Welcome to the Operating Systems course of the IT Support Professional Certificate! In the first week, we will look into the basics of Windows and Linux operating systems. You will also be equipped with practical skills in managing files and directories in Windows graphical user interface (GUI), Windows command line interface (CLI), and Linux shell. In addition, there will be other insights related to text-manipulation techniques in these environments. By the end of the week, you will find yourself comfortable executing basic file and directory operations and text handling within both Windows and Linux systems.
Learning objectives:
- List, change, remove, and create directories and files in both the Windows GUI and Windows CLI and also the Linux shell.
- Search for files and directories in both Windows GUI, Windows CLI, and Linux shell.
- Have an understanding of basic text manipulation in Windows GUI, Windows CLI, and Linux shell.
PRACTICE QUIZ: BASIC COMMANDS
1. Using a Linux machine, you have the following directory tree:
/
|-- home
| |-- cindy
| |-- Pictures
| |--Alaska
| |--Canada
| |-- Movies
|-- var
If your current path is /home/cindy/Pictures/Canada, and you want to change to the Alaska directory, which of the following commands can you use? Check all that apply.
- cd ~/Pictures/Alaska (CORRECT)
- cd ../Alaska (CORRECT)
- cd /Pictures/Alaska
- cd /home/cindy/Pictures/Alaska (CORRECT)
Nice work! Using ~, you can navigate straight across the path to the user’s home directory within the Linux file system. You can type cd ~ into the terminal, and it will take you to your home directory.
2. In Bash, which of the following commands can you use to view a long list of all files in the /home directory? Check all that apply.
- list -a /home
- ls -la /home (CORRECT)
- ls -l -a /home (CORRECT)
- ls -la ~
Awesome! When it comes to Linux, the ls command is probably the most useful in conjunction with the -la flags: it will show you a long, detailed list of all files and folders, including any hidden things-the ones that start with a dot (.).
3. In Bash, which of the following commands can you use to remove a directory named: “Miscellaneous Directory?”
- rm Miscellaneous Directory
- rm -r Miscellaneous Directory
- rm Miscellaneous\ Directory
- rm -r Miscellaneous\ Directory (CORRECT)
Nice job! The -r argument is to recursively delete files when a directory is to be deleted. Do not forget to escape spaces in folder names by using a backslash (\).
4. What’s the main directory in a Linux filesystem called?
- Home directory
- Root directory (CORRECT)
- Master directory
- C Drive
Great job! Another term that refers to that highest of directories in the Linux world is /.
5. In Bash, if you need a little help with how a command like ls works, which of the commands can you use to get more information? Check all that apply.
- ls –help (CORRECT)
- man ls (CORRECT)
- manual ls
- help ls
Wohoo! The command will be learned along with the conceptualization in proper written words. Help – for command, as well as the man command, will most often display the usage of each respective command.
PRACTICE QUIZ: FILE AND TEXT MANIPULATION
1. In Bash, which of the following commands can you use to view the contents of a document. Check all that apply.
- open
- cat (CORRECT)
- less (CORRECT)
- Dog
You nailed it! You can view the content of a file using the commands cat and less. The difference between them is that cat displays the whole file while less allows you to scroll through it one page at a time.
2. In a Linux machine, you have the following files:
- apple.txt
- banana.jpg
- chocolate.txt
- orange.txt
What command can you use to search for the word “fruit” in the text files in the above directory? Check all that apply.
- grep fruit apple.txt chocolate.txt orange.txt (CORRECT)
- grep fruit *.txt (CORRECT)
- find fruit apple.txt chocolate.txt
- find fruit apple.txt chocolate.txt orange.txt
Great work! You use these grep commands to search for words or patterns in files. You can also use the * wildcard to match any number of characters in pattern search filters.
3. In a Linux machine, you have a file named “types_of_fish.txt” and you want to append the word “trout” to the file contents. Which of the following commands can you use?
- echo trout < types_of_fish.txt
- echo trout > types_of_fish.txt
- echo trout >> types_of_fish.txt (CORRECT)
- echo trout 2> types_of_fish.txt
You got it! The >> is used as an append redirector.
4. In a Linux machine, you want to list through a directory called /home/ben/Documents and search for the word “important” in the filenames in that directory. Which of the following commands can you use?
- ls /home/ben/Documents | grep important (CORRECT)
- ls /home/ben/Documents >> grep important
- ls /home/ben/Documents < grep important
- ls /home/ben/Documents > grep important
Great job! You can use the | command to pipe the output of one command into another.
5. In a Linux machine, which of the following redirection operators is used to change standard input?
- < (CORRECT)
- >
- >>
- 2>
Awesome work! The < redirector is used for stdin.
6. In a Linux machine, which of the following redirection operators is used to redirect to standard error?
- <
- >
- >>
- 2> (CORRECT)
Correct: Great job! The 2> redirector is used for stderr.
GRADED QUIZ: ACCESSING QWIKLABS
1. How long do you have to complete each Qwiklab?
- 20 minutes
- 1 hour (CORRECT)
- 24 hours
- As long as you need.
Great job! You’ll have one hour to complete every lab in this program.
2. True or false: It can take some time for the labs to load once you click “start lab.”
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Yep! Labs may load for a considerable time and during this time, you might like to go over and peruse your lab instructions while you prepare for the next tests.
3. True or false: It can take some time for the working instance of Linux and Windows OS to load.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
That’s exactly right! At this moment, we are loading an actual running version of the OS for you. You will need to download some key applications every time you visit the OS, which may take a small amount of time.
4. What do you need to do to finish a lab and have your grade posted to Coursera?
- Close all lab windows
- Refresh the Coursera course page
- Click the red “End Lab” button (CORRECT)
Excellent! Clicking the red “End Lab” button will enter your grade for the lab and submit it to Coursera.
5. True or false: You are able to access your work once you click the “End Lab” button.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
You got it! Once you click “End Lab,” you won’t be able to access your work.