section 8 scripting and text editors

Question 1

more difficult to use than nano, installed by default.

Answer 1

vi

Question 2

Scripts start with what? Example?

Answer 2

!/bin/bash - will use BASH to interpret the script.

A line specifying what shell the script is using (the program that interprets the script).

#!/bin/sh - more compatible across various Linux systems that may not use BASH.

Question 3

After writing a script, what must be done to make it work?

Answer 3

Use the chmod command to make it executable.

Question 4

Allows multiple programs to be launched in a script line by line

Answer 4

& at the end of each line

Question 5

Why is it good practice to list the full path for each line in a script?

Answer 5

In case something goes wrong you’ll be able to troubleshoot easier, less likely to cause errors than a relative filepath.

Question 6

What is an environment?

Answer 6

A set of variables such as current directory, search path, etc.

Question 7

What is an argument/parameter?

Answer 7

Variables that are passed to the script. They start with a $

Question 8

Logical operator for OR

Answer 8

|| (two pipes)

Question 9

Logical operator for AND

Answer 9

&& (two ampersands)

Question 10

function

Answer 10

list of commands grouped together that can be called upon as if it were a single command. don’t have to be called upon in order, can jump around

Question 11

exit value

Answer 11

An exit value is using the exit command and a number is a handy way of signalling the outcome of your script. It mimics the way that bash commands output a return code. With bash commands the return code 0 usually means that everything executed successfully without errors. exit also makes your script stop execution at that point and return to the command line.
number between 0-255, can be used to specify why the script terminated, useful for troubleshooting cause of termination

exit $termcause