1.1. Logging in.   

The standard prompt message:

Login:

should appear on the terminal. (If it, or something like it, doesn't then type <return> a couple of times until it does.)

Note: Unix likes lower-case but can get by with upper-case characters. Therefore don't have the "CAPS LOCK" key on when you log in. If you login in upper case then type 


      % stty -lcase <return>

      to reset your terminal correctly.

Each time you login to Unix you will be asked for a password : this is so Unix can check your user name against your password.

On many machines each user is identified by a unique number - a project programmer number. Unix is a bit friendlier because it identifies users by unique names. You must give it your user name when it prompts you as above.
Login:

My user name is saila or raytrace. It is worthwhile remembering your friends and my user name.
Therefore I login as: 


      Login: saila<return>

Since I have a password, Unix now asks me for it. 

      Password:

When I type it in, it is not echoed on the terminal, so no-one can see it. Since it is your means of gaining security, it is stupid (and against School rules) to let anyone else know your password. If the password is correct, you are logged into the system else login is incorrect and you must try again from the start. 

Once on the system you may logoff by using ^D (control D).

Do this, and then login again using your username and password.

To indicate that you are using the Unix operating system, the shell prompts the user with a % sign to indicate it is waiting for a command to process. 

      %

The shell or sh or csh is a program which processes all the users commands by running the correct programs, etc. It is a very powerful tool and when used correctly and with experience, it can speed up the amount of work you can do. It can be used to execute commands in a file as though the user had typed them. The file used is called a shell script.

Note that on some Unix systems, it may also print out some of the statistics associated with your user name, like the number of files allowed, number of pages allowed to be printed on line printer,etc.


There may also be a message of the day
which you should read and take note of.