From VMS to Linux HOWTO

By Guido Gonzato, �, and Mike Miller, �

v1.1.4, 22 September 2004

This HOWTO is aimed at all those who have been using VMS and now need or want to switch to Linux, the free UNIX clone. The transition is made (hopefully) painless with a step--to--step comparison between commands and available tools.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Why Linux?
1.2. Comparing Commands and Files

2. Short Intro

2.1. Files
2.2. Directories
2.3. Programs
2.4. Quick Tour

3. Editing Files

4. TeXing

5. Programming

5.1. Fortran
5.2. Using make
5.3. Shell Scripts
5.4. C

6. Graphics

7. Mail and Internet Tools

8. Advanced Topics

8.1. Permissions and Ownership
8.2. Multitasking: Processes and Jobs
8.3. Files, Revisited
8.4. Print Queues

9. Configuring

10. Useful Programs

10.1. Browsing Files: less
10.2. Numbered Backups Under Linux
10.3. Archiving: tar & gzip

11. Real Life Examples

12. Tips You Can't Do Without

13. Reading VMS tapes from Linux

13.1. Introduction
13.2. The Basics
13.3. Some details
13.4. Comment on Block Size

14. The End

14.1. Copyright
14.2. Disclaimer