# bash A `bash` script is a sequence of command that are executed one by one. Most of the time we just execute one command and wait for the result to then make a decision and execute an other command. We can however create a sequence of commands on the command line. ``` (baseline-) ➜ ~ echo hello world hello world (baseline-) ➜ ~ date Wed 16 Mar 2022 07:06:02 PM CET (baseline-) ➜ ~ cal March 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 (baseline-) ➜ ~ echo hello world date cal hello world date cal (baseline-) ➜ ~ echo hello world; date; cal hello world Wed 16 Mar 2022 07:06:19 PM CET March 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 ``` A very visually similar result, but completely different operation, can be obtained by replacing the `;` with `&` or `&&`. `&` will launch a new process and send it to the background, `&&` will **evaluate** the return status of your process and only continue **if** the status was `0`, or in other words successful. ``` (baseline-) ➜ ~ echo hello world & date & cal [1] 3075524 hello world [2] 3075525 [1] - 3075524 done echo hello world Wed 16 Mar 2022 07:06:33 PM CET [2] + 3075525 done date March 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 (baseline-) ➜ ~ echo hello world && date && cal hello world Wed 16 Mar 2022 07:06:40 PM CET March 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 (baseline-) ➜ ~ ``` This should make you think we can create quite complicated logical flows in `bash` and you're right! But first things first, let's create our first script! ``` (baseline-) ➜ bash file test.sh test.sh: Bourne-Again shell script, ASCII text executable (baseline-) ➜ bash ls -l test.sh -rwxr-xr-x 1 waldek waldek 39 Mar 16 19:13 test.sh (baseline-) ➜ bash cat test.sh #!/bin/bash echo hello world cal date (baseline-) ➜ bash ./test.sh hello world March 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Wed 16 Mar 2022 07:27:22 PM CET (baseline-) ➜ bash bash test.sh hello world March 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Wed 16 Mar 2022 07:27:25 PM CET (baseline-) ➜ bash ``` If you observe the output above you can conclude multiple things. * the `test.sh` file is a simple text file * it has executable permissions for the owner, group and others * we can execute the sequence of commands in the script in two ways * `./test.sh` * `bash test.sh` * the content is a series of commands but with a *weird* first line That first line is called a [shebang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_(Unix)) and is a way of explaining which interpreter understands the lines that follow. If you venture out into the python universe you'll encounter the same norm but with a different path to an interpretor, often `/bin/python3` or `/usr/bin/env python3`. The later is a sort of shortcut that points to the local python installation, even if it's not in a standard location. A shebang is not necessary for a script to function but is **highly** advised. The `env` program is actually very interesting! Let's try it by itself. ``` ➜ ~ env PAGER=less LANGUAGE=en_US:en GNOME_TERMINAL_SCREEN=/org/gnome/Terminal/screen/022a5a78_fe95_445c_9b33_f6dcb35cfd27 LANG=en_US.UTF-8 DISPLAY=:0 SWAYSOCK=/run/user/1000/sway-ipc.1000.1565.sock WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-0 AUTOSWITCH_VERSION=3.4.0 HUSHLOGIN=FALSE USER=waldek OLDPWD=/home/waldek/bin/bash HOME=/home/waldek MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1 VIRTUAL_ENV=/home/waldek/.virtualenvs/baseline- DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:abstract=/tmp/dbus-acMe3wyyoo,guid=ad1233c6039551be866f78ae61f911b2 XDG_VTNR=1 XDG_SEAT=seat0 I3SOCK=/run/user/1000/sway-ipc.1000.1565.sock LESS=-R _=/usr/bin/env