python useful packages in combination with command line

I have been playing with python lately and discovered at least two small utility pacages providing useful features in combination with the commandline. For this reason I created two aliases:

alias openurl='python3 -m webbrowser -t'
alias webshare='python -m SimpleHTTPServer'

The first one opens a web page at the url given as a parameter, if the url does not have a protocol, e.g. http, then the command will interpret it as a local file. The second one starts a webserver for the directory where the command is called. Then you can provide in that way a simple mean of letting someone download local files.

ac - user connect time

I just discovered a new command that I did not know: ac. It gives the connect times of users. This may prove useful.

commandlinefu

I bought a number of linux magazine during my week holiday and discovered a number of new interesting, useful things:

• Ubuntu One, a way to store data on some ubuntu servers to share it with other ubuntu users (I must check that)
• Writer's Cafe, a tool helping creative writing
• impro-visor, some GPL software working with lead sheets.

And one thing I really found useful is: commandlinefu (http://www.commandlinefu.com/). This site provides a way for people to advertise useful commandline tricks. I should probably follow them, I will learn a lot. And it already started.

I already learnt a new useful command: youtube-dl. Say you have some google URL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1504cSBhWG0

And you want to get the url of the file being downloaded, then you can use (-b for best quality and -g for just getting the url): $> youtube-dl -b -g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1504cSBhWG0

Of course this command has a certain number of options.

newgrp - (su for groups)

Well reading an old linux magazine I learnt some thing about the command: newgrp and groups in general.

First of all, the difference between primary and secondary groups in UNIX was not completely clear to me.

First of all, a primary or secondary group is the role played by a group for specific user. There is one and only one primary group per user, where as there may be a number of secondary groups (as then defined in /etc/groups.

Moreover, I learnt you could use the command: newgrp to login and perform all operation with the other group identity. It can be seen as a kind of su. Also groups may have passwords which can be set and used by their users.

I also learnt there are also sticky bits and setguid for files and that they correspond to the same functionality that setuid and the sticky bits for files.