Unix tool tip

Tips on Unix utilities and related topics from @JohnDCook.

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

'The enjoyment of one's tools is an essential ingredient of successful work.' -- Donald E. Knuth

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Can install GNU versions of Unix utilities on Mac with homebrew: brew install coreutils

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

The ed line editor: bravado, utility, and history https://t.co/Ou2Vg6kuHY

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Help for each argument of a shell command: https://t.co/1KvWiXU0cZ

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

List only subdirectories of the current directory: ls -d */

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Avoiding multiprocessing errors in bash shell https://t.co/H4RBYf7HVV

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Shell scripts run in their own subshell, so a cd in a script only effects the subshell. To script a cd, use an alias instead.

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Two bash shortcuts to cd into /long/path/name

cp file.txt /long/path/name
cd !$

cp file.txt /long/path/name/foo.txt
cd !$:h

The :h modifier is for "head", i.e. strip off the last part of the path.

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

UNIX Style, or cat -v Considered Harmful https://t.co/A3rE7j2Z3h

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Summarizing Emacs cursor movement commands https://t.co/wAqBEKEpdd

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Mastering the Vim language https://t.co/B78Ct2t2qn by @christoomey

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Better bash scripting in 15 minutes https://t.co/iMuoeIkURp

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

bash lets you use &> to send stdout and stderr to a file. Version 4 or later.

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

'If you had done something twice, you are likely to do it again.' -- Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Opening large files in Emacs https://t.co/WKLmzLqfpJ by @bbatsov

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Sort and remove duplicates in large files https://t.co/HDwAYZEYeY

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Using git, add and commit all modified files in one command: git commit -a -m 'commit message'

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Rename foo.old to https://t.co/ozofI4szY4: mv foo.{old,new} https://t.co/ozofI4szY4

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

'Gow (Gnu On Windows) is the lightweight alternative to Cygwin,' https://t.co/SiMN9iNESZ

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Create a directory and change into it: mkdir dir && cd $_

[Unix tool tip @UnixToolTip]

Org-mode as a lightweight notebook https://t.co/C5Oid5YzvK