LEARN(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual LEARN(1) NAME learn - computer aided instruction about UNIX SYNOPSIS learn [ -directory ] [ subject [ lesson ] ] DESCRIPTION _L_e_a_r_n gives Computer Aided Instruction courses and practice in the use of UNIX, the C Shell, and the Berkeley text edi- tors. To get started simply type learn. If you had used _l_e_a_r_n before and left your last session without completing a subject, the program will use information in $HOME/.learnrc to start you up in the same place you left off. Your first time through, _l_e_a_r_n will ask questions to find out what you want to do. Some questions may be bypassed by naming a _s_u_b_- _j_e_c_t, and more yet by naming a _l_e_s_s_o_n. You may enter the _l_e_s_s_o_n as a number that _l_e_a_r_n gave you in a previous ses- sion. If you do not know the lesson number, you may enter the _l_e_s_s_o_n as a word, and _l_e_a_r_n will look for the first les- son containing it. If the _l_e_s_s_o_n is `-', _l_e_a_r_n prompts for each lesson; this is useful for debugging. The _s_u_b_j_e_c_t's presently handled are files editor vi morefiles macros eqn C There are a few special commands. The command `bye' ter- minates a _l_e_a_r_n session and `where' tells you of your pro- gress, with `where m' telling you more. The command `again' re-displays the text of the lesson and `again _l_e_s_s_o_n' lets you review _l_e_s_s_o_n. There is no way for _l_e_a_r_n to tell you the answers it expects in English, however, the command `hint' prints the last part of the lesson script used to evaluate a response, while `hint m' prints the whole lesson script. This is useful for debugging lessons and might pos- sibly give you an idea about what it expects. The -_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y option allows one to exercise a script in a nonstandard place. FILES /usr/share/learn subtree for all dependent directories and files /usr/tmp/pl* playpen directories $HOME/.learnrc startup information Printed 11/26/99 October 22, 1996 1 LEARN(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual LEARN(1) SEE ALSO csh(1), ex(1) B. W. Kernighan and M. E. Lesk, _L_E_A_R_N - _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r-_A_i_d_e_d _I_n_s_t_r_u_c_t_i_o_n _o_n _U_N_I_X BUGS The main strength of _l_e_a_r_n, that it asks the student to use the real UNIX, also makes possible baffling mistakes. It is helpful, especially for nonprogrammers, to have a UNIX ini- tiate near at hand during the first sessions. Occasionally lessons are incorrect, sometimes because the local version of a command operates in a non-standard way. Occasionally a lesson script does not recognize all the dif- ferent correct responses, in which case the `hint' command may be useful. Such lessons may be skipped with the `skip' command, but it takes some sophistication to recognize the situation. To find a _l_e_s_s_o_n given as a word, _l_e_a_r_n does a simple _f_g_r_e_p(1) through the lessons. It is unclear whether this sort of subject indexing is better than none. Spawning a new shell is required for each of many user and internal functions. The `vi' lessons are provided separately from the others. To use them see your system administrator. Printed 11/26/99 October 22, 1996 2