LS_COLORS=rs=0:di=01;34:ln=01;36:mh=00:pi=40;33:so=01;35:do=01;35:bd=40;33;01:cd=40;33;01:or=40;31;01:mi=00:su=37;41:sg=30;43:ca=30;41:tw=30;42:ow=34;42:st=37;44:ex=01;32:*.tar=01;31:*.tgz=01;31:*.arc=01;31:*.arj=01;31:*.taz=01;31:*.lha=01;31:*.lz4=01;31:*.lzh=01;31:*.lzma=01;31:*.tlz=01;31:*.txz=01;31:*.tzo=01;31:*.t7z=01;31:*.zip=01;31:*.z=01;31:*.dz=01;31:*.gz=01;31:*.lrz=01;31:*.lz=01;31:*.lzo=01;31:*.xz=01;31:*.zst=01;31:*.tzst=01;31:*.bz2=01;31:*.bz=01;31:*.tbz=01;31:*.tbz2=01;31:*.tz=01;31:*.deb=01;31:*.rpm=01;31:*.jar=01;31:*.war=01;31:*.ear=01;31:*.sar=01;31:*.rar=01;31:*.alz=01;31:*.ace=01;31:*.zoo=01;31:*.cpio=01;31:*.7z=01;31:*.rz=01;31:*.cab=01;31:*.wim=01;31:*.swm=01;31:*.dwm=01;31:*.esd=01;31:*.jpg=01;35:*.jpeg=01;35:*.mjpg=01;35:*.mjpeg=01;35:*.gif=01;35:*.bmp=01;35:*.pbm=01;35:*.pgm=01;35:*.ppm=01;35:*.tga=01;35:*.xbm=01;35:*.xpm=01;35:*.tif=01;35:*.tiff=01;35:*.png=01;35:*.svg=01;35:*.svgz=01;35:*.mng=01;35:*.pcx=01;35:*.mov=01;35:*.mpg=01;35:*.mpeg=01;35:*.m2v=01;35:*.mkv=01;35:*.webm=01;35:*.webp=01;35:*.ogm=01;35:*.mp4=01;35:*.m4v=01;35:*.mp4v=01;35:*.vob=01;35:*.qt=01;35:*.nuv=01;35:*.wmv=01;35:*.asf=01;35:*.rm=01;35:*.rmvb=01;35:*.flc=01;35:*.avi=01;35:*.fli=01;35:*.flv=01;35:*.gl=01;35:*.dl=01;35:*.xcf=01;35:*.xwd=01;35:*.yuv=01;35:*.cgm=01;35:*.emf=01;35:*.ogv=01;35:*.ogx=01;35:*.aac=00;36:*.au=00;36:*.flac=00;36:*.m4a=00;36:*.mid=00;36:*.midi=00;36:*.mka=00;36:*.mp3=00;36:*.mpc=00;36:*.ogg=00;36:*.ra=00;36:*.wav=00;36:*.oga=00;36:*.opus=00;36:*.spx=00;36:*.xspf=00;36: AUTOSWITCH_DEFAULTENV=baseline VTE_VERSION=6203 LSCOLORS=Gxfxcxdxbxegedabagacad ZSH=/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh AUTOSWITCH_FILE=.venv MAIL=/var/mail/waldek LOGNAME=waldek PS1=(baseline-) %(?:%{%}➜ :%{%}➜ ) %{$fg[cyan]%}%c%{$reset_color%} $(git_prompt_info) GDK_BACKEND=wayland PATH=/home/waldek/.virtualenvs/baseline-/bin:/home/waldek/.cargo/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/games:/usr/games:/home/waldek/.local/bin:/home/waldek/bin/python/:/home/waldek/.local/bin:/home/waldek/bin/python/ XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000 QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland XDG_SESSION_ID=2 XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland FPATH=/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh/functions:/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh/completions:/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh/cache/completions:/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/autoswitch_virtualenv:/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh/plugins/git:/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh/functions:/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh/completions:/home/waldek/.oh-my-zsh/cache/completions:/usr/local/share/zsh/site-functions:/usr/share/zsh/vendor-functions:/usr/share/zsh/vendor-completions:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Calendar:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Chpwd:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/AIX:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/BSD:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Base:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Cygwin:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Darwin:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Debian:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Linux:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Mandriva:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Redhat:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Solaris:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Unix:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/X:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Zsh:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/openSUSE:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Exceptions:/usr/share/zsh/functions/MIME:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Math:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Misc:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Newuser:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Prompts:/usr/share/zsh/functions/TCP:/usr/share/zsh/functions/VCS_Info:/usr/share/zsh/functions/VCS_Info/Backends:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Zftp:/usr/share/zsh/functions/Zle:/usr/share/zsh:/usr/share/zsh