LinuxMall.com Got Linux? CD Offer
Newbie's Linux Manual
The Shell
by Laurence Hunter
[ Home ] [ Contents ] [ Download*] [ Previous ] [ Next ]
* In Linux enter: unzip nlm.zip
"What Is a Shell?"

Think of the shell as Super-Dooper DOS. You enter a command, the shell checks it out, then the kernel does the rest.

Most Linux distributions use bash as the default shell. There are many others. Two of the most popular being pdksh and tcsh (pronounced tea-shell). This manual only covers the bash shell since the purpose of this manual is to get you using Linux as quick as possible. When you become confident with Linux, finding out about the other shells is a piece-of-cake.

"Why Is It Called a Shell?"

The shell's job is to interpret the commands and run the programs you request. Linux is a multi-tasking OS (meaning you can run multiple programs). Linux was also designed to be a multi-user OS, meaning it can run multiple shells. Each user is allocated his/her own shell at login. As a user, you have access only to the programs you're running, not the ones others are running. The programs are kept separate because they are "enclosed" in a "shell".

[ Home ] [ Contents ] [ Download*] [ Previous ] [ Next ]
* In Linux enter: unzip nlm.zip

W W W . L I N U X D O T . O R G

The Newbie's Linux Manual is reproduced on LinuxMall.com by permission. The Newbie's Linux Manual is written and maintained by Laurence Hunter. You can find much more of Laurence's work at his site: www.Linuxdot.org

© 1999 Linuxdot.org | Manual's Copyright Terms