This page presents a few mappings from Linux commands to the corresponding Multics commands. This list is not exhaustive, of course -- feel free to provide suggested changes and additions. For those of us who have been away from Multics for decades, and who have been immersed in Linux (and Mac or Cygwin), the following chart may help the transition back to Multics.
| Unix/Linux Command | Intent | Multics Command |
|---|---|---|
| ls | List the contents of a directory | ls (list) |
| cat | Display the contents of a file | pr (print) |
| cd | Change working directory | cwd (change_wdir) |
| pwd | Print working directory | pwd |
| mkdir | Create a new directory | cd (create_dir) |
| cp | Copy a file | cp (copy) |
| cp | Copy a directory | cpd (copy_dir) |
| mv | Move a file | mv (move) |
| man | Get help on a command | help |
| man -k | Find help topics | lh (list_help) |
| mv | Rename a file or directory | rn (rename) |
| rm | Delete a file | dl (delete) |
| rmdir, rm -r | Delete a directory | dd (delete_dir) |
| mv | Move a directory | mvd |
| chmod,setfacl | Set access modes on file, directory | sa (set_acl) |
| chmod,setfacl | Delete access modes on file, directory | da (delete_acl) |
| ln -s | Create symbolic link | lk (link) |
| rm | Remove a symbolic link | ul (unlink) |
| fg | Return to an interrupted process | sr (start) |
| kill %N | Terminate an interrupted process | rl (release) |
| touch | Create a 0-length file | cr (create) |
| date | Display date and time (in various formats) | date_time |
| echo | Display expanded command line | format_line, ioa_ |
| diff | Compare two text files | cpa (compare_ascii) |
| cmp | Compare two object files | compare |
| Send an email | sdm (send_mail) | |
| mail, mutt | Read mail | rdm (read_mail) |
| find | Find a file or directory in a subtree | hunt |
| find ... -exec | Execute a command over files in a subtree | walk_subtree, do_subtree |
| ps | List processes | who -long (there is no real equivalent) |