- Shell Scripting Tutorial: How to Create Shell Script in Linux/Unix
- Shell Scripting
- What is Shell?
- Types of Shell
- How to Write Shell Script in Linux/Unix
- Adding shell comments
- What are Shell Variables?
- Linux Shell Commands
- The Shell
- Shell Commands
- Logging out
- Files and Directories
- File Editors
- Manipulating data
- Compressed files
- Information
- Status
- Printing
- Messages between Users
- Networking
- Programming
- Text Processing
- Word Processing
- Database Management
Shell Scripting Tutorial: How to Create Shell Script in Linux/Unix
Updated October 7, 2021
Shell Scripting
Shell Scripting is an open-source computer program designed to be run by the Unix/Linux shell. Shell Scripting is a program to write a series of commands for the shell to execute. It can combine lengthy and repetitive sequences of commands into a single and simple script that can be stored and executed anytime which, reduces programming efforts.
This Shell Scripting tutorial helps to learn a basic understanding of the Linux/Unix shell scripting program to advanced concepts of Shell Scripting. This Shell Script tutorial designed for beginners and professionals who want to learn What is Shell Scripting? How shell scripting works, types of shell, and more.
What is Shell?
Shell is a UNIX term for an interface between a user and an operating system service. Shell provides users with an interface and accepts human-readable commands into the system and executes those commands which can run automatically and give the program’s output in a shell script.
An Operating is made of many components, but its two prime components are –
- Kernel
- Shell
Components of Shell Program
A Kernel is at the nucleus of a computer. It makes the communication between the hardware and software possible. While the Kernel is the innermost part of an operating system, a shell is the outermost one.
A shell in a Linux operating system takes input from you in the form of commands, processes it, and then gives an output. It is the interface through which a user works on the programs, commands, and scripts. A shell is accessed by a terminal which runs it.
When you run the terminal, the Shell issues a command prompt (usually $), where you can type your input, which is then executed when you hit the Enter key. The output or the result is thereafter displayed on the terminal.
The Shell wraps around the delicate interior of an Operating system protecting it from accidental damage. Hence the name Shell.
This Unix/Linux Shell Script tutorial helps understand shell scripting basics to advanced levels.
In this Shell Script tutorial, you will learn-
Click here if the video is not accessible
Types of Shell
There are two main shells in Linux:
1. The Bourne Shell: The prompt for this shell is $ and its derivatives are listed below:
- POSIX shell also is known as sh
- Korn Shell also knew as sh
- Bourne Again SHell also knew as bash (most popular)
2. The C shell: The prompt for this shell is %, and its subcategories are:
- C shell also is known as csh
- Tops C shell also is known as tcsh
We will discuss bash shell based shell scripting in this tutorial.
How to Write Shell Script in Linux/Unix
Shell Scripts are written using text editors. On your Linux system, open a text editor program, open a new file to begin typing a shell script or shell programming, then give the shell permission to execute your shell script and put your script at the location from where the shell can find it.
Let us understand the steps in creating a Shell Script:
- Create a fileusing a vi editor(or any other editor). Name script file with extension .sh
- Start the script with #! /bin/sh
- Write some code.
- Save the script file as filename.sh
- For executing the script type bash filename.sh
“#!” is an operator called shebang which directs the script to the interpreter location. So, if we use”#! /bin/sh” the script gets directed to the bourne-shell.
Let’s create a small script –
Let’s see the steps to create Shell Script Programs in Linux/Unix –
Steps to Create Shell Script in Linux/Unix
Command ‘ls’ is executed when we execute the scrip sample.sh file.
Adding shell comments
Commenting is important in any program. In Shell programming, the syntax to add a comment is
Let understand this with an example.
What are Shell Variables?
As discussed earlier, Variables store data in the form of characters and numbers. Similarly, Shell variables are used to store information and they can by the shell only.
For example, the following creates a shell variable and then prints it:
Below is a small script which will use a variable.
Let’s understand, the steps to create and execute the script
As you see, the program picked the value of the variable ‘name’ as Joy and ‘remark’ as excellent.
This is a simple script. You can develop advanced scripts which contain conditional statements, loops, and functions. Shell scripting will make your life easy and Linux administration a breeze.
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Linux Shell Commands
The Shell is the command interpreter on Linux systems. This document intoduces some of the basic features of the Shell and lists many of the commands or programs available on the Linux computers in Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics.
The Shell
The Linux command interpreter or shell is the program users interact with in a terminal emulation window. The terminal emulation window can be one in the workstation’s Graphical User Interface mate-terminal on Linux. Alternatively, it can be an application such as SSH secure shell client or PuTTY on a Windows PC that’s logged into Linux over the network.
