Entering Commands

To use the command line, you can open a terminal window, also sometimes called the console, in which you can work directly in the shell. This is similar to opening a DOS or Command Prompt Window in Windows.

Some distributions provide an icon on the panel that you can click to open a terminal window. The icon includes a monitor screen. Others don't provide a terminal screen icon. Usually the desktop menu (right-click on the desktop) includes an item to open the terminal window. You can always find it on the main menu, either as a main menu item or on a submenu under system.

The terminal window displays the system prompt, followed by the cursor, showing that it's waiting for you to enter a command.

When you type a command and press <Enter>, the command executes.

The system prompt is configurable. Different distributions of Linux set different system prompts during installation. It might be as simple as $, or contain added useful information. The system prompt in Figure 7-1 provides extra informationthe current account (janet@localhost) and directory (janet). This prompt is set during the installation of Fedora, Mandrake, and other distributions.

Figure 7-1. Open KDE terminal window.