Shell & Bash Scripts

What does coding mean?

Writing a series of instructions in the syntax of a particular language so that a computer will execute a series of tasks.

What is a shell scripting language?

Uses commands that are specific to an operating system.

What is a general-purpose scripting language?

Uses statements and modules that are independent of the operating system; executed by an interpreter that implements the language for a particular OS.

What is a programming language used for (vs scripting)?

Compile an executable file that can be installed on an OS and run as an app.

What are scripting types often described as?

Glue languages.

What is a glue language used for?

Automate and orchestrate functions of multiple different OS and app software.

What does “script support” in an editor mean?

The editor can parse the syntax of the script and highlight elements of it appropriately.

What does an IDE provide for complex scripts/programming languages?

Autocomplete features and debugging tools.

What file extension does a Linux shell script use by convention?

.sh

What does the shebang line in a shell script do?

Designates which interpreter to use, such as Bash or Ksh.

What must be set for a Linux script file to run?

Execute permission (for the user, group, or world).

How do you execute a script from the working directory if PATH to the script has not been configured?

Precede the filename with ./

What does Bash stand for?

Born Again Shell.

What command checks the current date and time in Linux?

date

What command shows what user you’re logged in as?

whoami

What command displays the current working directory path?

pwd

What command lists what’s in the current directory?

ls

What does the ls -l option show in addition to listing files?

Permissions given to those files.

What command clears the command line display?

clear

What command changes directories?

cd

What Linux behavior caused cd documents to fail but cd Documents to work?

Case sensitive.

What does cd .. do?

Goes one step back.

What Bash feature completes commands/directories/files when you press Tab?

Command completion.

What command shows the commands you have issued?

history

How can you view command history without typing history?

Up arrow keys or down arrow keys.

What does a pipe (|) do in a command like history | less?

Allows you to scroll through the history.

What command views documentation for a Linux command or utility?

man

What quick option can provide terse help for a command (as shown with cd)?

-h