info on ls

[Dawes, Stephen]

Real good explanation Laura. 
Perhaps I should say, excellent translation of the man page for ls,
instead. 
Maybe there is a job for you in translating the man pages in to layman's
English. LOL

Blind Tech:
I know that for a new Linux user the man pages can be some what
daunting, but they do have all the information if you take the time to
read them. 
In the past you have also been told about the info system on your Linux
system.
For additional reference materials, you have also been told about the
Linux documentation project's Web site, 
http://www.tldp.org 
TLDP is a wealth of excellent information on Linux. 
Another way to find out information on a given command is to enter the
command with the help option. 
This is usually done by entering: command --help or command -h on the
command line.
For example:
ls --help <ENTER>
NOTE: <ENTER> means press the enter key.

I am not looking for a flame war this morning. I am trying to help you
avoid one in the future. 
You are now part of an excellent group of people that are willing to
help out. 
It is my experience over the years that this group is somewhat unique in
that it is willing to answer any question be they from the
first-time-user through to the-most-experienced-user.  
This group is willing to help anyone, as long as they are willing to
learn. 
This group has been known to loose patients with those showing no
willingness to learn and only want everyone else to do the work for
them.

As a pointer, I want to suggest that you try not to mix your question
and examples when looking for answers to questions.
You wrote:
"what switch to use or the equivalent to make ls just read the file
names, and not the other info when doing the ls command? 
for example when I ftp, its just too much info to listen to when trying
to see what files are in a dir."
Laura has given you an excellent answer to your question. 
However, I think that you may be a little frustrated by her answer,
because if you read on, the example is suggesting that you want
something different.
What I think you are attempting to ask is:
What switches can I use with ls when using ftp? 
What switches can I use with ls from within a ftp session?
When I use lftp, what switches can I give ls to find the files I am
looking for on a ftp site?
Any of these three example questions would have given us a better idea
of what you are looking for. 
The answer to what I believe you are looking for is that not all of the
switches for ls work with the ls within a ftp session. 
This is somewhat controlled by the ftp site administrator. 
To find out what switches you can use on the ftp site you are logged
into, use the help ls command.
Type: help ls <ENTER> at the command prompt of your ftp session. 
NOTE: <ENTER> means press the enter key.
Additionally, the help command within a ftp session will tell you all of
the commands that you are aloud to use on the ftp site you are logged
into.
Type: help <ENTER> at the command prompt of your ftp session. 
NOTE: <ENTER> means press the enter key.
Lastly, help plus a command, such as ls, will give you the information
on the given command for that ftp site.

To avoid frustration and a feeling of being attacked every time you post
to the list, I suggest that you ask clear questions and try to avoid
muddying-up the question with examples that are not directly related to
what you are asking.
Then the group doesn't have to read between the lines, and give you a
number of different answers based on translating what it is you are
attempting to find out. 
That is often when the flame wars start.


Steve Dawes
Phone: (403) 268-5527
Email: SDawes at calgary.ca
 



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