Bash in Easy Steps

The Bourne Again SHell (Bash) is a powerful command-line shell interface that lets you communicate directly with the kernel at the heart of a computer’s operating system for total control. Bash is the default shell for Unix-based operating systems Linux, Mac OS X, and Raspbian on Raspberry Pi devices, and is also available to Windows users on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

This book will show you how to use the Bash command-line interface and how to employ Bash's programming abilities. Complete examples illustrate each aspect with colorized source code and full-color screenshots depict the actual output.

Bash in easy steps begins by demonstrating Bash commands for system navigation and file manipulation so you will quickly become familiar with the command-line interface. It explains all the BASH basics before moving on to describe advanced features such as command history, command-line editing, and environment customization. The book then introduces Bash programming with examples of flow control, command switches, input/output, and debugging - allowing you to create your own executable programs by copying the examples.

Bash in easy steps has an easy-to-follow style that will appeal to:

Users who are completely new to Unix-based operating systems

Casual users who wish to expand their knowledge of their computer system

Those who would like to learn coding skills by writing useful shell scripts

The student who is studying programming at school or college

Those seeking a career in computing and need a fundamental understanding of the BASH interpreter on Unix-based operating systems

Mike McGrath gained his extensive knowledge of computer languages while working as a developer contracting to companies around the world. Mike is an established In Easy Steps author with several guides to his credit including: C++; Javascript, Java, Linux, PHP, SQL and Visual Basic Express.