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A Comprehensive Introduction to Command Line for R Users

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  • In this tutorial, you will be introduced to the command line. We have selected a set of commands we think will be useful in general to a wide range of audience. We have created a RStudio Cloud Project to ensure that all readers are using the same environment while going through the tutorial. Our goal was to ensure that after completing this tutorial, readers should be able to use the shell for version control, managing cloud services (like deploying your own shiny server etc.), execute commands in R & RMarkdown and execute R scripts in the shell. Apart from learning shell commands, the tutorial will also focus on

    • exploring R release names
    • mapping shell commands to R functions
    • RStudio Terminal
    • executing shell commands from R using system2() or processx::run()
    • execute shell commands in RMarkdown
    • execute R scripts in the shell

    If you want a deeper understanding of using command line for data science, we suggest you read Data Science at the Command Line. Software Carpentry too has a lesson on shell. We have listed more references at the end of the tutorial for the benefit of the readers.

    Table of Contents

    Resources

    Below are the links to all the resources related to this post:

    You can try our free online course Command Line Basics for R Users if you prefer to learn through self paced online courses or our ebook if you like to read the tutorial in a book format.

    Introduction

    What is Shell/Terminal?

    Shell is a text based application for viewing, handling & manipulating files. It takes in commands and passes them on to the operating system. It is also known as

    • CLI (Command Line Interface)
    • Bash (Bourne Again Shell)
    • Terminal

    It is sufficient to know a handful of commands to get started with the shell.

    Launch Terminal

    Although we will use the terminal in RStudio on RStudio Cloud, we should still know how to launch the terminal in different operating systems.

    mac

    Applications -> Utility -> Terminal

    Windows

    Option 1

    Go to the Start Menu or screen and enter Command Prompt in the search field.

    Option 2

    Start Menu -> Windows System -> Command Prompt

    Option 3

    Hold the Windows key and press the R key to get a Run window. Type cmd in the box and click on the OK button.

    Linux

    • Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal
    • Applications -> System -> Terminal

    Windows Subsystem for Linux

    If you want to use bash on Windows, try the Windows subsystem for Linux. It only works on 64 bit Windows 10. Below are the steps to enable Windows subsystem fro Linux:

    Step 1 – Enable Developer Mode

    To enable Developer Mode open the Settings app and head to Update & Security > For Developers. Press the Developer Mode switch.

    Step 2 – Enable Windows Subsystem for Linux

    To enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux (Beta), open the Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and click Turn Windows Features On or Off in left side bar under Programs and Features. Enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux (Beta) option in the list here and click OK. After you do, you’ll be prompted to reboot your computer. Click Restart Now to reboot your computer and Windows 10 will install the new feature.

    Step 3 – Install your Linux Distribution of Choice

    Open the Microsoft store and choose your favorite Linux distribution.

    In the distro’s page, click on “Get”.

    Launch the distro from the Start Menu.

    You can learn more about the Windows Subsystem for Linux here.

    RStudio Terminal

    RStudio introduced the terminal with version 1.1.383. The terminal tab is next to the console tab. If it is not visible, use any of the below methods to launch it

    • Shift + Alt + T
    • Tools -> Terminal -> New Terminal

    Note, the terminal depends on the underlying operating system. To learn more about the RStudio terminal, read this article or watch this webinar. In this book, we will use the RStudio terminal on RStudio Cloud to ensure that all users have access to Linux bash. You can try all the commands used in this book on your local system as well except in case of Windows users.

    Prompt

    As soon as you launch the terminal, you will see the hostname, machine name and the prompt. In case of mac & Linux users, the prompt is $. For Windows users, it is >.

    OS Prompt
    macOS $
    Linux $
    Windows >

    Get Started

    To begin with, let us learn to display

    • basic information about the user
    • the current date & time
    • the calendar
    • and clear the screen.
    Command Description
    whoami Who is the user?
    date Get date, time and timezone
    cal Display calendar
    clear Clear the screen

    whoami prints the effective user id i.e. the name of the user who runs the command. Use it to verify the user as which you are logged into the system.

    whoami
    ## aravind

    date will display or change the value of the system’s time and date information.

    date
    ## Wed Jun 10 22:45:47 IST 2020

    cal will display a formatted calendar and clear will clear all text on the screen and display a new prompt. You can clear the screen by pressing Ctrl + L as well.

    cal

    In R, we can get the user information from Sys.info() or whoami() from the whoami package. The current date & time are returned by Sys.date() & Sys.time(). To clear the R console, we use Ctrl + L.

    Command R
    whoami Sys.info() / whoami::whoami()
    date Sys.date() / Sys.time()
    cal
    clear Ctrl + L

    Help/Documentation

    Before we proceed further, let us learn to view the documentation/manual pages of the commands.

    Command Description
    man Display manual pages for a command
    whatis Single line description of a command

    man is used to view the system’s reference manual. Let us use it to view the documentation of the whatis command which we will use next.

    man whatis
    ## WHATIS(1)                     Manual pager utils                     WHATIS(1)
    ## 
    ## NAME
    ##        whatis - display one-line manual page descriptions
    ## 
    ## SYNOPSIS
    ##        whatis  [-dlv?V]  [-r|-w]  [-s  list]  [-m  system[,...]] [-M path] [-L
    ##        locale] [-C file] name ...
    ## 
    ## DESCRIPTION
    ##        Each manual page has a short description available within  it.   whatis
    ##        searches  the  manual  page names and displays the manual page descrip‐
    ##        tions of any name matched.
    ## 
    ##        name may contain wildcards (-w) or be a regular expression (-r).  Using
    ##        these  options, it may be necessary to quote the name or escape (\) the
    ##        special characters to stop the shell from interpreting them.
    ## 
    ##        index databases are used during the search,  and  are  updated  by  the
    ##        mandb  program.   Depending  on your installation, this may be run by a
    ##        periodic cron job, or may need to be  run  manually  after  new  manual
    ##        pages  have  been installed.  To produce an old style text whatis data‐
    ##        base from the relative index database, issue the command:
    ## 
    ##        whatis -M manpath -w '*' | sort > manpath/whatis
    ## 
    ##        where manpath is a manual page hierarchy such as /usr/man.
    ## 
    ## OPTIONS
    ##        -d, --debug
    ##               Print debugging information.
    ## 
    ##        -v, --verbose
    ##               Print verbose warning messages.
    ## 
    ##        -r, --regex
    ##               Interpret each name as a regular expression.  If a name  matches
    ##               any  part  of  a  page  name, a match will be made.  This option
    ##               causes whatis to be somewhat slower due to the nature  of  data‐
    ##               base searches.
    ## 
    ##        -w, --wildcard
    ##               Interpret  each  name  as a pattern containing shell style wild‐
    ##               cards.  For a match to be made, an expanded name must match  the
    ##               entire  page  name.   This  option  causes whatis to be somewhat
    ##               slower due to the nature of database searches.
    ## 
    ##        -l, --long
    ##               Do not trim output to the terminal width.  Normally, output will
    ##               be  truncated  to  the terminal width to avoid ugly results from
    ##               poorly-written NAME sections.
    ## 
    ##        -s list, --sections list, --section list
    ##               Search only the given manual sections.   list  is  a  colon-  or
    ##               comma-separated list of sections.  If an entry in list is a sim‐
    ##               ple section,  for  example  "3",  then  the  displayed  list  of
    ##               descriptions  will include pages in sections "3", "3perl", "3x",
    ##               and so on; while if an entry in list has an extension, for exam‐
    ##               ple "3perl", then the list will only include pages in that exact
    ##               part of the manual section.
    ## 
    ##        -m system[,...], --systems=system[,...]
    ##               If this system has access to  other  operating  system's  manual
    ##               page  names,  they can be accessed using this option.  To search
    ##               NewOS's manual page names, use the option -m NewOS.
    ## 
    ##               The system specified can be a  combination  of  comma  delimited
    ##               operating system names.  To include a search of the native oper‐
    ##               ating system's manual page names, include the system name man in
    ##               the  argument  string.   This  option  will override the $SYSTEM
    ##               environment variable.
    ## 
    ##        -M path, --manpath=path
    ##               Specify an alternate set of colon-delimited manual page  hierar‐
    ##               chies  to search.  By default, whatis uses the $MANPATH environ‐
    ##               ment variable, unless it is empty or unset,  in  which  case  it
    ##               will  determine an appropriate manpath based on your $PATH envi‐
    ##               ronment variable.  This option overrides the contents  of  $MAN‐
    ##               PATH.
    ## 
    ##        -L locale, --locale=locale
    ##               whatis  will normally determine your current locale by a call to
    ##               the C function setlocale(3) which interrogates various  environ‐
    ##               ment  variables,  possibly including $LC_MESSAGES and $LA

    whatis displays short manual page descriptions (each manual page has a short description available within it).

    whatis ls
    ## ls (1)               - list directory contents

    You will find tldr.sh very useful while exploring new commands and there is a related R package, tldrrr as well.

    # devtools::install_github("kirillseva/tldrrr")
    tldrrr::tldr("pwd")
    ## pwd 
    ##  
    ## Print name of current/working directory. 
    ##  
    ## • Print the current directory: 
    ##  
    ##   pwd 
    ##  
    ## • Print the current directory, and resolve all symlinks (i.e. show the "physical" path): 
    ##  
    ##   pwd -P


    Navigating File System

    In this section, we will learn commands that will help us

    • navigate between different folders/directories
    • return current working directory
    • list all the files & folders in a directory
    • create and delete directories
    Command Description
    pwd Print working directory
    ls List directory contents
    cd Change current working directory
    mkdir Create directory
    rmdir Remove/delete directory

    pwd displays the name of the present working directory.

    pwd
    ## /mnt/j/R/Others/blogs/content/post/cline

    ls displays information about files and directories in the current directory along with their associated metadata such as

    • size
    • ownership
    • modification date

    With no options, it will list the files and directories in the current directory, sorted alphabetically.

    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    cd (change directory) changes the current working directory. It is among the most used commands as it allows the user to move around the file system.

    cd r
    pwd
    ## /mnt/j/R/Others/blogs/content/post/cline/r

    mkdir will create new directory. It will allow you to set file mode (permissions associated with the directory) i.e. who can open/modify/delete the directory.

    mkdir rfiles
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## rfiles
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    rmdir will remove empty directories from the file system. It can be used to remove multiple empty directories as well. If the directory is not empty, rmdir will not remove it and instead display a warning that the directory is not empty.

    rmdir rfiles
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Change Working Directory

    Let us focus a bit more on changing working directory. The below table shows commands for changing working directory to

    • up one level
    • previous working directory
    • home directory
    • and root directory
    Command Description
    cd . Navigate into directory
    cd .. Go up one level
    cd - Go to previous working directory
    cd ~ Change directory to home directory
    cd / Change directory to root directory

    All files and directories stem from one main directory, the root directory. All the other directories in the system are sub-directories of the root directory and the root directory has no parent directory. It is represented by a single slash (/). cd / will change the current working directory to the root directory. In RStudio Cloud, use cd and cd .. to navigate back to the current working directory. If you get confused, close the terminal and relaunch it.

    cd /
    pwd
    ## /

    The parent directory i.e. the directory one level up from the current directory which contains the directory we are in now is represented by two dots (..). cd .. will change us into the parent directory of the current directory.

    cd ..
    pwd
    ## /mnt/j/R/Others/blogs/content/post

    The home directory is the directory we are placed in, by default, when we launch a new terminal session. It is represented by the tilde (~). In RStudio Cloud, use cd and cd .. to navigate back to the current working directory. If you get confused, close the terminal and relaunch it.

    cd ~
    pwd
    ## /home/aravind

    To change into the previous working directory, use cd -.

    cd -
    pwd
    ## /mnt/j/R/Others/blogs/content/post
    ## /mnt/j/R/Others/blogs/content/post

    The current working directory is represented by a single dot (.). cd . will change us into the current directory i.e. it will do nothing.

