2 Terminals, Shells and Command Line Tools
2.1 Terminals
A terminal is a text-based interface software that allows you to interact and give instructions to your computer from a nongraphical interface. Every operating system generally has its implementation of a terminal and comes with a set of built-in commands to perform various tasks.For example, in Windows, you can use the command prompt or PowerShell; in Mac and Linux, you can use the terminal. In the open-source world, there are also other alternatives, such as oh-my-zsh, tmux, fish, etc.
Some of the most common commands you can run in a terminal are:
cd- change directory.ls- list files and directories.mkdir- create a new directory.rm- remove files or directories.cp- copy files or directories.mv- move files or directories.cat- concatenate and display files.grep- search for a specific pattern in a file.
Some of those commands are standard across all operating systems, while others are specific to a particular operating system.For example, the ls command is used to list files and directories in Linux and macOS, while the dir command is used for the same purpose in Windows.
2.2 Command Line Tools
A command line tool, is a software you install in your computer that gives you access to an extra set of commands to perform specific tasks. Command line tools are widely used for a variety of purposes, including file management, software development, system administration, and network operations. Some examples of command line tools are:
git- a distributed version control system for tracking changes in source code during software development.npm- a package manager for the JavaScript programming language.pip- a package installer for Python.brew- a package manager for macOS.