@ubuntu1604:~# awk -f /home/trainee/Downloads/sales.awk /home/trainee/Downloads/sales.txt
PC Type :  Servers 	 Sales (06+13+83) :         41
PC Type :  Portables 	 Sales (06+13+83) :        175
PC Type :  Ipads 	 Sales (06+13+83) :         76
PC Type :  Desktops 	 Sales (06+13+83) :        329
[root@centos7 ~]# awk -f /home/trainee/Downloads/sales.awk /home/trainee/Downloads/sales.txt 
PC Type :  Portables 	 Sales (06+13+83) :        175
PC Type :  Ipads 	     Sales (06+13+83) :         76
PC Type :  Desktops 	 Sales (06+13+83) :        329
PC Type :  Servers 	     Sales (06+13+83) :         41
SLES12SP1:~ # awk -f /home/trainee/Downloads/sales.awk /home/trainee/Downloads/sales.txt 
PC Type :  Portables 	 Sales (06+13+83) :        175
PC Type :  Ipads 	 Sales (06+13+83) :         76
PC Type :  Desktops 	 Sales (06+13+83) :        329
PC Type :  Servers 	 Sales (06+13+83) :         41

Other Useful Commands

The expand Command

The expand command converts tabulations in a file to spaces and prints the results to STDOUT. With no file as an argument or with the - character as an argument, the command takes it's input from STDIN.

Download the following file:

expand
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq

Move the file to the /root folder:

root@debian8:~# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/expand.txt /root/expand
root@ubuntu1604:~# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/expand.txt /root/expand
[root@centos7 ~]# mv /home/trainee/Downloads/expand.txt /root/expand
SLES12SP1:~ # mv /home/trainee/Downloads/expand.txt /root/expand

Use the cat command to view the contents of the file:

root@debian8:~#  cat expand
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat expand
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
[root@centos7 ~]# cat expand
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
SLES12SP1:~ # cat expand
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq
un	deux	trois	quatre	cinq

Now use the -vet switches of the cat command to view the non-printable characters:

root@debian8:~#  cat -vet expand
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat -vet expand
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
[root@centos7 ~]# cat -vet expand
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
SLES12SP1:~ # cat -vet expand
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$

Important : As you can see the tabulations are shown as ^I and the end of each line as a $.

Now use the expand command to convert the tabulations into spaces and send the result to the expand1 file:

root@debian8:~# expand expand > expand1
root@ubuntu1604:~# expand expand > expand1
[root@centos7 ~]# expand expand > expand1
SLES12SP1:~ # expand expand > expand1

View the resulting expand1 file with the cat command and the -vet switches:

root@debian8:~#  cat -vet expand1
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat -vet expand1
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
[root@centos7 ~]# cat -vet expand1
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
SLES12SP1:~ # cat -vet expand1
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$

Important : As you can see, the tabulations have been changed into spaces.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the expand command to view the command line switches.

La Commande unexpand

The expand command converts spaces in a file to tabulations and prints the results to STDOUT. With no file as an argument or with the - character as an argument, the command takes it's input from STDIN.

Now use the expand command to convert the spaces in the expand1 file into tabulations and send the result to the expand2 file:

root@debian8:~#  cat -vet expand1
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
root@debian8:~#  unexpand -a expand1 > expand2
root@debian8:~#  cat -vet expand2
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat -vet expand1
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
root@ubuntu1604:~# unexpand -a expand1 > expand2
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat -vet expand2
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
[root@centos7 ~]# cat -vet expand1
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
[root@centos7 ~]# unexpand -a expand1 > expand2
[root@centos7 ~]# cat -vet expand2
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
SLES12SP1:~ # cat -vet expand1
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
un      deux    trois   quatre  cinq$
SLES12SP1:~ # unexpand -a expand1 > expand2
SLES12SP1:~ # cat -vet expand2
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$
un^Ideux^Itrois^Iquatre^Icinq$

Important : Note that the spaces have been replaced by tabulations.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the unexpand command to view the command line switches.

The cut command

The cut command splits each line of a file into columns starting with column 1. Each column contains one character. The command can also be used to split lines into fields where the default seperator is a tablulation. The default seperator can be changed by using the -d switch.

Select the first 7 columns of the /etc/passwd file:

root@debian8:~# cut -c1-7 /etc/passwd
root:x:
daemon:
bin:x:2
sys:x:3
sync:x:
games:x
man:x:6
lp:x:7:
mail:x:
news:x:
uucp:x:
proxy:x
www-dat
backup:
list:x:
irc:x:3
gnats:x
nobody:
systemd
systemd
systemd
systemd
trainee
sshd:x:
Debian-
message
statd:x
avahi-a
avahi:x
colord:
dnsmasq
speech-
pulse:x
rtkit:x
saned:x
usbmux:
lightdm
root@ubuntu1604:~# cut -c1-7 /etc/passwd
root:x:
daemon:
bin:x:2
sys:x:3
sync:x:
games:x
man:x:6
lp:x:7:
mail:x:
news:x:
uucp:x:
proxy:x
www-dat
backup:
list:x:
irc:x:3
gnats:x
nobody:
systemd
systemd
systemd
systemd
syslog:
_apt:x:
message
uuidd:x
lightdm
whoopsi
avahi-a
avahi:x
dnsmasq
colord:
speech-
hplip:x
kernoop
pulse:x
rtkit:x
saned:x
usbmux:
trainee
sshd:x:
[root@centos7 ~]# cut -c1-7 /etc/passwd
root:x:
bin:x:1
daemon:
adm:x:3
lp:x:4:
sync:x:
shutdow
halt:x:
mail:x:
operato
games:x
ftp:x:1
nobody:
dbus:x:
polkitd
unbound
colord:
usbmuxd
avahi:x
avahi-a
saslaut
qemu:x:
libstor
rpc:x:3
rpcuser
nfsnobo
rtkit:x
radvd:x
ntp:x:3
chrony:
abrt:x:
pulse:x
gdm:x:4
gnome-i
postfix
sshd:x:
tcpdump
trainee
vboxadd
tss:x:5
SLES12SP1:~ # cut -c1-7 /etc/passwd
at:x:25
bin:x:1
daemon:
ftp:x:4
ftpsecu
games:x
gdm:x:4
lp:x:4:
mail:x:
man:x:1
message
news:x:
nobody:
nscd:x:
ntp:x:7
openslp
polkitd
postfix
pulse:x
root:x:
rpc:x:4
rtkit:x
scard:x
sshd:x:
statd:x
usbmux:
uucp:x:
vnc:x:4
wwwrun:
trainee

In order to select columns 1 to 5, columns 10 to 15 and columns 30 and higher, us the following command:

root@debian8:~# cut -c1-5,10-15,30- /etc/passwd
root:0:rootsh
daemo1:1:da:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:bin:/nologin
sys:x:sys:/nologin
sync:65534:/sync
games:60:ga:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x2:man::/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:lp:/vasr/sbin/nologin
mail:8:mailr/sbin/nologin
news:9:newsws:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp::10:uuuucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy3:13:p/sbin/nologin
www-dx:33:3r/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backu34:34:ckups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list::38:Maager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x39:ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats1:41:Gting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobod65534:nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systeimesynstemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
systeetworktemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
systeesolvetemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
systeus-proystemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
train:1000:,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:4:6553hd:/usr/sbin/nologin
Debiaim:x:1pool/exim4:/bin/false
messas:x:10n/dbus:/bin/false
statd07:655fs:/bin/false
avahioipd:x autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi09:115emon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
color110:11r management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
dnsma:111:6,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
speecspatcheech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
pulse13:119emon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit14:121,:/proc:/bin/false
saned15:122ed:/bin/false
usbmu116:46,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
light:117:1ay Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
root@ubuntu1604:~# cut -c1-5,10-15,30- /etc/passwd
root:0:rootsh
daemo1:1:da:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:bin:/nologin
sys:x:sys:/nologin
sync:65534:/sync
games:60:ga:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x2:man::/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:lp:/vasr/sbin/nologin
mail:8:mailr/sbin/nologin
news:9:newsws:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp::10:uuuucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy3:13:p/sbin/nologin
www-dx:33:3r/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backu34:34:ckups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list::38:Maager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x39:ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats1:41:Gting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobod65534:nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systeimesynstemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
systeetworktemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
systeesolvetemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
systeus-proystemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
syslo104:10g:/bin/false
_apt:5:6553t:/bin/false
messas:x:10n/dbus:/bin/false
uuidd07:111bin/false
light:108:1ay Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
whoopx:109:ent:/bin/false
avahioipd:x autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi11:120emon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
dnsma:112:6,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
color113:12r management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
speecspatcheech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
hplip15:7:Her,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
kernox:116:ops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
pulse17:124emon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit18:126,:/proc:/bin/false
saned19:127ed:/bin/false
usbmu120:46,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
train:1000:,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:1:6553hd:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 ~]# cut -c1-5,10-15,30- /etc/passwd
root:0:rootsh
bin:x:bin:/gin
daemo2:2:dain/nologin
adm:x:adm:/nologin
lp:x:lp:/vabin/nologin
sync:0:syncnc
shutdx:6:0::/sbin/shutdown
halt:0:haltalt
mail:12:maiail:/sbin/nologin
operax:11:0t:/sbin/nologin
games2:100:es:/sbin/nologin
ftp:x50:FTP:/sbin/nologin
nobod99:99:/nologin
dbus::81:Syus:/:/sbin/nologin
polki:999:9lkitd:/:/sbin/nologin
unbou:998:9 resolver:/etc/unbound:/sbin/nologin
color997:99ord:/var/lib/colord:/sbin/nologin
usbmu:113:1r:/:/sbin/nologin
avahi0:70:ASD Stack:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/sbin/nologin
avahioipd:x IPv4LL Stack:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/sbin/nologin
saslax:996:user":/run/saslauthd:/sbin/nologin
qemu:7:107:bin/nologin
libstemgmt:on account for libstoragemgmt:/var/run/lsm:/sbin/nologin
rpc:x32:Rpcar/lib/rpcbind:/sbin/nologin
rpcus:29:29ser:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
nfsno:x:655mous NFS User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
rtkit72:172proc:/sbin/nologin
radvd5:75:rbin/nologin
ntp:x38::/eologin
chron994:99rony:/sbin/nologin
abrt:3:173:in/nologin
pulse71:171stem Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x42::/vin/nologin
gnometial-s::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
postf:89:89ostfix:/sbin/nologin
sshd::74:Prted SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
tcpdu:72:72gin
train:1000:home/trainee:/bin/bash
vboxa:992:1xadd:/bin/false
tss:x59:Acche trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:~ # cut -c1-5,10-15,30- /etc/passwd
at:x:5:Batc/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:bin:/
daemo2:2:Dan/bash
ftp:x49:FTPftp:/bin/bash
ftpse:x:488FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
games2:100:/var/games:/bin/bash
gdm:x:485:Ganager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
lp:x:Printi/spool/lpd:/bin/bash
mail:12:Mair/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false
man:x62:Maner:/var/cache/man:/bin/bash
messas:x:49 D-Bus:/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
news:13:Newnews:/bin/bash
nobod65534:var/lib/nobody:/bin/bash
nscd:6:495:/run/nscd:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x492:NTlib/ntp:/bin/false
opens:494:2n:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
polki:497:4lkitd:/var/lib/polkit:/sbin/nologin
postf:51:51n:/var/spool/postfix:/bin/false
pulse90:489emon:/var/lib/pulseaudio:/sbin/nologin
root:0:rootsh
rpc:x:65534ind:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
rtkit91:490proc:/bin/false
scard87:487ader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin
sshd:8:498:r/lib/sshd:/bin/false
statd89:655aemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
usbmu493:65emon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin
uucp::14:Uny system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash
vnc:x:491:uar/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
wwwru30:8:Whe:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
train:1000:ome/trainee:/bin/bash

In order to select the 2nd, 4th and 6th column, use the following command:

root@debian8:~# cut -d: -f2,4,6 /etc/passwd
x:0:/root
x:1:/usr/sbin
x:2:/bin
x:3:/dev
x:65534:/bin
x:60:/usr/games
x:12:/var/cache/man
x:7:/var/spool/lpd
x:8:/var/mail
x:9:/var/spool/news
x:10:/var/spool/uucp
x:13:/bin
x:33:/var/www
x:34:/var/backups
x:38:/var/list
x:39:/var/run/ircd
x:41:/var/lib/gnats
x:65534:/nonexistent
x:103:/run/systemd
x:104:/run/systemd/netif
x:105:/run/systemd/resolve
x:106:/run/systemd
x:1000:/home/trainee
x:65534:/var/run/sshd
x:110:/var/spool/exim4
x:111:/var/run/dbus
x:65534:/var/lib/nfs
x:113:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd
x:115:/var/run/avahi-daemon
x:117:/var/lib/colord
x:65534:/var/lib/misc
x:29:/var/run/speech-dispatcher
x:119:/var/run/pulse
x:121:/proc
x:122:/var/lib/saned
x:46:/var/lib/usbmux
x:124:/var/lib/lightdm
root@ubuntu1604:~# cut -d: -f2,4,6 /etc/passwd
x:0:/root
x:1:/usr/sbin
x:2:/bin
x:3:/dev
x:65534:/bin
x:60:/usr/games
x:12:/var/cache/man
x:7:/var/spool/lpd
x:8:/var/mail
x:9:/var/spool/news
x:10:/var/spool/uucp
x:13:/bin
x:33:/var/www
x:34:/var/backups
x:38:/var/list
x:39:/var/run/ircd
x:41:/var/lib/gnats
x:65534:/nonexistent
x:102:/run/systemd
x:103:/run/systemd/netif
x:104:/run/systemd/resolve
x:105:/run/systemd
x:108:/home/syslog
x:65534:/nonexistent
x:110:/var/run/dbus
x:111:/run/uuidd
x:114:/var/lib/lightdm
x:116:/nonexistent
x:119:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd
x:120:/var/run/avahi-daemon
x:65534:/var/lib/misc
x:123:/var/lib/colord
x:29:/var/run/speech-dispatcher
x:7:/var/run/hplip
x:65534:/
x:124:/var/run/pulse
x:126:/proc
x:127:/var/lib/saned
x:46:/var/lib/usbmux
x:1000:/home/trainee
x:65534:/var/run/sshd
[root@centos7 ~]# cut -d: -f2,4,6 /etc/passwd
x:0:/root
x:1:/bin
x:2:/sbin
x:4:/var/adm
x:7:/var/spool/lpd
x:0:/sbin
x:0:/sbin
x:0:/sbin
x:12:/var/spool/mail
x:0:/root
x:100:/usr/games
x:50:/var/ftp
x:99:/
x:81:/
x:998:/
x:997:/etc/unbound
x:996:/var/lib/colord
x:113:/
x:70:/var/run/avahi-daemon
x:170:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd
x:76:/run/saslauthd
x:107:/
x:994:/var/run/lsm
x:32:/var/lib/rpcbind
x:29:/var/lib/nfs
x:65534:/var/lib/nfs
x:172:/proc
x:75:/
x:38:/etc/ntp
x:993:/var/lib/chrony
x:173:/etc/abrt
x:171:/var/run/pulse
x:42:/var/lib/gdm
x:991:/run/gnome-initial-setup/
x:89:/var/spool/postfix
x:74:/var/empty/sshd
x:72:/
x:1000:/home/trainee
x:1:/var/run/vboxadd
x:59:/dev/null
SLES12SP1:~ # cut -d: -f2,4,6 /etc/passwd
x:25:/var/spool/atjobs
x:1:/bin
x:2:/sbin
x:49:/srv/ftp
x:65534:/var/lib/empty
x:100:/var/games
x:485:/var/lib/gdm
x:7:/var/spool/lpd
x:12:/var/spool/clientmqueue
x:62:/var/cache/man
x:499:/var/run/dbus
x:13:/etc/news
x:65533:/var/lib/nobody
x:495:/run/nscd
x:492:/var/lib/ntp
x:2:/var/lib/empty
x:496:/var/lib/polkit
x:51:/var/spool/postfix
x:489:/var/lib/pulseaudio
x:0:/root
x:65534:/var/lib/empty
x:490:/proc
x:487:/var/run/pcscd
x:498:/var/lib/sshd
x:65534:/var/lib/nfs
x:65534:/var/lib/usbmuxd
x:14:/etc/uucp
x:491:/var/lib/empty
x:8:/var/lib/wwwrun
x:100:/home/trainee

Important: Note the use of the -d switch to change the default seperator.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the cut command to view the command line switches.

