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Ask HN: How to get comfortable on the OS X command line?
I'm very comfortable on the command line on debian-based distros but when ever I get on the terminal in OS X, things are just not in the right place or I'm not able to do what I want.
Is this because I'm not familiar with BSD Unix or has Apple moved things around?
What are the best resources for learning the OS X flavor of Unix, coming from the perspective of having good Linux knowledge?
Edit:
The motivation behind these questions is that I need to decide what my next dev machine will be: some pc laptop with linux or a macbook with darwin. Either way, I need a workable command line as I spend probably 50% of my time there.
- spooneybarger 16y agoPartially because there is some BSD to it. A lot because apple has moved things around. I found it really weird at first. I just had learn the basics and then time made it simpler.
- shortlived 16y agoDid you ever find that Apple crippled certain programs or services, or simply just move things around?
- spooneybarger 16y agomoved around? yes. crippled? nothing that i came across. why? have you found things that seem crippled?
- argv_empty 16y agoWhat things are you looking for that aren't where you expect them to be? And where did you expect them to be?
- shortlived 16y agoThose are great questions which I don't have exact answers for because I've spent the last year exclusively on Linux and all the exact OS X problems are flushed from my brain. I think I was working with Apache at the time, so I probably had trouble starting and stopping (looking in non-existent /etc/init.d). Also, just browsing '/', I remember stumbling upon /sw which is perhaps a darwin thing? Is it like /opt?
- spicyj 16y ago/sw is somewhat like /opt, it's usually used by the package management system Fink. You shouldn't need to manipulate any of the files directly. http://www.finkproject.org/ http://www.finkproject.org/
- argv_empty 16y agoThat would explain why I couldn't find it on my machine. I use macports, which puts its stuff in /opt.
- Terretta 16y agoI have the exact opposite sense of discomfort. I started with System V and BSD 4.3 around the same time, then Solaris and FreeBSD, then OS X. Throughout this, Linux always felt "out in left field". If you look at the UNIX family tree, you'll see why each makes the other feel a little disconnected: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unix_history-simple.svg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unix_history-simple.svg
- shortlived 16y agoSo in your opinion OS X is pretty close to BSD? What stuff did they change?
- Terretta 16y agoMy comment and link shows Linux is not shared heritage UNIX, it's its own line, not a branch on the tree. I wasn't talking about BSD 4.3 versus OS X. But if your comment is sincere: http://www.bsdatwork.com/2004/08/11/differentiating_among_bsd_distros/ http://www.bsdatwork.com/2004/08/11/differentiating_among_bs... As for the OP, this is a nice "BSD for Linux Users" piece: "BSD is what you get when a bunch of Unix hackers sit down to try to port a Unix system to the PC. Linux is what you get when a bunch of PC hackers sit down and try to write a Unix system for the PC." http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/02 http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/02