About the Authors

B.10. Miscellaneous Tools

The following tools assist you with performing such tasks as searching online documentation, switching user IDs, and controlling how programs run:

apropos

Locates commands by keyword.

clear

Clears the screen.

dc

Serves as a reverse-polish arbitrary precision calculator.

man

Gets information on a command.

nice

Changes a job's priority.

nohup

Keeps a job running even if you log out.

passwd

Changes your password.

script

Produces a transcript of your login session.

su

Allows you to become the superuser. Since the root account is disabled by default, you should use sudo instead.

sudo

Executes a command as another user. This tool is usually used to temporarily gain superuser privileges.