Why Linux?

Most EDA tools (Synopsys, Cadence, Mentor) run on Linux. You'll spend 80% of your time in the terminal. Master these commands and you'll work 10x faster.

Terminal Navigation

# Know where you are
pwd                      # /home/user/project

# Move around
cd /proj/dft/run         # Go to absolute path
cd ../scripts            # Go up one level, then to scripts
cd -                     # Go back to previous directory
cd ~                     # Go home

# List files
ls                       # Basic list
ls -la                   # All files with details
ls -lrt                  # Sort by time (newest last) - VERY USEFUL
ls *.v                   # All Verilog files

File Operations You'll Use Daily

Viewing Files

cat file.rpt                    # Print whole file
head -50 file.rpt               # First 50 lines
tail -50 file.rpt               # Last 50 lines
tail -f logfile.log             # Watch file live (for running jobs)
less file.rpt                   # Scrollable view (q to quit)

Searching in Files

grep "Error" *.log              # Find "Error" in all log files
grep -i "warning" file.rpt      # Case-insensitive search
grep -r "module_name" .         # Recursive search in current dir
grep -n "fault" file.rpt        # Show line numbers
grep -c "DT" coverage.rpt       # Count matches

Power Combos with Pipes

grep "Error" run.log | wc -l           # Count errors
cat faults.rpt | grep "UD" | head -20  # First 20 undetected faults
grep -r "clk" . | grep -v ".svn"       # Search but exclude .svn

File Management

# Copy/Move
cp file1.v file1_backup.v       # Copy
cp -r dir1 dir1_backup          # Copy directory
mv old_name.v new_name.v        # Rename
mv file.v ../other_dir/         # Move to another directory

# Create/Delete
mkdir -p run/atpg/logs          # Create nested directories
rm file.v                       # Delete file
rm -rf old_run/                 # Delete directory (CAREFUL!)

# Permissions
chmod +x script.sh              # Make executable
chmod 755 script.sh             # rwx for owner, rx for others

Job Control

# Run in background
command &                        # Run in background
nohup command > log.txt &        # Run even after logout

# Check jobs
ps -ef | grep atpg              # Find running ATPG jobs
jobs                            # List background jobs
top                             # Live process monitor

# Kill jobs
kill PID                        # Kill by process ID
kill -9 PID                     # Force kill

GVIM - Your Editor

GVIM is the standard editor in most DFT teams. Learn these basics:

# Open file
gvim file.v &                   # Open in GUI

# Essential commands (press Esc first for command mode)
i           Insert before cursor
a           Insert after cursor
o           New line below
dd          Delete line
yy          Copy line
p           Paste below
u           Undo
Ctrl+r      Redo

# Search
/pattern    Search forward
n           Next match
N           Previous match

# Replace
:%s/old/new/g   Replace all in file

# Save & Quit
:w          Save
:q          Quit
:wq         Save and quit
:q!         Quit without saving

# Navigation
gg          Go to top
G           Go to bottom
:100        Go to line 100

Quick Reference Card

Task	Command
Find files	find . -name "*.v"
Search in files	grep -r "pattern" .
Count lines	wc -l file
Compare files	diff file1 file2
Sort output	sort file
Unique lines	sort file | uniq
Disk usage	du -sh *
Current dir size	du -sh .