SHELL=/usr/bin/zsh AUTOSWITCH_SILENT=1 EDITOR=vim MOTD_SHOWN=pam SHLVL=2 GNOME_TERMINAL_SERVICE=:1.10 COLORTERM=truecolor XCURSOR_SIZE=24 TERM=xterm-256color PWD=/home/waldek XDG_SESSION_CLASS=user ➜ ~ ``` What is all of this? Well, the are the current **environment variables** defined in your shell. You'll probably recognize some of them. Let's play around with what we have defined. ``` ➜ ~ echo SHELL SHELL ➜ ~ echo $SHELL /usr/bin/zsh ➜ ~ echo $USER waldek ➜ ~ echo $HOME /home/waldek ➜ ~ echo $ zsh: do you wish to see all 223 possibilities (56 lines)? ``` Yes, tab complete works! Your variables will be slightly different but that's not an issue at all. ``` ➜ ~ echo $ ! EUID MAILPATH SWAYSOCK # fg manpath TERM * FG MANPATH termcap - fg_bold module_path terminfo ? fg_no_bold MODULE_PATH TIMEFMT @ fignore modules TMPPREFIX _ FIGNORE MOTD_SHOWN TRY_BLOCK_ERROR $ fpath MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND TRY_BLOCK_INTERRUPT 0 FPATH nameddirs TTY aliases funcfiletrace NULLCMD TTYIDLE ARGC FUNCNEST OLDPWD UID argv funcsourcetrace OPTARG USER AUTOSWITCH_DEFAULTENV funcstack OPTIND userdirs AUTOSWITCH_FILE functions options usergroups AUTOSWITCH_SILENT functions_source OSTYPE USERNAME AUTOSWITCH_VERSION functrace PAGER VENDOR bg FX parameters VIRTUAL_ENV BG galiases patchars VTE_VERSION bg_bold GDK_BACKEND _patcomps watch bg_no_bold GID path WATCH bold_color GNOME_TERMINAL_SCREEN PATH WATCHFMT builtins GNOME_TERMINAL_SERVICE pipestatus WAYLAND_DISPLAY cdpath histchars plugins widgets CDPATH HISTCHARS _postpatcomps WORDCHARS color HISTCMD PPID XCURSOR_SIZE COLORTERM HISTFILE precmd_functions XDG_RUNTIME_DIR colour history preexec_functions XDG_SEAT COLUMNS historywords prompt XDG_SESSION_CLASS commands HISTSIZE PROMPT XDG_SESSION_ID _compautos HOME PROMPT2 XDG_SESSION_TYPE _comp_dumpfile HOST PROMPT3 XDG_VTNR COMPLETION_WAITING_DOTS HUSHLOGIN PROMPT4 zle_bracketed_paste _comp_options I3SOCK PS1 ZLS_COLORS comppostfuncs jobdirs PS2 ZSH compprefuncs jobstates PS3 ZSH_ARGZERO _comps jobtexts PS4 ZSH_CACHE_DIR _comp_setup key psvar ZSH_COMPDUMP CPUTYPE KEYBOARD_HACK PSVAR ZSH_CUSTOM d keymaps PWD zsh_eval_context DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS KEYTIMEOUT QT_QPA_PLATFORM ZSH_EVAL_CONTEXT debian_missing_features LANG RANDOM ZSH_NAME dirstack langinfo READNULLCMD ZSH_PATCHLEVEL dis_aliases LANGUAGE reset_color zsh_scheduled_events dis_builtins _lastcomp reswords ZSH_SUBSHELL dis_functions LESS saliases ZSH_THEME dis_functions_source LINENO __savecursor ZSH_THEME_GIT_PROMPT_CLEAN dis_galiases LINES SAVEHIST ZSH_THEME_GIT_PROMPT_DIRTY dis_patchars LISTMAX SCREEN_NO ZSH_THEME_GIT_PROMPT_PREFIX DISPLAY LOGCHECK __searching ZSH_THEME_GIT_PROMPT_SUFFIX dis_reswords LOGNAME _services ZSH_THEME_RUBY_PROMPT_PREFIX dis_saliases LS_COLORS SHELL ZSH_THEME_RUBY_PROMPT_SUFFIX EDITOR LSCOLORS SHLVL ZSH_THEME_RVM_PROMPT_OPTIONS EGID MACHTYPE SHORT_HOST ZSH_THEME_TERM_TAB_TITLE_IDLE EPOCHREALTIME MAIL signals ZSH_THEME_TERM_TITLE_IDLE EPOCHSECONDS MAILCHECK SPROMPT ZSH_VERSION epochtime mailpath status ➜ ~ echo $ ``` We can create our own variables as follows. Notice how an undefined variable does not throw an error. This is very typical for shell scripting, python on the other hand would crash over an undefined variable. ``` waldek@helloworld:~$ echo $USER waldek