The uniq Command

The following command is used to extract the Primary Group GIDs from the /etc/passwd file:

root@debian8:~# cut -d: -f4 /etc/passwd | sort -n | uniq
0
1
2
3
7
8
9
10
12
13
29
33
34
38
39
41
46
60
103
104
105
106
110
111
113
115
117
119
121
122
124
1000
65534
root@ubuntu1604:~# cut -d: -f4 /etc/passwd | sort -n | uniq
0
1
2
3
7
8
9
10
12
13
29
33
34
38
39
41
46
60
102
103
104
105
108
110
111
114
116
119
120
123
124
126
127
1000
65534
[root@centos7 ~]# cut -d: -f4 /etc/passwd | sort -n | uniq
0
1
2
4
7
12
29
32
38
42
50
59
70
72
74
75
76
81
89
99
100
107
113
170
171
172
173
991
993
994
996
997
998
1000
65534
SLES12SP1:~ # cut -d: -f4 /etc/passwd | sort -n | uniq
0
1
2
7
8
12
13
14
25
49
51
62
100
485
487
489
490
491
492
495
496
498
499
65533
65534

Important: Note the use of the uniq command to remove duplicates from the list.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the uniq command to view the command line switches.

The tr Command

The tr command is used to substitute certain characters by other characters. This command only accepts data from standard input (hence the pipe):

root@debian8:~# cat /etc/passwd | tr "[a-z]" "[A-Z]"
ROOT:X:0:0:ROOT:/ROOT:/BIN/BASH
DAEMON:X:1:1:DAEMON:/USR/SBIN:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
BIN:X:2:2:BIN:/BIN:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SYS:X:3:3:SYS:/DEV:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SYNC:X:4:65534:SYNC:/BIN:/BIN/SYNC
GAMES:X:5:60:GAMES:/USR/GAMES:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
MAN:X:6:12:MAN:/VAR/CACHE/MAN:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
LP:X:7:7:LP:/VAR/SPOOL/LPD:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
MAIL:X:8:8:MAIL:/VAR/MAIL:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
NEWS:X:9:9:NEWS:/VAR/SPOOL/NEWS:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
UUCP:X:10:10:UUCP:/VAR/SPOOL/UUCP:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
PROXY:X:13:13:PROXY:/BIN:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
WWW-DATA:X:33:33:WWW-DATA:/VAR/WWW:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
BACKUP:X:34:34:BACKUP:/VAR/BACKUPS:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
LIST:X:38:38:MAILING LIST MANAGER:/VAR/LIST:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
IRC:X:39:39:IRCD:/VAR/RUN/IRCD:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
GNATS:X:41:41:GNATS BUG-REPORTING SYSTEM (ADMIN):/VAR/LIB/GNATS:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
NOBODY:X:65534:65534:NOBODY:/NONEXISTENT:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SYSTEMD-TIMESYNC:X:100:103:SYSTEMD TIME SYNCHRONIZATION,,,:/RUN/SYSTEMD:/BIN/FALSE
SYSTEMD-NETWORK:X:101:104:SYSTEMD NETWORK MANAGEMENT,,,:/RUN/SYSTEMD/NETIF:/BIN/FALSE
SYSTEMD-RESOLVE:X:102:105:SYSTEMD RESOLVER,,,:/RUN/SYSTEMD/RESOLVE:/BIN/FALSE
SYSTEMD-BUS-PROXY:X:103:106:SYSTEMD BUS PROXY,,,:/RUN/SYSTEMD:/BIN/FALSE
TRAINEE:X:1000:1000:TRAINEE,,,:/HOME/TRAINEE:/BIN/BASH
SSHD:X:104:65534::/VAR/RUN/SSHD:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
DEBIAN-EXIM:X:105:110::/VAR/SPOOL/EXIM4:/BIN/FALSE
MESSAGEBUS:X:106:111::/VAR/RUN/DBUS:/BIN/FALSE
STATD:X:107:65534::/VAR/LIB/NFS:/BIN/FALSE
AVAHI-AUTOIPD:X:108:113:AVAHI AUTOIP DAEMON,,,:/VAR/LIB/AVAHI-AUTOIPD:/BIN/FALSE
AVAHI:X:109:115:AVAHI MDNS DAEMON,,,:/VAR/RUN/AVAHI-DAEMON:/BIN/FALSE
COLORD:X:110:117:COLORD COLOUR MANAGEMENT DAEMON,,,:/VAR/LIB/COLORD:/BIN/FALSE
DNSMASQ:X:111:65534:DNSMASQ,,,:/VAR/LIB/MISC:/BIN/FALSE
SPEECH-DISPATCHER:X:112:29:SPEECH DISPATCHER,,,:/VAR/RUN/SPEECH-DISPATCHER:/BIN/SH
PULSE:X:113:119:PULSEAUDIO DAEMON,,,:/VAR/RUN/PULSE:/BIN/FALSE
RTKIT:X:114:121:REALTIMEKIT,,,:/PROC:/BIN/FALSE
SANED:X:115:122::/VAR/LIB/SANED:/BIN/FALSE
USBMUX:X:116:46:USBMUX DAEMON,,,:/VAR/LIB/USBMUX:/BIN/FALSE
LIGHTDM:X:117:124:LIGHT DISPLAY MANAGER:/VAR/LIB/LIGHTDM:/BIN/FALSE
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat /etc/passwd | tr "[a-z]" "[A-Z]"
ROOT:X:0:0:ROOT:/ROOT:/BIN/BASH
DAEMON:X:1:1:DAEMON:/USR/SBIN:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
BIN:X:2:2:BIN:/BIN:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SYS:X:3:3:SYS:/DEV:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SYNC:X:4:65534:SYNC:/BIN:/BIN/SYNC
GAMES:X:5:60:GAMES:/USR/GAMES:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
MAN:X:6:12:MAN:/VAR/CACHE/MAN:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
LP:X:7:7:LP:/VAR/SPOOL/LPD:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
MAIL:X:8:8:MAIL:/VAR/MAIL:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
NEWS:X:9:9:NEWS:/VAR/SPOOL/NEWS:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
UUCP:X:10:10:UUCP:/VAR/SPOOL/UUCP:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
PROXY:X:13:13:PROXY:/BIN:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
WWW-DATA:X:33:33:WWW-DATA:/VAR/WWW:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
BACKUP:X:34:34:BACKUP:/VAR/BACKUPS:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
LIST:X:38:38:MAILING LIST MANAGER:/VAR/LIST:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
IRC:X:39:39:IRCD:/VAR/RUN/IRCD:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
GNATS:X:41:41:GNATS BUG-REPORTING SYSTEM (ADMIN):/VAR/LIB/GNATS:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
NOBODY:X:65534:65534:NOBODY:/NONEXISTENT:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SYSTEMD-TIMESYNC:X:100:102:SYSTEMD TIME SYNCHRONIZATION,,,:/RUN/SYSTEMD:/BIN/FALSE
SYSTEMD-NETWORK:X:101:103:SYSTEMD NETWORK MANAGEMENT,,,:/RUN/SYSTEMD/NETIF:/BIN/FALSE
SYSTEMD-RESOLVE:X:102:104:SYSTEMD RESOLVER,,,:/RUN/SYSTEMD/RESOLVE:/BIN/FALSE
SYSTEMD-BUS-PROXY:X:103:105:SYSTEMD BUS PROXY,,,:/RUN/SYSTEMD:/BIN/FALSE
SYSLOG:X:104:108::/HOME/SYSLOG:/BIN/FALSE
_APT:X:105:65534::/NONEXISTENT:/BIN/FALSE
MESSAGEBUS:X:106:110::/VAR/RUN/DBUS:/BIN/FALSE
UUIDD:X:107:111::/RUN/UUIDD:/BIN/FALSE
LIGHTDM:X:108:114:LIGHT DISPLAY MANAGER:/VAR/LIB/LIGHTDM:/BIN/FALSE
WHOOPSIE:X:109:116::/NONEXISTENT:/BIN/FALSE
AVAHI-AUTOIPD:X:110:119:AVAHI AUTOIP DAEMON,,,:/VAR/LIB/AVAHI-AUTOIPD:/BIN/FALSE
AVAHI:X:111:120:AVAHI MDNS DAEMON,,,:/VAR/RUN/AVAHI-DAEMON:/BIN/FALSE
DNSMASQ:X:112:65534:DNSMASQ,,,:/VAR/LIB/MISC:/BIN/FALSE
COLORD:X:113:123:COLORD COLOUR MANAGEMENT DAEMON,,,:/VAR/LIB/COLORD:/BIN/FALSE
SPEECH-DISPATCHER:X:114:29:SPEECH DISPATCHER,,,:/VAR/RUN/SPEECH-DISPATCHER:/BIN/FALSE
HPLIP:X:115:7:HPLIP SYSTEM USER,,,:/VAR/RUN/HPLIP:/BIN/FALSE
KERNOOPS:X:116:65534:KERNEL OOPS TRACKING DAEMON,,,:/:/BIN/FALSE
PULSE:X:117:124:PULSEAUDIO DAEMON,,,:/VAR/RUN/PULSE:/BIN/FALSE
RTKIT:X:118:126:REALTIMEKIT,,,:/PROC:/BIN/FALSE
SANED:X:119:127::/VAR/LIB/SANED:/BIN/FALSE
USBMUX:X:120:46:USBMUX DAEMON,,,:/VAR/LIB/USBMUX:/BIN/FALSE
TRAINEE:X:1000:1000:TRAINEE,,,:/HOME/TRAINEE:/BIN/BASH
SSHD:X:121:65534::/VAR/RUN/SSHD:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
[root@centos7 ~]# cat /etc/passwd | tr "[a-z]" "[A-Z]"
ROOT:X:0:0:ROOT:/ROOT:/BIN/BASH
BIN:X:1:1:BIN:/BIN:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
DAEMON:X:2:2:DAEMON:/SBIN:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
ADM:X:3:4:ADM:/VAR/ADM:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
LP:X:4:7:LP:/VAR/SPOOL/LPD:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SYNC:X:5:0:SYNC:/SBIN:/BIN/SYNC
SHUTDOWN:X:6:0:SHUTDOWN:/SBIN:/SBIN/SHUTDOWN
HALT:X:7:0:HALT:/SBIN:/SBIN/HALT
MAIL:X:8:12:MAIL:/VAR/SPOOL/MAIL:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
OPERATOR:X:11:0:OPERATOR:/ROOT:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
GAMES:X:12:100:GAMES:/USR/GAMES:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
FTP:X:14:50:FTP USER:/VAR/FTP:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
NOBODY:X:99:99:NOBODY:/:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
DBUS:X:81:81:SYSTEM MESSAGE BUS:/:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
POLKITD:X:999:998:USER FOR POLKITD:/:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
UNBOUND:X:998:997:UNBOUND DNS RESOLVER:/ETC/UNBOUND:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
COLORD:X:997:996:USER FOR COLORD:/VAR/LIB/COLORD:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
USBMUXD:X:113:113:USBMUXD USER:/:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
AVAHI:X:70:70:AVAHI MDNS/DNS-SD STACK:/VAR/RUN/AVAHI-DAEMON:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
AVAHI-AUTOIPD:X:170:170:AVAHI IPV4LL STACK:/VAR/LIB/AVAHI-AUTOIPD:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SASLAUTH:X:996:76:"SASLAUTHD USER":/RUN/SASLAUTHD:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
QEMU:X:107:107:QEMU USER:/:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
LIBSTORAGEMGMT:X:995:994:DAEMON ACCOUNT FOR LIBSTORAGEMGMT:/VAR/RUN/LSM:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
RPC:X:32:32:RPCBIND DAEMON:/VAR/LIB/RPCBIND:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
RPCUSER:X:29:29:RPC SERVICE USER:/VAR/LIB/NFS:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
NFSNOBODY:X:65534:65534:ANONYMOUS NFS USER:/VAR/LIB/NFS:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
RTKIT:X:172:172:REALTIMEKIT:/PROC:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
RADVD:X:75:75:RADVD USER:/:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
NTP:X:38:38::/ETC/NTP:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
CHRONY:X:994:993::/VAR/LIB/CHRONY:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
ABRT:X:173:173::/ETC/ABRT:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
PULSE:X:171:171:PULSEAUDIO SYSTEM DAEMON:/VAR/RUN/PULSE:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
GDM:X:42:42::/VAR/LIB/GDM:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
GNOME-INITIAL-SETUP:X:993:991::/RUN/GNOME-INITIAL-SETUP/:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
POSTFIX:X:89:89::/VAR/SPOOL/POSTFIX:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SSHD:X:74:74:PRIVILEGE-SEPARATED SSH:/VAR/EMPTY/SSHD:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
TCPDUMP:X:72:72::/:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
TRAINEE:X:1000:1000:TRAINEE:/HOME/TRAINEE:/BIN/BASH
VBOXADD:X:992:1::/VAR/RUN/VBOXADD:/BIN/FALSE
TSS:X:59:59:ACCOUNT USED BY THE TROUSERS PACKAGE TO SANDBOX THE TCSD DAEMON:/DEV/NULL:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SLES12SP1:~ # cat /etc/passwd | tr "[a-z]" "[A-Z]"
AT:X:25:25:BATCH JOBS DAEMON:/VAR/SPOOL/ATJOBS:/BIN/BASH
BIN:X:1:1:BIN:/BIN:/BIN/BASH
DAEMON:X:2:2:DAEMON:/SBIN:/BIN/BASH
FTP:X:40:49:FTP ACCOUNT:/SRV/FTP:/BIN/BASH
FTPSECURE:X:488:65534:SECURE FTP USER:/VAR/LIB/EMPTY:/BIN/FALSE
GAMES:X:12:100:GAMES ACCOUNT:/VAR/GAMES:/BIN/BASH
GDM:X:486:485:GNOME DISPLAY MANAGER DAEMON:/VAR/LIB/GDM:/BIN/FALSE
LP:X:4:7:PRINTING DAEMON:/VAR/SPOOL/LPD:/BIN/BASH
MAIL:X:8:12:MAILER DAEMON:/VAR/SPOOL/CLIENTMQUEUE:/BIN/FALSE
MAN:X:13:62:MANUAL PAGES VIEWER:/VAR/CACHE/MAN:/BIN/BASH
MESSAGEBUS:X:499:499:USER FOR D-BUS:/VAR/RUN/DBUS:/BIN/FALSE
NEWS:X:9:13:NEWS SYSTEM:/ETC/NEWS:/BIN/BASH
NOBODY:X:65534:65533:NOBODY:/VAR/LIB/NOBODY:/BIN/BASH
NSCD:X:496:495:USER FOR NSCD:/RUN/NSCD:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
NTP:X:74:492:NTP DAEMON:/VAR/LIB/NTP:/BIN/FALSE
OPENSLP:X:494:2:OPENSLP DAEMON:/VAR/LIB/EMPTY:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
POLKITD:X:497:496:USER FOR POLKITD:/VAR/LIB/POLKIT:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
POSTFIX:X:51:51:POSTFIX DAEMON:/VAR/SPOOL/POSTFIX:/BIN/FALSE
PULSE:X:490:489:PULSEAUDIO DAEMON:/VAR/LIB/PULSEAUDIO:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
ROOT:X:0:0:ROOT:/ROOT:/BIN/BASH
RPC:X:495:65534:USER FOR RPCBIND:/VAR/LIB/EMPTY:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
RTKIT:X:491:490:REALTIMEKIT:/PROC:/BIN/FALSE
SCARD:X:487:487:SMART CARD READER:/VAR/RUN/PCSCD:/USR/SBIN/NOLOGIN
SSHD:X:498:498:SSH DAEMON:/VAR/LIB/SSHD:/BIN/FALSE
STATD:X:489:65534:NFS STATD DAEMON:/VAR/LIB/NFS:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
USBMUX:X:493:65534:USBMUXD DAEMON:/VAR/LIB/USBMUXD:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
UUCP:X:10:14:UNIX-TO-UNIX COPY SYSTEM:/ETC/UUCP:/BIN/BASH
VNC:X:492:491:USER FOR VNC:/VAR/LIB/EMPTY:/SBIN/NOLOGIN
WWWRUN:X:30:8:WWW DAEMON APACHE:/VAR/LIB/WWWRUN:/BIN/FALSE
TRAINEE:X:1000:100:TRAINEE:/HOME/TRAINEE:/BIN/BASH
Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the tr command to view the command line switches.

