home | O'Reilly's CD bookshelfs | FreeBSD | Linux | Cisco | Cisco Exam  


Learning the Unix Operating System

Learning the Unix Operating SystemSearch this book
Previous: 1.2 Syntax of UNIX Command Lines Chapter 1
Getting Started
Next: 1.4 The Unresponsive Terminal
 

1.3 Types of Commands

The previous section was about UNIX commands you enter at a shell prompt. Some UNIX commands have commands of their own. (For examples, look at the more , mail , and pg commands in Chapter 3 . Text editors like vi and emacs also have their own commands.) Once you start the command, it prints its own prompt and understands its own set of commands (not UNIX commands).

For instance, if you enter mail , you'll see a new prompt from the mail program. You'll enter mail commands to handle mail messages. When you enter the special command (q ) to quit the mail program, mail will stop prompting you. Then you'll get another shell prompt; you can enter UNIX commands again.


Previous: 1.2 Syntax of UNIX Command Lines Learning the Unix Operating System Next: 1.4 The Unresponsive Terminal
1.2 Syntax of UNIX Command Lines Book Index 1.4 The Unresponsive Terminal

The UNIX CD Bookshelf NavigationThe UNIX CD BookshelfUNIX Power ToolsUNIX in a NutshellLearning the vi Editorsed & awkLearning the Korn ShellLearning the UNIX Operating System