210 CHAPTER 13 INTRODUCING THE BASH SHELL Figure 13-2. Most commands contain built-in help to give you a clue as to how they re used. Some commands also have info pages, which offer slightly more down-to-earth guides. You can read these by typing this: info If a command isn t covered by the info system, you ll be shown the default screen explaining basic facts about how the info command works. Note that both man and info have their own man and info pages, explaining how they work. Just type man man or info info. Running the Shell via a Virtual Console As noted earlier, you can start the shell in a number of ways. The most common way among Linux diehards is via a virtual console. To access a virtual console, press Ctrl+Alt, and then press one of the function keys from F1 through F6 (the keys at the top of your keyboard). Using a virtual console is a little like switching desks to a completely different PC. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1 will cause your GUI to disappear, and the screen to be taken over by a command- line prompt (don t worry; your GUI is still there and running in the background). You ll be asked to enter your username and your password. Any programs you run in a virtual console won t affect the rest of the system, unless they re system commands. (As discussed in Chapter 16, one way to rescue a crashed GUI program is to switch to a virtual console and attempt to terminate the program from there.) You can switch back to the GUI by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F7. Don t forget to quit your virtual console when you re finished with it, by typing exit.
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