Linux talk Command with Practical Examples

Introduction

In this lab, you will learn how to use the Linux talk command for real-time text-based communication between two users on the same system or a remote system. The lab covers understanding the talk command, sending messages using the talk command, and managing incoming talk requests. You will explore the usage of the talk command, initiate a talk session, and exchange messages with another user in real-time. This lab provides practical examples and insights into using the talk command for effective communication within a Linux environment.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet

Skills Graph

%%%%{init: {'theme':'neutral'}}%%%% flowchart RL linux(("`Linux`")) -.-> linux/BasicSystemCommandsGroup(["`Basic System Commands`"]) linux/BasicSystemCommandsGroup -.-> linux/man("`Manual Access`") subgraph Lab Skills linux/man -.-> lab-422950{{"`Linux talk Command with Practical Examples`"}} end

Understand the talk Command

In this step, we will explore the talk command, which is a tool used for real-time text-based communication between two users on a Linux system.

The talk command allows you to initiate a conversation with another user on the same system or a remote system, provided that the other user is also running the talk command and has accepted your request.

Let's start by checking the talk command's usage:

$ man talk

Example output:

TALK(1)                     User Commands                    TALK(1)

NAME
       talk - talk to another user

SYNOPSIS
       talk nickname [terminal]

DESCRIPTION
       The  talk  utility  is a visual communication program which copies lines from your terminal to that of another user.

The talk command takes two arguments:

nickname: The username of the user you want to talk to.
terminal: The terminal device of the other user (optional).

To initiate a talk session, you need to know the username of the person you want to talk to. If the other user is online and also running the talk command, you can start the conversation.

Let's try an example:

$ talk labex

This will initiate a talk session with the user labex. If the other user accepts the request, you will be able to see their responses in real-time, and they will be able to see your messages as well.

To exit the talk session, simply type quit and press Enter.

Send Messages Using the talk Command

In this step, we will learn how to send messages using the talk command.

First, let's start a talk session with another user. Assuming the other user's username is labex2, we can initiate the session like this:

$ talk labex2

This will send a request to the labex2 user, and if they accept the request, the talk session will begin.

Once the session is established, you can start typing your message. Each line you type will be sent to the other user's terminal in real-time. The other user can also respond, and you will see their messages appear on your screen.

Example interaction:

Hello, how are you today?
I'm doing well, thanks for asking. How about you?
I'm doing great! I just wanted to chat and catch up.
That's wonderful to hear! I'm always happy to chat.

To exit the talk session, simply type quit and press Enter.

Manage Incoming talk Requests

In this step, we will learn how to manage incoming talk requests.

When another user initiates a talk session with you, you will receive a notification on your terminal. The notification will look something like this:

Message from Talk_Daemon@labex2 at 14:23 ...
talk: connection requested by labex2
talk: respond with: talk labex2

To accept the incoming request, you can simply run the following command:

$ talk labex2

This will establish the talk session, and you can start communicating with the other user.

If you don't want to accept the incoming request, you can simply ignore it. The other user will see a message indicating that you have not responded to the request.

You can also use the mesg command to manage your availability for incoming talk requests:

$ mesg n

This will prevent other users from sending you talk requests. To allow incoming requests again, use:

$ mesg y

Summary

In this lab, you learned about the talk command, which is a tool for real-time text-based communication between two users on a Linux system. You explored the usage of the talk command, including how to initiate a conversation with another user and how to send messages during the talk session. You also learned about managing incoming talk requests, which allows you to accept or reject requests from other users.

The key learning points covered in this lab include understanding the basic syntax and usage of the talk command, initiating a talk session with a specific user, sending messages back and forth during the session, and handling incoming talk requests. These skills can be useful for real-time collaboration and communication between users on a Linux system.