Questions and answers
181How can I avoid retyping long commands in the Unix system?
The commands described below need to be entered while logged in to the Unix server. Normally you'll see a prompt ending with $ when the command interpreter (or shell) is ready for another command.
You can normally recall previous shell commands (even commands given in earlier login sessions) by using the up-arrow and down-arrow cursor keys. This means you need only type a long command once per session.
You can also define aliases in the following way.
alias ltx='latex mydescriptivefilename'
You can then give the command :-
ltx
which will then execute the command
latex mydescriptivefilename
You can make this permanent by putting the alias command in your .bashrc file if you are using bash, the "Bourne-again Shell" which is standard on the IT Services Unix system. Other shells will be similar but with varying command syntax for the alias command.
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