waldek@helloworld:~$ echo $name waldek@helloworld:~$ name="wouter gordts" waldek@helloworld:~$ echo $name wouter gordts waldek@helloworld:~$ ``` If you open up a new shell this `$name` variable will not be defined because variables are local to each instance of `bash` that is running. This can be observed as follows. We can *export* variables to children with the `export` keyword. ``` waldek@helloworld:~$ name="wouter gordts" waldek@helloworld:~$ echo $name wouter gordts waldek@helloworld:~$ bash waldek@helloworld:~$ echo $name waldek@helloworld:~$ exit exit waldek@helloworld:~$ export name waldek@helloworld:~$ bash waldek@helloworld:~$ echo $name wouter gordts waldek@helloworld:~$ exit exit waldek@helloworld:~$ ``` # Using variables to store the output of command Bash only really knows *characters*, both for sending and receiving. We can temporarily store the output of a command using variables. The syntax is a bit tricky at first but quickly becomes quite natural. We can try this out on the command line. Next we'll write a small script to leverage the power of variables and pipes. ``` waldek@metal:~$ grep $USER /etc/passwd waldek:x:1000:1000:waldek,,,:/home/local/waldek:/bin/zsh waldek@metal:~$ my_name=$(grep $USER /etc/passwd) waldek@metal:~$ echo $my_name waldek:x:1000:1000:waldek,,,:/home/local/waldek:/bin/zsh waldek@metal:~$ ``` A little bit more complicated. ``` waldek@metal:~$ count=$(grep "/home" /etc/passwd | wc -l) waldek@metal:~$ msg="there are $count users on this machine" waldek@metal:~$ echo $msg there are 4 users on this machine waldek@metal:~$ ``` Now a small script. ```bash #!/bin/bash FULLNAME="wouter gordts" CITY="Brussels" echo "this script was written by $FULLNAME in $CITY" IP=$(ip a | grep -v "127.0.0.1" | grep -o -E "[[:digit:]]{1,3}\.[[:digit:]]{1,3}\.[[:digit:]]{1,3}\.[[:digit:]]{1,3}\/[[:digit:]]{1,3}") TIME=$(date +%X) DAY=$(date +%A) YEAR=$(date +%Y) echo "this computer has $IP as IP address" echo "it is $TIME and we are a $DAY in $YEAR" ``` Which if we run it gives us the following output. ``` waldek@metal:~$ bash test.sh this script was written by wouter gordts in Brussels this computer has 10.1.12.53/24 as IP address it is 02:17:02 PM and we are a Tuesday in 2022 waldek@metal:~$ ``` # Coding challenge - Output system stats Write a program that prints information about your computer such as: * the hostname * the FQDN * number of cpus * type of cpu * amount of RAM Write a program that prints information about a given user such as: * name * UID * their default shell * groups they are a member of * number of files in their home directory * amount of disk space they use # Getting input into the script ## With `read` Observe the output of the following *program*. It's not really complicated but it will demonstrate we can do arithmetic in bash scripts as well! ``` waldek@metal:~$ bash test.sh In which year where you born? 1986 your are probably around 36... waldek@metal:~$ ``` The output above was generated with the following code. The **two** things to notice are the `read year` line and the `$(( $this_year - $year ))`. The former offers the possibility to **prompt** the user for input, the latter performs a mathematical calculation with two numbers. ```bash #!/bin/bash echo "In which year where you born?" read year this_year=$(date +%Y) echo "your are probably around $(( $this_year - $year ))..." waldek@metal:~$ ``` # Coding challenge - Secret input Can you create me a secret password prompt? Something like this. ``` waldek@metal:~$ bash test.sh what is your secret password? hmmm, I don't know how to compare helloworld to supersecret waldek@metal:~$ ``` We haven't learned how to *evaluate* values but if you're eager and quick you can try to figure it out yourself. If not, no worries, we'll get to *conditional logic* soon enough.
