Operating System Command Line Interface (CLI)

First Peer Learning Activity

Find a peer with whom you’ll collaborate on this activity. All steps are done in collaboration.

Step 1: What you currently know

In a notebook or digital file, without exploring any resource, try to answer these questions:

  1. What is a command line interface (CLI)?
  2. What are other names by which a CLI is known?
  3. Give examples of CLIs used by different operating systems.
  4. What are some very popular CLI commands?

Step 2: Do some research

From the Command Line for Beginners by German Cocca, read the first four sections:

  • Difference between console, terminal, command line, and shell
  • Why should I even care about using the terminal?
  • What are different kinds of shells?
  • Which are the most common and useful shell commands?

Step 3: Review and apply

  • Go back to the Step 1 questions
  • Update your answers
    • Writing down or taking notes of what we’ve learned is a very effective way of learning
  • Open a terminal on your laptop
  • Practice with some basic commands
    • pwd, cd, ls, mkdir, touch