How Linux Works

Too Much?

The shell is so feature-rich that it's difficult to condense its important elements into a single chapter. If you're interested in what else the shell can do, you might want to look at some of the books on shell programming, such as Unix Shell Programming [Kochan], or the shell script discussion in The UNIX Programming Environment [Kernighan].

Above all, remember what shell scripts do best — manipulate files and commands. If you find yourself writing something that looks convoluted, especially if it involves string or arithmetic operations, then you should probably look to a scripting language like Perl, Python, or awk.