[mdlug] UNIX tips: Learn 10 good UNIX usage habits

[Aaron Kulkis]

Raymond McLaughlin wrote:
> Aaron Kulkis wrote:
>> Raymond McLaughlin wrote:
>>> How ever, a pager such as less requires you to exit before you can
>>> continue to work, and is not suitable for piping. I use both, my choice
>>> depending on the context, expected size of out put, and ultimate intention.
>> Yes.. less erases it's display from the screen before exiting,
>> which can be annoying when trying to refer to a man page and
>> build a command line
> 
> Some displays yes, some no. This depends on your terminal settings. It
> can be over ridden with "less -X" at the command line. For man pages,
> you can use "man -P less\ -X command" as desired, or put "alias man='man
> -P less\ -X' " somewhere in your startup scripts.
> 
> 
>>> ... I always end up opening a second tty window.
> 
> That work too.
> 
> 
>> Ever notice that after thousands of repetitions, some
>> commands just seem to get typed out automatically without
>> even thinking about it?
> 
> Along with "less -X" there's "less -S" which suppresses line folding.
> Makes log files with long lines much more readable.
> 
>> For example, I'm in such a habit from years of using "more"
>> that if I don't pause momentarily to type "less"... I won't.
> 
> You could set an alias for this too.

I used to use lots and lots of aliases when I was in college.

Then I found that in the commercial world, it can become
a pain in the neck...as you get used to having your
aliases...and then when you're working in some other
environment... poof... now you're typing things that
don't work the way you want them to (if at all)

but your man alias is one worth using...