The paste Command

The paste command concatenates lines from n files. For example:

root@debian8:~# paste -d: /etc/passwd /etc/shadow
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash:root:$6$jxZolPSj$yHWmlcj8imvAXDzAoxZG3KEILb3ITQJgTPhqqLsUqjIuUrfc5Yhzrfl9KrVARr16U0MZWTdqhb.FaSsRpfRRC1:16922:0:99999:7:::
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin:daemon:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin:bin:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin:sys:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync:sync:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin:games:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin:man:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin:lp:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin:mail:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin:news:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin:uucp:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin:proxy:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin:www-data:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin:backup:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin:list:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin:irc:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin:gnats:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin:nobody:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
systemd-timesync:x:100:103:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false:systemd-timesync:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
systemd-network:x:101:104:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false:systemd-network:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
systemd-resolve:x:102:105:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false:systemd-resolve:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:106:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false:systemd-bus-proxy:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash:trainee:$6$7S6OreWb$t92JjORxWDcNyF.DtQVAotCxsWfRsvIQUaWjcNfKX3OoFh2GlX2dhtx.oeA0xEjqbff2OPb51VeVjBgwdPU4R0:16922:0:99999:7:::
sshd:x:104:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin:sshd:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
Debian-exim:x:105:110::/var/spool/exim4:/bin/false:Debian-exim:!:16922:0:99999:7:::
messagebus:x:106:111::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false:messagebus:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
statd:x:107:65534::/var/lib/nfs:/bin/false:statd:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
avahi-autoipd:x:108:113:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false:avahi-autoipd:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
avahi:x:109:115:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false:avahi:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false:colord:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false:dnsmasq:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh:speech-dispatcher:!:16922:0:99999:7:::
pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false:pulse:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false:rtkit:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
saned:x:115:122::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false:saned:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false:usbmux:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false:lightdm:*:16922:0:99999:7:::
root@ubuntu1604:~# paste -d: /etc/passwd /etc/shadow
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash:root:!:16924:0:99999:7:::
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin:daemon:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin:bin:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin:sys:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync:sync:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin:games:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin:man:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin:lp:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin:mail:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin:news:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin:uucp:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin:proxy:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin:www-data:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin:backup:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin:list:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin:irc:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin:gnats:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin:nobody:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
systemd-timesync:x:100:102:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false:systemd-timesync:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
systemd-network:x:101:103:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false:systemd-network:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
systemd-resolve:x:102:104:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false:systemd-resolve:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:105:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false:systemd-bus-proxy:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
syslog:x:104:108::/home/syslog:/bin/false:syslog:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
_apt:x:105:65534::/nonexistent:/bin/false:_apt:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
messagebus:x:106:110::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false:messagebus:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
uuidd:x:107:111::/run/uuidd:/bin/false:uuidd:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
lightdm:x:108:114:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false:lightdm:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
whoopsie:x:109:116::/nonexistent:/bin/false:whoopsie:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
avahi-autoipd:x:110:119:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false:avahi-autoipd:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
avahi:x:111:120:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false:avahi:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
dnsmasq:x:112:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false:dnsmasq:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
colord:x:113:123:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false:colord:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
speech-dispatcher:x:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false:speech-dispatcher:!:16911:0:99999:7:::
hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false:hplip:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false:kernoops:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false:pulse:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false:rtkit:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false:saned:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
usbmux:x:120:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false:usbmux:*:16911:0:99999:7:::
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash:trainee:$6$cloNcVp0$4BFXvmH./lvuhem.pWND1.XgChp/BuT4tHukwvFR9ykdQM1Yt.WbMO60lHdUR/E6D2bqUJ/n.BwX4gCMle/671:16924:0:99999:7:::
sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin:sshd:*:16924:0:99999:7:::
[root@centos7 ~]# paste -d: /etc/passwd /etc/shadow
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash:root:$6$r4px/s9L2uwGSFnI$NkK5mzNF.CMAFFqMcO.i.tnrMZQDkriDLYwICsimsPaDWKFwUHS3NhDwZY5e7P3glIu.gTBtaOE.SOOW/D.AU/:16502:0:99999:7:::
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin:bin:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin:daemon:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin:adm:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin:lp:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync:sync:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown:shutdown:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt:halt:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin:mail:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin:operator:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin:games:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin:ftp:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin:nobody:*:16231:0:99999:7:::
dbus:x:81:81:System message bus:/:/sbin/nologin:dbus:!!:16502::::::
polkitd:x:999:998:User for polkitd:/:/sbin/nologin:polkitd:!!:16502::::::
unbound:x:998:997:Unbound DNS resolver:/etc/unbound:/sbin/nologin:unbound:!!:16502::::::
colord:x:997:996:User for colord:/var/lib/colord:/sbin/nologin:colord:!!:16502::::::
usbmuxd:x:113:113:usbmuxd user:/:/sbin/nologin:usbmuxd:!!:16502::::::
avahi:x:70:70:Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/sbin/nologin:avahi:!!:16502::::::
avahi-autoipd:x:170:170:Avahi IPv4LL Stack:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/sbin/nologin:avahi-autoipd:!!:16502::::::
saslauth:x:996:76:"Saslauthd user":/run/saslauthd:/sbin/nologin:saslauth:!!:16502::::::
qemu:x:107:107:qemu user:/:/sbin/nologin:qemu:!!:16502::::::
libstoragemgmt:x:995:994:daemon account for libstoragemgmt:/var/run/lsm:/sbin/nologin:libstoragemgmt:!!:16502::::::
rpc:x:32:32:Rpcbind Daemon:/var/lib/rpcbind:/sbin/nologin:rpc:!!:16502:0:99999:7:::
rpcuser:x:29:29:RPC Service User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin:rpcuser:!!:16502::::::
nfsnobody:x:65534:65534:Anonymous NFS User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin:nfsnobody:!!:16502::::::
rtkit:x:172:172:RealtimeKit:/proc:/sbin/nologin:rtkit:!!:16502::::::
radvd:x:75:75:radvd user:/:/sbin/nologin:radvd:!!:16502::::::
ntp:x:38:38::/etc/ntp:/sbin/nologin:ntp:!!:16502::::::
chrony:x:994:993::/var/lib/chrony:/sbin/nologin:chrony:!!:16502::::::
abrt:x:173:173::/etc/abrt:/sbin/nologin:abrt:!!:16502::::::
pulse:x:171:171:PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin:pulse:!!:16502::::::
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin:gdm:!!:16502::::::
gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin:gnome-initial-setup:!!:16502::::::
postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin:postfix:!!:16502::::::
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin:sshd:!!:16502::::::
tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin:tcpdump:!!:16502::::::
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash:trainee:$6$tMd44tmmFiitAS7.$sJSua3jhyKm2k0mIifYuTpUO0d6q6/gS3PDyuxbHadHVYLsoVslZ3Pn8m5X93rr64oj.KK8OL6J.gvhxbQBrZ1:16502:0:99999:7:::
vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false:vboxadd:!!:16691::::::
tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin:tss:!!:16723::::::
SLES12SP1:~ # paste -d: /etc/passwd /etc/shadow
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash:at:!:16922::::::
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash:bin:*:16765::::::
daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash:daemon:*:16765::::::
ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srv/ftp:/bin/bash:ftp:*:16765::::::
ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false:ftpsecure:!:16922::::::
games:x:12:100:Games account:/var/games:/bin/bash:games:*:16765::::::
gdm:x:486:485:Gnome Display Manager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false:gdm:!:16922::::::
lp:x:4:7:Printing daemon:/var/spool/lpd:/bin/bash:lp:*:16765::::::
mail:x:8:12:Mailer daemon:/var/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false:mail:*:16765::::::
man:x:13:62:Manual pages viewer:/var/cache/man:/bin/bash:man:*:16765::::::
messagebus:x:499:499:User for D-Bus:/var/run/dbus:/bin/false:messagebus:!:16765::::::
news:x:9:13:News system:/etc/news:/bin/bash:news:*:16765::::::
nobody:x:65534:65533:nobody:/var/lib/nobody:/bin/bash:nobody:*:16765::::::
nscd:x:496:495:User for nscd:/run/nscd:/sbin/nologin:nscd:!:16765::::::
ntp:x:74:492:NTP daemon:/var/lib/ntp:/bin/false:ntp:!:16922::::::
openslp:x:494:2:openslp daemon:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin:openslp:!:16765::::::
polkitd:x:497:496:User for polkitd:/var/lib/polkit:/sbin/nologin:polkitd:!:16765::::::
postfix:x:51:51:Postfix Daemon:/var/spool/postfix:/bin/false:postfix:!:16922::::::
pulse:x:490:489:PulseAudio daemon:/var/lib/pulseaudio:/sbin/nologin:pulse:!:16922::::::
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash:root:$6$g0tHJ9vyIfFt$rbm.rf7p6XZMxMqbqa/BGDeA7E7RkC9n89w8cWdpAxkUmwk7BPcMv7Zy9nVAn7f/7zQJzcRcsIqp5bRx1e8iX/:16922::::::
rpc:x:495:65534:user for rpcbind:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin:rpc:!:16765::::::
rtkit:x:491:490:RealtimeKit:/proc:/bin/false:rtkit:!:16922::::::
scard:x:487:487:Smart Card Reader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin:scard:!:16922::::::
sshd:x:498:498:SSH daemon:/var/lib/sshd:/bin/false:sshd:!:16765::::::
statd:x:489:65534:NFS statd daemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin:statd:!:16922::::::
usbmux:x:493:65534:usbmuxd daemon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin:usbmux:!:16922::::::
uucp:x:10:14:Unix-to-Unix CoPy system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash:uucp:*:16765::::::
vnc:x:492:491:user for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin:vnc:!:16922::::::
wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false:wwwrun:*:16765::::::
trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash:trainee:$6$OZyVqj4ekgmu$Cw0T.n6gNv.vTdAT6dFxrrSeHW/V3r43jWFczPG0lxg5SB9iMUcQ6MFLz9NuTTas289xe/ULsJhE2HdJbraGA.:16922:0:99999:7:::

Important: Note that you need to be root to be able to execute this command. The reason is that normal users do not have the right to read the /etc/shadow file.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the paste command to view the command line switches.

