DOS command equivalents

For more information about any of the UnixWare system commands, consult the manual reference pages.

The commands listed below are for working with UnixWare system files.

DOS command	What it does	UNIX system equivalent	Notes
cd	change directories	cd(1)
cls	clear the screen	clear(1)
copy	copy files	cp(1), tar(1)	Use cp to copy files and tar to copy files or directories onto floppy disks or tapes.
date	display the system date and time	date(1), cal(1)	On the UNIX system, date displays the date and the time. cal displays the date, the time, and a 3-month calendar.
del	delete a file	rm(1)	Be careful when using rm with wildcard characters, like rm .
dir	list the contents of a directory	ls(1)	There are a variety of options to ls including ls -l to see a long listing and ls -f to see a listing that indicates file types.
edlin	line editor	ed(1), ex(1), vi(1)	vi is a full-screen text editor with powerful search and replace functions. ed and ex are predecessors of vi.
fc	compare two files	diff(1), diff3(1), cmp(1)	diff compares two text files. diff3 compares three text files. Use cmp to compare binary files.
find	find text within a file	grep(1)	grep (global regular expression parser) finds text within a file. The UNIX system's find(1) command finds files.
format	format a disk	format(1M)	See /etc/default/format for the default drive to format. The format command formats a disk for use with UNIX system files.
mkdir	make a directory	mkdir(1)
more	display output one screen at a time	more(1)
print	print files in the background	lp(1)	Use lp filename & to print in the background. You can run any UNIX system command in the background by adding & (ampersand) to the end of the command line.
ren	rename a file	mv(1)
rmdir	remove an empty directory	rmdir(1)	Use rm -r to remove a directory that is not empty.
sort	sort data	sort(1)
type	display a text file	cat(1), more(1)
xcopy	copy directories	tar(1)	Use tar if you want to copy directories onto disk or tape.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| DOS    |  What it does    |  UNIX       |  Notes                      |
| command|                  |  system     |                             |
|        |                  |  equivalent |                             |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| cd     |  change          |  cd(1)      |                             |
|        |  directories     |             |                             |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| cls    |  clear the screen|  clear(1)   |                             |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| copy   |  copy files      |  cp(1)      |  Use cp to copy files and   |
|        |                  |  tar(1)     |  tar to copy files or       |
|        |                  |             |  directories onto floppy    |
|        |                  |             |  disks or tapes.            |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| date   |  display the     |  date(1)    |  On the UNIX system, date   |
|        |  system date and |  cal(1)     |  displays the date and the  |
|        |  time            |             |  time. cal displays the     |
|        |                  |             |  date, the time, and a 3-   |
|        |                  |             |  month calendar.            |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| del    |  delete a file   |  rm(1)      |  Be careful when using rm   |
|        |                  |             |  with wildcard characters,  |
|        |                  |             |  like rm ∗.                 |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| dir    |  list the        |  ls(1)      |  There are a variety of     |
|        |  contents of a   |             |  options to ls including ls |
|        |  directory       |             |  -l to see a long listing   |
|        |                  |             |  and ls -f to see a listing |
|        |                  |             |  that indicates file types. |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| edlin  |  line editor     |  ed(1)      |  vi is a full-screen text   |
|        |                  |  ex(1)      |  editor with powerful search|
|        |                  |  vi(1)      |  and replace functions.  ed |
|        |                  |             |  and ex are predecessors of |
|        |                  |             |  vi.                        |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| fc     |  compare two     |  diff(1)    |  diff compares two text     |
|        |  files           |  diff3(1)   |  files. diff3 compares three|
|        |                  |  cmp(1)     |  text files.  Use cmp to    |
|        |                  |             |  compare binary files.      |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| find   |  find text within|  grep(1)    |  grep (global regular       |
|        |  a file          |             |  expression parser) finds   |
|        |                  |             |  text within a file.  The   |
|        |                  |             |  UNIX system's find(1)      |
|        |                  |             |  command finds files.       |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| format |  format a disk   |  format(1M) |  See /etc/default/format for|
|        |                  |             |  the default drive to       |
|        |                  |             |  format.  The format command|
|        |                  |             |  formats a disk for use with|
|        |                  |             |  UNIX system files.         |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| mkdir  |  make a directory|  mkdir(1)   |                             |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| more   |  display output  |  more(1)    |                             |
|        |  one screen at a |             |                             |
|        |  time            |             |                             |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| print  |  print files in  |  lp(1)      |  Use lp filename & to print |
|        |  the background  |             |  in the background.  You can|
|        |                  |             |  run any UNIX system command|
|        |                  |             |  in the background by adding|
|        |                  |             |  & (ampersand) to the end of|
|        |                  |             |  the command line.          |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| ren    |  rename a file   |  mv(1)      |                             |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| rmdir  |  remove an empty |  rmdir(1)   |  Use rm -r to remove a      |
|        |  directory       |             |  directory that is not      |
|        |                  |             |  empty.                     |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| sort   |  sort data       |  sort(1)    |                             |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| type   |  display a text  |  cat(1)     |                             |
|        |  file            |  more(1)    |                             |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| xcopy  |  copy directories|  tar(1)     |  Use tar if you want to copy|
|        |                  |             |  directories onto disk or   |
|        |                  |             |  tape.                      |
|--------|------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|