What Is a Shell?
A shell is a program that enables the user to enter commands. The commands entered by the user are checked and interpreted by the shell. The shell produces a prompt (typically the $) and waits for the user to type a command.
The command might be executed within the context of a new process (for example, ls), cause some functionality within the shell program itself to execute (for example, print), or cause an error to be reported (for example, non existent_command).
If you are totally new to the shell environment, you probably are envisioning a shell covering over the critical essence of something, much like a peanut shell covers and protects the peanut. Consider the shell as a neighborhood through which you can pass to get to ...
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