UNIX Commands for DOS Users:

To help DOS users become acquainted with UNIX commands, this is a table showing the relationship of DOS commands to UNIX commands:

DOS Command UNIX Command Description
CD cd Change to a directory
CLS clear Clear the screen
COMP diff Compare the contents of files
COPY cp Copy a file
DATE or TIME date Show the date and time
DEL (ERASE) rm Delete (remove) a file
DIR ls List files in a directory
FIND grep Search for a string in files
MD mkdir Make a new directory
MORE more or less Display the contents of a file a screen at a time
PRINT lpr Put files in the print queue
RD rmdir Remove a directory
REN (RENAME) mv Rename (move) a file
SORT sort Sort lines in a file
TYPE cat Display the contents of a file
  • The alias command is also a helpful tool for DOS users in the UNIX environment. It allows you to refer to UNIX commands by different names. For example, to alias the ls command to dir, type:

alias dir ls
Now whenever you type dir, the command shell will execute the ls command.
You can have many aliases, but having too many could lead to confusion. If you need to see a list of all your aliases, type alias and press Return.

  • If you would like your aliases to be available every time you login, you can use an editor to put alias commands in your .cshrc file.

        

This page was last updated on 01/21/2003 by L.M. Hicks