• The UNIX heritage
• Linux inception
• Linux kernel and GNU tools

The GNOME desktop

• Applying system settings
• Customizing favorites
• Personalizing the terminal window

Starting at the command line

• Switching to console logins
• Performing an SSH login
• Structuring commands

Naming files and directories

• Contrasting full and relative pathnames
• Unraveling the file system hierarchy
• Handling files cp and mv

Organizing files under directories

• Making and navigating directories
• Listing attributes with ls

Working with Linux files

• Accelerating command line usage with Bash wildcards
• Scrolling through files with GNU less
• Comparing files with diff

Defining access rights to files

• Identifying multiple users and groups
• Adjusting access permissions: chmod

Collaborating via group membership

• Joining secondary groups
• Inheriting and changing group ownership

Adopting multiple roles

• Switching identity
• Changing passwords
• Raising privilege with su, sudo and setuid

Searching the system

• Locating files with find
• Finding pathnames with locate

Manipulating streams

• Matching lines with GNU grep
• Selecting lines and fields: head, tail, gawk and cut
• Redirection and pipelines

Editing files and streams

• Automating stream edits with sed
• Creating and modifying files: vim, gedit

Customizing Bash behavior

• Setting options: noclobber and ignoreeof
• Assigning to built-in shell variables

Initializing context

•     Exporting variables to the environment
•     Extending login and start-up scripts

Enhancing interactivity

• Retrieving and reusing previous commands
• Exploiting file name completion shortcuts

Invoking shell scripts

• Taking bash input from a file
• Running scripts using source

Testing and controlling execution

• Checking exit status with if
• Verifying file attributes with conditionals

Monitoring processes with ps and top

• Launching multiple jobs
• Signaling with kill

Archiving and retrieving data

• Compressing with bzip and gzip
• Creating tar archive