Spoiler warning! ```bash #!/bin/bash my_pass="supersecret" read -s -p "what is your secret password? " pass echo echo "hmmm, I don't know how to compare $pass to $my_pass" ```
### `read` multiple variables `read` can be used to unpack multiple values right on the spot! By *unpacking* I mean that each value is separated by **white space**. A demonstration can be seen below, plus the actual code right after. ``` waldek@debian:~$ bash test.sh first and last name please: wouter gordts hello mr gordts... or may I call you wouter? waldek@debian:~$ ``` ``` #!/bin/bash read -p "first and last name please: " first last echo "hello mr $last..." echo "or may I call you $first?" ``` #### Exercise - unpack values It is worth discovering what happens when you supply too many or to little values. Please try this out! ## With command line arguments We can create a similar behaviour but with command line arguments. By doing so we don't have to answer any questions the script poses at runtime. If we create a script that will run for a long time, it doesn't require any interaction mid way! All necessary information is supplied by at execution time. ``` waldek@metal:~$ bash test.sh 1986 your are probably around 36... waldek@metal:~$ ``` ```bash #!/bin/bash year=$1 this_year=$(date +%Y) echo "your are probably around $(( $this_year - $year ))..." ``` The magic behind is the `$1` variable. This variable represents the *first* argument on the command line. Knowing this, what would `$4` mean? Indeed, the *fourth* argument... # Coding Challenge - output the exact output below ``` waldek@metal:~$ bash test.sh hello world 1986 35 foo bar linux rulez... hello waldek, my name is test.sh you supplied 8 arguments on the command line... here are all of them on one line: hello world 1986 35 foo bar linux rulez... waldek@metal:~$ ```
Spoiler warning! ```bash #!/bin/bash echo "hello $USER, my name is $0" echo "you supplied $# arguments on the command line..." echo "here are all of them on one line: $@" ```
# More math! ## The `let` keyword TODO ## The `expr` keyword TODO ## Double parenthesis We've already seen the basic syntax before but here are some more examples. ``` waldek@metal:~$ a=11 waldek@metal:~$ b=202 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( $a + $b )) 213 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( $a - $b )) -191 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( $a * $b )) 2222 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( $a / $b )) 0 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( $a % $b )) 11 ``` Incrementing variables can also be done with the double parenthesis syntax. We can't use the `$` to reference the variable though. This is a *classic* example of bash's finicky behaviour. ``` waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( b++ )) 202 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( b++ )) 203 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( b++ )) 204 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( b++ )) 205 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( b++ )) 206 waldek@metal:~$ ``` ## Variable length As bash only *knows* characters it has a built in feature to determine a variable's length. You can print the length of a variable, or use it to calculate something, with the following syntax. ``` waldek@metal:~$ test="hello world! bash is pretty sweet..." waldek@metal:~$ echo ${#test} 36 waldek@metal:~$ echo $(( ${#test} + 1986 )) 2022 waldek@metal:~$ ``` [Ryan's tutorials](https://ryanstutorials.net/bash-scripting-tutorial/bash-arithmitic.php) # If Statements - How to make decisions within your Bash script. The small *password* checker we made before could use some [conditional logic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_(computer_programming)). We can easily implement this in `bash` with the following syntax. ```bash #!/bin/bash my_pass="supersecret" read -s -p "what is your secret password? " pass echo if [ $pass == $my_pass ]; then echo "access granted!" fi ``` The `[ $pass == $my_pass ]` is the actual *evaluation* and will **always** evaluate to either `true` or `false`. If the statement is `true`, the following code get's executed. If **not**, currently nothing happens. We can introduce a second keyword `else` to handle this. ```bash #!/bin/bash my_pass="supersecret" read -s -p "what is your secret password? " pass echo if [ $pass == $my_pass ]; then echo "access granted!" else echo "access denied..." fi ``` The script above gives us the following behaviour. ``` waldek@helloworld:~$ bash test.sh what is your secret password? access denied... waldek@helloworld:~$ bash test.sh what is your secret password? access granted! waldek@helloworld:~$ ``` We can add a bit more complexity to our possible branches with the `elif` keyword. This keyword allows us to construct a second and third branch of execution. Consider the sentence below. > If you are younger than 27 you are still young so if you're older than 27 you're considered old, but if you are 27 on the dot your life might be at risk! This sentence can be converted to a conditional logic block as follows. ```bash #!