Why Learn to Use the Linux Command Line?

You've already had some preliminary experience working with the Linux command line in Chapters 6, "Working with Files in the Shell," and 7, "Understanding File Properties," so you may be tempted to skip some of the chapters in Part IV.

Don't!

The Linux command line is much more powerful than most users from outside the Unix world imagineeven after having gained some basic experience with it. One of the goals of this book, and of Part IV in particular, is to show you enough about the Linux command line to give you a taste of what a remarkable computing platform it can actually be, when in skilled hands.

After you master the command line, the rest of the Unix world, including the desktop, seems to fall magically into place; the system becomes a magical, powerful playground where only your ingenuity limits the amount or variety of work that you can accomplish or the number of complex tasks you can automate. Only rarely do users master other Unix functions or services before they master the command line.