---
title: Introduction
author: Franklin Bristow
---

We've made our lives a *tiny* bit easier by automating tasks with our shell:

* We can run commands on files automatically using `find`,
* We're able to filter files using `grep`, and
* We've got a better handle on how to use the command line.

But *yeesh*, there are **so many** programs to use on the command line. And
every program seems to be different in terms of how you actually use it! How am
I supposed to remember all this stuff?!

Some people have superhuman abilities and can remember all these things, but I
(me, Franklin) don't have any superhuman abilities. We're going to spend some
time getting help from various places:

* The programs themselves (short, but helpful),
* Offline documentation about the programs (comprehensive and correct, but
  sometimes inscrutable), and
* Online (overwhelming, and sometimes wrong).

We're also going to look at confirming that the help we are getting appropriate
for an academic setting.

Finally, we're going to look at digital notebooks, where we can combine both
text and code into one structured place so that we can simultaneously document
and look at an alternative model for exploring and experimenting with code as
opposed to writing code in an editor.

::: outcomes

* [ ] Get help about a command by running the command.
* [ ] Get help about a command by reading manual pages.
* [ ] Find and assess the quality of help online.
* [ ] Identify whether or not a situation is considered academic misconduct.
* [ ] Use a web-based interactive notebook to document progress in a lab
  notebook.
:::