/bin/bash read -p "how old are you? " age echo if [ "$age" -lt "27" ]; then echo "you are so young! enjoy it" elif [ "$age" -gt "27" ]; then echo "you're sooo old!" elif [ "$age" -eq "27" ]; then echo "your life might be at risk..." else echo "I'm not sure I understand you." fi ``` There is a little problem here though! We can input anything we want, not only numbers, and this creates some error messages. Bash is a bit special, compared to a language like `python3`, because it doesn't *crash* on an error. It just *keeps going*. ``` waldek@helloworld:~$ bash test.sh how old are you? helloworld test.sh: line 6: [: helloworld: integer expression expected test.sh: line 8: [: helloworld: integer expression expected test.sh: line 10: [: helloworld: integer expression expected I'm not sure I understand you. waldek@helloworld:~$ ``` We can check if the input is *really* a number and redirect the error to `/dev/null`. If the number is not a real number we can't continue so we `exit` the script. ```bash #!/bin/bash read -p "how old are you? " age echo if ! [ "$age" -eq "$age" ] 2> /dev/null then echo "Sorry integers only" exit 1 fi if [ "$age" -lt "27" ]; then echo "you are so young! enjoy it" elif [ "$age" -gt "27" ]; then echo "you're sooo old!" elif [ "$age" -eq "27" ]; then echo "your life might be at risk..." fi ``` ## How does it work behind the scenes? ## exit status Every command you execute on the command line has an **exit code**. You can [read up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_status) a bit on what they are but the most important things to know are: * the code is always a **number** * on our systems it's a [uint8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer_(computer_science)#Common_integral_data_types) which means a value between **0** and **255** * the [**convention**](https://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/exitcodes.html) is that `0` means **success**, everything else is an **error** In your bash shell, the variable `$?` always references the *last* exit status code. We can discover it's behaviour as follows. ``` waldek@debian:~$ ls does_exist does_exist waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 0 waldek@debian:~$ ls does_not_exist ls: cannot access 'does_not_exist': No such file or directory waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 2 waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 0 waldek@debian:~$ ``` The **first** `echo $?` prints the exit code of `ls does_exist`. The **second** prints the exit code of the *failed* command `ls does_not_exist`. The **third** prints the exit code of the `echo $?` that failed! ## `test` The presence of exit codes means we can **evaluate** their value and make **decisions** based on the outcome. The main workhorse for this is a builtin called `test`. ``` waldek@debian:~$ whatis test test (1) - check file types and compare values waldek@debian:~$ ``` I **highly** recommend you take some time to read the `man test`. Because the convention of exit codes is *no news, good news* there are two tiny programs that just serve to output `true` and `false`, where true is `0` and false is `1`. A little demonstration. ``` waldek@debian:~$ which true /usr/bin/true waldek@debian:~$ which false /usr/bin/false waldek@debian:~$ man true waldek@debian:~$ whatis true true (1) - do nothing, successfully waldek@debian:~$ whatis false false (1) - do nothing, unsuccessfully waldek@debian:~$ true waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 0 waldek@debian:~$ false waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 1 waldek@debian:~$ test true == true waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 0 waldek@debian:~$ test true == false waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 1 waldek@debian:~$ ``` Again, I highly advise you to read the `man test`. If you did this then the following will make a lot of sense. ``` waldek@debian:~$ test -a does_exist waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 0 waldek@debian:~$ test -d does_exist waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 1 waldek@debian:~$ test -a does_not_exist waldek@debian:~$ echo $? 1 waldek@debian:~$ ``` The table below is taken from the bash reference manual you can find [here](https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bash.html#Bash-Conditional-Expressions). |
command
| status | | --- | --- | | -a file | True if file exists. | | -b file | True if file exists and is a block special file. | | -c file | True if file exists and is a character special file. | | -d file | True if file exists and is a directory. | | -e file | True if file exists. | | -f file | True if file exists and is a regular file. | | -g file | True if file exists and its set-group-id bit is set. | | -h file | True if file exists and is a symbolic link. | | -k file | True if file exists and its "sticky" bit is set. | | -p file | True if file exists and is a named pipe (FIFO). | | -r file | True if file exists and is readable. | | -s file | True if file exists and has a size greater than zero. | | -t fd | True if file descriptor fd is open and refers to a terminal. | | -u file | True if file exists and its set-user-id bit is set. | | -w file | True if file exists and is writable. | | -x file | True if file exists and is