Summary

To start learning Linux command line commands, you need access to a command line. In a world of graphical interfaces, this can sometimes be challenging. This chapter discussed different things you should consider when trying to get to the Linux command line from within a graphical desktop environment. First, the chapter covered terminal emulation and showed what features you should know about to ensure that the Linux system can properly communicate with your terminal emulation package, and display text and graphics properly.

In particular, the chapter covered three different types of terminal emulators. The xterm terminal emulator package was the first available for Linux. It emulates both the VT102 and Tektronix 4014 terminals. The KDE desktop project created the Konsole terminal emulation package. It provides several fancy features, such as the ability to have multiple sessions in the same window, using both console and xterm sessions, with full control of terminal emulation parameters.