🚀 Day 3 of My 90-Day DevOps Journey: Vim Editor and Linux File Types

Welcome back to Day 3 of my DevOps journey! Today, I explored the Vim editor and learned about the types of files in Linux. Let’s dive in!

---

🖋️ Vim Editor Basics

Vim is a highly efficient text editor that’s perfect for editing files in Linux. It operates in two primary modes:

• Command Mode: For executing commands.

• Insert Mode: For writing and editing text.

🛠️ Essential Vim Commands

• Switching Modes:

  • Press i → Enter Insert mode.

  • Press Esc → Return to Command mode.

• File Operations:

  :w     # Save the file  
  :q     # Quit Vim  
  :wq    # Save and quit  
  :q!    # Quit without saving
  

  • Text Navigation:

    • h → Move left

    • l → Move right

    • j → Move down

    • k → Move up

  • Editing:

    • x → Delete a character

    • dd → Delete a line

    • yy → Copy a line

    • p → Paste copied content

  • Search and Replace:

    /pattern      # Search for 'pattern'  
    :%s/old/new/g # Replace 'old' with 'new' globally 
    

📂 Types of Files in Linux

Linux files come in various types, each serving a unique purpose. Here’s what I learned:

1. Regular File:

   • Stores data like text, scripts, or binaries.

   • Command to check:

ls -l file.txt

Look for a `-` at the start of the permissions (`-rw-r--r--`).

2. Directory:

   • Contains other files or directories.

   • Identified with a d in permissions (drwxr-xr-x).

3. Link File:

   • A shortcut to another file. (This you can consider as a Desktop short for any file/application in Windows) Can be:

     • Hard Link: Points directly to the file's data.

       ln file.txt hardlink.txt
       

     • Soft Link: Points to the file's location.

       ln -s file.txt softlink.txt
       

   • Use unlink filename to unlink a file.

4. Special File:

   • Represents devices like printers or disks, typically found in /dev.

5. Socket:

   • Enables communication between processes, often used in networking.

6. Block File:

   • Represents devices that transfer data in blocks (e.g., hard drives).

🔍 Command to Identify File Types:

Use the file command to determine a file’s type:

file filename

Also a bonus thing, some options on our ls command

ls -l

The above command with -l option is long listing of files (Sorts Alphabetically)

ls -lt

Sort by Timestamp, (Latest first/ Last modified)

ls -ltr

The -r option is for reverse sorting. And in the above example, it will sort old modified files first.

---

✨ Key Takeaway

Today, I took a big step in strengthening my Linux foundation. Mastering the Vim editor and understanding file types are crucial skills for any DevOps engineer. 🚀

Stay tuned for more as I continue my journey to DevOps mastery!