Scripting Use Cases

What is one of the primary use cases for scripting?

Basic automation

What does automation mean in scripting?

Performing some series of tasks supported by an OS or an app via a script rather than manually

When using a local script environment (Bash/PowerShell), what can the script use?

The built-in command environment

When using a general-purpose language like Python, what must the script use to “call” functions?

The operating system’s application programming interface (API)

How are Python API calls implemented?

As modules

What does the Python os module implement?

File system, user/permission functions, and process manipulation for whatever environment the interpreter is installed in

What does mod_python implement?

A Python interpreter for the Apache web server software

What is another option besides using one scripting language end-to-end?

Call one script from another

In PowerShell, what cmdlet restarts a computer and what parameter ignores warnings?

Restart-Computer; -Force

In Bash, what command restarts the host?

shutdown -r

In a Windows batch file, what command performs drive mapping?

net use

In PowerShell, what cmdlet can perform drive mapping?

New-PSDrive

Why does remapping network drives demonstrate the need for error handling?

Mapping a drive using a letter that has been assigned already returns an error

What is network drive mapping described as?

A Windows-only concept

In Linux, how is a file system made available within the root file system?

Mounting it using the mount and umount commands

In Windows, how can a setup file be executed in silent mode?

Using the command switches for its installer

What are Windows installers typically implemented as?

.EXE files or Windows Installer (.MSI) packages

What command is used to run a Windows Installer package from a script?

msiexec

In PowerShell, what cmdlet gives more options for controlling installation and handling errors?

Start-Process

In Windows, what process can be called from a batch file to perform typical update tasks?

wusa.exe

In PowerShell, what module contains numerous cmdlets for managing the update process?

PSWindowsUpdate

In Linux, what commands can be called from a Bash script to initiate updates, and what option suppresses confirmation messages?

apt-get/apt or yum; -y

At the command prompt, what Windows tool is named for simple file-copy backups?

robocopy

How can a script be set to run automatically in Windows vs Linux?

Windows Task Scheduler; cron

In PowerShell, what verb is used by hundreds of cmdlets that return configuration and state data?

Get

What does Get-NetAdapter return?

Properties of network adapters

What does Get-WinEvent return?

Log data

In PowerShell, what cmdlets can be used to apply filters to piped results?

Where-Object and Select-Object

In Bash, what tools are named for filtering and formatting command output?

grep; awk or cut

In the Bash script described, what does it report and where does it write the results?

Processes by the username supplied as an argument; a log file

In the Bash script described, what does printf append?

A header with the date, time, and username

In the Bash script described, what does the second line do to ps output?

Filters by the username, uses the length of the argument variable plus nine to cut characters from each line, and appends the output to the same log file