Shell Scripts

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of Web pages devoted to Linux Shell Scripting. So, for more detailed explanations of what I’ve illustrated here, please visit those pages. A few links are provided here:

Now onto my tips.

Create a “bin” directory/folder in your home directory to house your Shell Scripts. From a Terminal session type:

mkdir bin

From the same Terminal session, list the contents of your home directory:

ls

You should see the “bin” folder listed there.

Check the PATH:

echo $PATH

Hopefully you find /home/yourserid/bin: somewhere in the display. If not, you will need to preface your Shell Script filename with “./bin/” in order to run it.

Create a test Shell Script using your favorite Text Editor:

#!/usr/bash
echo "Hello World from $USER."

Save it as “hw.sh”, then in the Terminal window make it executable:

cd bin
chmod 775 hw.sh

Navigate back to your “home” directory:

cd ..

Then run it:

hw.sh

(Remember, if /home/youruserid/bin is not in your System’s PATH, you will need to type ./bin/hw.sh.)