Book Image

Mastering Linux Shell Scripting

By : Andrew Mallett
Book Image

Mastering Linux Shell Scripting

By: Andrew Mallett

Overview of this book

Shell scripting is a quick method to prototype a complex application or a problem by automating tasks when working on Linux-based systems. Using both simple one-line commands and command sequences complex problems can be solved with ease, from text processing to backing up sysadmin tools. In this book, you’ll discover everything you need to know to master shell scripting and make informed choices about the elements you employ. Get to grips with the fundamentals of creating and running a script in normal mode, and in debug mode. Learn about various conditional statements' code snippets, and realize the power of repetition and loops in your shell script. Implement functions and edit files using the Stream Editor, script in Perl, program in Python – as well as complete coverage of other scripting languages to ensure you can choose the best tool for your project.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Mastering Linux Shell Scripting
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Summary


Within this chapter, I really hope that we have introduced many new and interesting choices to you. This was an area with a wide range where we began recapping on the use of test and discovered that the [ is a command is not a syntax construct. The main effect that it is a command is on whitespace and we looked at the need to quote variables.

Even though we may commonly call variables as variables. We have also seen that their correct name, especially in documentation is parameters. Reading a variable is a parameter expansion. Understanding parameter expansion can help us understand the use of the keyword [[. The double square brackets are not commands and do not expand the parameters. This means that we do not need to quote variables even if they do contain whitespace. Moreover, we can use advanced tests with double square brackets, such as pattern matching or regular expressions.

Finally, we looked at arithmetic expansion and parameter manipulation using the double parenthesis notation...