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UNIX Hints & Hacks |
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Chapter 5: Account Management |
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PC and MS-DOS users are often intimidated by UNIX, but there is no reason to be.
Flavors: AT&T, BSD
The first things you should tell a DOS user are that UNIX is case sensitive, and that UNIX uses a forward slash (/) where DOS uses a backslash (\). Also suggest to them that they get an introductory book to UNIX.
The structure of UNIX is deeper than that of DOS, but it really can be simplified for DOS users. The basic concept of the tree structure is the same, so they should not have any problems understanding that directories and subdirectories contain files like in DOS. The large number of directories can be somewhat intimidating, but when an explanation is made of what is in /bin, /etc, /usr/local, /usr/bsd, things start to make sense to them. (After all, it made sense to us!)
Try to limit users to the basic DOS commands that they are used to. If you tell them that UNIX provides similar commands, just named differently or abbreviated, they usually start picking it up fast. If they are still having problems you can always set up some aliases in their startup file to make things easier for their transition:
alias dir ls -l # Display the current directory alias copy cp # Copy a file alias rename mv # Rename a file alias del rm # Delete a file alias help man # Get help
Providing the user with enough to get them started piques their interest in UNIX.
Most users making the transition to UNIX are eager to learn and make an extra effort. Programmers and engineers, however, can learn too much and could be dangerous, so watch out. Remind new users that the DOS wildcard mask *.* is not required in UNIX; a single star ( *) will do. And unless you're willing to risk serious trouble, don't tell them about rm -r * !
If your environment is set up properly you shouldn't have to cover permissions or the ownership of files. Users learn about these on their own. If you can, give them some room in which to play, to use the old trial-and-error method so they can see for themselves what happens when they try different things. Also, keep an eye on them from a distance, and check up on them in the beginning from time to time. The point is to get them to overcome their fears and concerns that they are going to break something on these multitasking computer systems.
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UNIX Hints & Hacks |
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Chapter 5: Account Management |
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