The split Command

The split command is used to divide a large file into smaller segments. Create an empty 250 MB file as follows:

root@debian8:~# dd if=/dev/zero of=/file bs=1024k count=250
250+0 records in
250+0 records out
262144000 bytes (262 MB) copied, 0.57181 s, 458 MB/s
root@ubuntu1604:~# dd if=/dev/zero of=/file bs=1024k count=250
250+0 records in
250+0 records out
262144000 bytes (262 MB, 250 MiB) copied, 2,57217 s, 102 MB/s
[root@centos7 ~]# dd if=/dev/zero of=/file bs=1024k count=250
250+0 records in
250+0 records out
262144000 bytes (262 MB) copied, 0.215447 s, 1.2 GB/s
SLES12SP1:~ # dd if=/dev/zero of=/file bs=1024k count=250
250+0 records in
250+0 records out
262144000 bytes (262 MB) copied, 3.50609 s, 74.8 MB/s

Now use the split command to divide the file into 5 smaller files each of 50 MB:

root@debian8:~# split -b 50m /file filepart
root@debian8:~# ls -l | grep filepart
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 Nov 30 18:41 filepartaa
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 Nov 30 18:41 filepartab
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 Nov 30 18:41 filepartac
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 Nov 30 18:41 filepartad
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 Nov 30 18:41 filepartae
root@ubuntu1604:~# split -b 50m /file filepart
root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -l | grep filepart
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 déc.  17 11:31 filepartaa
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 déc.  17 11:31 filepartab
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 déc.  17 11:31 filepartac
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 déc.  17 11:31 filepartad
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 52428800 déc.  17 11:31 filepartae
[root@centos7 ~]# split -b 50m /file filepart
[root@centos7 ~]# ls -l | grep filepart
-rw-r--r--.  1 root root  52428800 Oct 19 15:31 filepartaa
-rw-r--r--.  1 root root  52428800 Oct 19 15:31 filepartab
-rw-r--r--.  1 root root  52428800 Oct 19 15:31 filepartac
-rw-r--r--.  1 root root  52428800 Oct 19 15:31 filepartad
-rw-r--r--.  1 root root  52428800 Oct 19 15:31 filepartae
SLES12SP1:~ # split -b 50m /file filepart
SLES12SP1:~ # ls -l | grep filepart
-rw-r--r-- 1 root    root  52428800 Dec 14 15:10 filepartaa
-rw-r--r-- 1 root    root  52428800 Dec 14 15:10 filepartab
-rw-r--r-- 1 root    root  52428800 Dec 14 15:10 filepartac
-rw-r--r-- 1 root    root  52428800 Dec 14 15:10 filepartad
-rw-r--r-- 1 root    root  52428800 Dec 14 15:10 filepartae

Important: Note that the 5 files were created in the current working directory.

You can re-construct the original file by using the cat command:

root@debian8:~# cat fileparta* > newfile
root@debian8:~# ls -l | grep newf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 262144000 Nov 30 18:42 newfile
root@ubuntu1604:~# cat fileparta* > newfile
root@ubuntu1604:~# ls -l | grep newf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 262144000 déc.  17 11:32 newfile
[root@centos7 ~]# cat fileparta* > newfile
[root@centos7 ~]# ls -l | grep newf
-rw-r--r--.  1 root root  262144000 Oct 19 15:31 newfile
SLES12SP1:~ # cat fileparta* > newfile
SLES12SP1:~ # ls -l | grep newf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root    root  262144000 Dec 14 15:11 newfile
Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the split command to view the command line switches.

The diff Command

The diff command compares two fles and indicates what changes need to be made to the first file in order that it be identical to the second file.

Copy the /etc/passwd file to the /root directory:

root@debian8:~# cp /etc/passwd /root
root@ubuntu1604:~# cp /etc/passwd /root
[root@centos ~]# cp /etc/passwd /root
SLES12SP1:~ # cp /etc/passwd /root
Debian

Edit the */root/passwd file as shown:

...
trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
...

Delete the lp entry and add the following line to the end of /root/passwd:

...
Linux is great!

Now compare the two files:

root@debian8:~# diff /etc/passwd /root/passwd
8d7
< lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
23c22
< trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
---
> trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
37a37
> Linux is great! 

In this output you will notice the < and > characters. The first makes reference to the first file, /etc/passwd, whist the second makes reference to the second file, /root/passwd.

The output 8d7 means that line 8 needs to be deleted in /etc/passwd because it is missing in /root/passwd.

The output 23c22 means that at line 23 in /etc/passwd needs to be modified in order to be the same as line 22 in /root/passwd.

The output 37a37 means that line 37 in /root/passwd needs to be added after line 37 in /etc/passwd.

Ubuntu

Edit the */root/passwd file as shown:

...
trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
...

Delete the lp entry and add the following line to the end of /root/passwd:

...
Linux is great!

Now compare the two files:

root@ubuntu1604:~# diff /etc/passwd /root/passwd
8d7
< lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
40c39
< trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
---
> trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
41a41
> Linux is great!

In this output you will notice the < and > characters. The first makes reference to the first file, /etc/passwd, whist the second makes reference to the second file, /root/passwd.

The output 8d7 means that line 8 needs to be deleted in /etc/passwd because it is missing in /root/passwd.

The output 40c39 means that at line 40 in /etc/passwd needs to be modified in order to be the same as line 39 in /root/passwd.

The output 41a41 means that at line 41 in /root/passwd line 41 in /etc/passwd needs to be added because it is missing.

RHEL/CentOS

Edit the */root/passwd file as shown:

...
trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
...

Delete the tcpdump entry and add the following line to the end of /root/passwd:

...
Linux est super!

Now compare the two files:

[root@centos7 ~]# diff /etc/passwd /root/passwd
38,39c38
< trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
< vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false
---
> trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
40a40
> Linux est super!

In this output you will notice the < and > characters. The first makes reference to the first file, /etc/passwd, whist the second makes reference to the second file, /root/passwd.

The output 38,39c38 means that line 39 needs to be changed in /etc/passwd so that is the same as line 38 in /root/passwd.

The output 40a40 means that at line 40 in /etc/passwd line 40 from /root/passwd needs to be added.

SLES

Edit the */root/passwd file as shown:

...
trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
...

Delete the uucp entry and add the following line to the end of /root/passwd:

...
Linux est super!

Now compare the two files:

SLES12SP1:~ # diff /etc/passwd /root/passwd
27d26
< uucp:x:10:14:Unix-to-Unix CoPy system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash
30c29,30
< trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
---
> trainee10:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
> Linux est super

In this output you will notice the < and > characters. The first makes reference to the first file, /etc/passwd, whist the second makes reference to the second file, /root/passwd.

The output 27d26 means that line 27 needs to be deleted form /etc/passwd because it does not exist in /root/passwd.

The output 30c29,30 means that line 30 needs to be changed in /etc/passwd so that is the same as line 29 in /root/passwd.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the diff command to view the command line switches.

The cmp Command

The cmp command compares two files character by character. By default, the command stops after finding the first difference:

root@debian8:~# cmp /root/passwd /etc/passwd
/root/passwd /etc/passwd differ: byte 286, line 8
root@ubuntu1604:~# cmp /root/passwd /etc/passwd
/root/passwd /etc/passwd differ: byte 286, line 8
[root@centos7 ~]# cmp /root/passwd /etc/passwd
/root/passwd /etc/passwd differ: byte 1873, line 38
SLES12SP1:~ # cmp /root/passwd /etc/passwd
/root/passwd /etc/passwd differ: char 1413, line 27

The -l switch shows all of the differences in a three column format:

root@debian8:~# cmp -l /root/passwd /etc/passwd | more
cmp: EOF on /root/passwd
 286 155 154
 287 141 160
 288 151  72
 289 154 170
 291 170  67
 293  70  67
 295  70 154
 296  72 160
 297 155  72
 298 141  57
 299 151 166
 300 154 141
 301  72 162
 303 166 163
 304 141 160
 305 162 157
 306  57 157
 307 155 154
 308 141  57
 309 151 154
 310 154 160
 311  72 144
 312  57  72
--More--
root@ubuntu1604:~# cmp -l /root/passwd /etc/passwd | more
cmp: EOF on /root/passwd
 286 155 154
 287 141 160
 288 151  72
 289 154 170
 291 170  67
 293  70  67
 295  70 154
 296  72 160
 297 155  72
 298 141  57
 299 151 166
 300 154 141
 301  72 162
 303 166 163
 304 141 160
 305 162 157
 306  57 157
 307 155 154
 308 141  57
 309 151 154
 310 154 160
 311  72 144
 312  57  72
--More--
[root@centos7 ~]# cmp -l /root/passwd /etc/passwd | more
cmp: EOF on /root/passwd
1873  61  72
1874  60 170
1876 170  61
1877  72  60
1878  61  60
1880  60  72
1881  60  61
1882  72  60
1883  61  60
1885  60  72
1886  60 164
1887  72 162
1888 164 141
1889 162 151
1890 141 156
1891 151 145
1892 156 145
1893 145  72
1894 145  57
1895  72 150
1896  57 157
1897 150 155
1898 157 145
1899 155  57
1900 145 164
1901  57 162
1902 164 141
1903 162 151
--More--
SLES12SP1:~ # cmp -l /root/passwd /etc/passwd | more
cmp: EOF on /root/passwd
1413 166 165
1414 156 165
1416  72 160
1417 170  72
1418  72 170
1419  64  72
1420  71  61
1421  62  60
1423  64  61
1424  71  64
1425  61  72
1426  72 125
1427 165 156
1428 163 151
1429 145 170
1430 162  55
1431  40 164
1432 146 157
1433 157  55
1434 162 125
1435  40 156
1436 126 151
1437 116 170
--More--

The first column represents the character number, the second column represents the ASCII octal value of the character in the /root/passwd file and the third column represents the ASCII octal value of the character in the /etc/passwd file.

Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the cmp command to view the command line switches.

The patch Command

The patch command is used to apply modifications contained within a patch file to an older version of a file so that it becomes the newer version of the file.

Debian

If you recall, you made some changes to the original greptest file that you downloaded:

root@debian8:~#  cat /tmp/greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment

You also used egrep to remove all the comments and empty lines and save the result to /tmp/greptest1:

[root@centos ~]# cat /tmp/greptest1
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£

Now create a patch file containing the modifications that need to be applied to /tmp/greptest in order for it to be identical to /tmp/greptest1:

root@debian8:~# cd /tmp
root@debian8:/tmp# diff -u greptest greptest1 > greptest.patch

A look at the patch file shows the chnages that need to be made to the greptest file:

root@debian8:/tmp# cat /tmp/greptest.patch
--- greptest	2016-11-30 18:54:52.732000000 +0000
+++ greptest1	2016-11-30 18:55:28.392000000 +0000
@@ -1,14 +1,7 @@
-# Starting comment
-^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
 fenestrOS
 fenestros
-# Another comment
 555-5555
 f
-
 .fenestros
-
 .fe
-
 £
-# End comment

Now apply the patch file:

root@debian8:/tmp# patch < greptest.patch
patching file greptest

Finally, check the contents of the patched greptest file:

root@debian8:/tmp# cat greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
Ubuntu

If you recall, you made some changes to the original greptest file that you downloaded:

root@ubuntu1604:~# cat /tmp/greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment

You also used egrep to remove all the comments and empty lines and save the result to /tmp/greptest1:

root@ubuntu1604:~# cat /tmp/greptest1
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£

Now create a patch file containing the modifications that need to be applied to /tmp/greptest in order for it to be identical to /tmp/greptest1:

root@ubuntu1604:~# cd /tmp
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# diff -u greptest greptest1 > greptest.patch

A look at the patch file shows the chnages that need to be made to the greptest file:

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# cat /tmp/greptest.patch
--- greptest	2016-12-09 15:47:38.836983792 +0100
+++ greptest1	2016-12-09 15:46:15.976860968 +0100
@@ -1,14 +1,7 @@
-# Starting comment
-^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
 fenestrOS
 fenestros
-# Another comment
 555-5555
 f
-
 .fenestros
-
 .fe
-
 £
-# End comment

Now apply the patch file:

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# patch < greptest.patch
patching file greptest

Finally, check the contents of the patched greptest file:

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# cat greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
RHEL/CentOS

The patch command is not installed by default in RHEL/CentOS 7:

[root@centos7 ~]# yum install patch
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, langpacks
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: mirror.ibcp.fr
 * extras: mirrors.atosworldline.com
 * updates: mirror.ibcp.fr
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package patch.x86_64 0:2.7.1-8.el7 will be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

======================================================================================================================================================
 Package                           Arch                               Version                                  Repository                        Size
======================================================================================================================================================
Installing:
 patch                             x86_64                             2.7.1-8.el7                              base                             110 k

Transaction Summary
======================================================================================================================================================
Install  1 Package

Total download size: 110 k
Installed size: 210 k
Is this ok [y/d/N]: y
Downloading packages:
patch-2.7.1-8.el7.x86_64.rpm                                                                                                   | 110 kB  00:00:00     
Running transaction check
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded
Running transaction
  Installing : patch-2.7.1-8.el7.x86_64                                                                                                           1/1 
  Verifying  : patch-2.7.1-8.el7.x86_64                                                                                                           1/1 

Installed:
  patch.x86_64 0:2.7.1-8.el7                                                                                                                          

Complete!

