2. UNIX Commands

This section presents the UNIX commands of interest to users and programmers. Most of these commands appear in the "Commands" section of the User's Reference Manual and Programmer's Reference Manual for UNIX System V Release 4 (SVR4). This section describes additional commands from the compatibility packages; these commands are prefixed with /usr/ucb, the name of the directory in which they reside. With some exceptions, these commands are only in SVR4. Also included here are commands specific to Solaris 2.0, such as the debugger dbx and the start-up script for OpenWindows, openwin.

Each entry is labeled with the command name on the outer edge of the page. The syntax line is followed by a brief description and a list of all available options. (Obsolete options have been marked as "SVR3 only.") Many commands come with examples at the end of the entry. If you need only a quick reminder or suggestion about a command, you can skip directly to the examples.

Some options can be invoked only by a user with special system privileges. Such a person is often called a superuser. In this book we use the term privileged user instead.

Typographic conventions for describing command syntax are listed in the Preface. For additional help in locating commands, see the Command Index (Section 22) at the back of this guide.