Shell Programming in Unix, Linux and OS X

Book excerpt: Shell Programming in Unix, Linux and OS X is a thoroughly updated revision of Kochan and Wood’s classic Unix Shell Programming tutorial. Following the methodology of the original text, the book focuses on the POSIX standard shell, and teaches you how to develop programs in this useful programming environment, taking full advantage of the underlying power of Unix and Unix-like operating systems. After a quick review of Unix utilities, the book’s authors take you step-by-step through the process of building shell scripts, debugging them, and understanding how they work within the shell’s environment. All major features of the shell are covered, and the large number of practical examples make it easy for you to build shell scripts for your particular applications. The book also describes the major features of the Korn and Bash shells. Learn how to... Take advantage of the many utilities provided in the Unix system Write powerful shell scripts Use the shell’s built-in decision-making and looping constructs Use the shell’s powerful quoting mechanisms Make the most of the shell’s built-in history and command editing capabilities Use regular expressions with Unix commands Take advantage of the special features of the Korn and Bash shells Identify the major differences between versions of the shell language Customize the way your Unix system responds to you Set up your shell environment Make use of functions Debug scripts Contents at a Glance 1 A Quick Review of the Basics 2 What Is the Shell? 3 Tools of the Trade 4 And Away We Go 5 Can I Quote You on That? 6 Passing Arguments 7 Decisions, Decisions 8 ‘Round and ‘Round She Goes 9 Reading and Printing Data 10 Your Environment 11 More on Parameters 12 Loose Ends 13 Rolo Revisited 14 Interactive and Nonstandard Shell Features A Shell Summary B For More Information