If you recall, you made some changes to the original greptest file that you downloaded:

[root@centos7 ~]# cat /tmp/greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment

You also used egrep to remove all the comments and empty lines and save the result to /tmp/greptest1:

[root@centos ~]# cat /tmp/greptest1
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£

Now create a patch file containing the modifications that need to be applied to /tmp/greptest in order for it to be identical to /tmp/greptest1:

[root@centos7 ~]# cd /tmp
[root@centos7 tmp]# diff -u greptest greptest1 > greptest.patch

A look at the patch file shows the changes that need to be made to the greptest file:

[root@centos tmp]# cat /tmp/greptest.patch
--- greptest	2013-01-07 15:14:03.646565259 +0100
+++ greptest1	2013-01-07 15:07:05.657375635 +0100
@@ -1,14 +1,7 @@
-# Starting comment
-^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
 fenestrOS
 fenestros
-# Another comment
 555-5555
 f
-
 .fenestros
-
 .fe
-
 £
-# End comment

Now apply the patch file:

[root@centos7 tmp]# patch < greptest.patch
patching file greptest

Finally, check the contents of the patched greptest file:

[root@centos7 tmp]# cat greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
SLES

If you recall, you made some changes to the original greptest file that you downloaded:

SLES12SP1:~ # cat /tmp/greptest
# Starting comment
^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
fenestrOS
fenestros
# Another comment
555-5555
f

.fenestros

.fe

£
# End comment

You also used egrep to remove all the comments and empty lines and save the result to /tmp/greptest1:

SLES12SP1:~ # cat /tmp/greptest1
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£

Now create a patch file containing the modifications that need to be applied to /tmp/greptest in order for it to be identical to /tmp/greptest1:

SLES12SP1:~ # cd /tmp
SLES12SP1:/tmp # diff -u greptest greptest1 > greptest.patch

A look at the patch file shows the chnages that need to be made to the greptest file:

SLES12SP1:/tmp # cat /tmp/greptest.patch
--- greptest	2016-12-14 14:00:32.987471124 +0100
+++ greptest1	2016-12-14 13:59:12.319471124 +0100
@@ -1,14 +1,7 @@
-# Starting comment
-^ This line will be used to demonstrate the use of fgrep
 fenestrOS
 fenestros
-# Another comment
 555-5555
 f
-
 .fenestros
-
 .fe
-
 £
-# End comment

Now apply the patch file:

SLES12SP1:/tmp # patch < greptest.patch
patching file greptest

Finally, check the contents of the patched greptest file:

SLES12SP1:/tmp # cat greptest
fenestrOS
fenestros
555-5555
f
.fenestros
.fe
£
Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the patch command to view the command line switches.

The strings Command

The strings Command is used to extract any printable string in one or more object files or executables. An object fie is an intermediary file used when compiling.

The format of an object file is ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). This same format is also used for:

Debian

The strings command is not installed by default in Debian 8 :

root@debian8:/tmp# apt-get install binutils
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Suggested packages:
  binutils-doc
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  binutils
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 3,516 kB of archives.
After this operation, 21.1 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ jessie/main binutils amd64 2.25-5 [3,516 kB]
Fetched 3,516 kB in 0s (7,674 kB/s)
Selecting previously unselected package binutils.
(Reading database ... 82508 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../binutils_2.25-5_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking binutils (2.25-5) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.0.2-5) ...
Setting up binutils (2.25-5) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.19-18+deb8u4) ...
root@debian8:/tmp# which strings
/usr/bin/strings

Used as is, the command extracts all strings greater than 4 characters in length:

root@debian8:/tmp# strings /usr/bin/passwd | more
/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
libpam.so.0
_ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
__gmon_start__
_Jv_RegisterClasses
_ITM_registerTMCloneTable
pam_start
pam_strerror
pam_chauthtok
pam_end
libpam_misc.so.0
misc_conv
libaudit.so.1
_fini
_init
libselinux.so.1
is_selinux_enabled
security_getenforce
context_user_get
security_compute_av
matchpathcon
freecon
context_free
--More--

Print the offset within the file before each string:

root@debian8:/tmp# strings -t d /usr/bin/passwd | more
    568 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
   3985 libpam.so.0
   3997 _ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
   4025 __gmon_start__
   4040 _Jv_RegisterClasses
   4060 _ITM_registerTMCloneTable
   4086 pam_start
   4096 pam_strerror
   4109 pam_chauthtok
   4123 pam_end
   4131 libpam_misc.so.0
   4148 misc_conv
   4158 libaudit.so.1
   4172 _fini
   4178 _init
   4184 libselinux.so.1
   4200 is_selinux_enabled
   4219 security_getenforce
   4239 context_user_get
   4256 security_compute_av
   4276 matchpathcon
   4289 freecon
   4297 context_free
--More--

The -t switch can take one of three arguments that specify the numbering system to use:

Argument Numbering System
d Decimal
o Octal
x Hexadecimal

The -n switch prints sequences of characters that are at least min-len characters long, instead of the default 4:

root@debian8:/tmp# strings -t d -n 15 /usr/bin/passwd | more
    568 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
   3997 _ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
   4040 _Jv_RegisterClasses
   4060 _ITM_registerTMCloneTable
   4131 libpam_misc.so.0
   4184 libselinux.so.1
   4200 is_selinux_enabled
   4219 security_getenforce
   4239 context_user_get
   4256 security_compute_av
   4532 __stack_chk_fail
   4693 __errno_location
   5150 __libc_start_main
   5246 LIBPAM_MISC_1.0
  34104 Usage: %s [options] [LOGIN]
  34144   -a, --all                     report password status on all accounts
  34216   -d, --delete                  delete the password for the named accoun
t
  34296   -e, --expire                  force expire the password for the named 
account
  34384   -h, --help                    display this help message and exit
  34456   -k, --keep-tokens             change password only if expired
  34528   -i, --inactive INACTIVE       set password inactive after expiration
--More--

The -f switch prints the name of the file before each string:

root@debian8:/tmp# strings -f /bin/* | grep "(c)"
/bin/ntfscat: Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfscat: Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfscat: Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Szabolcs Szakacsits
/bin/ntfscat: Copyright (c) 2007      Yura Pakhuchiy
/bin/ntfscluster: Copyright (c) 2002-2003 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfscluster: Copyright (c) 2005 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfscluster: Copyright (c) 2005-2006 Szabolcs Szakacsits
/bin/ntfsfallocate: Copyright (c) 2013-2014 Jean-Pierre Andre
/bin/ntfsfix: Copyright (c) 2000-2006 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfsfix: Copyright (c) 2002-2006 Szabolcs Szakacsits
/bin/ntfsfix: Copyright (c) 2007      Yura Pakhuchiy
/bin/ntfsfix: Copyright (c) 2011-2014 Jean-Pierre Andre
/bin/ntfsinfo: Copyright (c)
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2003 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2004 Carmelo Kintana
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2004 Giang Nguyen
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2003 Lode Leroy
/bin/ntfsmove: Copyright (c) 2003 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfstruncate: Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfstruncate: Copyright (c) 2003 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfswipe: Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfswipe: Copyright (c) 2004 Yura Pakhuchiy
/bin/ping: @(#) Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/ping6: @(#) Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
Ubuntu

Used as is, the command extracts all strings greater than 4 characters in length:

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# strings /usr/bin/passwd | more
/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
kgUa
libpam.so.0
_ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
__gmon_start__
_Jv_RegisterClasses
_ITM_registerTMCloneTable
pam_start
pam_strerror
pam_chauthtok
pam_end
libpam_misc.so.0
misc_conv
libselinux.so.1
_init
is_selinux_enabled
security_getenforce
context_user_get
security_compute_av
matchpathcon
freecon
context_free
setfscreatecon
--More--

Print the offset within the file before each string:

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# strings -t d /usr/bin/passwd | more
    568 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
    823 kgUa
   4241 libpam.so.0
   4253 _ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
   4281 __gmon_start__
   4296 _Jv_RegisterClasses
   4316 _ITM_registerTMCloneTable
   4342 pam_start
   4352 pam_strerror
   4365 pam_chauthtok
   4379 pam_end
   4387 libpam_misc.so.0
   4404 misc_conv
   4414 libselinux.so.1
   4430 _init
   4436 is_selinux_enabled
   4455 security_getenforce
   4475 context_user_get
   4492 security_compute_av
   4512 matchpathcon
   4525 freecon
   4533 context_free
   4546 setfscreatecon
--More--

The -t switch can take one of three arguments that specify the numbering system to use:

Argument Numbering System
d Decimal
o Octal
x Hexadecimal

The -n switch prints sequences of characters that are at least min-len characters long, instead of the default 4:

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# strings -t d -n 15 /usr/bin/passwd | more
    568 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
   4253 _ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
   4296 _Jv_RegisterClasses
   4316 _ITM_registerTMCloneTable
   4387 libpam_misc.so.0
   4414 libselinux.so.1
   4436 is_selinux_enabled
   4455 security_getenforce
   4475 context_user_get
   4492 security_compute_av
   4774 __stack_chk_fail
   4942 __errno_location
   5405 __libc_start_main
   5537 LIBPAM_MISC_1.0
  34456 Usage: %s [options] [LOGIN]
  34496   -a, --all                     report password status on all accounts
  34568   -d, --delete                  delete the password for the named accoun
t
  34648   -e, --expire                  force expire the password for the named 
account
  34736   -h, --help                    display this help message and exit
  34808   -k, --keep-tokens             change password only if expired
  34880   -i, --inactive INACTIVE       set password inactive after expiration
--More--

The -f switch prints the name of the file before each string:

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# strings -f /bin/* | grep "(c)"
/bin/ntfscat: Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfscat: Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfscat: Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Szabolcs Szakacsits
/bin/ntfscat: Copyright (c) 2007      Yura Pakhuchiy
/bin/ntfscluster: Copyright (c) 2002-2003 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfscluster: Copyright (c) 2005 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfscluster: Copyright (c) 2005-2006 Szabolcs Szakacsits
/bin/ntfsfallocate: Copyright (c) 2013-2014 Jean-Pierre Andre
/bin/ntfsfix: Copyright (c) 2000-2006 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfsfix: Copyright (c) 2002-2006 Szabolcs Szakacsits
/bin/ntfsfix: Copyright (c) 2007      Yura Pakhuchiy
/bin/ntfsfix: Copyright (c) 2011-2015 Jean-Pierre Andre
/bin/ntfsinfo: Copyright (c)
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2003 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2004 Carmelo Kintana
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2004 Giang Nguyen
/bin/ntfsls: Copyright (c) 2003 Lode Leroy
/bin/ntfsmove: Copyright (c) 2003 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfstruncate: Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Anton Altaparmakov
/bin/ntfstruncate: Copyright (c) 2003 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfswipe: Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Richard Russon
/bin/ntfswipe: Copyright (c) 2004 Yura Pakhuchiy
/bin/ping: @(#) Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/ping6: @(#) Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California..
RHEL/CentOS

Used as is, the command extracts all strings greater than 4 characters in length:

[root@centos7 tmp]# strings /usr/bin/passwd | more
/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
{1~`
libuser.so.1
g_value_get_int64
is_selinux_enabled
_ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
g_free
g_value_array_get_nth
__gmon_start__
g_value_get_string
g_type_check_value_holds
g_value_get_long
_Jv_RegisterClasses
freecon
_ITM_registerTMCloneTable
lu_ent_set_string
lu_ent_get_first_value_strdup
lu_error_free
lu_user_lock
_fini
_init
lu_strerror
lu_ent_free
lu_ent_new
lu_user_modify
lu_prompt_console
lu_start
lu_user_lookup_name
--More--

Print the offset within the file before each string:

[root@centos7 tmp]# strings -t d /usr/bin/passwd | more
    568 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
    648 {1~`
   2833 libuser.so.1
   2846 g_value_get_int64
   2864 is_selinux_enabled
   2883 _ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
   2911 g_free
   2918 g_value_array_get_nth
   2940 __gmon_start__
   2955 g_value_get_string
   2974 g_type_check_value_holds
   2999 g_value_get_long
   3016 _Jv_RegisterClasses
   3036 freecon
   3044 _ITM_registerTMCloneTable
   3070 lu_ent_set_string
   3088 lu_ent_get_first_value_strdup
   3118 lu_error_free
   3132 lu_user_lock
   3145 _fini
   3151 _init
   3157 lu_strerror
   3169 lu_ent_free
   3181 lu_ent_new
   3192 lu_user_modify
   3207 lu_prompt_console
   3225 lu_start
   3234 lu_user_lookup_name
--More--

The -t switch can take one of three arguments that specify the numbering system to use:

Argument Numbering System
d Decimal
o Octal
x Hexadecimal

The -n switch prints sequences of characters that are at least min-len characters long, instead of the default 4:

[root@centos7 tmp]# strings -t d -n 15 /usr/bin/passwd | more
    568 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
   2846 g_value_get_int64
   2864 is_selinux_enabled
   2883 _ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
   2918 g_value_array_get_nth
   2955 g_value_get_string
   2974 g_type_check_value_holds
   2999 g_value_get_long
   3016 _Jv_RegisterClasses
   3044 _ITM_registerTMCloneTable
   3070 lu_ent_set_string
   3088 lu_ent_get_first_value_strdup
   3207 lu_prompt_console
   3234 lu_user_lookup_name
   3261 lu_ent_set_long
   3303 lu_user_removepass
   3322 libgobject-2.0.so.0
   3342 libglib-2.0.so.0
   3372 poptSetOtherOptionHelp
   3464 poptHelpOptions
   3503 audit_log_acct_message
   3599 libpam_misc.so.0
   3640 audit_log_user_avc_message
   3667 audit_log_user_message
   3690 libselinux.so.1
   3706 selinux_set_callback
   3727 selinux_check_access
   3759 libpthread.so.0
--More--

The -f switch prints the name of the file before each string:

