Using the Shell
The "shell" is the command interpreter: the program that listens to
your terminal and understands the words you type as commands and
arguments. The shell we use is called the C shell (csh) because its
command syntax is similar to the C programming language. Not only does
the shell execute your commands, but it also has nice features such as
filename completion, command aliasing, history substitution, and job
control which will make using the system easier.
Using the shell is easy. For instance, if you type "date" followed by a
[RETURN], the shell will print out the current date and time on your
terminal screen. The "ls" command will print out a list of your
files on your terminal screen. Both of these
commands send their output to the standard output device (or "stdout")
which is usually the terminal. The standard input device ("stdin") is the
terminal's keyboard.
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