Help on Various Subjects

Matlab command line options

Example of matlab command line options:

bash$ matlab -nojvm -nosplash

Other options are:

-nojvm: start matlab without loading the Java VM. This minimizes memory usage and improves initial startup speed.
-nosplash: start matlab without displaying the splash screen during starup.
-nodesktop: start matlab without bringing up the matlab desktop.
-nodisplay: take caution, as no plots can be displayed when this is in effect.

Copying directory tree using tar

The following command will make a separate copy of directory temp01 inside directory temp02.

bash$ tar -cvf - /home/temp01 | (cd /home/temp02 && tar -xvf -)

Change the filename extensions for a group of files

Change the extension of all files in the current directory from .txt to .html.

bash$ ls *.txt | xargs -i basename \{\} .txt | xargs -i mv \{\}.txt \{\}.html

Using find command

The following will print out the names of all of the files in the current directory (and below) which end in ".o".

bash$ find . -name \*.o -print

The \ character is needed if you use a shell wildcard character (* or ?). It is always a good idea to run a command like this before issuing a command to delete a large group of files. Do you see listed only the files you wish to modify? If not, your search pattern might need some refinement. The following deletes all of the files ending in ".o".

bash$ find . -name \*.o -exec rm -f {} \;

The strange "{} \;" part of the command represents the file names found by the pattern.