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

Script – building a front-end with grep


As a finale to this chapter, we can group a few features that we have learned together and build a script that prompts the operator for a filename, a search string, and an operation to carry out with the grep command. We can create the script as $HOME/bin/search.sh and don't forget to make it executable:

#!/bin/bash
#Author: @theurbanpenguin
usage="Usage: search.sh file string operation"

if [ ! $# -eq3 ] ; then
echo "$usage"
exit 2
fi

[ ! -f $1 ]&& exit 3

case $3 in
    [cC])
mesg="Counting the matches in $1 of $2"
opt="-c"
    ;;
    [pP])
mesg="Print the matches of $2 in $1"
        opt=""
    ;;
    [dD])
mesg="Printing all lines but those matching $3 from $1"
opt="-v"
    ;;
    *) echo "Could not evaluate $1 $2 $3";;
esac
echo $mesg
grep $opt $2 $1

We start by checking for exactly three input arguments using the following code:

if [ ! $# -eq3 ] ; then
echo "$usage"
exit 2
fi

The next check uses a command-line list to exit the script if...