executable. | | -G file | True if file exists and is owned by the effective group id. | | -L file | True if file exists and is a symbolic link. | | -N file | True if file exists and has been modified since it was last read. | | -O file | True if file exists and is owned by the effective user id. | | -S file | True if file exists and is a socket. | | file1 -ef file2 | True if file1 and file2 refer to the same device and inode numbers. | | file1 -nt file2 | True if file1 is newer (according to modification date) than file2, or if file1 exists and file2 does not. | | file1 -ot file2 | True if file1 is older than file2, or if file2 exists and file1 does not. | | -o optname | True if the shell option optname is enabled. The list of options appears in the description of the -o option to the set builtin (see The Set Builtin). | | -v varname | True if the shell variable varname is set (has been assigned a value). | | -R varname | True if the shell variable varname is set and is a name reference. | | -z string | True if the length of string is zero. | | -n string string | True if the length of string is non-zero. | | string1 == string2 | True if the strings are equal. When used with the [[ command, this performs pattern matching as described above (see Conditional Constructs). ‘=’ should be used with the test command for POSIX conformance. | | string1 = string2 | True if the strings are equal. When used with the [[ command, this performs pattern matching as described above (see Conditional Constructs). ‘=’ should be used with the test command for POSIX conformance. | | string1 != string2 | True if the strings are not equal. | | string1 < string2 | True if string1 sorts before string2 lexicographically. | | string1 > string2 | True if string1 sorts after string2 lexicographically. | ## Nested `if` statements It's worth pointing out we can *nest* `if` statements *inside* other `if` statements. There is no real theoretical limit to how *deep* we can go, but it's advised to keep the limit to two or three levels. ```bash #!/bin/bash num="40" if [ "$num" -lt "300" ]; then echo "$num is a small number" if [ "$(( $num % 2))" -eq 0 ]; then echo "and it is even" else echo "$num is not even" fi fi ``` ## A *modern* version of `test` I'll be the first to admit that the syntax of `bash` can be confusing and is rarely reader friendly. A nice, but brief, explication of the nuances of single and double brackets can be found in [this](https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/306111/what-is-the-difference-between-the-bash-operators-vs-vs-vs) stack overflow post. The double bracket command are called [compound commands](https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/Compound-Commands.html). ### `[[ ]]` ``` waldek@debian:~$ [[ 3 = [[:digit:]] ]] ; echo $? 0 waldek@debian:~$ [ 3 = [[:digit:]] ] ; echo $? 1 ``` TODO ### `(( ))` TODO ### `&&` and `||` ``` waldek@debian:~$ test true == true && echo "yes sir!" || echo "nope..." yes sir! waldek@debian:~$ test true == false && echo "yes sir!" || echo "nope..." nope... waldek@debian:~$ ``` [Ryan's tutorials](https://ryanstutorials.net/bash-scripting-tutorial/bash-if-statements.php) # Coding challenge - File information Write a script that takes one argument which should be a valid file path. The program should print out what type of file this is, and if it is readable, print the first and last 5 lines. If the file does not exist, an error message should be shown. Something along these lines. ``` waldek@helloworld:~$ bash test.sh .bashrc .bashrc exists, I'll dig a little deeper it is indeed a file and I can read it! here are the first 5 lines # ~/.bashrc: executed by bash(1) for non-login shells. # see /usr/share/doc/bash/examples/startup-files (in the package bash-doc) # for examples # If not running interactively, don't do anything and here are the last 5 lines elif [ -f /etc/bash_completion ]; then . /etc/bash_completion fi fi . "$HOME/.cargo/env" waldek@helloworld:~$ bash test.sh .not_a_file that's not a file! waldek@helloworld:~$ ```
Spoiler warning! ```bash #!/bin/bash filepath=$1 if [ -e "$filepath" ]; then echo "$filepath exists, I'll dig a little deeper" if [ -f "$filepath" ]; then echo "it is indeed a file" if [ -r "$filepath" ]; then echo "and I can read it!" echo "here are the first 5 lines" head -n 5 $filepath echo "and here are the last 5 lines" tail -n 5 $filepath fi fi else echo "that's not a file!" fi ```
# Coding challenge - pipe or argument? Can you code me a script that depending on how it is called, with argument or via pipe, prints a different message? Along these lines... ``` waldek@debian:~$ bash test.sh No input was found on stdin, skipping! No input given! waldek@debian:~$ bash test.sh shopping.list No input was found on stdin, skipping! Filename specified: shopping.list Doing things now.. waldek@debian:~$ cat shopping.list | bash test.sh Data was piped to this script! waldek@debian:~$ ```
Spoiler warning! **It might take you some time but we've seen all the necessary building blocks!**
Spoiler warning! ```bash #!/bin/bash if [ -p /dev/stdin ]; then echo "Data was piped to this script!" else echo "No input was found on stdin, skipping!" if [ -f "$1" ]; then echo "Filename specified: ${1}" echo "Doing things now.." else echo "No input given!" fi fi ```