    List Directory Contents

    ls will list the contents of a directory. Using different arguments, we can

    • list hidden files
    • view file permissions, ownership, size & modification date
    • sort by size & modification date
    Command Description
    ls List directory contents
    ls -l List files one per line
    ls -a List all files including hidden files
    ls -la Display file permissions, ownership, size & modification date
    ls -lh Long format list with size displayed in human readable format
    ls -lS Long format list sorted by size
    ls -ltr Long format list sorted by modification date

    List files one per line

    ls -l
    ## total 31108
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       12 Jun  3 13:51 analysis.R
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      430 Jun  3 13:51 bash.R
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    16242 Jun  3 13:51 bash.sh
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       35 Jun  3 13:51 imports_blorr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       34 Jun  3 13:51 imports_olsrr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    39501 Jun  3 13:51 lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     9291 Jun  3 13:51 main_project.zip
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myfiles
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 mypackage
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject1
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject2
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject3
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject4
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     1498 Jun  3 13:51 package_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     1082 Jun  3 13:51 pkg_names.txt
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 r
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    10240 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      632 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar.gz
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      546 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       65 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_18.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       53 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_19.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 31754998 Jun  3 13:51 sept_15.csv.gz
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      157 Jun  3 13:51 urls.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4398 Jun  3 13:51 zip_example.zip

    List all files including hidden files

    ls -a
    ## .
    ## ..
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Display file permissions, ownership, size & modification date

    ls -la
    ## total 31108
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun 10 22:46 .
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun 10 22:45 ..
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       12 Jun  3 13:51 analysis.R
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      430 Jun  3 13:51 bash.R
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    16242 Jun  3 13:51 bash.sh
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       35 Jun  3 13:51 imports_blorr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       34 Jun  3 13:51 imports_olsrr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    39501 Jun  3 13:51 lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     9291 Jun  3 13:51 main_project.zip
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myfiles
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 mypackage
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject1
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject2
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject3
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject4
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     1498 Jun  3 13:51 package_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     1082 Jun  3 13:51 pkg_names.txt
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 r
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    10240 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      632 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar.gz
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      546 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       65 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_18.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       53 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_19.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 31754998 Jun  3 13:51 sept_15.csv.gz
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      157 Jun  3 13:51 urls.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4398 Jun  3 13:51 zip_example.zip

    Display size in human readable format

    ls -lh
    ## total 31M
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind   12 Jun  3 13:51 analysis.R
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind  430 Jun  3 13:51 bash.R
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind  16K Jun  3 13:51 bash.sh
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind   35 Jun  3 13:51 imports_blorr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind   34 Jun  3 13:51 imports_olsrr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind  39K Jun  3 13:51 lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 9.1K Jun  3 13:51 main_project.zip
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.0K Jun  3 13:51 myfiles
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.0K Jun  3 13:51 mypackage
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.0K Jun  3 13:51 myproject
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.0K Jun  3 13:51 myproject1
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.0K Jun  3 13:51 myproject2
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.0K Jun  3 13:51 myproject3
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.0K Jun  3 13:51 myproject4
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 1.5K Jun  3 13:51 package_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 1.1K Jun  3 13:51 pkg_names.txt
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.0K Jun  3 13:51 r
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind  10K Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind  632 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar.gz
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind  546 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind   65 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_18.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind   53 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_19.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind  31M Jun  3 13:51 sept_15.csv.gz
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind  157 Jun  3 13:51 urls.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 4.3K Jun  3 13:51 zip_example.zip

    Sort list by size

    ls -lS
    ## total 31108
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 31754998 Jun  3 13:51 sept_15.csv.gz
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    39501 Jun  3 13:51 lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    16242 Jun  3 13:51 bash.sh
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    10240 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     9291 Jun  3 13:51 main_project.zip
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4398 Jun  3 13:51 zip_example.zip
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myfiles
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 mypackage
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject1
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject2
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject3
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject4
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 r
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     1498 Jun  3 13:51 package_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     1082 Jun  3 13:51 pkg_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      632 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar.gz
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      546 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      430 Jun  3 13:51 bash.R
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      157 Jun  3 13:51 urls.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       65 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_18.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       53 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_19.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       35 Jun  3 13:51 imports_blorr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       34 Jun  3 13:51 imports_olsrr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       12 Jun  3 13:51 analysis.R

    Sort list by modification date

    ls -ltr
    ## total 31108
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      546 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    10240 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4398 Jun  3 13:51 zip_example.zip
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     9291 Jun  3 13:51 main_project.zip
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 r
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myfiles
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      632 Jun  3 13:51 release_names.tar.gz
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject3
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       35 Jun  3 13:51 imports_blorr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       65 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_18.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       53 Jun  3 13:51 release_names_19.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       34 Jun  3 13:51 imports_olsrr.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     1498 Jun  3 13:51 package_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      157 Jun  3 13:51 urls.txt
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject1
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     1082 Jun  3 13:51 pkg_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind 31754998 Jun  3 13:51 sept_15.csv.gz
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 mypackage
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    16242 Jun  3 13:51 bash.sh
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject2
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind       12 Jun  3 13:51 analysis.R
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind      430 Jun  3 13:51 bash.R
    ## -rwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind    39501 Jun  3 13:51 lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## drwxrwxrwx 1 aravind aravind     4096 Jun  3 13:51 myproject4

    R Functions

    In R, getwd() will return the current working directory. You can use here() from the here package as well. To change the current working directory, use setwd(). The fs package provides useful functions for file operations.

    Command R
    pwd getwd() / here::here()
    ls dir() / list.files() / list.dirs() / fs::dir_ls() / dir_info()
    cd setwd()
    mkdir dir.create() / fs::dir_create()
    rmdir fs::dir_delete()

    File Management

    In this section, we will explore commands for file management including:

    • create new file/change timestamps
    • copying files
    • renaming/moving files
    • deleting files
    • comparing files
    Command Description
    touch Create empty file(s)/change timestamp
    cp Copy files & folders
    mv Rename/move file
    rm Remove/delete file
    diff Compare files

    Create new file

    touch modifies file timestamps which is information associated with file modification. It can be any of the following:

    • access time (the last time the file was read)
    • modification time (the last time the contents of the file was changed)
    • change time (the last time the file’s metadata was changed)

    If the file does not exist, it will create an empty file of the same name. Let us use touch to create a new file myanalysis.R.

    touch myanalysis.R
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myanalysis.R
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Copy Files/Folders

    cp makes copies of files and directories. The general form of the command is cp source destination. By default, it will overwrite files without prompting for confirmation so be cautious while copying files or folders.

    Copy files in same folder

    Let us create a copy of release_names.txt file and name it as release_names_2.txt.

    cp release_names.txt release_names_2.txt
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myanalysis.R
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## release_names_2.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Copy files into different folder

    To copy a file into a different directory/folder, we need to specify the name of the destination folder. If the copied file should have a different name, then we need to specify the new name of the file as well. Let us copy the release_names.txt file into the r_releases folder (we will retain the same name for the file as we are copying it into a different folder).

    cp release_names.txt r_releases/release_names.txt

    Let us check if the file has been copied by listing the files in the r_releases folder using ls.

    ls r_releases
    ## release_names.txt

    Copy folders

    How about making copies of folders? Use the -r option to copy entire folders. Let us create a copy of the r folder and name it as r2. The -r option stands for --recursive i.e. copy directories recursively.

    cp -r r r2
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myanalysis.R
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## release_names_2.txt
    ## release_names_3.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Move/Rename Files

    mv moves and renames files and directories. Using different options, we can ensure

    • files are not overwritten
    • user is prompted for confirmation before overwriting files
    • details of files being moved is displayed
    Command Description
    mv Move or rename files/directories
    mv -f Do not prompt for confirmation before overwriting files
    mv -i Prompt for confirmation before overwriting files
    mv -n Do not overwrite existing files
    mv -v Move files in verbose mode

    Let us move the release_names_2.txt file to the r_releases folder.

    mv release_names_2.txt r_releases

    Use ls to verfiy if the file has been moved. As you can see, release_names_2.txt is not present in the current working directory.

    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myanalysis.R
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## release_names_3.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Let us check if release_names_2.txt is present in the r_releases folder. Great! We have successfully moved the file into a different folder.

    ls r_releases
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_2.txt

    Move files in verbose mode

    To view the details of the files being moved/renamed, use the -v option. In the below example, we move the release_names_3.txt file into the r_releases folder using mv.

    mv -v release_names_3.txt r_releases
    ## renamed 'release_names_3.txt' -> 'r_releases/release_names_3.txt'

    Do not overwrite existing files

    How do we ensure that files are not overwritten without prompting the user first? In the below example, we will try to overwrite the release_names_2.txt in the r_releases folder using mv and see what happens. But first, let us look at the contents of the release_names_2.txt file using the cat command.

    We will look into the cat command in more detail in the next chapter but for the time being it is sufficient to know that it prints contents of a file. The file contains release names of different R versions.

    cat r_releases/release_names_2.txt
    ## Unsuffered Consequences
    ## Great Pumpkin
    ## December Snowflakes
    ## Gift-Getting Season
    ## Easter Beagle
    ## Roasted Marshmallows
    ## Trick or Treat
    ## Security Blanket
    ## Masked Marvel
    ## Good Sport
    ## Frisbee Sailing
    ## Warm Puppy
    ## Spring Dance
    ## Sock it to Me
    ## Pumpkin Helmet
    ## Smooth Sidewalk
    ## Full of Ingredients
    ## World-Famous Astronaut
    ## Fire Safety
    ## Wooden Christmas Tree
    ## Very Secure Dishes
    ## Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ## Supposedly Educational
    ## Bug in Your Hair
    ## Sincere Pumpkin Patch
    ## Another Canoe
    ## You Stupid Darkness
    ## Single Candle
    ## Short Summer
    ## Kite Eating Tree

    In our current working directory, we will create another file of the same name i.e. release_names_2.txt but its contents are different from the file in the r_releases folder. It contains the string release_names and nothing else. We will now move this file into the r_releases folder but use the option -n to ensure that the file in the r_releases folder is not overwritten. We can confirm this by printing the contents of the file in the r_releases folder.

