Linux Exercise: Working with files and directories

Working with directories

1. Make sure you are in your home directory.

   • $ cd
2. Create a directory testdir. Run the ls command to verify the directory exists.

   • $ mkdir testdir
   • $ ls -l
3. Switch to the testdir directory. Make sure it is empty. Switch back to your home directory and try to delete the testdir directory.

   • $ cd testdir
   • $ ls -l
   • $ cd ..
   • $ rmdir testdir
4. Again, create a directory testdir. Switch to this directory and create a file "testfile". Go back to your home directory and try to delete the testdir with the rmdir command. What happens?

   • $ mkdir testdir
   • $ cd testdir
   • $ touch testfile
   • $ ls -l
   • $ cd ..
   • $ rmdir testdir
     You cannot remove the directory as it is not empty.
5. Remove the testdir, this time with the rm command, and the option to delete things recursively.

   • $ rm -r testdir

Working with files

1. Create a file "testfile" in your home directory.

   • $ touch testfile
2. Look at the details of the testfile. At what date/time was it created?

   • $ ls -l testfile
3. Make a copy of your testfile called testfile2. Take a look at the details. At what date/time was it created?

   • $ cp testfile testfile2
   • $ ls -l testfile2
     testfile2 is a new file, so it will have its own modification date/time.
4. Move the file testfile to a new name, myfile. Take a look at the details. At what date/time was it created?

   • $ mv testfile myfile
   • $ ls -l myfile
     myfile is not a new file, but rather an existing file with a modified name. So it retains the original date/time of testfile.

Working with files and directories

1. Create a directory mydir. Look at the properties of the directory mydir.

   • $ mkdir mydir
   • $ ls -ld mydir
     Note that if you were to use the command ls -l mydir, then you will see the contents of the directory mydir. By specifying the -d option, you looked at the properties of the directory itself.
2. Copy both testfile2 and myfile to the directory mydir. Take a look at the date/time of these files.

   • $ cp testfile2 myfile mydir
   • $ ls -l mydir
     The files in mydir are new copies, so the copies get a new date/time.
3. Create a directory mydir2. Move both testfile2 and myfile to the directory mydir2. What happens to the date/time now?

   • $ mkdir mydir2
   • $ mv testfile2 myfile mydir2
   • $ ls -l mydir2
     The files have been moved, but not modified. So the original date/time remains intact.
4. Recursively remove both mydir and mydir2 in anticipation of the next exercise.

   • $ rm -fr mydir mydir2

End of exercise