Are you a beginner GNU/Linux user and wish to look beyond the usual window dragging and mouse clicking? This guide is intended for the absolute beginner users wishing to learn the basics of GNU/Linux command line. This tutorial intends to walk through basic Linux commands related to navigation, file and directory administration, software installation and basic system troubleshooting.

Understanding the difference between Linux command line arguments, options and parameters is likely the most crucial part if one wishes ever to understand the GNU/Linux command line fully. Hence, do not skip this topic but instead make sure you understand it thoroughly before moving forward to the next section.

The best tool to explain the difference between Linux command line arguments, options and parameters is the ls command. Do not worry if you do not know the ls command yet as this command is in detail covered in later sections. Open up terminal and run the following command. Do not enter the $sign as this sign only serves a purpose to inform you that this is a command to be executed on the command line and is to be executed as a regular non-privileged user:

After you typed the above command and hit the ENTER key, the command lists all files and directories within your current directory. For now, disregard the output of the command and note that this command consists of a single argument which is the command ls itself. We refer to this argument as the argument 0. Next, try this command: