How to easily view the end of a log file

newbie

Ubuntu/Linux log files can be quite long with many entries, but usually you only care about the end. So, how can you quickly view the last few entries in a log file? Use the tail command: To watch the latest output as it happens, use the -f flag When you are done viewing, use CTRL-c [...]

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How to view the current time from the command line

command line

To see the current time from the Ubuntu or Linux command line: date which will give you: Fri May 30 15:53:21 EDT 2008 To see how to include and format dates and times in your shell scripts, see this post: http://www.lifeonubuntu.com/2008/05/how-to-format-dates-in-shell-scripts.html

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How to format dates in shell scripts

date time

When using dates in a shell script, you can format them like this: $(date +[format]) Here are some examples: $(date +”%Y%m%d)20080508 ——————– $(date +”%Y-%m-%d)2008-05-08 ——————– $(date +%D) which is shorthand equivalent for $(date +”%m/%d/%Y) 05/08/2008 To include time: $(date +%r) 10:15:36 PM ——————– $(date +%T) 22:15:36 A typical date format for a log entry: $(date [...]

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How do I know which kernel I am using?

newbie

How do you know which linux kernel you are using? uname -kFind out other system info withuname -a

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How to prevent server (daemons) from starting during apt-get install

newbie

Some times you may not want a server or daemon to start as part of the postinstall scrip when installing with apt-get or dpkg. To prevent servers from starting, do the following: # Prevent launch of servers during apt-get install mkdir -p /usr/sbin/ cat < /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d #!/bin/sh exit 101 EOF chmod 755 /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d When you [...]

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Newbie: how to edit a file from the command line

file commands

Could there be any more basic question? We all know there are no stupid questions, but I sure felt dumb having to look up this one. I found the built in editor nano. Likely more searching will yield a better editor. But for now nano will work. For other newbies, note that you need to [...]

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Setting up CUPS and installing local printer in Ubuntu Server

cups

After my first Ubunutu Server install (Hardy Heron LTS 8.04), I couldn’t get the local printer setup. Here’s how I fixed it. I’m a linux newbie and was feeling a bit lost without GUI. Several articles I read said gnome on a server was an unnecessary security risk, so I installed Webmin. But I couldn’t [...]

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