    The echo command is used to print text to the terminal or to write to a file. We will explore it in more detail in the next chapter.

    echo "release_names" > release_names_2.txt 
    mv -n release_names_2.txt r_releases
    cat r_releases/release_names_2.txt
    ## Unsuffered Consequences
    ## Great Pumpkin
    ## December Snowflakes
    ## Gift-Getting Season
    ## Easter Beagle
    ## Roasted Marshmallows
    ## Trick or Treat
    ## Security Blanket
    ## Masked Marvel
    ## Good Sport
    ## Frisbee Sailing
    ## Warm Puppy
    ## Spring Dance
    ## Sock it to Me
    ## Pumpkin Helmet
    ## Smooth Sidewalk
    ## Full of Ingredients
    ## World-Famous Astronaut
    ## Fire Safety
    ## Wooden Christmas Tree
    ## Very Secure Dishes
    ## Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ## Supposedly Educational
    ## Bug in Your Hair
    ## Sincere Pumpkin Patch
    ## Another Canoe
    ## You Stupid Darkness
    ## Single Candle
    ## Short Summer
    ## Kite Eating Tree

    As you can observe, the contents of the file in the r_releases folder has not changed. In the next section, we will learn to overwrite the contents using the -f option.

    Do not prompt for confirmation before overwriting files

    What if we actually intend to overwrite a file and do not want to be prompted for confirming the same. In this case, we can use the -f option which stands for --force i.e. do not prompt before overwriting. Let us first print the contents of the release_names_2.txt file in the r_releases folder.

    cat r_releases/release_names_2.txt
    ## Unsuffered Consequences
    ## Great Pumpkin
    ## December Snowflakes
    ## Gift-Getting Season
    ## Easter Beagle
    ## Roasted Marshmallows
    ## Trick or Treat
    ## Security Blanket
    ## Masked Marvel
    ## Good Sport
    ## Frisbee Sailing
    ## Warm Puppy
    ## Spring Dance
    ## Sock it to Me
    ## Pumpkin Helmet
    ## Smooth Sidewalk
    ## Full of Ingredients
    ## World-Famous Astronaut
    ## Fire Safety
    ## Wooden Christmas Tree
    ## Very Secure Dishes
    ## Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ## Supposedly Educational
    ## Bug in Your Hair
    ## Sincere Pumpkin Patch
    ## Another Canoe
    ## You Stupid Darkness
    ## Single Candle
    ## Short Summer
    ## Kite Eating Tree

    Now we will create another file of the same name in the current working directory but with different content and use the -f option to overwrite the file in the r_releases folder. You can see that the contents of the file in the r_releases folder has changed.

    echo "release_names" > release_names_2.txt 
    mv -f release_names_2.txt r_releases
    cat r_releases/release_names_2.txt
    ## release_names

    Remove/Delete Files

    The rm command is used to delete/remove files & folders. Using additional options, we can

    • remove directories & sub-directories
    • forcibly remove directories
    • interactively remove multiple files
    • display information about files removed/deleted
    Command Description
    rm Remove files/directories
    rm -r Recursively remove a directory & all its subdirectories
    rm -rf Forcibly remove directory without prompting for confirmation or showing error messages
    rm -i Interactively remove multiple files, with a prompt before every removal
    rm -v Remove files in verbose mode, printing a message for each removed file

    Remove files

    Let us use rm to remove the file myanalysis.R (we created it earlier using the touch command).

    rm myanalysis.R
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject1
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Recursive Deletion

    How about folders or directories? We can remove a directory and all its contents including sub-directories using the option -r which stands for --recursive and removes directories and their contents recursively. Let us remove the myproject1 folder and all its contents.

    rm -r myproject1
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject2
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Force Removal

    Use the -f option which stands for --force to forciby remove directory and all its contents without prompting for confirmation or showing error messages. Let us remove the myproject2 folder and all its contents.

    rm -rf myproject2
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Verbose Mode

    Remove files in verbose mode, printing a message for each removed file. This is useful when you want to see the details of the files being removed. In the below example, we will remove all files with .txt extension from the myfiles folder. Instead of specifying the name of each text file, we use the wildcard * along with .txt i.e. any file with the extension .txt will be removed.

    cd myfiles
    rm -v *.txt
    ## removed 'release_names.txt'
    ## removed 'release_names_18.txt'
    ## removed 'release_names_19.txt'

    Compare Files

    diff stands for difference. It is used to compare files line by line and display differences. It also indicates which lines in one file must be changed to make the files identical. Using additional options, we can

    • ignore white spaces while comparing files
    • show differences sidy by side
    • show differences in unified format
    • compare directories recursively
    • display names of files that differ
    Command Description
    diff Compare files & directories
    diff -w Compare files; ignoring white spaces
    diff -y Compare files; showing differences side by side
    diff -u Compare files; show differences in unified format
    diff -r Compare directories recursively
    diff -rq Compare directories; show the names of files that differ

    Compare Files

    Let us compare the contents of the following files

    • imports_olsrr.txt
    • imports_blorr.txt

    The files contain the names of R packages imported by the olsrr and blorr packages respectively (Full disclosure: both the above R pakages are developed by Rsquared Academy.).

    diff uses certain special symbols and gives instructions to make the files identical. The instructions are on how to change the first file to make it identical to the second file. We list the symbols below

    • a for add
    • c for change
    • d for delete

    We will use the -w option to ignore white spaces while comparing the files.

    diff -w imports_olsrr.txt imports_blorr.txt
    ## 1a2
    ## > caret
    ## 3d3
    ## < cli
    ## 4a5
    ## > cli

    Let us interpret the results. 4a5 indicates after line 4 in file 1, add line 5 from file 2 to make both the files identical i.e. add caret which is line 5 in imports_blorr.txt after line 4 in imports_olsrr.txt which will make both the files identical.

    Let us change the file order and see the instructions from diff.

    diff -w imports_blorr.txt imports_olsrr.txt
    ## 2d1
    ## < caret
    ## 4d2
    ## < clisymbols
    ## 5a4
    ## > clisymbols

    5d4 indicates delete line 5 from file 1 to match both the files at line4 i.e. delete caret which is line 5 in imports_blorr.txt to make both the files identical.

    Side By Side

    To view the differences between the files side by side, use the -y option.

    diff -y imports_olsrr.txt imports_blorr.txt
    ## car 
                                      | car
    ## checkmate
                                      | caret
    ## cli
                                      | checkmate
    ## clisymbols
                                      | clisymbols
    ##                                > cli

    Unified Format

    To view the differences between the files in a unified format, use the -u option.

    diff -u imports_olsrr.txt imports_blorr.txt
    ## --- imports_olsrr.txt    2019-09-20 13:36:03.000000000 +0530
    ## +++ imports_blorr.txt    2019-09-20 13:36:35.000000000 +0530
    ## @@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
    ## -car 
    ## -checkmate
    ## -cli
    ## -clisymbols
    ## +car
    ## +caret
    ## +checkmate
    ## +clisymbols
    ## +cli

    Compare Recursively

    To compare recursively, use the -r option. Let us compare the mypackage and myproject folders.

    diff -r mypackage myproject
    ## Only in mypackage: .Rbuildignore
    ## Only in mypackage: DESCRIPTION
    ## Only in mypackage: LICENSE
    ## Only in mypackage: NAMESPACE
    ## Only in mypackage: NEWS.md
    ## Only in mypackage: R
    ## Only in myproject/data: processed
    ## Only in myproject/data: raw
    ## Only in mypackage: docs
    ## Only in mypackage: man
    ## Only in myproject: output
    ## Only in myproject: run_analysis.R
    ## Only in mypackage: tests
    ## Only in mypackage: vignettes

    File Details

    To compare directories and view the names of files that differ, use the -rq option. In the below example, we look at the names of files that differ in mypackage and myproject folders.

    diff -rq mypackage myproject
    ## Only in mypackage: .Rbuildignore
    ## Only in mypackage: DESCRIPTION
    ## Only in mypackage: LICENSE
    ## Only in mypackage: NAMESPACE
    ## Only in mypackage: NEWS.md
    ## Only in mypackage: R
    ## Only in myproject/data: processed
    ## Only in myproject/data: raw
    ## Only in mypackage: docs
    ## Only in mypackage: man
    ## Only in myproject: output
    ## Only in myproject: run_analysis.R
    ## Only in mypackage: tests
    ## Only in mypackage: vignettes

    R Functions

    In R, file operations can be performed using functions from both base R and the fs package.

    Command R
    touch file.create() / fs::file_create() / fs::file_touch()
    cp file.copy() / fs::file_copy() / fs::dir_copy()
    mv file.rename() / fs::file_move()
    rm file.remove() / fs::file_delete()
    diff

    Input/Output

    In this section, we will explore commands that will

    • display messages
    • print file contents
    • sort file contents
    Command Description
    echo Display messages
    cat Print contents of a file
    head Prints first ten lines of a file by default
    tail Prints last ten lines of a file by default
    more Open a file for interactive reading, scrolling & searching
    less Open a file for interactive reading, scrolling & searching
    sort Sort a file in ascending order

    Display Messages

    The echo command prints text to the terminal. It can be used for writing or appending messages to a file as well.

    Command Description
    echo Display messages
    echo -n Print message without trailing new line
    echo &gt; file Write message to a file
    echo &gt;&gt; file Append message to a file
    echo -e Enable interpretation of special characters

    Print Message

    Let us start with a simple example. We will print the text Action of the Toes to the terminal. It is the release name for R version 3.6.1.

    echo Action of the Toes

    Redirect Output

    What if we want to redirect the output? Instead of printing the text to the terminal, we want to write it to a file. In such cases, use > along with the file name to redirect the output to the file. Keep in mind that > will overwrite files. If you want to append to files instead of overwriting, use >>.

    echo Great Truth > release.txt

    Print & Concatenate Files

    The cat command reads data from files, and outputs their contents. It is the simplest way to display the contents of a file at the command line. It can be used to overwrite or append new content to files as well. cat stands for catenate and can be used to

    • display text files
    • copy text files into a new document
    • append the contents of a text file to the end of another text file, combining them
    Command Description
    cat Print & concatenate files
    cat &gt; Concatenate several files into the target file
    cat &gt;&gt; Append several files into the target file
    cat -n Number all output lines

    Print Content

    Let us print the content of the release_names.txt file (it contains R release names).

    cat release_names.txt
    ## Unsuffered Consequences
    ## Great Pumpkin
    ## December Snowflakes
    ## Gift-Getting Season
    ## Easter Beagle
    ## Roasted Marshmallows
    ## Trick or Treat
    ## Security Blanket
    ## Masked Marvel
    ## Good Sport
    ## Frisbee Sailing
    ## Warm Puppy
    ## Spring Dance
    ## Sock it to Me
    ## Pumpkin Helmet
    ## Smooth Sidewalk
    ## Full of Ingredients
    ## World-Famous Astronaut
    ## Fire Safety
    ## Wooden Christmas Tree
    ## Very Secure Dishes
    ## Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ## Supposedly Educational
    ## Bug in Your Hair
    ## Sincere Pumpkin Patch
    ## Another Canoe
    ## You Stupid Darkness
    ## Single Candle
    ## Short Summer
    ## Kite Eating Tree

    Number All Output Lines

    If you want to number the output line, use the -n option.

    cat -n release_names.txt
    ##      1   Unsuffered Consequences
    ##      2   Great Pumpkin
    ##      3   December Snowflakes
    ##      4   Gift-Getting Season
    ##      5   Easter Beagle
    ##      6   Roasted Marshmallows
    ##      7   Trick or Treat
    ##      8   Security Blanket
    ##      9   Masked Marvel
    ##     10   Good Sport
    ##     11   Frisbee Sailing
    ##     12   Warm Puppy
    ##     13   Spring Dance
    ##     14   Sock it to Me
    ##     15   Pumpkin Helmet
    ##     16   Smooth Sidewalk
    ##     17   Full of Ingredients
    ##     18   World-Famous Astronaut
    ##     19   Fire Safety
    ##     20   Wooden Christmas Tree
    ##     21   Very Secure Dishes
    ##     22   Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ##     23   Supposedly Educational
    ##     24   Bug in Your Hair
    ##     25   Sincere Pumpkin Patch
    ##     26   Another Canoe
    ##     27   You Stupid Darkness
    ##     28   Single Candle
    ##     29   Short Summer
    ##     30   Kite Eating Tree

    Concatenate Several Files

    To concatenate the contents of several files into a target file, use >. In the below example, we concatenate the contents of the files release_names_18.txt and release_names_19.txt into a single file release_names_18_19.txt. In this case we are not printing the contents of the file to the terminal and instead we concatenate the contents from both the files and redirect the output to the target file.

    cat release_names_18.txt release_names_19.txt > release_names_18_19.txt
    cat release_names_18_19.txt
    ## Someone to Lean On
    ## Joy in Playing
    ## Feather Spray
    ## Eggshell IglooGreat Truth
    ## Planting of a Tree
    ## Action of the Toes

    Head

    The head command will display the firt 10 lines of a file(s) by default. It can be used to display the first few lines or bytes of a file as well.