# Loops - A variety of ways to perform repetitive tasks. Up until now all our scripts run from top to bottom, executing each line as they are read. Most, if not all, programming languages offer some form of looping to **repeat** lines of code either based on a **condition** or for a predefined number of *items*. ## `while` loop ```bash #!/bin/bash counter=0 while [[ counter -lt 10 ]]; do echo $counter (( counter++ )) done ``` ### Read from a file with a `while` loop Below you can see I have two files, one is my *shopping list*, the other my script. The script loops over each item I have to buy and prints me a verbose message. ``` waldek@debian:~$ cat shopping.list 6 eggs 1 bread 2 milk 4 pasta waldek@debian:~$ bash test.sh shopping.list you need to buy: 6 eggs you need to buy: 1 bread you need to buy: 2 milk you need to buy: 4 pasta waldek@debian:~$ ``` One way to do this is with a `while` loop. The syntax is a follows. ```bash #!/bin/bash while read line; do echo "you need to buy: $line" done < $1 ``` The syntax is not what I would call *pretty* but it is quite effective. The **file** `$1` is redirected **into** the `while` loop which performs a `read`. **When** there are no more lines in the file, the condition **fails** and the loop exits. ### Read from a pipe with a `while` loop We can use a *very* similar construct to read data from a pipe. The utilisation is as follows. ``` waldek@debian:~$ cat shopping.list | ./test.sh you need to buy: 6 eggs you need to buy: 1 bread you need to buy: 2 milk you need to buy: 4 pasta waldek@debian:~$ ``` And the code that does this as such. ```bash #!/bin/bash while IFS= read line; do echo "you need to buy: $line" done ``` What on earth is this `IFS=`? I'm glad you [asked](https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/184863/what-is-the-meaning-of-ifs-n-in-bash-scripting)! ## `for` loop Ah, my favorite loop! While the `while` loop runs as long as a condition is `true`, the `for` loop **iterates** over *items*. The simplest way to visualize it would be as follows. For each *friend* in my list of friends I'll say hello. ``` waldek@debian:~$ ./test.sh these are my friends: adam camille alice bob steve hello adam! hello camille! hello alice! hello bob! hello steve! waldek@debian:~$ ``` The syntax to achieve this goes as follows. ```bash #!/bin/bash friends="adam camille alice bob steve" echo "these are my friends: $friends" for f in $friends; do echo "hello $f!" done ``` ### Counter loops with `for` We can do a counter loop as well via a `for` loop. An easy way to do this is by using the `seq` program. Remember to read the `man seq` for more information. ```bash #!/bin/bash for number in $(seq 0 10); do echo "number is $number" done ``` ### Finicky behaviour `bash` is not the prettiest language and the difference between single and double quotes can be a bit confusing. ```bash #!/bin/bash for animal in dog cat horse 'racing horse' whale; do echo "$animal says: I'm an animal..." done ``` Which gives the following output. ``` waldek@debian:~$ ./test.sh dog says: I'm an animal... cat says: I'm an animal... horse says: I'm an animal... racing horse says: I'm an animal... whale says: I'm an animal... waldek@debian:~$ ``` # Coding challenge - pipe or argument plus action! Can you expand the previous coding challenge, where you perform a conditional logic on the input of the script and actually *use* the incoming data? # Coding challenge - Rename files Rename all files from [this](../assets/simple_sort_01.tar.gz) file with an prefix or postfix. Can you give the files that start with an **uppercase** letter a different pre or postfix? Can you move the files with lowercase into a different folder? # Functions - Reuse code to make life easier. ## defining a function ## global vs local variable ## return values ## the `command` builtin [Ryan's tutorials](https://ryanstutorials.net/bash-scripting-tutorial/bash-functions.php) # User Interface - Make your scripts user friendly. * `case` for command line arguments * [dialog tutorial](https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/2807) * [better dialog tutorial](https://linuxcommand.org/lc3_adv_dialog.php) * [Ryan's tutorials](https://ryanstutorials.net/bash-scripting-tutorial/bash-user-interfaces.php) ## Python [This](https://gitea.86thumbs.net/waldek/python_course_doc) repository has a twenty day course to learn python written by me. The main file you need to follow is [this](https://gitea.86thumbs.net/waldek/python_course_doc/src/branch/master/learning_python3.md) one. Some practical exercises can be found [here](https://gitea.86thumbs.net/waldek/linux_course_doc/src/branch/master/modules/qualifying/exercise_python.md) together with the needed [source files](https://gitea.86thumbs.net/waldek/linux_course_doc/src/branch/master/modules/qualifying/assets/files.tar.gz). ## Vim as an IDE I made a tutorial on the essentials of [vim customization](https://gitea.86thumbs.net/waldek/linux_course_doc/src/branch/master/modules/qualifying/learning_vim_configuration.md). My real world configuration can be found at [this](https://gitea.86thumbs.net/waldek/vimrc) repository.