On Jun 11, 2004, at 10:55 AM, Tyler Zesiger wrote:

> I remember when I first started using linux (now I use FreeBSD, which 
> is no better in this regard), I spent an hour trying to figure out how 
> to copy a file..."copy" didn't work. Searching the internet for info 
> on "copying" didn't turn up anything, probably because Google wasn't 
> what it is now, back then. I had to finally get on IRC and ask someone 
> how to copy - Turns out it's "cp". It will take me a decade of typing 
> "cp", with it's two fewer letters than "copy", to earn back the hour 
> it took me to figure out the command in the first place.

heh :) I had a similar experience, coming from a Mac, with no command 
line, to a Mac running OS X, with a full fledged UNIX interface, when 
you want it... it was all very frustrating until a friend pointed me in 
the direction of the 'apropos' tool. After that, it was mostly smooth 
sailing.

I don't think that there should be extra commands littering up the one 
monolithic namespace of shell commands. A simple 'help' tool, which 
relays a few ways of finding various commands, should, IMHO, be 
included. A few tips about apropos, man, and a short note about how 
command line arguments work. That would be enough, I think, to get a 
determined person up and running.

cheers,
Mark