    Command Description
    head Output the first parts of a file
    head -n Output the first n lines of a file
    head -c Output the first c bytes of a file
    head -n -x Output everything but the last x lines of a file
    head -c -x Output everything but the last x bytes of a file

    Output the first parts of a file

    Let us use head to display the first 10 lines of the release_names.txt file.

    head release_names.txt
    ## Unsuffered Consequences
    ## Great Pumpkin
    ## December Snowflakes
    ## Gift-Getting Season
    ## Easter Beagle
    ## Roasted Marshmallows
    ## Trick or Treat
    ## Security Blanket
    ## Masked Marvel
    ## Good Sport

    Output the first n lines of a file

    Using the n option, we can specify the number of lines to be displayed. In the below example, we display the first 5 lines.

    head -n 5 release_names.txt
    ## Unsuffered Consequences
    ## Great Pumpkin
    ## December Snowflakes
    ## Gift-Getting Season
    ## Easter Beagle

    Output the first c bytes of a file

    The c option can be used to display characters or bytes instead of lines. Let us display the first 5 bytes of the release_names.txt file.

    head -c 5 release_names.txt
    ## Unsuf

    Output everything but the last 5 lines of a file

    To display the last parts of a file, use - while specifying the number of lines. In the below example, we display the last 5 lines of the file.

    head -n -5 release_names.txt
    ## Unsuffered Consequences
    ## Great Pumpkin
    ## December Snowflakes
    ## Gift-Getting Season
    ## Easter Beagle
    ## Roasted Marshmallows
    ## Trick or Treat
    ## Security Blanket
    ## Masked Marvel
    ## Good Sport
    ## Frisbee Sailing
    ## Warm Puppy
    ## Spring Dance
    ## Sock it to Me
    ## Pumpkin Helmet
    ## Smooth Sidewalk
    ## Full of Ingredients
    ## World-Famous Astronaut
    ## Fire Safety
    ## Wooden Christmas Tree
    ## Very Secure Dishes
    ## Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ## Supposedly Educational
    ## Bug in Your Hair
    ## Sincere Pumpkin Patch

    Output everything but the last 3 bytes of a file

    In this example, we display the last 3 bytes of the file using the c option and - while specifying the number of bytes.

    head -c -3 release_names.txt
    ## Unsuffered Consequences
    ## Great Pumpkin
    ## December Snowflakes
    ## Gift-Getting Season
    ## Easter Beagle
    ## Roasted Marshmallows
    ## Trick or Treat
    ## Security Blanket
    ## Masked Marvel
    ## Good Sport
    ## Frisbee Sailing
    ## Warm Puppy
    ## Spring Dance
    ## Sock it to Me
    ## Pumpkin Helmet
    ## Smooth Sidewalk
    ## Full of Ingredients
    ## World-Famous Astronaut
    ## Fire Safety
    ## Wooden Christmas Tree
    ## Very Secure Dishes
    ## Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ## Supposedly Educational
    ## Bug in Your Hair
    ## Sincere Pumpkin Patch
    ## Another Canoe
    ## You Stupid Darkness
    ## Single Candle
    ## Short Summer
    ## Kite Eating Tre

    Tail

    The tail command displays the last 10 lines of a file(s) by default. It can be used to display the last few lines or bytes of a file as well.

    Command Description
    tail Display the last part of a file
    tail -n num Show the last num lines of a file
    tail -n +num Show all contents of the file starting from num line
    tail -c num Show last num bytes of a file
    tail -f Keep reading file until Ctrl + C
    tail -F Keep reading file until Ctrl + C; even if the file is rotated

    Display the last parts of a file

    Let us use tail to display the last 10 lines of the file.

    tail release_names.txt
    ## Very Secure Dishes
    ## Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ## Supposedly Educational
    ## Bug in Your Hair
    ## Sincere Pumpkin Patch
    ## Another Canoe
    ## You Stupid Darkness
    ## Single Candle
    ## Short Summer
    ## Kite Eating Tree

    Display the last 5 lines of a file

    As we did in the previous section, use n to specify the number of lines to be displayed.

    tail -n 5 release_names.txt
    ## Another Canoe
    ## You Stupid Darkness
    ## Single Candle
    ## Short Summer
    ## Kite Eating Tree

    Display all contents from line 10

    We can use tail to display all contents of a file starting from a specific line. In the below example, we display all contents of the file starting from the 10th line using the n option and + prefix while specifying the number of lines.

    tail -n +10 release_names.txt
    ## Good Sport
    ## Frisbee Sailing
    ## Warm Puppy
    ## Spring Dance
    ## Sock it to Me
    ## Pumpkin Helmet
    ## Smooth Sidewalk
    ## Full of Ingredients
    ## World-Famous Astronaut
    ## Fire Safety
    ## Wooden Christmas Tree
    ## Very Secure Dishes
    ## Very, Very Secure Dishes
    ## Supposedly Educational
    ## Bug in Your Hair
    ## Sincere Pumpkin Patch
    ## Another Canoe
    ## You Stupid Darkness
    ## Single Candle
    ## Short Summer
    ## Kite Eating Tree

    Display the last 10 bytes of a file

    Use the c option to display the last 7 bytes of a file.

    tail -c 7 release_names.txt
    ##  Tree

    More

    The more command displays text, one screen at a time. It opens a file for

    • interactive reading
    • scrolling
    • and searching

    Press space to scroll down the page, the forward slash (/) for searching strings, n to go to the next match and q to quit.

    Command Description
    more Open a file for interactive reading, scrolling & searching
    space Page down
    / Search for a string; press n to go the next match
    q Quit

    Less

    The less command is similar to more but offers more features. It allows the user to scroll up and down, go to the beggining and end of the file, forward and backward search and the ability to go the next and previous match while searching the file.

    Command Description
    less Open a file for interactive reading, scrolling & searching
    space Page down
    b Page up
    G Go to the end of file
    g Go to the start of file
    / Forward search
    ? Backward search
    n Go to next match
    N Go to previous match
    q Quit

    Sort

    The sort command will sort the contents of text file, line by line. Using additional options, we can

    • sort a file in ascending/descending order
    • ignore case while sorting
    • use numeric order for sorting
    • preserve only unique lines while sorting

    Using the sort command, the contents can be sorted numerically and alphabetically. By default, the rules for sorting are:

    • lines starting with a number will appear before lines starting with a letter.
    • lines starting with a letter that appears earlier in the alphabet will appear before lines starting with a letter that appears later in the alphabet.
    • lines starting with a lowercase letter will appear before lines starting with the same letter in uppercase.

    Using additional options, the rules for sorting can be changed. We list the options in the below table.

    Command Description
    sort Sort lines of text files
    sort -r Sort a file in descending order
    sort --ignore-case Ignore case while sorting
    sort -n Use numeric order for sorting
    sort -u Preserve only unique lines while sorting

    Sort

    Let us sort the contents of the pkg_names.txt file. It contains names R packages randomly selected from CRAN.

    sort pkg_names.txt
    ## ASIP
    ## AdMit
    ## AnalyzeTS
    ## AzureStor
    ## AzureStor
    ## BIGDAWG
    ## BIOMASS
    ## BIOMASS
    ## BenfordTests
    ## BinOrdNonNor
    ## BioCircos
    ## ClimMobTools
    ## CombinePValue
    ## Eagle
    ## FField
    ## ICAOD
    ## MARSS
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MVB
    ## MVTests
    ## MaXact
    ## MaxentVariableSelection
    ## OptimaRegion
    ## OxyBS
    ## PathSelectMP
    ## PropScrRand
    ## RJDBC
    ## RPyGeo
    ## SCRT
    ## SMARTp
    ## SPEDInstabR
    ## SemiParSampleSel
    ## SetMethods
    ## SmallCountRounding
    ## SpatioTemporal
    ## SphericalK
    ## SuppDists
    ## Survgini
    ## TIMP
    ## TSeriesMMA
    ## VineCopula
    ## WGScan
    ## WPKDE
    ## accept
    ## accept
    ## addhaz
    ## alfr
    ## aweek
    ## aweek
    ## bayesbio
    ## blink
    ## breakfast
    ## cbsem
    ## corclass
    ## crsra
    ## cyclocomp
    ## dagitty
    ## disparityfilter
    ## edfReader
    ## errorlocate
    ## expstudies
    ## fermicatsR
    ## foretell
    ## gLRTH
    ## gazepath
    ## generalhoslem
    ## geoknife
    ## hdnom
    ## hindexcalculator
    ## ibd
    ## interplot
    ## kfigr
    ## logNormReg
    ## ltxsparklines
    ## lue
    ## mbir
    ## mcmcabn
    ## mev
    ## mgcViz
    ## mined
    ## mlflow
    ## mongolite
    ## mongolite
    ## mvShapiroTest
    ## odk
    ## overlapping
    ## pAnalysis
    ## pls
    ## pmdplyr
    ## poisbinom
    ## randtests
    ## redcapAPI
    ## rgw
    ## rless
    ## rsed
    ## rstudioapi
    ## solitude
    ## splithalfr
    ## sspline
    ## sybilccFBA
    ## tailr
    ## tailr
    ## tictactoe
    ## viridisLite
    ## vqtl
    ## widyr
    ## widyr

    Descending Order

    Using the -r option which stands for --reverse the contents of the file can be sorted in descending/reverse order. Let us now sort the contents of the pkg_names.txt file in reverse order.

