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)

Switching case

Apart from simple branches with if, it is also possible to process multiple decision-making operations using the case command. In a case statement, the expression contained in a variable is compared with a number of expressions, and for each expression matched, a command is executed.

It is possible to have multiple branches using the if/elif/else commands. But if more than two or three elif commands are used, then code becomes very complex. When all the different conditions are depending on a single variable, in such cases, the esac statement is used. The interpreter checks the value of the case variable against value1, value2, value3, and so on, till the match is found. If the value is matched, then all the statements after that case value are executed till the double semicolon is reached. If nothing is matched, then statements after esac are executed. Wildcard...