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Made Command Line chapter more interactive. Refs #110 #114

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249 changes: 211 additions & 38 deletions intro_to_command_line/README.md
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# Introduction to Command Line
# Introduction to command-line interface
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to the command-line interface


## What is command line?
Huh, it's exciting, right?! You'll write your first line of code in just a few minutes :)

The following steps will show you how to use the black window all hackers use. It might look a bit scary at first, but really, it is just a prompt, waiting for commands from you.
__Let us first introduce you to your first new friend: the command line!__
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there's one too many "first" in the sentence


The window, which is usually called the *command line*, is a text-based application for viewing, handling and manipulating files on your computer (much like e.g. Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac, but without the graphical interface). Other names for the command line are: *cmd*, *prompt*, *console* or *terminal*.
The following steps will show you how to use the black window all hackers use. It might look a bit scary at first but really it's just a prompt waiting for commands from you.

Each operating system has a slightly different set of commands for the command line. Here is a summary of some useful commands:
## What is a command line?
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"What is a/the command line" (not sure which is better)


| Command (Windows) | Command (Mac OS / Linux) | Description | Example|
| ------------- |-----------|-------------| -----|
| exit | exit | close the window | **exit** |
| cd | cd | change directory | **cd test** |
| dir | ls |list directories/files | **dir** |
| copy | cp | copy file | **copy c:\test\test.txt c:\windows\test.txt** |
| move | mv | move file | **move c:\test\test.txt c:\windows\test.txt** |
| mkdir | mkdir | create a new directory | **mkdir testdirectory** |
|del | rm | delete a directory/file | **del c:\test\test.txt**
The window, which is usually called the __command line__ or __command-line interface__, is a text-based application for viewing, handling and manipulating files on your computer (much like e.g. Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac, but without the graphical interface). Other names for the command line are: *cmd*, *CLI*, *prompt*, *console* or *terminal*.

## Open the command-line interface

To start some experiments we need to open our command-line interface first.

### Windows

Go to Start menu → All Programs → Accessories → Command Prompt.

### Mac OS X

Applications → Utilities → Terminal.

### Linux

It's probably under Applications → Accessories → Terminal, but that may depend on your version system. If it's not there, just Google it :)

## Prompt

You know should see a white or black window that is waiting for your commands.

If you're on Mac or Linux, you probably see `$`, just like this:

$

On Windows, it's a `>` sign, like this:

>

Each command will be prepended by this and one space, but you don't have to type it. Your computer will do it for you :)

> Just a small note: in your case there maybe something like `C:\Users\ola>` or `Olas-MacBook-Air:~ ola$` before the prompt sign and that's 100% correct. In this tutorial we will just simplify it to the bare minimum.

## Your first command! \o/

Let's start with something simple. Type this command:

$ whoami

or

> whoami

And then hit Enter. This is our result:

$ whoami
olasitarska

As you can see, computer just presented you your username. Neat, huh?:)
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"the computer"


> Try to type each command, do not copy paste. You'll remember more this way!

## Basics

Each operating system has a slightly different set of commands for the command line, so make sure to follow instructions for your operating system. Let's try this, shall we?

### Current directory

It'd be nice to know where are we now, right? Let's see. Type this command and hit enter:

$ pwd
/Users/olasitarska

If you're on Windows:

> cd
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Is it really cd on windows?

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Yes, tested it! Windows is weird..

C:\Users\olasitarska

You'll probably see something similiar on your machine. Once you open command line you usually start at your user's home directory.
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"open the command line"


---

### List files and directories

What's in it? It'd be cool to find out. Let's see:

These are just a very few of the commands you can run in your command line. To learn more about them, check out the **Further Information** section below.
$ ls
Applications
Desktop
Downloads
Music
...

[ss64.com](http://ss64.com) contains a complete reference of commands for all operating systems.
Windows:

## Useful shortcuts
> dir
Directory of C:\Users\olasitarska
05/08/2014 07:28 PM <DIR> Applications
05/08/2014 07:28 PM <DIR> Desktop
05/08/2014 07:28 PM <DIR> Downloads
05/08/2014 07:28 PM <DIR> Music
...

* **Up arrow** - rerun previous commands. You can avoid typing the same commands again and again by using the up arrow key to cycle through recently used commands.
---

* **Tab key** - the tab key autocompletes directory and file names. For example, if you type `dir t` and then use `TAB`, the command line will try to match this to existing files in your current directory and autocomplete the name for you. Meaning, if your directory contains a file called `test.txt`, typing `dir t` and `TAB` will autocomplete to `dir test.txt`.
### Change current directory

## Further information on some of the above commands
Maybe we can now go to our Desktop directory?

* **exit** - closes your command prompt. This makes sense, right? No need to explain too much...
$ cd Desktop

* **cd** - allows you to go to another directory. To go to a directory contained within your current directory, type `cd subdirectory` (where you replace subdirectory with the name of the directory you want to go to) and press enter.
Windows:

**For example:** let's say you are in a directory called `c:\test` with three sub-directories: `documents`, `photos` and `music`.
> cd Desktop

c
└───test
documents
photos
music
Check if it's really changed:

To go from `test` to the `documents` subdirectory, simply type `cd documents` and press enter. You are now in `c:\test\documents`.
$ pwd
/Users/olasitarska/Desktop

To move back to the `c:\test` directory (or generally, to move 'up' one level), type `cd ..` (`cd` followed by two full stops).
Windows:

> cd
C:\Users\olasitarska\Desktop

* **dir** (Windows) / **ls** (others) - lists files and directories located in your current directory. If you type `dir` or `ls`, respectively, you will see the contents of the directory you're currently in.
Note that for some commands you can use the `*` (asterisk) symbol, which stands for *all* and is often called a *wildcard*. With this in mind, try typing `dir *.txt` for Windows or `ls *.txt` for other OS to only list files that end with `.txt`.
Here it is!

