Bash: Using '$_' and '$1' to Manage Repetitive Command Line Tasks
Background: Just Too Many Keystrokes
The more time you spend on the command line, the more you realize much of your time there is occupied by typing out the same thing (i.e., a filename, or certain command) over and over. Bash shines in its ability to take long complicated commands and store them in aliases. No matter how many aliases you create, though, you'll still need to dedicate a little brain power to your command line surfing. Sometimes, aliases just don't apply.