UNIX Shells by Example (4th Edition)

ls ”lists contents of directory

ls [ abcCdfFgilLmnopqrRstux1 ] [ names ]

For each directory argument, ls lists the contents of the directory; for each file argument, ls repeats its name and any other information requested . The output is sorted alphabetically by default. When no argument is given, the current directory is listed.

Example A.37.

1 ls -alF 2 ls -d a* 3 ls -i

EXPLANATION

1. The “a lists invisible files (those files beginning with a dot), the “l is a long listing showing attributes of the file, the “F puts a slash at the end of directory filenames, an * at the end of executable script names, and an @ symbol at the end of symbolically linked files.

2. If the argument to the “d switch is a directory, only the name of the directory is displayed, not its contents.

3. The “i switch causes each filename to be preceded by its inode number.