Goals for this Hour

In this hour, you learn how to

• Create new directories using mkdir

• Copy files to new locations using cp

• Move files to new locations using mv

• Rename files using mv

• Remove directories using rmdir

• Remove files using rm

• Minimize the danger of using the rm command

This hour introduces several tremendously powerful commands that enable you to create a custom file-system hierarchy (or wreak unintentional havoc on your files). As you learn these commands, you also learn hints and ideas on how best to use the UNIX file system to keep your files neat and organized. Not only are these simple UNIX commands, all new in this hour, found in all variants of UNIX, both BSD-based and System V-based, but they also can be brought onto DOS through utilities such as the MKS Toolkit from Mortice-Kern Systems. (You'll learn more about the cool MKS Toolkit in Hour 24, “Variations on the UNIX Theme”).