.TH "Using COHERENT" "" "" "Overview"
.PC
.PP
For an ordinary user \(em that is, one who neither administers the
\*(CO system nor writes programs for it \(em using \*(CO mainly involves
issuing commands to the \*(CO system.
.PP
The Lexicon entry
.B commands
names every command that comes with the \*(CO system.
The commands are grouped by function.
You should look carefully at the shell commands \(em that is,
the commands that work closely with the shell to help you
control the execution of other commands.
What other groups you study will depend on just what you want to
do with your \*(CO system.
.PP
Pay particular attention to the
Lexicon entries for the commands
.BR sh ,
.BR ksh ,
and
.BR vsh .
These introduce the \fIshells\fR \(em that is, the programs with which
you can issue commands to \*(CO.
Each has its own syntax;
.B ksh
and
.B sh
in fact implement fully flown programming languages on their own.
.PP
.B vsh
is a visual shell, and is especially useful to beginners.
It uses a visual interface and drop-down menus to make it easy for
you to issue commands without having to remember convoluted command syntax.
The Lexicon entry for
.B vsh
describes it, and how you can customize it for yourself.
.PP
The Lexicon entry for
.B MS-DOS
compares \*(CO with \*(MD, and describes how they differ.
It also gives a table of \*(CO equivalents to commonly used
\*(MD commands.
If you are used to using \*(MD, you should find this useful.
.PP
The follow commands
help you to find information about your system:
.IP \fBapropos\fR
This command searches the description of each Lexicon article
for a keyword that you enter.
In this way, you can quickly find which articles discuss a given
topic, such as ``printer'' or ``modem''.
.IP \fBhelp\fR
This command displays a brief summary of each Lexicon article, by name.
.IP \fBman\fR
This command displays Lexicon articles on your screen, by name.
.PP
The following three articles introduce files that are stored in your
home directory.
By modifying these files, you can customize your \*(CO account to suit
your tastes:
.IP \fB\&.kshrc\fR
Script
.B $HOME/.kshrc
configures the Korn shell to suit your tastes.
You will need to edit this file if you decide to use the Korn shell.
.IP \fB\&.lastlogin\fR
File
.B $HOME/.lastlogin
records the date and time you last logged in to your \*(CO system.
.IP \fB\&.profile\fR
Script
.B $HOME/.profile
holds commands that are executed when a given user logs in to
your \*(CO system.
.PP
The following Lexicon entries hold technical information that
you probably will find useful:
.IP \fBblock\fR
This defines the size of a ``block'' on a mass-storage device.
.IP \fBcompression\fR
This introduces the subject of compression, and the programs with which
you can compress and de-compress files.
It also gives a table that describes how to de-compress files based on their
default suffices.
.IP "\fBenvironmental variables\fR"
This article lists the commonly used environmental variables that
are described in the Lexicon.
These variables control many of the behaviors of the \*(CO system.
.IP \fBLexicon\fR
This describes the format of the printed \*(CO manual.
It also summarizes changes made to on-line Lexicon pages (the ones that
you view via the command
.BR man )
since the manual was last printed.
.IP \fBman\fR
This summarizes the
.B man
macros that are used by the text-formatter
.BR nroff .
.IP \fBms\fR
This summarizes the
.B ms
macros that are used by the text-formatter
.BR nroff .
.PP
Finally, the following Lexicon entries define technical terms that are
used in this manual:
.nf
.sp \n(pDu
	\fBcaveat utilitor\fR
	\fBdaemon\fR
	\fBdirectory\fR
	\fBfile\fR
	\fBfilter\fR
	\fBi-node\fR
	\fBnamed pipe\fR
	\fBpipe\fR
	\fBprocess\fR
	\fBroot\fR
	\fBsticky bit\fR
	\fBsuperuser\fR
	\fBwildcards\fR
.fi
.PP
For pointers on where to look for information on how to install and modify
peripheral devices on your system, such as the keyboard, the hard disk,
or a CD-ROM drive, see the Lexicon entry
.BR "Administering COHERENT" .
.SH "See Also"
.Xr "Administering COHERENT," administe
.Xr "COHERENT," coherent
.Xr "Programming COHERENT" programmi