    sort -r pkg_names.txt
    ## widyr
    ## widyr
    ## vqtl
    ## viridisLite
    ## tictactoe
    ## tailr
    ## tailr
    ## sybilccFBA
    ## sspline
    ## splithalfr
    ## solitude
    ## rstudioapi
    ## rsed
    ## rless
    ## rgw
    ## redcapAPI
    ## randtests
    ## poisbinom
    ## pmdplyr
    ## pls
    ## pAnalysis
    ## overlapping
    ## odk
    ## mvShapiroTest
    ## mongolite
    ## mongolite
    ## mlflow
    ## mined
    ## mgcViz
    ## mev
    ## mcmcabn
    ## mbir
    ## lue
    ## ltxsparklines
    ## logNormReg
    ## kfigr
    ## interplot
    ## ibd
    ## hindexcalculator
    ## hdnom
    ## geoknife
    ## generalhoslem
    ## gazepath
    ## gLRTH
    ## foretell
    ## fermicatsR
    ## expstudies
    ## errorlocate
    ## edfReader
    ## disparityfilter
    ## dagitty
    ## cyclocomp
    ## crsra
    ## corclass
    ## cbsem
    ## breakfast
    ## blink
    ## bayesbio
    ## aweek
    ## aweek
    ## alfr
    ## addhaz
    ## accept
    ## accept
    ## WPKDE
    ## WGScan
    ## VineCopula
    ## TSeriesMMA
    ## TIMP
    ## Survgini
    ## SuppDists
    ## SphericalK
    ## SpatioTemporal
    ## SmallCountRounding
    ## SetMethods
    ## SemiParSampleSel
    ## SPEDInstabR
    ## SMARTp
    ## SCRT
    ## RPyGeo
    ## RJDBC
    ## PropScrRand
    ## PathSelectMP
    ## OxyBS
    ## OptimaRegion
    ## MaxentVariableSelection
    ## MaXact
    ## MVTests
    ## MVB
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MARSS
    ## ICAOD
    ## FField
    ## Eagle
    ## CombinePValue
    ## ClimMobTools
    ## BioCircos
    ## BinOrdNonNor
    ## BenfordTests
    ## BIOMASS
    ## BIOMASS
    ## BIGDAWG
    ## AzureStor
    ## AzureStor
    ## AnalyzeTS
    ## AdMit
    ## ASIP

    Ignore case

    To ignore case while sorting contents, use the --ignore-case option. Time to sort the pkg_names.txt file while ignoring case.

    sort --ignore-case pkg_names.txt
    ## accept
    ## accept
    ## addhaz
    ## AdMit
    ## alfr
    ## AnalyzeTS
    ## ASIP
    ## aweek
    ## aweek
    ## AzureStor
    ## AzureStor
    ## bayesbio
    ## BenfordTests
    ## BIGDAWG
    ## BinOrdNonNor
    ## BioCircos
    ## BIOMASS
    ## BIOMASS
    ## blink
    ## breakfast
    ## cbsem
    ## ClimMobTools
    ## CombinePValue
    ## corclass
    ## crsra
    ## cyclocomp
    ## dagitty
    ## disparityfilter
    ## Eagle
    ## edfReader
    ## errorlocate
    ## expstudies
    ## fermicatsR
    ## FField
    ## foretell
    ## gazepath
    ## generalhoslem
    ## geoknife
    ## gLRTH
    ## hdnom
    ## hindexcalculator
    ## ibd
    ## ICAOD
    ## interplot
    ## kfigr
    ## logNormReg
    ## ltxsparklines
    ## lue
    ## MARSS
    ## MaXact
    ## MaxentVariableSelection
    ## mbir
    ## mcmcabn
    ## mev
    ## mgcViz
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## mined
    ## mlflow
    ## mongolite
    ## mongolite
    ## MVB
    ## mvShapiroTest
    ## MVTests
    ## odk
    ## OptimaRegion
    ## overlapping
    ## OxyBS
    ## pAnalysis
    ## PathSelectMP
    ## pls
    ## pmdplyr
    ## poisbinom
    ## PropScrRand
    ## randtests
    ## redcapAPI
    ## rgw
    ## RJDBC
    ## rless
    ## RPyGeo
    ## rsed
    ## rstudioapi
    ## SCRT
    ## SemiParSampleSel
    ## SetMethods
    ## SmallCountRounding
    ## SMARTp
    ## solitude
    ## SpatioTemporal
    ## SPEDInstabR
    ## SphericalK
    ## splithalfr
    ## sspline
    ## SuppDists
    ## Survgini
    ## sybilccFBA
    ## tailr
    ## tailr
    ## tictactoe
    ## TIMP
    ## TSeriesMMA
    ## VineCopula
    ## viridisLite
    ## vqtl
    ## WGScan
    ## widyr
    ## widyr
    ## WPKDE

    Numeric Order

    To sort numerically, use the -n option which stands for --numeric-sort. In this example, we will use a different file, package_names.txt where the package names are prefixed by random numbers between 1 and 100.

    sort -n package_names.txt
    ## 1. cyclocomp
    ## 2. odk
    ## 3. redcapAPI
    ## 4. TIMP
    ## 5. pls
    ## 6. BinOrdNonNor
    ## 7. bayesbio
    ## 8. MVTests
    ## 9. pAnalysis
    ## 10. aweek
    ## 11. hdnom
    ## 12. ltxsparklines
    ## 13. MaXact
    ## 14. RJDBC
    ## 15. MIAmaxent
    ## 16. randtests
    ## 17. ASIP
    ## 18. gazepath
    ## 19. mcmcabn
    ## 20. rless
    ## 21. corclass
    ## 22. vqtl
    ## 23. disparityfilter
    ## 24. SCRT
    ## 25. RPyGeo
    ## 26. blink
    ## 27. gLRTH
    ## 28. splithalfr
    ## 29. sspline
    ## 29. sspline
    ## 30. logNormReg
    ## 31. BIGDAWG
    ## 31. BIGDAWG
    ## 32. SPEDInstabR
    ## 33. tailr
    ## 33. tailr
    ## 34. ibd
    ## 35. fermicatsR
    ## 36. mlflow
    ## 37. CombinePValue
    ## 38. BenfordTests
    ## 39. mev
    ## 40. MaxentVariableSelection
    ## 41. rstudioapi
    ## 42. OptimaRegion
    ## 43. accept
    ## 44. expstudies
    ## 45. solitude
    ## 45. solitude
    ## 46. cbsem
    ## 47. SMARTp
    ## 48. geoknife
    ## 49. SemiParSampleSel
    ## 50. mbir
    ## 51. interplot
    ## 52. ClimMobTools
    ## 53. MVB
    ## 54. OxyBS
    ## 55. hindexcalculator
    ## 56. MARSS
    ## 57. generalhoslem
    ## 58. alfr
    ## 59. AdMit
    ## 60. Eagle
    ## 61. PropScrRand
    ## 62. lue
    ## 63. dagitty
    ## 64. viridisLite
    ## 65. mined
    ## 65. mined
    ## 66. SuppDists
    ## 67. tictactoe
    ## 68. AzureStor
    ## 68. AzureStor
    ## 69. FField
    ## 70. rsed
    ## 70. rsed
    ## 71. kfigr
    ## 72. overlapping
    ## 72. overlapping
    ## 73. VineCopula
    ## 74. crsra
    ## 75. pmdplyr
    ## 76. errorlocate
    ## 77. SetMethods
    ## 78. sybilccFBA
    ## 79. mvShapiroTest
    ## 80. SpatioTemporal
    ## 81. mgcViz
    ## 82. breakfast
    ## 83. WPKDE
    ## 84. BIOMASS
    ## 85. edfReader
    ## 86. mongolite
    ## 87. WGScan
    ## 88. SphericalK
    ## 89. foretell
    ## 90. widyr
    ## 91. rgw
    ## 92. BioCircos
    ## 93. PathSelectMP
    ## 94. ICAOD
    ## 95. TSeriesMMA
    ## 96. poisbinom
    ## 97. AnalyzeTS
    ## 98. SmallCountRounding
    ## 99. Survgini
    ## 100. addhaz

    Preserve Only Unique Lines

    The -u option which stands for --unique will preserve only unique lines while sorting the contents of the file. In the below example, we remove all duplicate lines from the pkg_names.txt while sorting.

    sort -u pkg_names.txt
    ## ASIP
    ## AdMit
    ## AnalyzeTS
    ## AzureStor
    ## BIGDAWG
    ## BIOMASS
    ## BenfordTests
    ## BinOrdNonNor
    ## BioCircos
    ## ClimMobTools
    ## CombinePValue
    ## Eagle
    ## FField
    ## ICAOD
    ## MARSS
    ## MIAmaxent
    ## MVB
    ## MVTests
    ## MaXact
    ## MaxentVariableSelection
    ## OptimaRegion
    ## OxyBS
    ## PathSelectMP
    ## PropScrRand
    ## RJDBC
    ## RPyGeo
    ## SCRT
    ## SMARTp
    ## SPEDInstabR
    ## SemiParSampleSel
    ## SetMethods
    ## SmallCountRounding
    ## SpatioTemporal
    ## SphericalK
    ## SuppDists
    ## Survgini
    ## TIMP
    ## TSeriesMMA
    ## VineCopula
    ## WGScan
    ## WPKDE
    ## accept
    ## accept
    ## addhaz
    ## alfr
    ## aweek
    ## bayesbio
    ## blink
    ## breakfast
    ## cbsem
    ## corclass
    ## crsra
    ## cyclocomp
    ## dagitty
    ## disparityfilter
    ## edfReader
    ## errorlocate
    ## expstudies
    ## fermicatsR
    ## foretell
    ## gLRTH
    ## gazepath
    ## generalhoslem
    ## geoknife
    ## hdnom
    ## hindexcalculator
    ## ibd
    ## interplot
    ## kfigr
    ## logNormReg
    ## ltxsparklines
    ## lue
    ## mbir
    ## mcmcabn
    ## mev
    ## mgcViz
    ## mined
    ## mlflow
    ## mongolite
    ## mvShapiroTest
    ## odk
    ## overlapping
    ## pAnalysis
    ## pls
    ## pmdplyr
    ## poisbinom
    ## randtests
    ## redcapAPI
    ## rgw
    ## rless
    ## rsed
    ## rstudioapi
    ## solitude
    ## splithalfr
    ## sspline
    ## sybilccFBA
    ## tailr
    ## tictactoe
    ## viridisLite
    ## vqtl
    ## widyr

    Word Count

    wc will print newline, word, and byte counts for file(s). If more than one file is specified, it will also print total line.

    Count words, bytes and lines

    wc release_names.txt
    ##  30  73 546 release_names.txt

    Count lines in a file

    wc -l release_names.txt
    ## 30 release_names.txt

    Count words in a file

    wc -w release_names.txt
    ## 73 release_names.txt

    Count characters(bytes) in a file

    wc -c release_names.txt
    ## 546 release_names.txt


    Search & Regular Expressions

    In this section, we will explore commands that will

    • search for a given string in a file
    • find files using names
    • and search for binary executable files
    Command Description
    grep Search for a given string in a file
    find Find files using filenames
    which Search for binary executable files

    grep

    The grep command is used for pattern matching. Along with additional options, it can be used to

    • match pattern in input text
    • ignore case
    • search recursively for an exact string
    • print filename and line number for each match
    • invert match for excluding specific strings

    grep processes text line by line, and prints any lines which match a specified pattern. grep, which stands for global regular expression print is a powerful tool for matching a regular expression against text in a file, multiple files, or a stream of input.

