Linux.com: CLI Magic: ifup, ifdown, ifstatus

“I’ve always assumed that ifup and ifdown were conditional
commands that performed their assigned duties only if the interface
device in question was up or down, as the command might be. I was
dead wrong. I blame my mistake on being a programmer, rather than
being stupid, but it’s simply too close to call.

“The if in ifup, ifdown, and ifstatus is not a programmer’s
if–it’s an abbreviation for interface. On the off chance that I’m
not the only one who has misunderstood these commands because of
their rather iffy names, here’s what they really do and how they
are used…”

Complete
Story