Pro Bash Programming: Scripting the Gnu/Linux Shell

by Chris F.A. Johnson, Jayant Varma

Pro Bash Programming teaches you how to effectively utilize the Bash shell in your programming. The Bash shell is a complete programming language, not merely a glue to combine external Linux commands. By taking full advantage of Shell internals, Shell programs can perform as snappily as utilities written in C or other compiled languages. And you will see how, without assuming Unix lore, you can write professional Bash 4.3 programs through standard programming techniques.

This second edition has updated for Bash 4.3, and many scripts have been rewritten to make them more idiomatically Bash, taking better advantage of features specific to Bash. It is easy to read, understand, and will teach you how to get to grips with Bash programming without drowning you in pages and pages of syntax.

Using this book you will be able to use the shell efficiently, make scripts run faster using expansion and external commands, and understand how to overcome many common mistakes that cause scripts to fail. This book is perfect for all beginning Linux and Unix system administrators who want to be in full control of their systems, and really get to grips with Bash programming.

Genres: Computer Science, Nonfiction, Programming, Technology, Computers

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2009

Reviews

[Karla]

Jumps around, advances quickly without adequate explanation, and assumes you already know how to operate in vi and bash. I supplemented this with other books (and a lot of googling) that provided a better grounding in bash. Skip this and look for the O’Reilly series or another alternative.

[A. Gökhan Demir]

I studied this book up to the middle of chapter 12, and I have mixed feelings about it. I learned many valuable concepts about Bash. However, starting from chapter 11, it feels like you’re reading the author’s personal script memos. There is still a lot to learn from the scripts in those chapters, but they become confusing very quickly for a student, especially the game scripts. I wish they had moved those chapters to the end, like an appendix or an optional section. Anyway, if you’re interested, go ahead and read it. I had fun, and I especially enjoyed reading the book in the voice of an old-school Linux guru with a long beard (Chris).

[Ietrio]

Another pointless book that adds nothing to the information available online. I can even say it subtracts information. The best part is the phrasing:

> Both print information to the standard output stream, but printf is much more powerful, and echo has its problems.

> You and I know what constitutes a valid variable name, but do your users?

Anyway, a second star for being honest and not calling a Bash book "Linux shell programming" like others.

[Russell]

I wasn't expecting a ton from this book since it's not a reference nor is it very lengthy, so I was happy that several of my blindspots were addressed (in addition to clarifying some tricks and custom functions that are bound to save me time in the long-run). Wish I had read it years ago, but could've done without the chapters on grid games and terminal mouse events.