    Command Description
    grep Matches pattern in input text
    grep -i Ignore case
    grep -RI Search recursively for an exact string
    grep -E Use extended regular expression
    grep -Hn Print file name & corresponding line number for each match
    grep -v Invert match for excluding specific strings

    Match Pattern in Input Text

    Using grep let us search for packages that inlcude the letter R in their names.

    grep R package_names.txt
    ## 14. RJDBC
    ## 30. logNormReg
    ## 27. gLRTH
    ## 35. fermicatsR
    ## 42. OptimaRegion
    ## 61. PropScrRand
    ## 25. RPyGeo
    ## 47. SMARTp
    ## 24. SCRT
    ## 56. MARSS
    ## 85. edfReader
    ## 32. SPEDInstabR
    ## 98. SmallCountRounding

    Ignore Case

    In the previous case, grep returned only those packages whose name included R but not r i.e. it did not ignore the case of the letter. Using the -i option, we will now search while ignoring the case of the letter.

    grep -i R package_names.txt
    ## 14. RJDBC
    ## 58. alfr
    ## 64. viridisLite
    ## 99. Survgini
    ## 30. logNormReg
    ## 27. gLRTH
    ## 71. kfigr
    ## 72. overlapping
    ## 90. widyr
    ## 33. tailr
    ## 40. MaxentVariableSelection
    ## 33. tailr
    ## 72. overlapping
    ## 16. randtests
    ## 12. ltxsparklines
    ## 91. rgw
    ## 35. fermicatsR
    ## 21. corclass
    ## 68. AzureStor
    ## 42. OptimaRegion
    ## 61. PropScrRand
    ## 74. crsra
    ## 80. SpatioTemporal
    ## 23. disparityfilter
    ## 49. SemiParSampleSel
    ## 76. errorlocate
    ## 88. SphericalK
    ## 28. splithalfr
    ## 89. foretell
    ## 25. RPyGeo
    ## 50. mbir
    ## 51. interplot
    ## 6. BinOrdNonNor
    ## 47. SMARTp
    ## 38. BenfordTests
    ## 79. mvShapiroTest
    ## 92. BioCircos
    ## 55. hindexcalculator
    ## 41. rstudioapi
    ## 57. generalhoslem
    ## 24. SCRT
    ## 95. TSeriesMMA
    ## 82. breakfast
    ## 56. MARSS
    ## 70. rsed
    ## 68. AzureStor
    ## 85. edfReader
    ## 20. rless
    ## 75. pmdplyr
    ## 32. SPEDInstabR
    ## 3. redcapAPI
    ## 70. rsed
    ## 98. SmallCountRounding

    Highlight

    The --color option will highlight the matched strings.

    grep -i --color R package_names.txt
    ## 14. RJDBC
    ## 58. alfr
    ## 64. viridisLite
    ## 99. Survgini
    ## 30. logNormReg
    ## 27. gLRTH
    ## 71. kfigr
    ## 72. overlapping
    ## 90. widyr
    ## 33. tailr
    ## 40. MaxentVariableSelection
    ## 33. tailr
    ## 72. overlapping
    ## 16. randtests
    ## 12. ltxsparklines
    ## 91. rgw
    ## 35. fermicatsR
    ## 21. corclass
    ## 68. AzureStor
    ## 42. OptimaRegion
    ## 61. PropScrRand
    ## 74. crsra
    ## 80. SpatioTemporal
    ## 23. disparityfilter
    ## 49. SemiParSampleSel
    ## 76. errorlocate
    ## 88. SphericalK
    ## 28. splithalfr
    ## 89. foretell
    ## 25. RPyGeo
    ## 50. mbir
    ## 51. interplot
    ## 6. BinOrdNonNor
    ## 47. SMARTp
    ## 38. BenfordTests
    ## 79. mvShapiroTest
    ## 92. BioCircos
    ## 55. hindexcalculator
    ## 41. rstudioapi
    ## 57. generalhoslem
    ## 24. SCRT
    ## 95. TSeriesMMA
    ## 82. breakfast
    ## 56. MARSS
    ## 70. rsed
    ## 68. AzureStor
    ## 85. edfReader
    ## 20. rless
    ## 75. pmdplyr
    ## 32. SPEDInstabR
    ## 3. redcapAPI
    ## 70. rsed
    ## 98. SmallCountRounding

    Print Filename

    If there is more than one file to search, use the -H option to print the filename for each match.

    grep -i --color -H bio package_names.txt
    ## package_names.txt:84. BIOMASS
    ## package_names.txt:92. BioCircos
    ## package_names.txt:7. bayesbio

    Print Corresponding Line Number

    The -n option will print the corresponding line number of the match in the file.

    grep -i --color -n bio package_names.txt
    ## 59:84. BIOMASS
    ## 71:92. BioCircos
    ## 88:7. bayesbio

    Print Filename & Line Number

    Let us print both the file name and the line number for each match.

    grep -i --color -Hn R package_names.txt
    ## package_names.txt:1:14. RJDBC
    ## package_names.txt:3:58. alfr
    ## package_names.txt:8:64. viridisLite
    ## package_names.txt:14:99. Survgini
    ## package_names.txt:15:30. logNormReg
    ## package_names.txt:16:27. gLRTH
    ## package_names.txt:18:71. kfigr
    ## package_names.txt:20:72. overlapping
    ## package_names.txt:21:90. widyr
    ## package_names.txt:22:33. tailr
    ## package_names.txt:23:40. MaxentVariableSelection
    ## package_names.txt:26:33. tailr
    ## package_names.txt:27:72. overlapping
    ## package_names.txt:30:16. randtests
    ## package_names.txt:31:12. ltxsparklines
    ## package_names.txt:32:91. rgw
    ## package_names.txt:33:35. fermicatsR
    ## package_names.txt:37:21. corclass
    ## package_names.txt:38:68. AzureStor
    ## package_names.txt:41:42. OptimaRegion
    ## package_names.txt:42:61. PropScrRand
    ## package_names.txt:43:74. crsra
    ## package_names.txt:51:80. SpatioTemporal
    ## package_names.txt:52:23. disparityfilter
    ## package_names.txt:54:49. SemiParSampleSel
    ## package_names.txt:55:76. errorlocate
    ## package_names.txt:57:88. SphericalK
    ## package_names.txt:61:28. splithalfr
    ## package_names.txt:62:89. foretell
    ## package_names.txt:63:25. RPyGeo
    ## package_names.txt:64:50. mbir
    ## package_names.txt:65:51. interplot
    ## package_names.txt:66:6. BinOrdNonNor
    ## package_names.txt:67:47. SMARTp
    ## package_names.txt:68:38. BenfordTests
    ## package_names.txt:69:79. mvShapiroTest
    ## package_names.txt:71:92. BioCircos
    ## package_names.txt:75:55. hindexcalculator
    ## package_names.txt:78:41. rstudioapi
    ## package_names.txt:80:57. generalhoslem
    ## package_names.txt:84:24. SCRT
    ## package_names.txt:85:95. TSeriesMMA
    ## package_names.txt:87:82. breakfast
    ## package_names.txt:96:56. MARSS
    ## package_names.txt:97:70. rsed
    ## package_names.txt:98:68. AzureStor
    ## package_names.txt:100:85. edfReader
    ## package_names.txt:101:20. rless
    ## package_names.txt:102:75. pmdplyr
    ## package_names.txt:103:32. SPEDInstabR
    ## package_names.txt:104:3. redcapAPI
    ## package_names.txt:106:70. rsed
    ## package_names.txt:107:98. SmallCountRounding

    Invert Match

    Use the -v option to select non-matching lines. In the below example, we search for packages whose name does not include R while ignoring the case.

    grep -v -i R package_names.txt
    ## 36. mlflow
    ## 10. aweek
    ## 31. BIGDAWG
    ## 22. vqtl
    ## 29. sspline
    ## 39. mev
    ## 66. SuppDists
    ## 15. MIAmaxent
    ## 31. BIGDAWG
    ## 29. sspline
    ## 60. Eagle
    ## 83. WPKDE
    ## 11. hdnom
    ## 26. blink
    ## 18. gazepath
    ## 52. ClimMobTools
    ## 44. expstudies
    ## 65. mined
    ## 81. mgcViz
    ## 45. solitude
    ## 9. pAnalysis
    ## 65. mined
    ## 94. ICAOD
    ## 48. geoknife
    ## 45. solitude
    ## 67. tictactoe
    ## 46. cbsem
    ## 93. PathSelectMP
    ## 96. poisbinom
    ## 17. ASIP
    ## 5. pls
    ## 84. BIOMASS
    ## 59. AdMit
    ## 77. SetMethods
    ## 53. MVB
    ## 2. odk
    ## 86. mongolite
    ## 4. TIMP
    ## 97. AnalyzeTS
    ## 87. WGScan
    ## 63. dagitty
    ## 69. FField
    ## 13. MaXact
    ## 73. VineCopula
    ## 7. bayesbio
    ## 34. ibd
    ## 8. MVTests
    ## 19. mcmcabn
    ## 43. accept
    ## 78. sybilccFBA
    ## 62. lue
    ## 100. addhaz
    ## 37. CombinePValue
    ## 1. cyclocomp
    ## 54. OxyBS

    Recursive Search

    Use the -r option to search recursively. In the below example, we search all files with the .txt extension for the string bio while ignoring the case.

    grep -i --color -r bio *.txt
    ## package_names.txt:84. BIOMASS
    ## package_names.txt:92. BioCircos
    ## package_names.txt:7. bayesbio
    ## pkg_names.txt:BIOMASS
    ## pkg_names.txt:BioCircos
    ## pkg_names.txt:BIOMASS
    ## pkg_names.txt:bayesbio

    find

    The find command can be used for searching files and directories. Using additional options, we can

    • search files by extension type
    • ignore case while searching files/directories

    find is a powerful tool for working with the files. It can be used on its own to locate files, or in conjunction with other programs to perform operations on those files.

    Command Description
    find Find files or directories under the given directory; recursively
    find -name '*.txt' Find files by extension
    find -type d -iname Find directories matching a given name, in case-insensitive mode
    find -type d -name Find directories matching a given name, in case-sensitive mode

    Search Recursively

    Let us use find to search for the file release_names.txt recursively. The -name option is used to specify the name of the file we are searching.

    find -name release_names.txt
    ## ./release_names.txt
    ## ./r_releases/release_names.txt

    There are two files with the name release_names.txt present in the current working directory and in r_releases directory.

    Search by Extension

    Let us search for all files with .txt extension in the r_releases folder.

    find r_releases -name '*.txt'
    ## r_releases/release_names.txt
    ## r_releases/release_names_2.txt
    ## r_releases/release_names_3.txt

    There are 3 files with the .txt extension in r_releases folder.

    Case-insensitive Mode

    Search for all folders with the name R or r. Here we use the -iname option to ignore case while searching. The -type option is used to specify whether we are searching for files or folders. Since we are searching for folder/directory, we use it along with d i.e. directory to indicate that we are searching for directories and not files.

    find -type d -iname R
    ## ./mypackage/R
    ## ./r

    Case-sensitive Mode

    Search for all folders with the name r. It should exclude any folder with the name R.

    find -type d -name r
    ## ./r

    Data Transfer & Network

    In this section, we will explore commands that will allow us to download files from the internet.

