Wizard Boot Camp, Part Nine: (More) Utilities You Should Know

We’re getting near the end of our series of tips that wizards should know. Thing time we’re covering the second in a sub-series about Linux utilities. There’s more about ln, including some examples of how to use a data file and a combination of other utilities. And we’ll see some examples of what the tiny editor sed can do — like editing email as it pours through a mail server.

More about ln (and the power of Linux)

Most Linux users know about symbolic links, created by ln -s. The older “hard links” (without -s) are less common these days. Let’s continue last month’s final section with another linking example that shows what a hard link really is and why you’d want one.

Unlike a symbolic link, a hard link isn’t a file; it’s not stored in its own disk block. It’s never broken (unless your filesystem is…

1. The State of Open Source System Automation
2. Are You Expecting? Your Boss Should Know
3. The Persistence of Time
4. NTP: Timing is Everything
5. Disk Space: The Final Frontier