Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE DESKTOP 10 SP2 - DEPLOYMENT GUIDE 08-05-2008 Deployment Manual page 373

NOTE: Linux Is Case-Sensitive
Linux distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase in the file system. For
example, entering test.txt or Test.txt makes a difference in Linux. Keep
this in mind when entering filenames or paths.
To change directories, use the cd command.
• To switch to your home directory, enter cd.
• Refer to the current directory with a dot (.). This is mainly useful for other com-
mands (cp, mv, ...).
• The next higher level in the tree is represented by two dots (..). For example, to
switch to the parent directory of your current directory, enter cd ...
Examples of Addressing a File
The cd commands in
used relative paths. You can use also absolute paths. For example, suppose you want
to copy a file from your home directory to a subdirectory of /tmp:
1 First, from your home directory create a subdirectory in /tmp:
1a If your current directory is not your home directory, enter cd ~ to switch
to it. From anywhere in the file system, you can reach your home directory
by entering cd ~.
1b In your home directory, enter mkdir /tmp/test. mkdir stands for
"make directory". This command creates a new directory named test in
the /tmp directory. In this case, use an absolute path to create the directory.
1c To check what happened, now enter ls -l /tmp. The new directory test
should appear in the list of contents of the /tmp directory.
2 Now create a new file in your home directory and copy it to the /tmp/test
directory by using a relative path.
Section 15.1.3, "Working with Directories and Files" (page 356)
Working with the Shell 357