The shell used in the School of Computer Science & Informatics is bash Bourne Again Shell. There are other shells available such as the Bourne Shell, the C-Shell and the TC-Shell, and you can choose to use a different shell if you prefer. They all have similar characteristics but each has its own particular features. This document assumes you are using bash .
Bash has the following features:
A command prompt which may be configured by the user. The default prompt is a dollar symbol preceded by «bash» and the bash program’s version number.
/bin containing the following.
/bin/countc
bash-2.05$ countc
45
516 ls -lrt
517 ps -ef
518 pdflatex myfile.tex
See the manual page on bash for more details (type man bash ).
Bash has an additional mechanism which allows you to recall and edit previous commands using the keyboard up-arrow key. If you press up-arrow, the last command re-appears on the terminal. Press up-arrow again to get earlier commands. To rerun the command, press RETURN . To amend the command before rerunning it, use the delete key to remove characters from the end or use the back-arrow key to reposition the cursor to delete or insert characters within the command.
Shell Commands
Here is a summary of some of the commands available. For more details refer to the manual page of each command. You can see these on-line by using the man command. Just type man followed by the name of the command you want to see.
Logging out
Command | Description |
logout | log out of a Linux terminal |
Note, on a Linux workstation you will need to exit the Desktop Environment instead.
Files and Directories
These commands allow you to create directories and handle files.
Command | Description |
---|---|
cat | concatenate and print data |
lpr | spool file for line printing |
cd | change current directory |
lprm, cancel | remove jobs from line printer queue |
chgrp | change file group |
ls | list and generate statistics for files |
chmod | change file mode |
mkdir | make a new directory |
cp | copy file data |
more, page | display file data at your terminal |
Command | Description |
---|---|
file | determine file type |
mv | move or rename files |
find | find files |
pwd | print working directory |
grep | search file for regular expression |
rm, rmdir | remove (unlink) files or directories |
head | give first few lines |
tail | print last lines from file |
just | text justification program |
touch | update access and modification times of a file |
lpq | spool queue examination program |
File Editors
Editors are used to create and amend files.
Command | Description |
---|---|
emacs | GNU project Emacs |
xemacs | emacs with mouse action |
ex, edit | line editor |
Command | Description |
---|---|
pico | easy text editor for vdus |
pluma | Mate GUI text editor |
gedit | GNOME text editor |
vi, vim | standard text editor |
Vi , pico and emacs are screen-based editors which run on a vdu or in a workstations terminal emulation window; pluma , gedit and xemacs are graphical user interface (GUI) based editors with cut and paste and mouse-controlled cursor positioning.
Manipulating data
The contents of files can be compared and altered with the following commands.
Command | Description |
awk | pattern scanning and processing language |
perl | data manipulation language |
cmp | compare the contents of two files |
paste | merge file data |
comm | compare sorted data |
sed | stream text editor |
cut | cut out selected fields of each line of a file |
sort | sort file data |
diff | differential file comparator |
Command | Description | split | split file into smaller files |
---|---|
expand, unexpand | expand tabs to spaces, and vice versa |
tr | translate characters |
gawk | pattern scanning and processing language |
uniq | report repeated lines in a file |
join | join files on some common field |
look | find lines in sorted data |
wc | count words, lines, and characters |
Compressed files
Files may be compressed to save space. Compressed files can be created and examined.
Command | Description |
---|---|
gzip | compress files |
zmore | file perusal filter for crt viewing of compressed text |
uncompress | uncompress files |
Command | Description |
---|---|
zcat | cat a compressed file |
gunzip | uncompress gzipped files |
zcmp, zdiff | compare compressed files |
Information
Manuals and documentation are available on-line. Go to our web site www.cs.cf.ac.uk/systems for web-based documentation. The following Shell commands give information.
Command | Description |
apropos | locate commands by keyword lookup |
man | displays manual pages online |
Command | Description |
---|---|
info | displays command information pages online |
yelp | GNOME help viewer |
Status
These commands list or alter information about the system.
Command | Description |
ps | print process status statistics |
date | print the date |
quota -v | display disk usage and limits |
reset | reset terminal mode |
du | print amount of disk usage |
script | keep script of terminal session |
stty | set terminal options |
groups | show group memberships |
time | time a command |
homequota | show quota and file usage |
iostat | report I/O statistics |
tty | print current terminal name |
Command | Description |
---|---|
kill | send a signal to a process |
uptime | display system status |
last | show last logins of users |
users | print names of logged in users |
lun | list user names or login ID |
vmstat | report virtual memory statistics |
netstat | show network status |
w | show what logged in users are doing |
who | list logged in users |
printenv | display value of a shell variable |
Printing
Files can be printed using shell commands, using the GUI print manager, or direct from some applications.