[root@centos7 tmp]# strings -f /bin/* | grep "(c)"
/bin/btrace: # Copyright (c) 2005 Silicon Graphics, Inc.
/bin/cdda-player: (c) 1997,98 Gerd Knorr <kraxel@goldbach.in-berlin.de>
/bin/cdda-player: (c) 2005, 2006 Rocky Bernstein <rocky@gnu.org>
/bin/cd-drive: Copyright (c) 2003-2005, 2007-2008, 2011-2013 R. Bernstein
/bin/cd-info: Copyright (c) 2003-2005, 2007-2008, 2011-2013 R. Bernstein
/bin/cd-read: Copyright (c) 2003-2005, 2007-2008, 2011-2013 R. Bernstein
/bin/chcat:         if len(c) > 0 and ( c[0] == "+" or c[0] == "-" ):
/bin/chcat:                 if len(c) > 0 and c[0] == "+":
/bin/chcat:                 if len(c) > 0 and c[0] == "-":
/bin/crash:        (c) a pointer to the first item pointed to by the start address.
/bin/crash:        (c) a list_head that is embedded within a data structure that is
/bin/crash:                 switch(c)
/bin/csh: @(#) Copyright (c) 1991 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/diffpp: # Copyright (c) 1996-1998 Markku Rossi
/bin/drill: Copyright (c) 2004-2008 NLnet Labs.
/bin/festival_server: ##                         Copyright (c) 1996                            ##
/bin/festival_server_control: ##                         Copyright (c) 1996                            ##
/bin/gcm-calibrate: Copyright (c)
/bin/gprof: @(#) Copyright (c) 1983 Regents of the University of California.
/bin/hpijs: Copyright (c) 2001-2004, Hewlett-Packard Co.
/bin/ibus-setup: # Copyright (c) 2007-2010 Peng Huang <shawn.p.huang@gmail.com>
/bin/ibus-setup: # Copyright (c) 2007-2010 Red Hat, Inc.
/bin/ibus-table-createdb: # Copyright (c) 2008-2009 Yu Yuwei <acevery@gmail.com>
/bin/iso-info: Copyright (c) 2003-2005, 2007-2008, 2011-2013 R. Bernstein
/bin/iso-read: Copyright (c) 2003-2005, 2007-2008, 2011-2013 R. Bernstein
/bin/lsusb.py: # (c) Kurt Garloff <garloff@suse.de>, 2/2009, GPL v2 or v3.
/bin/mmc-tool: Copyright (c) 2003-2005, 2007-2008, 2011-2013 R. Bernstein
/bin/orca: __copyright__ = "Copyright (c) 2010-2012 The Orca Team" \
/bin/orca:                 "Copyright (c) 2012 Igalia, S.L."
/bin/pinentry: # Copyright (c) 2006 SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, Nuernberg, Germany.
/bin/pinentry: # Copyright (c) 2009 Fedora Project
/bin/ping: @(#) Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/ping6: @(#) Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/pod2usage: # Copyright (c) 1996-2000 by Bradford Appleton. All rights reserved.
/bin/qemu-img: qemu-img version 1.5.3, Copyright (c) 2004-2008 Fabrice Bellard
/bin/repoclosure: # seth vidal 2005 (c) etc etc
/bin/repodiff: # (c) 2007 Red Hat. Written by skvidal@fedoraproject.org
/bin/repo-graph: # (c) 2005 Panu Matilainen <pmatilai@laiskiainen.org>
/bin/repomanage: # (c) Copyright Seth Vidal 2004
/bin/repoquery: # (c) pmatilai@laiskiainen.org
/bin/repo-rss: # seth vidal 2005 (c) etc etc
/bin/repotrack: # (c) 2005 seth vidal skvidal at phy.duke.edu
/bin/rngtest: Copyright (c) 2004 by Henrique de Moraes Holschuh
/bin/saytime: ;;                       Copyright (c) 1996,1997                         ;;
/bin/sbcdec: Copyright (c) 2004-2010  Marcel Holtmann
/bin/sbcenc: Copyright (c) 2004-2010  Marcel Holtmann
/bin/screen: Copyright (c) 2010 Juergen Weigert, Sadrul Habib Chowdhury
/bin/screen: Copyright (c) 2008, 2009 Juergen Weigert, Michael Schroeder, Micah Cowan, Sadrul Habib Chowdhury
/bin/screen: Copyright (c) 1993-2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 Juergen Weigert, Michael Schroeder
/bin/screen: Copyright (c) 1987 Oliver Laumann
/bin/sliceprint: # Copyright (c) 1996-1999 Markku Rossi
/bin/soundstretch:     Copyright (c) Olli Parviainen
/bin/ssh-copy-id: # Copyright (c) 1999-2013 Philip Hands <phil@hands.com>
/bin/tcptraceroute: #   Copyright (c)  2007             Dmitry Butskoy
/bin/tcsh: @(#) Copyright (c) 1991 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/text2wave: ;;                       Copyright (c) 1996,1997                         ;;
/bin/traceroute: Copyright (c) 2008  Dmitry Butskoy,   License: GPL v2 or any later
/bin/traceroute6: Copyright (c) 2008  Dmitry Butskoy,   License: GPL v2 or any later
/bin/verifytree: # copyright (c) 2008 Red Hat, Inc - written by Seth Vidal and Will Woods
/bin/wavpack:  Copyright (c) 1998 - 2009 Conifer Software.  All Rights Reserved.
/bin/wvdial: Copyright (c) 1997-2005 Net Integration Technologies, Inc.
/bin/wvdialconf: Copyright (c) 1997-2005 Net Integration Technologies, Inc.
/bin/wvgain:  Copyright (c) 2005 - 2009 Conifer Software.  All Rights Reserved.
/bin/wvunpack:  Copyright (c) 1998 - 2009 Conifer Software.  All Rights Reserved.
/bin/yum-debug-dump: ## (c) 2008 Red Hat. Written by skvidal@fedoraproject.org
/bin/yum-debug-restore: ## (c) 2008 Red Hat. Written by skvidal@fedoraproject.org
/bin/zip: ight (c)H
/bin/zip: Copyright (c) 1990-2008 Info-ZIP.  All rights reserved.
/bin/zip: Copyright (c) 1990-2008 Info-ZIP - Type '%s "-L"' for software license.
/bin/zipcloak: Copyright (c) 1990-2008 Info-ZIP.  All rights reserved.
/bin/zipcloak: Copyright (c) 1990-2008 Info-ZIP - Type '%s "-L"' for software license.
/bin/zipnote: Copyright (c) 1990-2008 Info-ZIP.  All rights reserved.
/bin/zipnote: Copyright (c) 1990-2008 Info-ZIP - Type '%s "-L"' for software license.
/bin/zipsplit: Copyright (c) 1990-2008 Info-ZIP.  All rights reserved.
/bin/zipsplit: Copyright (c) 1990-2008 Info-ZIP - Type '%s "-L"' for software license.
SLES

Used as is, the command extracts all strings greater than 4 characters in length:

SLES12SP1:/tmp # strings /usr/bin/passwd | more
/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
cHc`
libpam.so.0
_ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
__gmon_start__
_Jv_RegisterClasses
_ITM_registerTMCloneTable
pam_start
pam_strerror
pam_chauthtok
pam_end
libpam_misc.so.0
misc_conv
libselinux.so.1
_init
is_selinux_enabled
security_getenforce
context_user_get
security_compute_av
matchpathcon
freecon
context_free
setfscreatecon
--More--

Print the offset within the file before each string:

SLES12SP1:/tmp # strings -t d /usr/bin/passwd | more
    568 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
    650 cHc`
   4977 libpam.so.0
   4989 _ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
   5017 __gmon_start__
   5032 _Jv_RegisterClasses
   5052 _ITM_registerTMCloneTable
   5078 pam_start
   5088 pam_strerror
   5101 pam_chauthtok
   5115 pam_end
   5123 libpam_misc.so.0
   5140 misc_conv
   5150 libselinux.so.1
   5166 _init
   5172 is_selinux_enabled
   5191 security_getenforce
   5211 context_user_get
   5228 security_compute_av
   5248 matchpathcon
   5261 freecon
   5269 context_free
   5282 setfscreatecon
--More--

The -t switch can take one of three arguments that specify the numbering system to use:

Argument Numbering System
d Decimal
o Octal
x Hexadecimal

The -n switch prints sequences of characters that are at least min-len characters long, instead of the default 4:

SLES12SP1:/tmp # strings -t d -n 15 /usr/bin/passwd | more
    568 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
   4989 _ITM_deregisterTMCloneTable
   5032 _Jv_RegisterClasses
   5052 _ITM_registerTMCloneTable
   5123 libpam_misc.so.0
   5150 libselinux.so.1
   5172 is_selinux_enabled
   5191 security_getenforce
   5211 context_user_get
   5228 security_compute_av
   5510 __stack_chk_fail
   5671 __errno_location
   6106 __libc_start_main
   6202 LIBPAM_MISC_1.0
  34104 Usage: %s [options] [LOGIN]
  34144   -a, --all                     report password status on all accounts
  34216   -d, --delete                  delete the password for the named account
  34296   -e, --expire                  force expire the password for the named account
  34384   -h, --help                    display this help message and exit
  34456   -k, --keep-tokens             change password only if expired
  34528   -i, --inactive INACTIVE       set password inactive after expiration
--More--

The -f switch prints the name of the file before each string:

SLES12SP1:/tmp # strings -f /bin/* | grep "(c)"
/bin/btrace: # Copyright (c) 2005 Silicon Graphics, Inc.
/bin/csh: @(#) Copyright (c) 1991 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/ping: @(#) Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/ping6: @(#) Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
/bin/tcsh: @(#) Copyright (c) 1991 The Regents of the University of California.
Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the strings command to view the command line switches.

The comm Command

This command compares two text files and prints the differences to standard output:

root@debian8:/tmp# comm /etc/passwd /root/passwd
		root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
		daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
		bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
		sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
		sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
		games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
		man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
		mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
		news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
		uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
comm: file 1 is not in sorted order
comm: file 2 is not in sorted order
		proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
		www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
		backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
		list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
		irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
		gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
		nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
		systemd-timesync:x:100:103:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
		systemd-network:x:101:104:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
		systemd-resolve:x:102:105:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
		systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:106:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
	trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
	sshd:x:104:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
	Debian-exim:x:105:110::/var/spool/exim4:/bin/false
	messagebus:x:106:111::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
	statd:x:107:65534::/var/lib/nfs:/bin/false
	avahi-autoipd:x:108:113:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
	avahi:x:109:115:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
	colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
	dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
	speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
	pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
	rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
	saned:x:115:122::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:104:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
Debian-exim:x:105:110::/var/spool/exim4:/bin/false
messagebus:x:106:111::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
statd:x:107:65534::/var/lib/nfs:/bin/false
avahi-autoipd:x:108:113:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:109:115:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:115:122::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
		usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
		lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
	Linux is great! 
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# comm /etc/passwd /root/passwd
		root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
		daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
		bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
		sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
		sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
		games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
		man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
		mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
		news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
		uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
comm: file 1 is not in sorted order
comm: file 2 is not in sorted order
		proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
		www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
		backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
		list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
		irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
		gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
		nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
		systemd-timesync:x:100:102:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
		systemd-network:x:101:103:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
		systemd-resolve:x:102:104:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
		systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:105:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
		syslog:x:104:108::/home/syslog:/bin/false
		_apt:x:105:65534::/nonexistent:/bin/false
		messagebus:x:106:110::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
		uuidd:x:107:111::/run/uuidd:/bin/false
		lightdm:x:108:114:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
		whoopsie:x:109:116::/nonexistent:/bin/false
		avahi-autoipd:x:110:119:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
		avahi:x:111:120:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
		dnsmasq:x:112:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
		colord:x:113:123:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
		speech-dispatcher:x:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
		hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
		kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
		pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
		rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
		saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
		usbmux:x:120:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
	trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
	sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
	Linux is great!
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 tmp]# comm /etc/passwd /root/passwd
		root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
		bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
		daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
		adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
		lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
		sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
		shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
		halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
		mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
		operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
		games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin
		ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin
		nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin
		dbus:x:81:81:System message bus:/:/sbin/nologin
		polkitd:x:999:998:User for polkitd:/:/sbin/nologin
		unbound:x:998:997:Unbound DNS resolver:/etc/unbound:/sbin/nologin
		colord:x:997:996:User for colord:/var/lib/colord:/sbin/nologin
		usbmuxd:x:113:113:usbmuxd user:/:/sbin/nologin
		avahi:x:70:70:Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/sbin/nologin
		avahi-autoipd:x:170:170:Avahi IPv4LL Stack:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/sbin/nologin
		saslauth:x:996:76:"Saslauthd user":/run/saslauthd:/sbin/nologin
		qemu:x:107:107:qemu user:/:/sbin/nologin
		libstoragemgmt:x:995:994:daemon account for libstoragemgmt:/var/run/lsm:/sbin/nologin
		rpc:x:32:32:Rpcbind Daemon:/var/lib/rpcbind:/sbin/nologin
		rpcuser:x:29:29:RPC Service User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
		nfsnobody:x:65534:65534:Anonymous NFS User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
		rtkit:x:172:172:RealtimeKit:/proc:/sbin/nologin
		radvd:x:75:75:radvd user:/:/sbin/nologin
		ntp:x:38:38::/etc/ntp:/sbin/nologin
		chrony:x:994:993::/var/lib/chrony:/sbin/nologin
		abrt:x:173:173::/etc/abrt:/sbin/nologin
		pulse:x:171:171:PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
		gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
		gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
		postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin
		sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
		tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin
	trainee10:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
	tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
comm: file 2 is not in sorted order
	Linux est super!
vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false
comm: file 1 is not in sorted order
tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:/tmp # comm /etc/passwd /root/passwd
		at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
		bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
		daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash
		ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srv/ftp:/bin/bash
		ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
		games:x:12:100:Games account:/var/games:/bin/bash
		gdm:x:486:485:Gnome Display Manager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
		lp:x:4:7:Printing daemon:/var/spool/lpd:/bin/bash
		mail:x:8:12:Mailer daemon:/var/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false
		man:x:13:62:Manual pages viewer:/var/cache/man:/bin/bash
		messagebus:x:499:499:User for D-Bus:/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
		news:x:9:13:News system:/etc/news:/bin/bash
		nobody:x:65534:65533:nobody:/var/lib/nobody:/bin/bash
		nscd:x:496:495:User for nscd:/run/nscd:/sbin/nologin
		ntp:x:74:492:NTP daemon:/var/lib/ntp:/bin/false
		openslp:x:494:2:openslp daemon:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
		polkitd:x:497:496:User for polkitd:/var/lib/polkit:/sbin/nologin
		postfix:x:51:51:Postfix Daemon:/var/spool/postfix:/bin/false
		pulse:x:490:489:PulseAudio daemon:/var/lib/pulseaudio:/sbin/nologin
		root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
		rpc:x:495:65534:user for rpcbind:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
		rtkit:x:491:490:RealtimeKit:/proc:/bin/false
		scard:x:487:487:Smart Card Reader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin
		sshd:x:498:498:SSH daemon:/var/lib/sshd:/bin/false
		statd:x:489:65534:NFS statd daemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
		usbmux:x:493:65534:usbmuxd daemon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:14:Unix-to-Unix CoPy system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash
		vnc:x:492:491:user for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
		wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
comm: file 1 is not in sorted order
comm: file 2 is not in sorted order
	trainee10:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
	Linux est super
trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash

Important: The lines to the left are those that only appear in the first file. The lines on the right are those that exist in both files. The lines in the middle are those that only exist in the second file.

