Book Image

Learn Linux Shell Scripting – Fundamentals of Bash 4.4

By : Sebastiaan Tammer
Book Image

Learn Linux Shell Scripting – Fundamentals of Bash 4.4

By: Sebastiaan Tammer

Overview of this book

Shell scripts allow us to program commands in chains and have the system execute them as a scripted event, just like batch files. This book will start with an overview of Linux and Bash shell scripting, and then quickly deep dive into helping you set up your local environment, before introducing you to tools that are used to write shell scripts. The next set of chapters will focus on helping you understand Linux under the hood and what Bash provides the user. Soon, you will have embarked on your journey along the command line. You will now begin writing actual scripts instead of commands, and will be introduced to practical applications for scripts. The final set of chapters will deep dive into the more advanced topics in shell scripting. These advanced topics will take you from simple scripts to reusable, valuable programs that exist in the real world. The final chapter will leave you with some handy tips and tricks and, as regards the most frequently used commands, a cheat sheet containing the most interesting flags and options will also be provided. After completing this book, you should feel confident about starting your own shell scripting projects, no matter how simple or complex the task previously seemed. We aim to teach you how to script and what to consider, to complement the clear-cut patterns that you can use in your daily scripting challenges.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)
Title Page
About Packt
Contributors
Preface
Free Chapter
1
Introduction
Index

Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS)


The KISS principle is a great way to approach shell scripting. While it might come across as a bit harsh, the spirit in which it is given is important: it should only be considered great advice. Further advice is given in the Zen of Python, the design principles on which Python rests:

  • Simple is better than complex
  • Complex is better than complicated
  • Readability counts

There are about 17 more aspects in the Zen of Python, but these three are the most relevant for Bash scripting as well. The last one, 'Readability counts', should be obvious by now. However, the first two, 'Simple is better than complex' and 'Complex is better than complicated' are closely related to the KISS principle. Keeping things simple is a great goal, but if that is not possible, a complex solution is always better than a complicated one (no one likes complicated scripts!).

There are a few things you can keep in mind when writing scripts:

  • If the solution you're cooking up seems to get very complicated...