Which command changes the current working directory to a different directory?
In this lesson, we will introduce our first three commands: Show
Those new to the command line will need to pay close attention to this lesson since the concepts will take some getting used to. File System OrganizationLike Windows, the files on a Linux system are arranged in what is called a hierarchical directory structure. This means that they are organized in a tree-like pattern of directories (called folders in other systems), which may contain files and subdirectories. The first directory in the file system is called the root directory. The root directory contains files and subdirectories, which contain more files and subdirectories and so on and so on. Most graphical environments include a file manager program used to view and manipulate the contents of the file system. Often we will see the file system represented like this: One important difference between Windows and Unix-like operating systems such as Linux is that Linux does not employ the concept of drive letters. While Windows drive letters split the file system into a series of different trees (one for each device), Linux always has a single tree. Different storage devices may be different branches of the tree, but there is always just a single tree. pwdSince the command line interface cannot provide graphic pictures of the file system structure, we must have a different way of representing it. To do this, think of the file system tree as a maze, and that we are standing in it. At any given moment, we are located in a single directory. Inside that directory, we can see its files and the pathway to its parent directory and the pathways to the subdirectories of the directory in which we are standing. The directory we are standing in is called the working directory. To see the name of the working directory, we use the [me@linuxbox me]$ When we first log on to our Linux system, the working directory is set to our home directory. This is where we put our files. On most systems, the home directory will be called /home/user_name, but it can be anything according to the whims of the system administrator. To list the files in the working directory, we use the [me@linuxbox me]$ We will come back to cdTo change the working directory (where we are standing in the maze) we use the An absolute pathname begins with the root directory and follows the tree branch by branch until the path to the desired directory or file is completed. For example, there is a directory on your system in which most programs are installed. The pathname of the directory is Let's try this out: me@linuxbox me]$ Now we can see that we have changed the current working directory to Where an absolute pathname starts from the root directory and leads to its destination, a relative pathname starts from the working directory. To do this, it uses a couple of special notations to represent relative positions in the file system tree. These special notations are "." (dot) and ".." (dot dot). The "." notation refers to the working directory itself and the ".." notation refers to the working directory's parent directory. Here is how it works. Let's change the working directory to /usr/bin again: me@linuxbox me]$ O.K., now let's say that we wanted to change the working directory to the parent of me@linuxbox bin]$ Or, with a relative pathname: me@linuxbox bin]$ Two different methods with identical results. Which one should we use? The one that requires the least typing! Likewise, we can change the working directory from me@linuxbox usr]$ Or, with a relative pathname: me@linuxbox usr]$ Now, there is something important that we must point out here. In most cases, we can omit the "./". It is implied. Typing: would do the same thing. In general, if we do not specify a pathname to something, the working directory will be assumed. There is one important exception to this, but we won't get to that for a while. A Few ShortcutsIf we type A related shortcut is to type Which command allows Change directory to another directory?The following are examples of how to use the cd command:. To change to your home directory, type the following: cd.. To change to the /usr/include directory, type the following: cd /usr/include.. To go down one level of the directory tree to the sys directory, type the following: cd sys.. Which command changes the current working directory to a different directory in Linux?Using the cd command in Linux allows you to change the current working directory. In this tutorial, we will explain the cd command syntax and show examples of how you can use it. A system running a Linux distribution. A user account with sudo privileges.
How would you change working directory to a specific directory?Changing the Working Directory. Use the setwd R function.. Use the Tools | Change Working Dir... menu (Session | Set Working Directory on a mac). ... . From within the Files pane, use the More | Set As Working Directory menu. (Navigation within the Files pane alone will not change the working directory.). Which command changes the current working directory to the user's account home directory?The cd (change directory) command allows you to move around within the file system hierarchy:. When you type the cd command by itself, you return to your home directory. ... . In the C shell, the tilde ( ~ ) is used as a shortcut for specifying your home directory.. |