If you only want to see the lines common to both files, use the following command:

root@debian8:/tmp# comm -12 /etc/passwd /root/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
comm: file 1 is not in sorted order
comm: file 2 is not in sorted order
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:100:103:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
systemd-network:x:101:104:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
systemd-resolve:x:102:105:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:106:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# comm -12 /etc/passwd /root/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
comm: file 1 is not in sorted order
comm: file 2 is not in sorted order
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:100:102:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
systemd-network:x:101:103:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
systemd-resolve:x:102:104:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:105:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
syslog:x:104:108::/home/syslog:/bin/false
_apt:x:105:65534::/nonexistent:/bin/false
messagebus:x:106:110::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
uuidd:x:107:111::/run/uuidd:/bin/false
lightdm:x:108:114:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
whoopsie:x:109:116::/nonexistent:/bin/false
avahi-autoipd:x:110:119:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:111:120:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:112:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
colord:x:113:123:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:120:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
[root@centos7 tmp]# comm -12 /etc/passwd /root/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin
ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin
dbus:x:81:81:System message bus:/:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:999:998:User for polkitd:/:/sbin/nologin
unbound:x:998:997:Unbound DNS resolver:/etc/unbound:/sbin/nologin
colord:x:997:996:User for colord:/var/lib/colord:/sbin/nologin
usbmuxd:x:113:113:usbmuxd user:/:/sbin/nologin
avahi:x:70:70:Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/sbin/nologin
avahi-autoipd:x:170:170:Avahi IPv4LL Stack:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/sbin/nologin
saslauth:x:996:76:"Saslauthd user":/run/saslauthd:/sbin/nologin
qemu:x:107:107:qemu user:/:/sbin/nologin
libstoragemgmt:x:995:994:daemon account for libstoragemgmt:/var/run/lsm:/sbin/nologin
rpc:x:32:32:Rpcbind Daemon:/var/lib/rpcbind:/sbin/nologin
rpcuser:x:29:29:RPC Service User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
nfsnobody:x:65534:65534:Anonymous NFS User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:172:172:RealtimeKit:/proc:/sbin/nologin
radvd:x:75:75:radvd user:/:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x:38:38::/etc/ntp:/sbin/nologin
chrony:x:994:993::/var/lib/chrony:/sbin/nologin
abrt:x:173:173::/etc/abrt:/sbin/nologin
pulse:x:171:171:PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin
comm: file 2 is not in sorted order
comm: file 1 is not in sorted order
SLES12SP1:/tmp # comm -12 /etc/passwd /root/passwd
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash
ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srv/ftp:/bin/bash
ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
games:x:12:100:Games account:/var/games:/bin/bash
gdm:x:486:485:Gnome Display Manager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
lp:x:4:7:Printing daemon:/var/spool/lpd:/bin/bash
mail:x:8:12:Mailer daemon:/var/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false
man:x:13:62:Manual pages viewer:/var/cache/man:/bin/bash
messagebus:x:499:499:User for D-Bus:/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
news:x:9:13:News system:/etc/news:/bin/bash
nobody:x:65534:65533:nobody:/var/lib/nobody:/bin/bash
nscd:x:496:495:User for nscd:/run/nscd:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x:74:492:NTP daemon:/var/lib/ntp:/bin/false
openslp:x:494:2:openslp daemon:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:497:496:User for polkitd:/var/lib/polkit:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:51:51:Postfix Daemon:/var/spool/postfix:/bin/false
pulse:x:490:489:PulseAudio daemon:/var/lib/pulseaudio:/sbin/nologin
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
rpc:x:495:65534:user for rpcbind:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:491:490:RealtimeKit:/proc:/bin/false
scard:x:487:487:Smart Card Reader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:498:498:SSH daemon:/var/lib/sshd:/bin/false
statd:x:489:65534:NFS statd daemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
usbmux:x:493:65534:usbmuxd daemon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin
vnc:x:492:491:user for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
comm: file 1 is not in sorted order
comm: file 2 is not in sorted order
Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the comm command to view the command line switches.

The head Command

The head command is used to display the first x lines of a file. The default value of x is 10:

root@debian8:/tmp# head /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# head /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 tmp]# head /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:/tmp # head /etc/passwd
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash
ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srv/ftp:/bin/bash
ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
games:x:12:100:Games account:/var/games:/bin/bash
gdm:x:486:485:Gnome Display Manager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
lp:x:4:7:Printing daemon:/var/spool/lpd:/bin/bash
mail:x:8:12:Mailer daemon:/var/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false
man:x:13:62:Manual pages viewer:/var/cache/man:/bin/bash

You can change the default value of x by using the -n switch:

root@debian8:/tmp# head -n 15 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# head -n 15 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 tmp]# head -n 15 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin
ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin
dbus:x:81:81:System message bus:/:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:999:998:User for polkitd:/:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:/tmp # head -n 15 /etc/passwd
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash
ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srv/ftp:/bin/bash
ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
games:x:12:100:Games account:/var/games:/bin/bash
gdm:x:486:485:Gnome Display Manager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
lp:x:4:7:Printing daemon:/var/spool/lpd:/bin/bash
mail:x:8:12:Mailer daemon:/var/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false
man:x:13:62:Manual pages viewer:/var/cache/man:/bin/bash
messagebus:x:499:499:User for D-Bus:/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
news:x:9:13:News system:/etc/news:/bin/bash
nobody:x:65534:65533:nobody:/var/lib/nobody:/bin/bash
nscd:x:496:495:User for nscd:/run/nscd:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x:74:492:NTP daemon:/var/lib/ntp:/bin/false

The command can also be used to display the first y bytes of a file by using the -c switch:

root@debian8:/tmp# head -c 150 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/noloroot@debian8:/tmp#  
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# head -c 150 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/noloroot@ubuntu1604:/tmp#   
[root@centos7 tmp]# head -c 150 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7[root@centos7 tmp]#  
SLES12SP1:/tmp # head -c 150 /etc/passwd
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash
ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srvSLES12SP1:/tmp # 

If the value of y is negative, head displays all bytes in the file except the last y bytes:

root@debian8:/tmp# head -c -150 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:100:103:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
systemd-network:x:101:104:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
systemd-resolve:x:102:105:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:106:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:104:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
Debian-exim:x:105:110::/var/spool/exim4:/bin/false
messagebus:x:106:111::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
statd:x:107:65534::/var/lib/nfs:/bin/false
avahi-autoipd:x:108:113:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:109:115:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false 
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# head -c 150 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/noloroot@ubuntu1604:/tmp# 
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# head -c -150 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:100:102:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
systemd-network:x:101:103:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
systemd-resolve:x:102:104:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:105:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
syslog:x:104:108::/home/syslog:/bin/false
_apt:x:105:65534::/nonexistent:/bin/false
messagebus:x:106:110::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
uuidd:x:107:111::/run/uuidd:/bin/false
lightdm:x:108:114:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
whoopsie:x:109:116::/nonexistent:/bin/false
avahi-autoipd:x:110:119:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:111:120:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:112:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
colord:x:113:123:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:120:46root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# 
lp:x:4:7[root@centos7 tmp]# head -c -150 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin
ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin
dbus:x:81:81:System message bus:/:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:999:998:User for polkitd:/:/sbin/nologin
unbound:x:998:997:Unbound DNS resolver:/etc/unbound:/sbin/nologin
colord:x:997:996:User for colord:/var/lib/colord:/sbin/nologin
usbmuxd:x:113:113:usbmuxd user:/:/sbin/nologin
avahi:x:70:70:Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/sbin/nologin
avahi-autoipd:x:170:170:Avahi IPv4LL Stack:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/sbin/nologin
saslauth:x:996:76:"Saslauthd user":/run/saslauthd:/sbin/nologin
qemu:x:107:107:qemu user:/:/sbin/nologin
libstoragemgmt:x:995:994:daemon account for libstoragemgmt:/var/run/lsm:/sbin/nologin
rpc:x:32:32:Rpcbind Daemon:/var/lib/rpcbind:/sbin/nologin
rpcuser:x:29:29:RPC Service User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
nfsnobody:x:65534:65534:Anonymous NFS User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:172:172:RealtimeKit:/proc:/sbin/nologin
radvd:x:75:75:radvd user:/:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x:38:38::/etc/ntp:/sbin/nologin
chrony:x:994:993::/var/lib/chrony:/sbin/nologin
abrt:x:173:173::/etc/abrt:/sbin/nologin
pulse:x:171:171:PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/[root@centos7 tmp]# 
SLES12SP1:/tmp # head -c -150 /etc/passwd
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash
ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srv/ftp:/bin/bash
ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
games:x:12:100:Games account:/var/games:/bin/bash
gdm:x:486:485:Gnome Display Manager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
lp:x:4:7:Printing daemon:/var/spool/lpd:/bin/bash
mail:x:8:12:Mailer daemon:/var/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false
man:x:13:62:Manual pages viewer:/var/cache/man:/bin/bash
messagebus:x:499:499:User for D-Bus:/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
news:x:9:13:News system:/etc/news:/bin/bash
nobody:x:65534:65533:nobody:/var/lib/nobody:/bin/bash
nscd:x:496:495:User for nscd:/run/nscd:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x:74:492:NTP daemon:/var/lib/ntp:/bin/false
openslp:x:494:2:openslp daemon:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:497:496:User for polkitd:/var/lib/polkit:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:51:51:Postfix Daemon:/var/spool/postfix:/bin/false
pulse:x:490:489:PulseAudio daemon:/var/lib/pulseaudio:/sbin/nologin
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
rpc:x:495:65534:user for rpcbind:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:491:490:RealtimeKit:/proc:/bin/false
scard:x:487:487:Smart Card Reader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:498:498:SSH daemon:/var/lib/sshd:/bin/false
statd:x:489:65534:NFS statd daemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
usbmux:x:493:65534:usbmuxd daemon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:14:Unix-to-Unix CoPy system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash
vnc:x:492:491:usSLES12SP1:/tmp # 

Both x and y can accept multipliers:

root@debian8:/tmp# head -c 1b /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nroot@debian8:/tmp# 
root@debian8:/tmp# 
root@debian8:/tmp# head -c 512 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nroot@debian8:/tmp# 
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# head -c 1b /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nroot@ubuntu1604:/tmp# 
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# 
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# head -c 512 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nroot@ubuntu1604:/tmp
[root@centos7 tmp]# head -c 1b /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin
ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin[root@centos7 tmp]# 
[root@centos7 tmp]# head -c 512 /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin
ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin[root@centos7 tmp]#
SLES12SP1:/tmp # head -c 1b /etc/passwd
at:x:25:25:Batch jobs daemon:/var/spool/atjobs:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/bash
daemon:x:2:2:Daemon:/sbin:/bin/bash
ftp:x:40:49:FTP account:/srv/ftp:/bin/bash
ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
games:x:12:100:Games account:/var/games:/bin/bash
gdm:x:486:485:Gnome Display Manager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
lp:x:4:7:Printing daemon:/var/spool/lpd:/bin/bash
mail:x:8:12:Mailer daemon:/var/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false
man:x:13:62:Manual pages viewer:/var/cache/man:/bin/basSLES12SP1:/tmp # 

The common multipliers are:

Multiplier Number of bytes
b 512
KB 1000
K 1024
MB 1000*1000
M 1024*1024
GB 1000*1000*1000
G 1024*1024*1024
Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the head command to view the command line switches.

The tail Command

The tail command is used to display the last x lines of a file. The default value of x is 10:

root@debian8:/tmp# tail /etc/passwd
avahi-autoipd:x:108:113:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:109:115:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:115:122::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# tail /etc/passwd
colord:x:113:123:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:120:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nolog
[root@centos7 tmp]# tail /etc/passwd
abrt:x:173:173::/etc/abrt:/sbin/nologin
pulse:x:171:171:PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false
tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:/tmp # tail /etc/passwd
rpc:x:495:65534:user for rpcbind:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:491:490:RealtimeKit:/proc:/bin/false
scard:x:487:487:Smart Card Reader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:498:498:SSH daemon:/var/lib/sshd:/bin/false
statd:x:489:65534:NFS statd daemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
usbmux:x:493:65534:usbmuxd daemon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:14:Unix-to-Unix CoPy system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash
vnc:x:492:491:user for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash

You can change the default value of x by using the -n switch:

root@debian8:/tmp# tail -n 15 /etc/passwd
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:104:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
Debian-exim:x:105:110::/var/spool/exim4:/bin/false
messagebus:x:106:111::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
statd:x:107:65534::/var/lib/nfs:/bin/false
avahi-autoipd:x:108:113:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:109:115:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:115:122::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# tail -n 15 /etc/passwd
lightdm:x:108:114:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
whoopsie:x:109:116::/nonexistent:/bin/false
avahi-autoipd:x:110:119:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:111:120:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:112:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
colord:x:113:123:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:120:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 tmp]# tail -n 15 /etc/passwd
nfsnobody:x:65534:65534:Anonymous NFS User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:172:172:RealtimeKit:/proc:/sbin/nologin
radvd:x:75:75:radvd user:/:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x:38:38::/etc/ntp:/sbin/nologin
chrony:x:994:993::/var/lib/chrony:/sbin/nologin
abrt:x:173:173::/etc/abrt:/sbin/nologin
pulse:x:171:171:PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false
tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:/tmp # tail -n 15 /etc/passwd
openslp:x:494:2:openslp daemon:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:497:496:User for polkitd:/var/lib/polkit:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:51:51:Postfix Daemon:/var/spool/postfix:/bin/false
pulse:x:490:489:PulseAudio daemon:/var/lib/pulseaudio:/sbin/nologin
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
rpc:x:495:65534:user for rpcbind:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:491:490:RealtimeKit:/proc:/bin/false
scard:x:487:487:Smart Card Reader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:498:498:SSH daemon:/var/lib/sshd:/bin/false
statd:x:489:65534:NFS statd daemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
usbmux:x:493:65534:usbmuxd daemon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:14:Unix-to-Unix CoPy system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash
vnc:x:492:491:user for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash

The command can also be used to display the last y bytes of a file by using the -c switch:

root@debian8:/tmp# tail -c 150 /etc/passwd
/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# tail -c 150 /etc/passwd
:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 tmp]# tail -c 150 /etc/passwd
bash
vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false
tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:/tmp # tail -c 150 /etc/passwd
er for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash

