Introduction to UNIX

Introduction to UNIX#

Overview#

The Unix system and the shell predate most computational interfaces (e.g. the graphical user interface). Although very old, Unix based systems and the shell are one of the most powerful ways to use computers whether it is your laptop or a supercomputer. This course is an introduction to navigating your way around the shell and demonstrating how it can improve your workflow. This can be in the form of data processing, executing code, using a huge range of built-in tools, and creating pipelines.

Course Objectives#

  • Describe what the shell is and how you access it

  • Navigate around the unix filesystem

  • Inspect and manipulate files

  • Automate tasks via scripts

  • Run programs outside of IDEs and notebooks

Pre-requisite Knowledge#

No pre-requisite knowledge required. The attendees will require access to a Unix-like system. There are number of options here: MacOS, WSL2 on Windows, Linux, HPC (ISCA).