    Command Description
    wget Download files from the web
    curl Transfer data from or to a server
    hostname Name of the current host
    ping Ping a remote host
    nslookup Name server details

    We have not executed the commands in this ebook as downloading multiple files from the internet will take a lot of time or result in errors but we have checked all the commands offline to ensure that they work.

    wget

    The wget command will download contents of a URL and files from the internet. Using additional options, we can

    • download contents/files to a file
    • continue incomplete downloads
    • download multiple files
    • limit download speed and number of retries
    Command Description
    wget url Download contents of a url
    wget -o file url Download contents of url to a file
    wget -c Continue an incomplete download
    wget -P folder_name -i urls.txt Download all urls stored in a text file to a specific directory
    wget --limit-rate Limit download speed
    wget --tries Limit number of retries
    wget --quiet Turn off output
    wget --no-verbose Print basic information
    wget --progress-dot Change progress bar type to dot
    wget --timestamping Check if the timestamp of the file has changed before downloading
    wget --wait Wait between retrievals

    Download URL

    Let us first use wget to download contents of a URL. Note, we are not downloading file as such but just the content of the URL. We will use the URL of the home page of R project.

    wget https://www.r-project.org/

    If you look at the list of files, you can see a new file, index.html which we just downloaded using wget. Downloading contents this way will lead to confusion if we are dealing with multiple URLs. Let us learn to save the contents to a file (we can specify the name of the file which should help avoid confusion.)

    Specify Filename

    In this example, we download contents from the same URL and in addition specify the name of the file in which the content must be saved. Here we save it in a new file, rhomepage.html using the -o option followed by the filename.

    wget -o rhomepage.html https://www.r-project.org/

    Download File

    How about downloading a file instead of a URL? In this example, we will download a logfile from the RStudio CRAN mirror. It contains the details of R downloads and individual package downloads. If you are a package developer and would want to know the countries in which your packages are downloaded, you will find this useful. We will download the file for 29th September and save it as sep_29.csv.gz.

    wget -o sep_29.csv.gz http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-09-29.csv.gz

    Download Multiple URLs

    How do we download multiple URLs? One way is to specify the URLs one after the other separated by a space or save all URLs in a file and read them one by one. In the below example, we have saved multiple URLs in the file urls.txt.

    cat urls.txt
    ## http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-09-26.csv.gz
    ## http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-09-27.csv.gz
    ## http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-09-28.csv.gz

    We will download all the above URLs and save them in a new folder downloads. The -i indicates that the URLs must be read from a file (local or external). The -P option allows us to specify the directory into which all the files will be downloaded.

    wget -P downloads -i urls.txt     

    Quiet

    The --quiet option will turn off wget output. It will not show any of the following details:

    • name of the file being saved
    • file size
    • download speed
    • eta etc.
    wget –-quiet http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-10-06.csv.gz

    No Verbose

    Using the -nv or --no-verbose option, we can turn off verbose without being completely quiet (as we did in the previous example). Any error messages and basic information will still be printed.

    wget –-no-verbose http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-10-13.csv.gz    

    Check Timestamp

    Let us say we have already downloaded a file from a URL. The file is updated from time to time and we intend to keep the local copy updated as well. Using the --timestamping option, the local file will have timestamp matching the remote file; if the remote file is not newer (not updated), no download will occur i.e. if the timestamp of the remote file has not changed it will not be downloaded. This is very useful in case of large files where you do not want to download them unless they have been updated.

    wget –-timestamping http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-10-13.csv.gz

    curl

    The curl command will transfer data from or to a server. We will only look at downloading files from the internet.

    Command Description
    curl url Download contents of a url
    curl url -o file Download contents of url to a file
    curl url &gt; file Download contents of url to a file
    curl -s Download in silent or quiet mode

    Download URL

    Let us download the home page of the R project using curl.

    curl https://www.r-project.org/

    Specify File

    Let us download another log file from the RStudio CRAN mirror and save it into a file using the -o option.

    curl http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-09-08.csv.gz -o sept_08.csv.gz 

    Another way to save a downloaded file is to use > followed by the name of the file as shown in the below example.

    curl http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-09-01.csv.gz > sep_01.csv.gz

    Download Silently

    The -s option will allow you to download files silently. It will mute curl and will not display progress meter or error messages.

    curl http://cran-logs.rstudio.com/2019/2019-09-01.csv.gz -o sept_01.csv.gz -s

    R Functions

    In R, we can use download.file() to download files from the internet. The following packages offer functionalities that you will find useful.

    Command R
    wget download.file()
    curl curl::curl_download()
    hostname R.utils::getHostname.System()
    ping pingr::ping()
    nslookup curl::nslookup()

    sudo

    sudo Super User DO is a prefix of commands that only superuser or root users are allowed to run. It is similar to run as administrator option in Windows. It is used to install, update and remove software. We will use it in the next section to install & update packages. If you are using RStudio Cloud, you will not be able to run sudo (users do not have root privileges).

    Command Description
    dpkg --list List installed packages
    sudo apt-get update Update packages
    sudo apt-get install Install packages
    sudo apt-get remove Remove packages (retain configuration, plugins and settings
    sudo apt-get purge Remove packages including personalized settings
    sudo apt-get autoremove Remove any dependencies no longer in use

    File Compression

    tar

    The tar command is used for file compression. It works with both tar and tar.gz extensions. It is used to

    • list files
    • extract files
    • create archives
    • append file to existing archives

    tar creates, maintains, modifies, and extracts files that are archived in the tar format. Tar stands for tape archive and is an archiving file format.

    Command Description
    tar tvf List an archive
    tar tvfz List a gzipped archive
    tar xvf Extract an archive
    tar xvfz Extract a gzipped archive
    tar cvf Create an uncompressed tar archive
    tar cvfz Create a tar gzipped archive
    tar rvf Add a file to an existing archive
    tar rvfz Add a file to an existing gzipped archive

    We will use different options along with the tar command for listing, extracting, creating and adding files. The vf (v stands for verbosely show .tar file progress and f stands for file name type of the archive file) option is common for all the above operations while the following are specific.

    • t for listing
    • x for extracting
    • c for creating
    • r for adding files

    While dealing with tar.gz archives we will use z in addition to vf and the above options.

    List

    Let us list all the files & folders in release_names.tar. As mentioned above. to list the files in the archive, we use the t option.

    tar -tvf release_names.tar 
    ## -rwxrwxrwx aravind/aravind 546 2019-09-16 15:59 release_names.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx aravind/aravind  65 2019-09-16 15:58 release_names_18.txt
    ## -rwxrwxrwx aravind/aravind  53 2019-09-16 15:59 release_names_19.txt

    Extract

    Let us extract files from release_names.tar using the x option in addition to vf.

    tar -xvf release_names.tar 
    ls
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_18_19.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Add

    To add a file to an existing archive, use the r option. Let us add release_names_18.txt and release_names_19.txt to the archive we created in the previous step.

    tar -rvf release_names.tar release_names_18.txt release_names_19.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt

    Create

    Using the c option we can create tar archives. In the below example, we are using a single file but you can specify multiple files and folders as well.

    tar -cvf pkg_names.tar pkg_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.txt

    gzip

    Command Description
    gzip Compress a file
    gzip -d Decompress a file
    gzip -c Compress a file and specify the output file name
    zip -r Compress a directory
    zip Add files to an existing zip file
    unzip Extract files from a zip files
    unzip -d Extract files from a zip file and specify the output file name
    unzip -l List contents of a zip file

    gzip, gunzip, and zcat commands are used to compress or expand files in the GNU GZIP format i.e. files with .gz extension

    Compress

    Let us compress release_names.txt file using gzip.

    gzip release_names.txt
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.tar
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt.gz
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_18_19.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv.gz
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Decompress

    Use the -d option with gzip to decompress a file. In the below example, we decompress the sept_15.csv.gz file (downloaded using wget or curl earlier). You can also use gunzip for the same result.

    gzip -d sept_15.csv.gz
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.tar
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_18_19.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## sept_15.csv
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    Specify Filename

    Use -c and > to specify a different file name while compressing using gzip. In the below example, gzip will create releases.txt.gz instead of release_names.txt.gz.

    gzip -c release_names.txt > releases.txt.gz
    ls
    ## analysis.R
    ## bash.R
    ## bash.sh
    ## imports_blorr.txt
    ## imports_olsrr.txt
    ## lorem-ipsum.txt
    ## main_project.zip
    ## myfiles
    ## mypackage
    ## myproject
    ## myproject3
    ## myproject4
    ## package_names.txt
    ## pkg_names.tar
    ## pkg_names.txt
    ## r
    ## r2
    ## r_releases
    ## release_names.tar
    ## release_names.tar.gz
    ## release_names.txt
    ## release_names_18.txt
    ## release_names_18_19.txt
    ## release_names_19.txt
    ## releases.txt.gz
    ## sept_15.csv
    ## urls.txt
    ## zip_example.zip

    zip & unzip

    zip creates ZIP archives while unzip lists and extracts compressed files in a ZIP archive.

    List

    Let us list all the files and folders in main_project.zip() using unzip and the -l option.

    unzip -l main_project.zip
    ## Archive:  main_project.zip
    ##   Length      Date    Time    Name
    ## ---------  ---------- -----   ----
    ##         0  2019-09-23 18:07   myproject/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:02   myproject/.gitignore
    ##         0  2019-09-23 18:07   myproject/data/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:02   myproject/data/processed/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:02   myproject/data/raw/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:02   myproject/output/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:02   myproject/README.md
    ##        13  2019-09-20 14:02   myproject/run_analysis.R
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:02   myproject/src/
    ##         0  2019-09-23 18:07   mypackage/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:11   mypackage/.gitignore
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:11   mypackage/.Rbuildignore
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:10   mypackage/data/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:11   mypackage/DESCRIPTION
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:10   mypackage/docs/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:11   mypackage/LICENSE
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:10   mypackage/man/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:11   mypackage/NAMESPACE
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:11   mypackage/NEWS.md
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:10   mypackage/R/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:11   mypackage/README.md
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:11   mypackage/src/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:10   mypackage/tests/
    ##         0  2019-09-20 14:10   mypackage/vignettes/
    ##         0  2019-09-23 18:07   myfiles/
    ##        12  2019-09-20 15:30   myfiles/analysis.R
    ##         7  2019-09-20 15:31   myfiles/NEWS.md
    ##         9  2019-09-20 15:31   myfiles/README.md
    ##       546  2019-09-20 15:29   myfiles/release_names.txt
    ##        65  2019-09-20 15:29   myfiles/release_names_18.txt
    ##        53  2019-09-20 15:30   myfiles/release_names_19.txt
    ##        12  2019-09-20 15:30   myfiles/visualization.R
    ##     15333  2019-10-01 16:58   bash.sh
    ##         0  2019-09-16 12:42   r/
    ## ---------                     -------
    ##     16050                     34 files

    Extract

    Using unzip, let us now extract files and folders from zip_example.zip.

    unzip zip_example.zip
    ## Archive:  zip_example.zip
    ##    creating: zip_example/
    ##   inflating: zip_example/bash.sh     
    ##   inflating: zip_example/pkg_names.txt

