The "df" command on the liveCD/USB

BitJam · posted: 2012-11-07 22:31

The df command on the LiveCD/USB produces copious output:

Filesystem     1K-blocks   Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sr0          366182 366182         0 100% /live/boot-dev
/dev/loop0        358016 358016         0 100% /live/linux
tmpfs             393216  26156    367060   7% /live/aufs-ram
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /live/aufs
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /bin
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /boot
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /etc
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /sbin
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /var
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /lib
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /opt
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /root
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /tmp
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /usr
tmpfs               1024      0      1024   0% /media
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /lib64
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /selinux
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /srv
/live/aufs        393216  26156    367060   7% /home
tmpfs              50840    396     50444   1% /run
tmpfs               5120      0      5120   0% /run/lock
tmpfs              10240      0     10240   0% /dev
tmpfs             101680      0    101680   0% /run/shm

If you add the following alias to your .bashrc file

Code: Select all

alias df="df -x tmpfs -x aufs"

then the df output gets cut back:

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Filesystem     1K-blocks   Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sr0          366182 366182         0 100% /live/boot-dev
/dev/loop0        358016 358016         0 100% /live/linux

and looks more like what you would expect on a normal Linux system.

Question: should we add this alias to the .bashrc on the LiveCD/USB? It makes df produce less confusing output but it could end up really confusing someone who was looking for what was really going on and did not know about the alias.

SamK · posted: 2012-11-08 15:39

BitJam wrote: Question: should we add this alias to the .bashrc on the LiveCD/USB? It makes df produce less confusing output but it could end up really confusing someone who was looking for what was really going on and did not know about the alias.

In situations like these I picture the spectrum of antiX users falling in to three main groups.

Group1
These users have a reasonable level of competence at the command line. They are aware of and use any --help options and also any man pages. A user in this group will have little trouble in reading the standard report from df. The use of an alias will not be obvious and will tend to cause confusion and frustration in this group.

Group2
These users have little competence at the command line but use it infrequently. In spite of their unfamiliarity, they are will to experiment but are easily discouraged due to low levels of confidence. To this group the alias may be of some benefit, but may also be confusing as the use of the df command will not match any help/man references.

Group3
These users have no competence at the command line and avoid its use. To this group the presentation of the df report is irrelevant. They will feel more comfortable if the information was obtained by the click of a button.

Overall the use of an alias is likely to benefit few users mainly in Group2.

Suggestion...
How about adding a button to the Live section of antiXCC? In this event the style of the report may be tailored as desired and the standard commands remain unaltered.