I am very new to linux and would like to learn some of the basic commands on how to excute a program in linux from the command line in terminal

The Linux Command Line
https://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php

1 members found this post helpful.

There's only one command needed to execute a program: the program's name.

Welcome to LQ,

I'd say if you wish to tinker around to learn about the command line, there's tons of references, including what brianL has offered. Also suggest you search the web and see if you find some results which fit what you're looking for, I have no preference in guides that I'd recommend at this time.

Starting recommendation/question would be:

Are you running Linux presently? Best way to learn is immersion sometimes. If you need any thoughts on how to start with running it over a VM, via Live boot, or installing, please let us know. There's also some sticky threads in the Newbie forum page which might help if you are looking for distributions to install and try.

A web search for linux command line basics will turn up many articles and tutorials. You can hunt through them and pick the ones that seem most appropriate for your needs.

The commands I find myself using most often are cd (change directory), mv (move a file, also used to rename a file), ls (list files, equivalent to DOS/Windows dir), rm (remove a file), rmdir (remove a directory), and man (show the manual page for a command or element). All of these commands, depending on the arguments used with them, are quite versatile. You can see the man pages for each of these for more information.

To learn about manual pages, issue the command,

1 members found this post helpful.

Something that is overlooked by most here (including myself for many years) is the LQ Wiki. It has a good list of common commands in it's Command page, along with some other hidden gems - make use of it's search function to find more hidden gems.

1 members found this post helpful.

In the age of graphical menus and launchers, and freedesktop specifications, "the program's name" isn't always unambiguous.