Lesson 1: What is a terminal — talking to a computer by typing
Welcome — no prior experience needed, and nothing to memorize. Until now you've used a computer with clicks; there's another way: typing it a short instruction. A terminal is a text window where you type one line (a command), press Enter, and the computer answers (output) — that's the whole loop. It
The terminal is a chat window with the computer: you write one line (a command), the computer answers (output), then it waits for your next line.
- terminal / shell
- A text window where you type commands to a computer. The shell is the program that receives the command and runs it.
- command
- A line of text that asks the computer to do something. You press Enter to run it.
- output
- The answer the computer prints below the command, after it runs it.
- prompt
- The text the computer shows to say 'I'm ready for a command', usually in the form user@host:dir$.
- whoami
- A command that prints the username you are currently logged in as. Completely safe — it only reads information.
