Linux Shell Programming - A 2-day course

Linux Shell Programming Course Overview

This course is designed to give delegates practical experience in developing and writing LINUX shell scripts. Most of the built-in shell commands are introduced together with the main program control structures. This course is not suitable for C shell programmers.

Course Objectives

The delegates will practise:

Writing simple scripts to enhance basic command output
Using the various shell quoting mechanisms appropriately
Manipulating shell variables and user-defined variables in scripts
Implementing conditional execution facilities
Using the shell's built-in loop constructs where appropriate
Writing scripts to trap user interrupts
Developing menu-driven shell scripts

Suitable for

Programmers, administrators and support personnel who need to understand existing shell scripts, automate procedures and write their own utilities.

Prerequisites

The course assumes knowledge of the LINUX Operating System to the level covered in the Linux Introduction Course. Some programming experience may also prove advantageous.

Publicly scheduled dates, locations, and prices

London — £695 (+VAT)

18–19 Mar 2010
15–16 Apr 2010
19–20 Apr 2010
13–14 May 2010
10–11 Jun 2010
21–22 Jun 2010
1–2 Jul 2010
29–30 Jul 2010
19–20 Aug 2010
23–24 Aug 2010
16–17 Sep 2010
7–8 Oct 2010
18–19 Oct 2010
28–29 Oct 2010
18–19 Nov 2010
29–30 Nov 2010
9–10 Dec 2010

Bristol — £695 (+VAT)

13–14 May 2010
15–16 Jul 2010
30 Sep–1 Oct 2010
4–5 Nov 2010

Birmingham — £695 (+VAT)

13–14 May 2010
8–9 Jul 2010
16–17 Sep 2010
11–12 Nov 2010

Manchester — £695 (+VAT)

15–16 Apr 2010
1–2 Jul 2010
26–27 Aug 2010
28–29 Oct 2010

Leeds — £695 (+VAT)

25–26 Mar 2010
10–11 Jun 2010
19–20 Aug 2010
21–22 Oct 2010
9–10 Dec 2010

Edinburgh — £695 (+VAT)

29–30 Apr 2010
1–2 Jul 2010
23–24 Sep 2010
18–19 Nov 2010

Course Contents:

Course Introduction

Administration and Course Materials
Course Structure and Agenda
Delegate and Trainer Introductions

Linux Command Review

Basic Unix commands
General commands
File and directory handling commands
Filename generation characters
I/O Redirection features
Other commands

Getting Started

What is a shell script?
Development guidelines
Creating and editing shell scripts
Naming and storing shell scripts
Executing shell scripts
Exercise: Write a simple shell script

Using Variables

Environment variables
Local variables
Assigning values to variables
Assessing variable values
Using quotes
Delimiting variable names
Echo control sequences
Exercise: Add variables to a script

Integer Arithmetic

Using the expr command
Using the (( )) notation
Exercise: Add integer arithmetic to a shell script

Handling Run Time Data

The read command
Command line arguments
Exercise: Writing a generic shell script
Exercise: Writing an interactive shell script

Condition Execution

The if statement
The test command
Other test notations
Default and substitute variables
Exit status codes
Exercise: Adding validation to previous scripts

Loop Constructs

The while loop
The until loop
The for loop
The while true and until false loops
Loop control commands
Exercise: Enhancing the previously written scripts
Exercise: Writing a guess-the-number game

Multi-Branch Decisions

The case statement
Menu driven applications
Exercise: Developing and writing a menu system

Functions

What is a function?
Syntax
Examples
Exercise: Add a function to a script

Interrupt Handling

Interrupt signals
Trapping interrupts
Exercise: Adding traps to the menu script

Additional Features and Facilities

The exec commands
The includes notation
More about loops
Arrays
Here Documents
Exercise: Create a here script

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