    Using the -d option, we can extract the contents of zip_example.zip to a specific folder. In the below example, we extract it to a new folder examples.

    unzip zip_example.zip –d myexamples
    ## [1] "Archive:  zip_example.zip"                        
    ## [2] "   creating: examples/zip_example/"               
    ## [3] "  inflating: examples/zip_example/bash.sh  "      
    ## [4] "  inflating: examples/zip_example/pkg_names.txt  "

    Compress

    Use the -r option along with zip to create a ZIP archive. In the below example, we create a ZIP archive of myproject folder.

    zip -r myproject.zip myproject
    ls
    ##   adding: myproject/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/.gitignore (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/data/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/data/processed/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/data/raw/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/output/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/README.md (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/run_analysis.R (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/src/ (stored 0%)

    We can compress multiple directories using zip. The names of the directories must be separated by a space as shown in the below example where we compress myproject and mypackage into a single ZIP archive.

    zip -r packproj.zip myproject mypackage
    ls
    ##   adding: myproject/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/.gitignore (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/data/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/data/processed/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/data/raw/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/output/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/README.md (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/run_analysis.R (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: myproject/src/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/.gitignore (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/.Rbuildignore (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/data/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/DESCRIPTION (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/docs/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/LICENSE (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/man/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/NAMESPACE (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/NEWS.md (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/R/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/README.md (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/src/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/tests/ (stored 0%)
    ##   adding: mypackage/vignettes/ (stored 0%)

    Add

    To add a new file/folder to an existing archive, specify the name of the archive followed by the name of the file or the folder. In the below example, we add the bash.sh file to the myproject.zip archive created in a previous step.

    zip myproject.zip bash.sh
    ##   adding: bash.sh (deflated 78%)

    R Functions

    tar & tar.gz

    In R, we can use the tar() and untar() functions from the utils package to handle .tar and .tar.gz archives.

    Command R
    tar tvf utils::untar('archive.tar', list = TRUE)
    tar tvfz utils::untar('archive.tar.gz', list = TRUE)
    tar xvf utils::untar('archive.tar')
    tar xvfz utils::untar('archive.tar.gz')
    tar cvf utils::tar('archive.tar')
    tar cvfz utils::tar('archive.tar', compression = 'gzip')

    zip & gzip

    The zip package has the functionalities to handle ZIP archives. The tar() and untar() functions from the utils package can handle GZIP archives.

    Command R
    gzip utils::tar(compression = 'gzip' / R.utils::gzip()
    gzip -d utils::untar() / R.utils::gunzip()
    gzip -c utils::untar(exdir = filename)
    zip -r zip::zip()
    zip zip::zipr_append()
    unzip zip::unzip()
    unzip -d zip::unzip(exdir = dir_name)
    unzip -l zip::zip_list()

    System Info

    In this section, we will explore commands that will allow us to

    • display information about the system
    • display memory usage information
    • display file system disk space usage
    • exit the terminal
    • run commands a superuser
    • shutdown the system
    Command Description
    uname Display important information about the system
    free Display free, used, swap memory in the system
    df Display file system disk space usage
    exit Exit the terminal
    sudo Run command as super user
    shutdown Shutdown the system

    uname

    The uname command is used to view important information about the system. Using additional options, we can

    • print details about operating system
    • hardware & software related information
    Command Description
    uname Print details about the current machine and the operating system running on it
    uname -mp Hardware related information; machine & processor
    uname -srv Software related information; operating system, release number and version
    uname -n Nodename of the system
    uname -a Print all available information system

    Print all available information about the system

    uname -a
    ## Linux Aravind 4.4.0-18362-Microsoft #836-Microsoft Mon May 05 16:04:00 PST 2020 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

    Display free, used, swap memory in the system

    free
    ##               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
    ## Mem:        3621900     1815864     1576684       17720      229352     1672304
    ## Swap:      11010048      260640    10749408

    Display file system disk space usage

    df
    ## Filesystem     1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
    ## rootfs         188482144 142470276  46011868  76% /
    ## none           188482144 142470276  46011868  76% /dev
    ## none           188482144 142470276  46011868  76% /run
    ## none           188482144 142470276  46011868  76% /run/lock
    ## none           188482144 142470276  46011868  76% /run/shm
    ## none           188482144 142470276  46011868  76% /run/user
    ## cgroup         188482144 142470276  46011868  76% /sys/fs/cgroup
    ## C:\            188482144 142470276  46011868  76% /mnt/c
    ## D:\             18660348  17154308   1506040  92% /mnt/d
    ## F:\              3196924    231756   2965168   8% /mnt/f
    ## G:\             86383612  24561220  61822392  29% /mnt/g
    ## H:\             86383612  14755988  71627624  18% /mnt/h
    ## J:\             83185660  18797916  64387744  23% /mnt/j

    Others

    In this section, let us look at a few other useful commands that will allow us to

    • see how long a command takes to execute
    • delay activity
    • display and clear command history list
    Command Description
    time See how long a command takes to execute
    sleep Delay activity in seconds
    sleep 1m Delay activity in minutes
    sleep 1h Delay activity in hours
    history Display command history list with line numbers
    history -c Clear the command history list

    Funny Commands

    Below are a few funny commands for you to try out. Use sudo apt-get install to install fortune and banner before trying them.

    Command Description
    fortune Poignant, inspirational & silly phrases
    yes Output a string repeatedly until killed
    banner ASCII banner
    rev Reverse each character

    R Functions

    In R, we can use Sys.sleep() to delay activity and history() to view command history.

    Command R
    sleep Sys.sleep()
    history history()


    Execute Commands from R

    Now, let us turn our attention to executing commands from R using system2(). Here we will focus on the following

    • execute a command without arguments
    • execute commands with arguments
    • redirect output

    Let us try to execute a command without any additional arguments. We will execute the ls command to list all files and directories. Use system2() and specify the command using the command argument. Whenever you are trying to execute a command from R, the first argument or input should be the command and it must be enclosed in quotes.

    system2(command = "ls")
    ##   [1] "2017-02-05-variables.Rmd"                                       
    ##   [2] "2017-02-05-variables.html"                                      
    ##   [3] "2017-02-17-data-types-in-r.Rmd"                                 
    ##   [4] "2017-02-17-data-types-in-r.html"                                
    ##   [5] "2017-03-01-getting-help-in-r.html"                              
    ##   [6] "2017-03-13-beginners-guide-to-r-package-ecosystem.Rmd"          
    ##   [7] "2017-03-13-beginners-guide-to-r-package-ecosystem.html"         
    ##   [8] "2017-03-25-vectors.Rmd"                                         
    ##   [9] "2017-03-25-vectors.html"                                        
    ##  [10] "2017-03-29-vectors-part-2.Rmd"                                  
    ##  [11] "2017-03-29-vectors-part-2.html"                                 
    ##  [12] "2017-04-03-vectors-part-3.Rmd"                                  
    ##  [13] "2017-04-03-vectors-part-3.html"                                 
    ##  [14] "2017-04-06-matrix.Rmd"                                          
    ##  [15] "2017-04-06-matrix.html"                                         
    ##  [16] "2017-04-12-matrix-part-2.Rmd"                                   
    ##  [17] "2017-04-12-matrix-part-2.html"                                  
    ##  [18] "2017-04-18-lists.Rmd"                                           
    ##  [19] "2017-04-18-lists.html"                                          
    ##  [20] "2017-04-30-factors.Rmd"                                         
    ##  [21] "2017-04-30-factors.html"                                        
    ##  [22] "2017-05-12-dataframes.Rmd"                                      
    ##  [23] "2017-05-12-dataframes.html"                                     
    ##  [24] "2017-05-24-data-visualization-with-r-introduction.Rmd"          
    ##  [25] "2017-05-24-data-visualization-with-r-introduction.html"         
    ##  [26] "2017-06-05-data-visualization-with-r-title-and-axis-labels.Rmd" 
    ##  [27] "2017-06-05-data-visualization-with-r-title-and-axis-labels.html"
    ##  [28] "2017-06-17-data-visualization-with-r-scatter-plots.Rmd"         
    ##  [29] "2017-06-17-data-visualization-with-r-scatter-plots.html"        
    ##  [30] "2017-06-29-data-visualization-with-r-line-graphs.Rmd"           
    ##  [31] "2017-06-29-data-visualization-with-r-line-graphs.html"          
    ##  [32] "2017-07-11-data-visualization-with-r-bar-plots.Rmd"             
    ##  [33] "2017-07-11-data-visualization-with-r-bar-plots.html"            
    ##  [34] "2017-07-23-data-visualization-with-r-box-plots.Rmd"             
    ##  [35] "2017-07-23-data-visualization-with-r-box-plots.html"            
    ##  [36] "2017-08-04-data-visualization-with-r-histogram.Rmd"             
    ##  [37] "2017-08-04-data-visualization-with-r-histogram.html"            
    ##  [38] "2017-08-16-data-visualization-with-r-legends.Rmd"               
    ##  [39] "2017-08-16-data-visualization-with-r-legends.html"              
    ##  [40] "2017-08-28-data-visualization-with-r-text-annotations.Rmd"      
    ##  [41] "2017-08-28-data-visualization-with-r-text-annotations.html"     
    ##  [42] "2017-09-09-data-visualization-with-r-combining-plots.Rmd"       
    ##  [43] "2017-09-09-data-visualization-with-r-combining-plots.html"      
    ##  [44] "2017-10-03-ggplot2-quick-tour.Rmd"                              
    ##  [45] "2017-10-03-ggplot2-quick-tour.html"                             
    ##  [46] "2017-10-15-ggplot2-introduction-to-geoms.Rmd"                   
    ##  [47] "2017-10-15-ggplot2-introduction-to-geoms.html"                  
    ##  [48] "2017-10-27-ggplot2-introduction-to-aesthetics.Rmd"              
    ##  [49] "2017-10-27-ggplot2-introduction-to-aesthetics.html"             
    ##  [50] "2017-11-08-ggplot2-axis-plot-labels.Rmd"                        
    ##  [51] "2017-11-08-ggplot2-axis-plot-labels.html"                       
    ##  [52] "2017-11-20-ggplot2-text-annotations.Rmd"                        
    ##  [53] "2017-11-20-ggplot2-text-annotations.html"                       
    ##  [54] "2017-12-02-ggplot2-scatter-plots.Rmd"                           
    ##  [55] "2017-12-02-ggplot2-scatter-plots.html"                          
    ##  [56] "2017-12-14-ggplot2-line-graphs.Rmd"                             
    ##  [57] "2017-12-14-ggplot2-line-graphs.html"                            
    ##  [58] "2017-12-26-ggplot2-bar-plots.Rmd"                               
    ##  [59] "2017-12-26-ggplot2-bar-plots.html"                              
    ##  [60] "2018-01-07-ggplot2-box-plots.Rmd"                               
    ##  [61] "2018-01-07-ggplot2-box-plots.html"                              
    ##  [62] "2018-01-19-ggplot2-histogram.Rmd"                               
    ##  [63] "2018-01-19-ggplot2-histogram.html"                              
    ##  [64] "2018-01-31-ggplot2-guides-axes...
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