If you're just beginning to work on a UNIX system, the abundance of commands might prove daunting. To help orient you, the following tables present a small sampling of commands on various topics.
| cu | Connect to UNIX system. | 
| ftp | File transfer protocol. | 
| login | Sign on to UNIX. | 
| mailx | Read or send mail. | 
| rlogin | Sign on to remote UNIX. | 
| talk | Write to other terminals. | 
| telnet | Connect to another system. | 
| vacation | Respond to mail automatically. | 
| write | Write to other terminals. | 
| cmp | Compare two files. | 
| comm | Compare items in files. | 
| diff | Compare two files. | 
| diff3 | Compare three files. | 
| dircmp | Compare directories. | 
| sdiff | Compare two files, side by side. | 
| cat | Join files or display them. | 
| cd | Change directory. | 
| chmod | Change access modes on files. | 
| cp | Copy files. | 
| csplit | Break files at specific locations. | 
| file | Determine a file's type. | 
| head | Show the first few lines of a file. | 
| install | Set up system files. | 
| ln | Create filename aliases. | 
| ls | List files or directories. | 
| mkdir | Create a directory. | 
| more | Display files by screenful. | 
| mv | Move or rename files or directories. | 
| pwd | Print your working directory. | 
| rcp | Copy files to remote system. | 
| rm | Remove files. | 
| rmdir | Remove directories. | 
| split | Split files evenly. | 
| tail | Show the last few lines of a file. | 
| wc | Count lines, words, and characters. | 
| banner | Make posters from words. | 
| bc | Precision calculator. | 
| cal | Display calendar. | 
| calendar | Check for reminders. | 
| clear | Clear the screen. | 
| kill | Terminate a running command. | 
| man | Get information on a command. | 
| nice | Reduce a job's priority. | 
| nohup | Preserve a job after logging out. | 
| passwd | Set password. | 
| script | Produce a transcript of your login session. | 
| spell | Report misspelled words. | 
| su | Become a superuser. | 
| cancel | Cancel a printer request. | 
| lp | Send to the printer. | 
| lpstat | Get printer status. | 
| pr | Format and paginate for printing. | 
| cb | C source code "beautifier." | 
| cc | C compiler. | 
| cflow | C function flowchart. | 
| ctags | C function references. | 
| ctrace | C debugger. | 
| cxref | C cross-references. | 
| lint | C debugger. | 
| ld | Link editor. | 
| lex | Lexical analyzer. | 
| make | Execute commands in a specified order. | 
| od | Dump input in various formats. | 
| sdb | Symbolic debugger. | 
| strip | Remove data from an object file. | 
| truss | Trace signals and system calls. | 
| yacc | Compiler used with lex. | 
| egrep | Extended version of grep. | 
| fgrep | Search files for literal words. | 
| find | Search the system for filenames. | 
| grep | Search files for text patterns. | 
| strings | Search binary files for text patterns. | 
| echo | Repeat input on the output. | 
| expr | Perform arithmetic and comparisons. | 
| line | Read a line of input. | 
| sleep | Pause during processing. | 
| test | Test a condition. | 
| compress | Compress files to free up space. | 
| cpio | Copy archives in or out. | 
| pack | Pack files to free up space. | 
| pcat | Display contents of packed files. | 
| tar | Tape archiver. | 
| uncompress | Expand compressed ( .Z) files. | 
| unpack | Expand packed ( .z) files. | 
| zcat | Display contents of compressed files. | 
| at | Execute commands later. | 
| chgrp | Change file group. | 
| chown | Change file owner. | 
| crontab | Automate commands. | 
| date | Display or set date. | 
| df | Show free disk space. | 
| du | Show disk usage. | 
| env | Show environment variables. | 
| finger | Point out information about users. | 
| ps | Show processes. | 
| ruptime | Show loads on working systems. | 
| shutdown | Revert to single-user mode. | 
| stty | Set or display terminal settings. | 
| who | Show who is logged on. | 
| cut | Select columns for display. | 
| ex | Line-editor underlying vi. | 
| fmt | Produce roughly uniform line lengths. | 
| fold | Produce exactly uniform line lengths. | 
| join | Merge different columns into a database. | 
| nawk | New version of awk (pattern-matching language for database files). | 
| paste | Merge columns or switch order. | 
| sed | Noninteractive text editor. | 
| sort | Sort or merge files. | 
| tr | Translate (redefine) characters. | 
| uniq | Find repeated or unique lines in a file. | 
| vi | Visual text editor. | 
| xargs | Process many arguments in manageable portions. | 
All but deroff are in the compatibility packages.
| deroff | Remove troff codes. | 
| eqn | Preprocessor for equations. | 
| nroff | Formatter for terminal display. | 
| pic | Preprocessor for line graphics. | 
| tbl | Preprocessor for tables. | 
| troff | Formatter for typesetting. | 
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