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)

Process monitoring tools – top, iostat, and vmstat

We can view the native performance of various processes in an OS by using the following tools:

  • To view a dynamic real-time view of the running processes in an OS, use the following command:
    $ top

An explanation of the top command generated output is as follows:

The $top command displays a lot of information about the running system.

The first line of the display is shown as follows:

The description of fields in the first line is as follows:

  • Current time
  • System uptime
  • Number of users logged in
  • Load average of 5, 10, and 15 minutes, respectively

The second line is shown as follows:

This line shows the summary of tasks or processes. It shows the total number of all the processes, which includes the total number of running, sleeping, stopped, and zombie processes. The third line is shown as follows:

This line shows...