The command cal does not work on my M10 tablet, both in tablet and in desktop modes; it is the only failure I have found so far. Has anyone any ideas as to why it fails? Are there any other commands that do not work on the M10?

  • What is CAL? Do you mean cal (command line calendar) ? – Bruni May 15 '16 at 11:49
  • Yes, Bruni, I mean the command line calendar. I am newly returned to Linux after many years, and still making many newbie errors! – Garfie Q May 15 '16 at 18:10

The command cal is not installed by default on Ubuntu Touch. Contrary to desktop Ubuntu you can not simply install it through apt-get.

Your options are:

  1. wait for somebody to package it for Ubuntu Touch (unlikely, as this is not really a typical tablet/phone application)
  2. mount your system r/w and install with apt-get (DON'T DO THIS, it will likely break your system)
  3. install it in a container or chroot (but this is not trivial, see https://askubuntu.com/a/623311/532550 for full instructions)
  4. install it from source in your home directory (if the necessary compilers etc. are available)
  5. use a different application

I think your best options are 4 and 5.

P.S.: "does not work" and "fails" is not really a useful error description. To allow people to help you, include all necessary information, in this case the command you ran and the error message you got:

phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ cal
bash: cal: command not found
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  • That is a very full and helpful answer. It also explains why the Ubuntu Touch version differs from the desktop one. I am grateful for your trouble. – Garfie Q May 17 '16 at 8:26
  • I'm glad this was helpful. If you think this answers your question feel free to mark the answer as "accepted". – Jens Grivolla May 17 '16 at 13:16

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