3.1.4. Rights Management
Unix-like systems support multiple users and groups and allow control of permissions. Most of
the time, a process is identified by the user who started it. That process is only permitted to
take actions permitted for its owner. For instance, opening a file requires the kernel to check
the process identity against access permissions (for more details on this particular example, see
section
3.4.4
, “
Managing Rights
” [page 57]).
3.2. The Command Line
By “command line”, we mean a text-based interface that allows you to enter commands, execute
them, and view the results. You can run a terminal (a textual screen within the graphical desktop,
or the text console itself outside of any graphical interface) and a command interpreter inside it
(
the shell).
3.2.1. How To Get a Command Line
When your system is working properly, the easiest way to access the command line is to run a
terminal in your graphical desktop session.
