Book Image

Learning Linux Shell Scripting - Second Edition

By : Ganesh Sanjiv Naik
Book Image

Learning Linux Shell Scripting - Second Edition

By: Ganesh Sanjiv Naik

Overview of this book

Linux is the most powerful and universally adopted OS. Shell is a program that gives the user direct interaction with the operating system. Scripts are collections of commands that are stored in a file. The shell reads this file and acts on commands as if they were typed on the keyboard. Learning Linux Shell Scripting covers Bash, GNU Bourne Again Shell, preparing you to work in the exciting world of Linux shell scripting. CentOS is a popular rpm-based stable and secured Linux distribution. Therefore, we have used CentOS distribution instead of Ubuntu distribution. Linux Shell Scripting is independent of Linux distributions, but we have covered both types of distros. We start with an introduction to the Shell environment and basic commands used. Next, we explore process management in Linux OS, real-world essentials such as debugging and perform Shell arithmetic fluently. You'll then take a step ahead and learn new and advanced topics in Shell scripting, such as decision making, starting up a system, and customizing a Linux environment. You will also learn about grep, stream editor, and AWK, which are very powerful text filters and editors. Finally, you'll get to grips with taking backup, using other language scripts in Shell Scripts as well as automating database administration tasks for MySQL and Oracle. By the end of this book, you will be able to confidently use your own shell scripts in the real world.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)

Understanding signals and traps

Two types of interrupts exist in the Linux operating system: hardware interrupts and software interrupts. Software interrupts are called signals or traps. Software interrupts are used for inter-process synchronizations.

Signals are used to notify us about a certain event occurrence or to initiate a certain activity.

We use software signals many times. For example, if any command does not respond after being typed, then you might have entered Ctrl + C. This sends a SIGINT signal to the process, and the process is terminated. In certain situations, we may want the program to perform a certain activity instead of terminating it using Ctrl + C. In such cases, we can use the trap command to ignore a signal or to associate our desired function with that signal.

In operating systems, software interrupts or signals are generated when the process attempts...