Absurd Linux Commands

How to prompt for confirmation before deleting a file.

Us humans are bound to make mistakes, so let's add safeguards to it! 😇

 $ printf "Delete? [y/n]: " ; read ans ; test "$ans" = "n" && printf "Cancelled\n" || rm -i <filename> 

• printf: It prints, how surprising. We don't use echo as printf is more portable.
• read: It reads your input, then put your input into the variable ans.
• test: It compare ans with "n".
• rm -i: It removes the file <filename> with another confirmation prompt that you will definitely need.

Even better, you can alias rm with this snippet! 😋

 $ alias rm='printf "Delete? [y/n]: " ; read ans ; test "$ans" = "n" && printf "Cancelled\n" || rm -i' 

Now you will never worry about accidentally deleting a file again! Maybe... probably... It depends, really.

How to turn your Linux machine into a heater.

It's winter and it's cold, you don't have a blanket or a sweater. But do not worry! Just run the following command:

 $ sha512sum /dev/urandom 

• sha512sum: It calculates the sha512 hash of /dev/urandom.
• /dev/urandom: It generates random bytes, since it never stop, sha512sum will keep calculating and eating your CPU, generating heat.

Not enough? Want more heat? Just run more in parallel! 🔥^[1]

 $ sha512sum /dev/urandom ; sha512sum /dev/urandom ; ... 

How to play Beige Noise in your home.

Beige Noises, also known as 😈Evil White Noises😈^[2], is a type of noise that doesn't do absolutely anything beside giving you migraines and make your ears bleed.

 $ aplay /dev/urandom 

• aplay: It plays sound from raw bytes.

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