solaris

vi/vim FAQ: Help, I'm on an older Unix system; what are the vi/vim arrow keys?

On older Unix systems, including HP-UX and other systems I've run across recently, you may not have access to the vim editor, and may just have access to the older vi editor. In that case the arrow keys on your keyboard may not work, and you'll have to use the "simulated" vi arrow keys on your keyboard to move up, down, left, and right. These vi arrow keys are:

If you're ever working on a Unix or Linux system, and need to email a file to someone else, it may be helpful to know that you can send your email message right from the Unix command line. You don't need to hop into mutt or any other Unix or Linux mail client to email the file.

Linux find FAQ: How do I use the Linux find command to find multiple filename extensions (patterns) with one find command?

Problem

You want to use the Unix/Linux find command to search for multiple filename types (or patterns). You know you can run the find command several times, one for each filename extension you're looking for, but there must be a way to search for multiple filenames at one time.

Problem

You need to reverse the meaning of a search you're performing with the grep command. For instance, you've been searching for pepperoni pizza orders like this:

grep pepperoni pizza-orders.txt

and now you need to find all orders that don't have pepperoni.

Solution

Just add the -v switch to your grep search command, like this:

Linux chmod FAQ: Can you share an example of how to make a shell script executable with the Unix/Linux chmod command?

A lot of times in the web world you're given a Perl script by someone, and they say, "Put this script on your server, make it executable, and yada yada yada." Skipping the yada-yada part, some times people gloss over the "Make this file executable" part. So, here's a quick lesson of how to use the Linux chmod command to make a Perl script (or any Unix file) executable.