2.2.3.
Using Bash features
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Several special key combinations allow you to do things easier and faster with the GNU shell, Bash, which is the default on almost any Linux system, see Section 3.2.3.2. Below is a list of the most commonly used features; you are strongly suggested to make a habit out of using them, so as to get the most out of your Linux experience from the very beginning.
Table 2-2. Key combinations in Bash
| Key or key combination | Function |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+A | Move cursor to the beginning of the command line. |
| Ctrl+C | End a running program and return the prompt, see Chapter 4. |
| Ctrl+D | Log out of the current shell session, equal to typing exit or logout. |
| Ctrl+E | Move cursor to the end of the command line. |
| Ctrl+H | Generate backspace character. |
| Ctrl+L | Clear this terminal. |
| Ctrl+R | Search command history, see Section 3.3.3.4. |
| Ctrl+Z | Suspend a program, see Chapter 4. |
| ArrowLeft and ArrowRight | Move the cursor one place to the left or right on the command line, so that you can insert characters at other places than just at the beginning and the end. |
| ArrowUp and ArrowDown | Browse history. Go to the line that you want to repeat, edit details if necessary, and press Enter to save time. |
| Shift+PageUp and Shift+PageDown | Browse terminal buffer (to see text that has "scrolled off" the screen). |
| Tab | Command or filename completion; when multiple choices are possible, the system will either signal with an audio or visual bell, or, if too many choices are possible, ask you if you want to see them all. |
| Tab Tab | Shows file or command completion possibilities. |
The last two items in the above table may need some extra explanations. For instance, if you want to change into the directory directory_with_a_very_long_name, you are not going to type that very long name, no. You just type on the command line cd dir, then you press Tab and the shell completes the name for you, if no other files are starting with the same three characters. Of course, if there are no other items starting with "d", then you might just as wel type cd d and then Tab. If more than one file starts with the same characters, the shell will signal this to you, upon which you can hit Tab twice with short interval, and the shell presents the choices you have:
your_prompt> cd st |
In the above example, if you type "a" after the first two characters and hit Tab again, no other possibilities are left, and the shell completes the directory name, without you having to type the string "rthere":
your_prompt> cd starthere |
Of course, you'll still have to hit Enter to accept this choice.
In the same example, if you type "u", and then hit Tab, the shell will add the "ff" for you, but then it protests again, because multiple choices are possible. If you type Tab Tab again, you'll see the choices; if you type one or more characters that make the choice unambiguous to the system, and Tab again, or Enter when you've reach the end of the file name that you want to choose, the shell completes the file name and changes you into that directory - if indeed it is a directory name.
This works for all file names that are arguments to commands.
The same goes for command name completion. Typing ls and then hitting the Tab key twice, lists all the commands in your PATH (see Section 3.2.1) that start with these two characters:
your_prompt> ls |
