The virtual console on a Linux box is a good way to access the command line on a UNIX or Linux system. There are a few virtual consoles available on a machine. Press Ctrl-Alt-F2 to access the virtual console. Hold the Alt key and use the arrow keys to switch between virtual consoles. There is a wide range of console fonts available for the console. There is an easy way to change them. This way the console can be personalized. Issuing the tty
command as a normal user will tell you which virtual console you are on. A very simple but useful Linux command.
jason@ubuntu:~$ tty /dev/tty2 |
The fgconsole command is also an alternative. This will print the number of the virtual console you are using. The chvt 3
command will switch the user to virtual console number 3. The text console is a distraction free environment if the user is a writer and needs a quiet screen to fill with text. The Music On Console, or moc player is a lightweight music player that may be used on the virtual console. Midnight Commander is a nice file manager. Allowing easy management of files and editing text for programming and/or editing configuration files.
The origin of the term TTY is TeleTYpewriter. These were a printer with a keyboard attached. The user would type a command and hit enter and the output would be on paper, not a screen. I have added a video below that shows a TeleTYpewriter in action.