Linux Shells by Example (Open Source Technology) Book

In both Linux and UNIX, becoming proficient at shell scripts is an essential skill for both programmers and administrators. Filled with numerous exercises and examples, Ellie Quigley's Linux Shells by Example provides a comprehensive tutorial to two of the most popular Linux shells: the Bourne Again shell (bash) and the TC shell (tcsh). For any Linux user, this title is all you need to bring your shell programming skills up-to-speed. This book opens with a tour of the history and function of traditional UNIX shells (from Bourne, C and Korn shells) before centring on Linux variants, bash and tcsh. The text then turns to three powerful utilities, grep (for file searching), sed (for non-interactive file editing) and gawk (which allows programmers to write powerful scripts that process files using regular expressions). There are dozens and dozens of sample commands to try out here. (With shell programming, the genius is truly in the details, and the only way to learn the shell is to try it out for yourself.) As an experienced teacher, the author provides a wealth of examples that take you through both the common and more esoteric features of these utilities. Instead of hard-to-decipher man pages, there are dozens of sample commands with correct syntax, plus clear explanations. The rest of this text looks at bash and tcsh shells in detail, from interactive mode to shell programming with full coverage of the basics of writing re-usable scripts. Final sections look at common Linux file and system commands for easy reference, and Linux Shells by Example ends with a useful appendix on quoting styles for five different shells. In all, this book's clear presentation style and plentiful examples will let any Linux user become a competent shell user and script programmer. --Richard Dragan, Amazon.com Topics covered: Survey of UNIX shells (Bourne, C and Korn shells), survey of Linux shells (Bourne Again and the TC shell), processes, shell environments, tutorial for regular expressions, grep for file searches, the streamlined editor (sed), awk/nawk/gawk scripts, gawk basics and expressions, gawk programming (variables, arrays, flow control, built-in and user defined functions), the bash and tcsh shells (interactive mode, programming tutorial for shell scripts), reference to common Linux/UNIX utilities, comparison of shells, and tips for correct quoting within shells.Read More