Sequential Commands

In situations where you wish to execute multiple commands sequentially, ensuring that each finishes before the next starts, you can string them together in a single line using semicolons (;) as separators:

date ; troff -me verylargedocument | lpr ; date

In this example, I was formatting a huge document and wanted to know how long it would take. The first command date showed the date and time before the formatting started. The troff command formatted the document, and then piped the output to the printer. When the formatting was finished, the date and time were printed again, so I knew how long the troff command took to complete.

Another useful command to add to the end of a long command line is mail. You could add the following to the end of a command line:

SOME COMMAND(S); mail -s "Finished the long command" [e-mail]

Then, for example, a mail message is sent to the user you choose after the command completes.

To use the mail command effectively, you typically need a mail server or Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) set up on your system or network.

The mail command is a simple Mail User Agent (MUA) that sends and receives mail using an underlying MTA like Sendmail, Postfix, or Exim. When you send an email using the mail command, it hands off the email to the MTA, which then takes care of delivering it to the intended recipient.

If you try to use the mail command without an MTA configured, the email will not be sent, or might get queued without delivery.