DOS to UNIX Command Conversions

DOS                          *nix
copy                           cp
move                           mv
ren*                           mv*
edit                           emacs, vi
format                         mkdosfs
fdisk                          fdisk
attrib                         chmod
del                            rm
dir                            ls
cd                             cd
command                        sh, bash, ksh
type                           cat
cls                            clear
more                           more, less

More coming soon....

* To do ren with mv you have to actually move the file, but you can move the file with a different name.

Are you trying to learn *nix, only to have those darn DOS commands pop out of your fingertips instead of the right ones? There's hope for you!

If you decide to run a certain shell (most likely csh, or c-shell), you have the option of mapping all of those DOS commands to the Unix/Linux commands you're yearning to use. This command is called alias, and it works thusly:

alias DOS 'UNIX'
Wherein alias is the command that allows you to make a new name for UNIX commands; DOS is the name of the DOS command you keep typing by accident, and 'UNIX' is the command you meant to type in the first place. For example:

alias dir 'ls -a'
Wherein whenever you accidently type in the DOS command dir by mistake, *nix will automagically replace it with ls -a. Note that since there is a space between the ls and the -a, you use a single quote to show the shell that it is one command with associated switches.

You can set these up in your csh environmental variables so they're always there.