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    Going Text: Mastering the Command Line
    Going Text: Mastering the Command Line
    Going Text: Mastering the Command Line
    Ebook120 pages1 hour

    Going Text: Mastering the Command Line

    By Brian Schell

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    About this ebook

    Windows. MacOS. Gnome. GUIs (Graphical user interfaces) have been the mainstay of home and office computers for nearly 25 years. Before that there were DOS and the Unix command lines. For most users, the mouse and the attractive, colorful user interfaces offered were more intuitive and easier to learn that the cryptic keyboard commands needed to do most tasks on text-based interfaces. For most people, GUIs are still the best way to go. Still, many of us want more performance, more efficiency, and (arguably) less complexity that can only be found through the keyboard. 

     

    This book focuses on getting as much as possible done through non-graphic, non-mouse means. This means the keyboard and the text-mode screen. This means working from the command line and through text-based, non-graphical interfaces. It could mean working with older hardware, but it doesn't have to. Whether you're running on the newest I9 processor, a Mac, iPad, Android phone, Raspberry Pi, or some kind of remote terminal, you can make this happen. Actually, the flexible hardware options are just one more reason to make this switch. Can you make the switch from a $2000 Apple laptop to a $35 Raspberry Pi? Well... maybe. This book is here to help you find out. Even if it turns out in the end that you don't want to totally switch to text exclusively, the tools and tricks you learn here can still be used from within a terminal in any GUI system.

     

    So what do I mean by "Going Text" in this context? This means we'll be working from a command line, using text-based Unix/Linux-based software. We're going to almost entirely quit using the mouse. We'll be using these command line tools from within Windows, MacOS, or Linux terminal apps, or on other devices by using a terminal program logged into a remote server. As I wrote this book, my alternate titles were "Going Command Line" and "Going Terminal." The final product is a bit of a mash-up of all three ideas.  

     

    The book will help you get to a command line via one of the following:

    • On a Mac Using Terminal or iTerm2 (and you have Homebrew installed)
    • On Windows 10 using Linux Subsystem for Windows
    • On any PC using Linux
    • On Windows using PuTTY to SSH to a remote server
    • On any device using a Chrome browser and Secure Shell to SSH to a remote server
    • A smartphone or tablet using some kind of SSH App to connect to a remote server

    Once there, we look at Package Managers, Tmux, Ranger, and Midnight Commander as general-purpose power tools, then get into specific task-oriented tools for reading email, writing, spreadsheet work, notes, security, password management, web browsing, social media, graphics, audio, video, news, weather, books, task management, coding/web design, and more. 

     

    There are conceptual overviews of Markdown, LaTeX, Vim, and Todo.txt systems for work.

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrian Schell
    Release dateMay 14, 2018
    ISBN9781386318811
    Going Text: Mastering the Command Line
    Author

    Brian Schell

    Brian Schell is a College English Instructor who has an extensive background in Buddhism and other world religions. After spending time in Japan, he returned to America where he created the immensely popular website, Daily Buddhism. For the next several years, Schell wrote extensively on applying Buddhism to real-world topics such as War, Drugs, Tattoos, Sex, Relationships, Pet Food and yes, even Horror Movies. Twitter: @BrianSchell Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/Brian.Schell Web: http://BrianSchell.com

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      Book preview

      Going Text - Brian Schell

      Going Text

      Going Text

      Mastering the Power of the Command Line

      Brian Schell

      BlueHouseBooks.com

      Copyright 2018 by Brian Schell.

      All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or any portion of it in any form.

      Written and designed by:

      Brian Schell

      brian@brianschell.com

      Version Date: July 25, 2018

      ISBN-10: 1718641990

      ISBN-13: 978-1718641990

      Printed in the United States of America

      Contents

      Introduction

      Why Do This?

      Hardware and Notes on Getting Started

      Getting To A Command Line

      Using Any Device: Remote Servers and SSH

      Windows Computers

      Mac Computers

      Linux Computers

      Options Summary

      Using The Command Line: The Tools

      Tmux

      Terminator

      Ranger and Midnight Commander

      Using the Command Line - The Apps

      Writing Tools

      Email

      Other Office Apps

      Notes Apps

      Security

      Web Browsers

      Communications

      Social Media

      Graphics, Art, and Photos

      Audio and Video

      News and Weather

      Books, Comics, and Reading

      Task Management

      Coding/Programming/Web Design

      Web Apps and Services

      Using Command Line Tools with the GUI

      Advanced Topics

      Markdown and LaTeX

      Customization with Dot Files

      My .vimrc File

      Todo.txt format

      Additional Resources

      Conclusion

      About the Author

      Stay Up To Date!

      Help Me!

      Also by Brian Schell

      Introduction

      Windows. MacOS. Gnome. GUIs (Graphical user interfaces) have been the mainstay of home and office computers for nearly 25 years. Before that there were DOS and the Unix command lines. For most users, the mouse and the attractive, colorful user interfaces offered were more intuitive and easier to learn that the cryptic keyboard commands needed to do most tasks on text-based interfaces. For most people, GUIs are still the best way to go. Still, many of us want more performance, more efficiency, and (arguably) less complexity that can only be found through the keyboard.

      This book focuses on getting as much as possible done through non-graphic, non-mouse means. This means the keyboard and the text-mode screen. This means working from the command line and through text-based, non-graphical interfaces. It could mean working with older hardware, but it doesn't have to. Whether you're running on the newest I9 processor, a Mac, iPad, Android phone, Raspberry Pi, or some kind of remote terminal, you can make this happen. Actually, the flexible hardware options are just one more reason to make this switch. Can you make the switch from a $2000 Apple laptop to a $35 Raspberry Pi? Well... maybe. This book is here to help you find out. Even if it turns out in the end that you don’t want to totally switch to text exclusively, the tools and tricks you learn here can still be used from within a terminal in any GUI system.

      So what do I mean by Going Text in this context? This means we’ll be working from a command line, using text-based Unix/Linux-based software. We’re going to almost entirely quit using the mouse. We’ll be using these command line tools from within Windows, MacOS, or Linux terminal apps, or on other devices by using a terminal program logged into a remote server. As I wrote this book, my alternate titles were Going Command Line and Going Terminal. The final product is a bit of a mash-up of all three ideas.

      Why Do This?

      Why would anyone want to give up the mouse? Why would anyone want to give up high-resolution graphic screens with pictures, pretty fonts, detailed images, and easy point-and-click menus? Didn't the computer industry just spend 30 years getting us into the world of window-based operating systems and GUI goodness?

      Well, there are a couple of good reasons:

      First and foremost, because it's fun. In this age where minimalism and austerity are popular movements, getting things done with less is not just an enjoyable hobby, it can be a constructive challenge. Nothing matches the joy of realizing that you gave up an eighteen-hundred-dollar MacBook Pro for a thirty-five dollar Raspberry Pi and haven't noticed much difference in getting your work done, or better still, find you are getting more done, faster.

      It is usually faster. Oftentimes, we associate text modes with slowness, probably because when we last ran some of these tools, the computers topped out at 16mHz. It's not like that anymore-- I mentioned a cheap Raspberry Pi in the previous paragraph, but that's not a requirement. I'm writing this using the text-based app Vim on my Lenovo Yoga 910-- a modern laptop with a Kaby Lake i7 processor, 16 Gigs of RAM, and an SD drive loaded with Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows. Minimalism is fun, but sometimes blazing power is even more fun.

      But that's not really what I meant by speed. You can run these tools on darned near anything, but the real speed comes from using

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