Command Line Fundamentals

Book excerpt: Master shell basics and Unix tools and discover easy commands to perform complex tasks with speed Key FeaturesLearn why the Bash shell is widely used on Linux and iOSExplore advanced shell concepts, such as pipes and redirectionUnderstand how to use Unix command-line tools as building blocks for different tasksBook Description The most basic interface to a computer—the command line—remains the most flexible and powerful way of processing data and performing and automating various day-to-day tasks. Command Line Fundamentals begins by exploring the basics, and then focuses on the most common tool, the Bash shell (which is standard on all Linux and iOS systems). As you make your way through the book, you'll explore the traditional Unix command-line programs as implemented by the GNU project. You'll also learn to use redirection and pipelines to assemble these programs to solve complex problems. By the end of this book, you'll have explored the basics of shell scripting, allowing you to easily and quickly automate tasks. What you will learnUse the Bash shell to run commandsUtilize basic Unix utilities such as cat, tr, sort, and uniqExplore shell wildcards to manage groups of filesApply useful keyboard shortcuts in shellEmploy redirection and pipes to process dataWrite both basic and advanced shell scripts to automate tasksWho this book is for Command Line Fundamentals is for programmers who use GUIs but want to understand how to use the command line to complete tasks faster.