Shell Programming and Bash Scripting

This book is an exploration of Shell programming, also referred to as Bash Scripting. It begins by guiding you on how to automate the various tasks in UNIX by using the Shell scripts. The book also guides you on the effective steps on how to write the Shell scripts. In UNIX, we should come up with an effective mechanism for management of file systems and software packages. This book guides you on the effective way to do this in Shell. You are also guided on how to use the various UNIX editors such as the Vim editor, nano, and GNOME. You will learn how to use the various shortcuts provided by these text editors, as well as how to navigate within your file opened in the text editor. Structured commands, which are very common in Shell, are discussed in detail. You will learn how to use such statements for decision-making as well as for looping through your program. You are also guided on how to manipulate your text, as well as how to use regular expressions. In some programs, it is good for you to implement a mechanism for accepting user input and then making a decision based on that input. This book clearly guides you on how to do this in Bash scripting. Command line arguments have also been explored in detail. The following topics are discussed in this book: - Automate Tasks with Simple Script Utilities - Creating Shell Scripts - Manage Filesystems and Software Packages - Work with nano, KDE, and GNOME editors - Structured Commands, Text Manipulation, and Regular Expressions - Keyboard Input - Command Line Arguments