Shell Scripting: How to Automate Command Line Tasks

Shell Scripting Made Easy

If you want to learn how to write shell scripts like a pro, solve real-world problems, or automate repetitive and complex tasks, read on.

Hello. My name is Jason Cannon and I’m the author of Linux for Beginners, Python Programming for Beginners, and an instructor to thousands of satisfied students. I started my IT career in the late 1990’s as a Unix and Linux System Engineer and I’ll be sharing my real-world shell scripting and bash programming experience with you throughout this book.

By the end of this book you will be able to create shell scripts with ease. You’ll learn how to take tedious and repetitive tasks and turn them into programs that will save you time and simplify your life on Linux, Unix, or MAC systems.

Here is what you will get and learn by reading this Shell Scripting ebook:

• A step-by-step process of writing shell scripts that solve real-world problems.
• The #1 thing you must do every time you create a shell script.
• How to quickly find and fix the most shell scripting errors.
• How to accept input from a user and then make decisions on that input.
• How to accept and process command line arguments.
• What special variables are available, how to use them in your shell scripts, and when to do so.
• A shell script creation check list — You’ll never have to guess what to include in each of your shell scripts again. Just use this simple check list.
• A shell script template (boilerplate). Use this format for each of your shell scripts. It shows exactly what to include and where everything goes. Eliminate guesswork!
• Practice exercises with solutions so you can start using what you learn right away.
• Real-world examples of shell scripts from my personal collection.
• A download that contains the scripts used in the book and lessons. You’ll be able to look at and experiment with everything you’re learning.

Learn to Program Using Any Shell Scripting Language

What you learn in this book can be applied to any shell, however the focus is on the bash shell and you’ll learn some really advanced bash features. Again, whether you’re using bash, bourne (sh), KornShell (ksh), C shell (csh), Z shell (zsh), or even the tcsh shell, you’ll be able to put what you learn in this book to good use.

Perfect for Linux, Unix, Mac and More!

Also, you’ll be able to use these scripts on any Linux environment including Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, RedHat, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Slackware, Kali Linux and more. You’re scripts will even run on other operating systems such as Apple’s Mac OS X, Oracle’s Solaris, IBM’s AIX, HP’s HP-UX, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD.