Exercises: Working at the CLI in Windows and Linux - Lab Report Example

It has been in use in all windows based operating systems, since its inception in the late 1970s (Simpsons 56). It has a number of commands that implement a considerable number of tasks. Lab 3 involved learning the interface so that we can easily identify and use its commands. This involved carrying out several tasks including outputting a string of characters on the screen and then redirecting them into a file, creating, deleting and switching directories, as well as copying and listing files in a directory among many others.

This required the use of MS-DOS commands like cd, echo, >, type, copy and switch commands such as /b and /p. For example, the command echo outputs a string of characters; D:\> echo I am A guru displays “I am a guru” on the screen. D:\> echo I am A guru > guru.txt redirects the output and creates a text document on drive D:\, with its contents being “I am a guru”. The Linux Shell also has some similarities with Windows MS-DOS; the echo, >, wildcards “* and ?”, and the “cd” commands serve the same purposes in Linux and Windows, although with a little differences in some instances.

Linux uses the “mkdir” and “rmdir” commands to create and remove directories. It is, however, crucial to note that “rmdir” can only delete an empty directory. It cannot delete if there is a file in the directory. Lab 4: Linux Processes and Pipes The Linux operating system is not only a multitasking OS, but also a multiuser operating system. This means that it must employ mechanisms to ensure that there is no conflict between processes and users to maintain stability and consistency.

Lab 4 explores the various functions of the Linux operating system and establishes how these functionalities operate using Linux Virtual terminals (VTs). The lab involved creating Linux virtual terminals using the UNIX windowing system, also referred to as the X-Window System. Creating the terminal window involves downloading and installing “xterm”, the original X-window terminal program to get a terminal window with a prompt that can be used to type commands and send the graphical output to the X server process.

Multiple programs can run on different terminals, hence, increasing the number of already existing processes, which include the X, “xterm” and “metacity” which adds more flexibility to the “xterm” window. Typing “gnome-panel” in a new terminal will open the Linux panel which can be used to run other programs such as the calculator (gcalctool). The command can be used to terminate a process if it blocks the execution of other commands (Petersen 104). A programmer can also use the “bg” command to restart a process that he stopped.

There are other commands that can also be used to manage processes that are running; “ps” displays a list of all running processes and provides some details about each process, whereas the top command provides a list of the most active processes per second. In this way, the Linux operating system can run multiple processes simultaneously. Processes operate in a process hierarchy, with processes at the top being parent processes and those below them child processes. The command “pstree” shows a tree of all running processes.

Each process can be terminated individually using the “kill” command. Lab 5: TCP/IP applications – Telnet Telnet is a Microsoft application that emulates a terminal by operating over a Transmission Control