[Linuxcommand-discuss] Incantations

[Bill S. <bs...@us...>]

in·can·ta·tion
n. 

	1. Ritual recitation of verbal charms or spells to produce
	   a magic effect. 

	2. A formula used in ritual recitation; a verbal charm or spell. 


You often hear Unix experts referred to as "priests" or "gurus".  They
have magical power over the computer.  In films, we see them portrayed
sitting at the keyboard, typing a few words and the computer quickly bends
to their wills.  In films at least, they never use a mouse. A mouse is for
sissies.

The secret of the guru's power is simple.  They know what to type.  They
can compose and recite magic incantations that the computer will instantly
obey.  Here is an example:

	du -s /home/* | sort -nr | less

Which will present a summarized accounting of your user's disk space usage
in descending order.

One of the features I want to add to LinuxComamnd.org is a collection of
these incantations to demonstrate the power and flexibility of Linux.  How
many of you have (or can think of) powerful/useful one-line commands?

Please share them with the list.