Unix commands

Unix commands

Unix was developed as a command line interface in the early 1970s with a very rich command vocabulary. DOS followed more than a decade later for the IBM PC, and DOS commands migrated to Windows. Although DOS/Windows commands cover the basics, the command set was never as elaborate as Unix. Microsoft later added a more comprehensive command language for Windows (see PowerShell).

Linux and Mac Are Unix Based
Linux, as well as macOS, are based on Unix and use the same command line syntax (see terminal). Unix text is generally case sensitive, which means "abC" is not the same as "ABc." DOS/Windows text is not however, and "abC" and "ABc" are equal. Following is a brief comparison of common Unix/Linux commands and their DOS/Windows counterparts.

FILE/FOLDEROPERATION     UNIX   DOS/WINDOWS

 Change **
  directory    cd      cd

 Create **
  directory    mkdir   mkdir, md

 Remove **
  directory    rmdir   rmdir, rd

 List file
  names        ls      dir

 Copy file     cp      copy

 Delete file   rm      del

 Rename file   mv      ren

 Display file
  contents     cat     type

 Print file    lpr     print

  ** A "directory" is a folder.

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.