If the value of y is positive, tail displays all bytes in the file after the yth byte:

root@debian8:/tmp# tail -c +150 /etc/passwd
ogin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:100:103:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
systemd-network:x:101:104:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
systemd-resolve:x:102:105:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:106:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:104:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
Debian-exim:x:105:110::/var/spool/exim4:/bin/false
messagebus:x:106:111::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
statd:x:107:65534::/var/lib/nfs:/bin/false
avahi-autoipd:x:108:113:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:109:115:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:115:122::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# tail -c +150 /etc/passwd
ogin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:100:102:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
systemd-network:x:101:103:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd/netif:/bin/false
systemd-resolve:x:102:104:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd/resolve:/bin/false
systemd-bus-proxy:x:103:105:systemd Bus Proxy,,,:/run/systemd:/bin/false
syslog:x:104:108::/home/syslog:/bin/false
_apt:x:105:65534::/nonexistent:/bin/false
messagebus:x:106:110::/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
uuidd:x:107:111::/run/uuidd:/bin/false
lightdm:x:108:114:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
whoopsie:x:109:116::/nonexistent:/bin/false
avahi-autoipd:x:110:119:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/bin/false
avahi:x:111:120:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:112:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
colord:x:113:123:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:120:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 tmp]# tail -c +150 /etc/passwd
7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin
ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin
dbus:x:81:81:System message bus:/:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:999:998:User for polkitd:/:/sbin/nologin
unbound:x:998:997:Unbound DNS resolver:/etc/unbound:/sbin/nologin
colord:x:997:996:User for colord:/var/lib/colord:/sbin/nologin
usbmuxd:x:113:113:usbmuxd user:/:/sbin/nologin
avahi:x:70:70:Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/sbin/nologin
avahi-autoipd:x:170:170:Avahi IPv4LL Stack:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/sbin/nologin
saslauth:x:996:76:"Saslauthd user":/run/saslauthd:/sbin/nologin
qemu:x:107:107:qemu user:/:/sbin/nologin
libstoragemgmt:x:995:994:daemon account for libstoragemgmt:/var/run/lsm:/sbin/nologin
rpc:x:32:32:Rpcbind Daemon:/var/lib/rpcbind:/sbin/nologin
rpcuser:x:29:29:RPC Service User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
nfsnobody:x:65534:65534:Anonymous NFS User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:172:172:RealtimeKit:/proc:/sbin/nologin
radvd:x:75:75:radvd user:/:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x:38:38::/etc/ntp:/sbin/nologin
chrony:x:994:993::/var/lib/chrony:/sbin/nologin
abrt:x:173:173::/etc/abrt:/sbin/nologin
pulse:x:171:171:PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false
tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:/tmp # tail -c 150 /etc/passwd
er for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
SLES12SP1:/tmp # tail -c +150 /etc/passwd
v/ftp:/bin/bash
ftpsecure:x:488:65534:Secure FTP User:/var/lib/empty:/bin/false
games:x:12:100:Games account:/var/games:/bin/bash
gdm:x:486:485:Gnome Display Manager daemon:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
lp:x:4:7:Printing daemon:/var/spool/lpd:/bin/bash
mail:x:8:12:Mailer daemon:/var/spool/clientmqueue:/bin/false
man:x:13:62:Manual pages viewer:/var/cache/man:/bin/bash
messagebus:x:499:499:User for D-Bus:/var/run/dbus:/bin/false
news:x:9:13:News system:/etc/news:/bin/bash
nobody:x:65534:65533:nobody:/var/lib/nobody:/bin/bash
nscd:x:496:495:User for nscd:/run/nscd:/sbin/nologin
ntp:x:74:492:NTP daemon:/var/lib/ntp:/bin/false
openslp:x:494:2:openslp daemon:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:497:496:User for polkitd:/var/lib/polkit:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:51:51:Postfix Daemon:/var/spool/postfix:/bin/false
pulse:x:490:489:PulseAudio daemon:/var/lib/pulseaudio:/sbin/nologin
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
rpc:x:495:65534:user for rpcbind:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:491:490:RealtimeKit:/proc:/bin/false
scard:x:487:487:Smart Card Reader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:498:498:SSH daemon:/var/lib/sshd:/bin/false
statd:x:489:65534:NFS statd daemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
usbmux:x:493:65534:usbmuxd daemon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:14:Unix-to-Unix CoPy system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash
vnc:x:492:491:user for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash

Both x and y can accept multipliers:

root@debian8:/tmp# tail -c 1b /etc/passwd
:/bin/false
colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:115:122::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
root@debian8:/tmp# 
root@debian8:/tmp# tail -c 512 /etc/passwd
:/bin/false
colord:x:110:117:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:111:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/bin/false
speech-dispatcher:x:112:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/sh
pulse:x:113:119:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:114:121:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:115:122::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:116:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
lightdm:x:117:124:Light Display Manager:/var/lib/lightdm:/bin/false
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# tail -c 1b /etc/passwd
:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:120:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# 
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# tail -c 512 /etc/passwd
:114:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/var/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
hplip:x:115:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/bin/false
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/bin/false
rtkit:x:118:126:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/bin/false
saned:x:119:127::/var/lib/saned:/bin/false
usbmux:x:120:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee,,,:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
sshd:x:121:65534::/var/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 tmp]# tail -c 1b /etc/passwd
PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false
tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
[root@centos7 tmp]#
[root@centos7 tmp]# tail -c 512 /etc/passwd
PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
gnome-initial-setup:x:993:991::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
postfix:x:89:89::/var/spool/postfix:/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin
tcpdump:x:72:72::/:/sbin/nologin
trainee:x:1000:1000:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash
vboxadd:x:992:1::/var/run/vboxadd:/bin/false
tss:x:59:59:Account used by the trousers package to sandbox the tcsd daemon:/dev/null:/sbin/nologin
SLES12SP1:/tmp # tail -c 1b /etc/passwd
kit:x:491:490:RealtimeKit:/proc:/bin/false
scard:x:487:487:Smart Card Reader:/var/run/pcscd:/usr/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:498:498:SSH daemon:/var/lib/sshd:/bin/false
statd:x:489:65534:NFS statd daemon:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
usbmux:x:493:65534:usbmuxd daemon:/var/lib/usbmuxd:/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:14:Unix-to-Unix CoPy system:/etc/uucp:/bin/bash
vnc:x:492:491:user for VNC:/var/lib/empty:/sbin/nologin
wwwrun:x:30:8:WWW daemon apache:/var/lib/wwwrun:/bin/false
trainee:x:1000:100:trainee:/home/trainee:/bin/bash

The common multipliers are:

Multiplier Number of bytes
b 512
KB 1000
K 1024
MB 1000*1000
M 1024*1024
GB 1000*1000*1000
G 1024*1024*1024

A useful switch to use with the tail command is -f. This switch continually updates the output:

root@debian8:/tmp# tail -f /var/log/messages
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 kernel: [182064.453711] usb 2-1: new full-speed USB device number 4 using ohci-pci
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 kernel: [182064.716207] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=80ee, idProduct=0021
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 kernel: [182064.716213] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=3, SerialNumber=0
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 kernel: [182064.716215] usb 2-1: Product: USB Tablet
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 kernel: [182064.716217] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: VirtualBox
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 kernel: [182064.732384] input: VirtualBox USB Tablet as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:06.0/usb2/2-1/2-1:1.0/0003:80EE:0021.0003/input/input9
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 mtp-probe: checking bus 2, device 4: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:06.0/usb2/2-1"
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 mtp-probe: bus: 2, device: 4 was not an MTP device
Nov 30 16:19:14 debian8 kernel: [182064.734594] hid-generic 0003:80EE:0021.0003: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.10 Mouse [VirtualBox USB Tablet] on usb-0000:00:06.0-1/input0
Nov 30 16:19:20 debian8 kernel: [182070.401997] e1000: eth0 NIC Link is Up 1000 Mbps Full Duplex, Flow Control: RX
^C
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# tail -f /var/log/syslog
Dec 17 13:22:35 ubuntu1604 sh[870]: Sleeping '888' '888'
Dec 17 14:16:59 ubuntu1604 sh[870]: message repeated 465 times: [ Sleeping '888' '888']
Dec 17 14:17:01 ubuntu1604 CRON[17224]: (root) CMD (   cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly)
Dec 17 14:17:06 ubuntu1604 sh[870]: Sleeping '888' '888'
Dec 17 15:17:00 ubuntu1604 sh[870]: message repeated 512 times: [ Sleeping '888' '888']
Dec 17 15:17:01 ubuntu1604 CRON[30516]: (root) CMD (   cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly)
Dec 17 15:17:07 ubuntu1604 sh[870]: Sleeping '888' '888'
Dec 17 15:30:00 ubuntu1604 sh[870]: message repeated 110 times: [ Sleeping '888' '888']
Dec 17 15:30:00 ubuntu1604 systemd[1]: snapd.refresh.timer: Adding 4h 29min 43.172868s random time.
Dec 17 15:30:07 ubuntu1604 sh[870]: Sleeping '888' '888'
^C
[root@centos7 tmp]# tail -f /var/log/messages
Oct 19 15:58:06 centos7 dbus-daemon: dbus[542]: [system] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.PackageKit' (using servicehelper)
Oct 19 15:58:06 centos7 dbus[542]: [system] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.PackageKit' (using servicehelper)
Oct 19 15:58:06 centos7 dbus-daemon: dbus[542]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.PackageKit'
Oct 19 15:58:06 centos7 dbus[542]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.PackageKit'
Oct 19 16:00:01 centos7 systemd: Created slice user-0.slice.
Oct 19 16:00:01 centos7 systemd: Starting Session 17 of user root.
Oct 19 16:00:01 centos7 systemd: Started Session 17 of user root.
Oct 19 16:01:01 centos7 systemd: Created slice user-0.slice.
Oct 19 16:01:01 centos7 systemd: Starting Session 18 of user root.
Oct 19 16:01:01 centos7 systemd: Started Session 18 of user root.
^C
SLES12SP1:/tmp # tail -f /var/log/messages
2016-12-14T20:45:01.238708+01:00 SLES12SP1 systemd: pam_unix(systemd-user:session): session opened for user root by (uid=0)
2016-12-14T20:45:01.275146+01:00 SLES12SP1 CRON[17392]: pam_unix(crond:session): session closed for user root
2016-12-14T20:45:01.288315+01:00 SLES12SP1 systemd: pam_unix(systemd-user:session): session closed for user root
2016-12-14T20:45:41.689270+01:00 SLES12SP1 sh[1320]: Sleeping '' ''
2016-12-14T20:58:07.757988+01:00 SLES12SP1 sh[1320]: message repeated 4 times: [ Sleeping '' '']
2016-12-14T21:00:01.284105+01:00 SLES12SP1 cron[23239]: pam_unix(crond:session): session opened for user root by (uid=0)
2016-12-14T21:00:01.291722+01:00 SLES12SP1 systemd: pam_unix(systemd-user:session): session opened for user root by (uid=0)
2016-12-14T21:00:01.338305+01:00 SLES12SP1 CRON[23239]: pam_unix(crond:session): session closed for user root
2016-12-14T21:00:01.351426+01:00 SLES12SP1 systemd: pam_unix(systemd-user:session): session closed for user root
2016-12-14T21:01:14.285113+01:00 SLES12SP1 sh[1320]: Sleeping '' ''
^C
Command Line Switches

To do : Use the –help option of the head command to view the command line switches.

LAB #4 - Use the grep, tr and cut to extract your IP address from the output of ifconfig

root@debian8:/tmp# ifconfig eth0
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 08:00:27:c4:c9:56  
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fec4:c956/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:68601 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:140516 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:8392325 (8.0 MiB)  TX bytes:10525989 (10.0 MiB)

root@debian8:/tmp# ifconfig eth0 | grep "inet"
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fec4:c956/64 Scope:Link

root@debian8:/tmp# ifconfig eth0 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6"
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

root@debian8:/tmp# ifconfig eth0  | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6" | tr -s " " ":"
:inet:addr:10.0.2.15:Bcast:10.0.2.255:Mask:255.255.255.0

root@debian8:/tmp# ifconfig eth0 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6" | tr -s " " ":" | cut -d: -f4
10.0.2.15
root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# ifconfig enp0s3
enp0s3    Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 08:00:27:20:4b:97  
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::c4db:2b29:aedd:e7ed/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:230127 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:149877 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:238004530 (238.0 MB)  TX bytes:10864892 (10.8 MB)

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# ifconfig enp0s3 | grep "inet"
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::c4db:2b29:aedd:e7ed/64 Scope:Link

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# ifconfig enp0s3 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6"
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# ifconfig enp0s3 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6" | tr -s " " ":"
:inet:addr:10.0.2.15:Bcast:10.0.2.255:Mask:255.255.255.0

root@ubuntu1604:/tmp# ifconfig enp0s3 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6" | tr -s " " ":" | cut -d: -f4
10.0.2.15
[root@centos7 tmp]# ifconfig enp0s3
enp0s3: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 10.0.2.15  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 10.0.2.255
        inet6 fe80::a00:27ff:febd:f523  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 08:00:27:bd:f5:23  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 7462  bytes 6158140 (5.8 MiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 4130  bytes 555287 (542.2 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

[root@centos7 tmp]# ifconfig enp0s3 | grep "inet"
        inet 10.0.2.15  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 10.0.2.255
        inet6 fe80::a00:27ff:febd:f523  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>

[root@centos7 tmp]# ifconfig enp0s3 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6"
        inet 10.0.2.15  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 10.0.2.255

[root@centos7 tmp]# ifconfig enp0s3 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6" | tr -s " " ":"
:inet:10.0.2.15:netmask:255.255.255.0:broadcast:10.0.2.255

[root@centos7 tmp]# ifconfig enp0s3 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6" | tr -s " " ":" | cut -d: -f3
10.0.2.15
SLES12SP1:/tmp # ifconfig eth0
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 08:00:27:10:B5:86  
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fe10:b586/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:8226 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:16490 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:588832 (575.0 Kb)  TX bytes:1303594 (1.2 Mb)

SLES12SP1:/tmp # ifconfig eth0 | grep "inet"
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fe10:b586/64 Scope:Link

SLES12SP1:/tmp # ifconfig eth0 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6"
          inet addr:10.0.2.15  Bcast:10.0.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

SLES12SP1:/tmp # ifconfig eth0  | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6" | tr -s " " ":"
:inet:addr:10.0.2.15:Bcast:10.0.2.255:Mask:255.255.255.0

SLES12SP1:/tmp # ifconfig eth0 | grep "inet" | grep -v "inet6" | tr -s " " ":" | cut -d: -f4
10.0.2.15

Important : Note the use of the -s switch with the tr command. This switch replaces a string of x identical characters with a single character.


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Copyright © 2011-2017 Hugh Norris.<br><br> <a rel=“license” href=“http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/”><img alt=“Creative Commons License” style=“border-width:0” src=“https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png” /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel=“license” href=“http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>

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