> PRO tip: if you type `cd D` and then hit `tab` on your keyboard, command line will automatically autofill the rest of the name so you can navigate faster. If there is more than one folder starting with "D", hit `tab` button twice to get a list of options.
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the command line will...

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hit the tab button twice


* **copy** (Windows) / **cp** (others) - allows you to copy files from one location to another. To use this command, type `copy sourcefile targetfile` (where sourcefile is the name/path of the file you want to copy, and targetfile is the name you want to give to the copy you are creating).
---

**For example**: if you have the file `c:\test\test.txt` and you would like to create a copy at `c:\windows\test.txt`, type:
### Create directory

copy c:\test\test.txt c:\windows\test.txt
How about creating Django Girls directory on your desktop? You can do it this way:
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creating a Django Girls directory


$ mkdir djangogirls

* **move** (Windows) / **mv** (others) - allows you to move files from one location to another. The syntax you use is the same as for the `copy`/`cp` command.
Windows:

> mkdir djangogirls

* **mkdir** - allows you to create a new directory. For example, `mkdir temp` creates a new directory called `temp` in the current directory.
This little command will create a folder with name `djangogirls` on your desktop. You can check if it's there just by looking on your Desktop or by running a `ls`/`dir` command! Try it :)
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with the name


> PRO tip: If you don't want to type the same commands over and over, try clicking `up arrow` and `down arrow` on your keyboard to cycle through recently used commands.
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clicking -> pressing

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the up arrow and down arrow


* **del** (Windows) / **rm** (others) - allows you to delete the specified file. For example, `del test.txt` deletes the `test.txt` file from the current directory. **!!!ATTENTION!!!** Deleting files using `del` or `rm` is irrecoverable, meaning _deleted files will be gone forever_! So, be very careful with this command.
---

### Exercise!

Small challenge for you: in your newly created `djangogirls` directory create a directory called `test`. Use `cd` and `mkdir` commands.

#### Solution:

$ cd djangogirls
$ mkdir test
$ ls
test

Windows:

> cd djangogirls
> mkdir test
> dir
05/08/2014 07:28 PM <DIR> test

Congrats! :)

---

### Clean up

We don't want to leave a mess, so let's remove everything we did until that point.

First, we need to get back to Desktop:

$ cd ..

Windows:

> cd ..

Making `cd` to `..` will change your current directory to the parent directory (which means directory that contain your current directory).
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which means the directory that contains your current directory


Check where you are:

$ pwd
/Users/olasitarska/Desktop

Windows:

> cd
C:\Users\olasitarska\Desktop

Now time to delete `djangogirls` directory:
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time to delete the djangogirls directory


$ rm -r djangogirls

Windows:

> rmdir /S djangogirls
djangogirls, Are you sure <Y/N>? Y

Done! To be sure it's actually deleted, let's check it:

$ ls

Windows:

> dir

> __Attention__: eleting files using `del`, `rmdir` or `rm` is irrecoverable, meaning _deleted files will be gone forever_! So, be very careful with this command.
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Deleting


### Exit

That's it for now! You can safely close the command line now. Let's do it the hacker way, all right?:)

$ exit

Windows:

> exit

Cool, huh?:)

## Summary

Here is a summary of some useful commands:

| Command (Windows) | Command (Mac OS / Linux) | Description | Example|
| ------------- |-----------|-------------| -----|
| exit | exit | close the window | **exit** |
| cd | cd | change directory | **cd test** |
| dir | ls |list directories/files | **dir** |
| copy | cp | copy file | **copy c:\test\test.txt c:\windows\test.txt** |
| move | mv | move file | **move c:\test\test.txt c:\windows\test.txt** |
| mkdir | mkdir | create a new directory | **mkdir testdirectory** |
|del | rm | delete a directory/file | **del c:\test\test.txt**
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It'd be a bit more readable if you aligned the columns here. I think markdown is smart enough not to let if affect the final

.


These are just a very few of the commands you can run in your command line but you're not going to use anything more than that today.

If you're curious, [ss64.com](http://ss64.com) contains a complete reference of commands for all operating systems.

## Ready?

Let's dive into Python!
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# Let’s start with Python

Huh, it's exciting, right?! You'll write your first line of code in just a few minutes!
We're finally here!

But first, let us tell you what Python is. Python is a very popular programming language that can be used for creating websites, games, scientific software, graphics and much, much more.

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## Python prompt

To start playing with Python, we need to open up a *prompt* on your computer. How you get there depends on the operating system but once it's open, everything is equal.
To start playing with Python, we need to open up a *command line* on your computer. You should have already knew how to do that -- you have learned that in [Intro to Command Line](/intro_to_command_line/README.html) chapter.
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You should already know how to do that -- you've learned it in the ... chapter.


### Windows
Once you're ready, follow instructions below.
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follow the instructions below


On Windows you need to go to Start menu → All Programs → Accessories → Command Prompt.

A window should pop up on your screen. This window is a prompt, waiting for commands from you. We want to open up a Python console, so type in `python3` and hit Enter.

C:\Users\Name> python3
Python 3.4.1 (...)
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

### Linux and OS X

On Mac OS X you can do this by launching the `Terminal` application (it's in Applications → Utilities). On Linux, it's probably under Applications → Accessories → Terminal.

A window should pop up on your screen. This window is a prompt, waiting for commands from you. We want to open up a Python console, so type in `python3` and hit Enter.
We want to open up a Python console, so type in `python3` and hit Enter.

$ python3
Python 3.4.1 (...)
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