You must specify a printer by name. Printers are called
Printer Name | Location |
---|---|
tl1_lw | Teaching Lab 1 (C/2.04) laser printer |
tl3_lw | Teaching Lab 3 (C/2.08) laser printer |
Printer Name | Location |
---|---|
tl2_lw | Teaching Lab 2 (C/2.05) laser printer |
tl4_lw | Teaching Lab 4 (C/2.10) laser printer |
Most commands which can be used to print files, expect the printer name to be given following a -P argument.
Files may be sent to the printers as simple text files or they may be processed in various ways for the laser printers.
Command | Description |
---|---|
lpr -P printer | send a file to a printer |
dvips -P printer | postprocess TeX file into Postscript and print on laser printer |
a2ps -P printer | format text file in PostScript and print on laser printer |
Messages between Users
The Linux systems support on-screen messages to other users and world-wide electronic mail.
Command | Description |
---|---|
write | send a message to another local user |
wall | send a message to all local users |
Command | Description |
---|---|
pine | vdu-based mail utility |
simple send or read mail program | |
thunderbird | GUI mail handling tool on Linux |
Networking
The School of Computer Science & Informatics is connected to the JANET Internet Protocol Service (JIPS), the UK Universities’ network.
These commands are used to send and receive files from Campus Linux hosts and from other hosts on JIPS and the Internet, that permit such connections, around the world.
Command | Description |
---|---|
ftp | file transfer program |
tftp | trivial file transfer program |
sftp | secure shell file transfer program |
rcp | remote file copy |
scp | secure shell remote file copy |
wget | non-interactive network downloader |
Command | Description |
---|---|
telnet | make terminal connection to another host |
ssh | secure shell terminal or command connection |
rlogin | remote login to a Linux host |
rsh | remote shell |
curl | transfer data from a url |
firefox | web browser |
google-chrome | web browser |
These commands work only where the remote host permits such connections.
Programming
The following programming tools and languages are available.
General
Command | Description |
---|---|
make | maintain groups of programs |
size | print program’s sizes |
Command | Description |
---|---|
nm | print program’s name list |
strip | remove symbol table and relocation bits |
Command | Description |
---|---|
cb | C program beautifier |
gcc | GNU ANSI C Compiler |
Command | Description |
---|---|
ctrace | C program debugger |
indent | indent and format C program source |
cxref | generate C program cross reference |
Command | Description |
---|---|
g++ | GNU C++ Compiler |
Command | Description |
---|---|
appletviewer | JAVA applet viewer |
javac | JAVA compiler |
eclipse | Java integrated development environment on Linux |
FORTRAN
Command | Description |
f95 | GNU Fortran 95 compiler |
Other Languages
(Not available on all systems).
Command | Description |
bc | interactive arithmetic language processor |
matlab | maths package |
gcl | GNU Common Lisp |
perl | general purpose language |
Command | Description |
---|---|
python | object-oriented programming language |
squeak | smalltalk |
php | web page embedded language |
mathematica | symbolic maths package |
asp | web page embedded language |
Text Processing
TeX is a typesetting language used extensively in Linux and other operating systems for producing high-quality printed documents. Another set of programs based on Troff is the standard Linux text formatting family used, for example to format manual pages.
General Commands
Command | Description |
---|---|
fmt | simple text formatter |
evince | GNOME PostScript previewer |
Command | Description |
---|---|
acroread | PDF viewer |
spell | check text for spelling error |
aspell | interactive spelling checker |
Troff
Command | Description |
---|---|
eqn | mathematical preprocessor for troff |
tbl | prepare tables for nroff or troff |
grap | pic preprocessor for drawing graphs |
troff | text formatting and typesetting language |
Command | Description |
---|---|
nroff | text formatting language |
groff | GNU troff interface for laserprinting |
pic | troff preprocessor for drawing pictures |
Command | Description |
---|---|
tex | text formatting and typesetting |
latex | latex formatter |
Command | Description |
---|---|
pdflatex | latex formatter with PDF output |
xdvi | dvi previewer |
dvips | convert a DVI file to POSTSCRIPT |
Word Processing
LibreOffice is available on the School’s Linux systems and attempts compatibilty with Microsoft Office.
Command | Description |
---|---|
libreoffice | start LibreOffice applications |
Database Management
MySQL and Oracle are available.
Command | Description |
---|---|
sqlplus | run the Oracle SQL interpreter |
mysql | run the mysql SQL interpreter |
sqldeveloper | Oracle SQL Developer GUI interface |
mysql-workbench | GUI interface for MySQL |
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