MODULE-4 Introduction to the Shell Scripting - Introduction to Shell Scripting, Shell

Scripts, read, Command Line Arguments, Exit Status of a Command, The Logical
Operators && and ||, exit, if, and case conditions, expr, sleep and wait, while, until, for, $,
@, redirection. The here document, set, trap, Sample Validation and Data Entry Scripts

Shell Scripting in UNIX

a) What is a shell in UNIX? Explain the role of shell scripting in UNIX

systems. (7 marks)

Shell in UNIX:

●​ A shell is a command-line interpreter that provides an interface between the user and
the UNIX operating system.​

●​ It interprets user commands and passes them to the kernel for execution.​

Role of Shell Scripting:

●​ Automates repetitive tasks (e.g., backups, file processing).​

●​ Enables creation of custom commands and workflows.​

●​ Used for system administration, configuration, user management, and more.​

●​ Allows conditional logic, loops, and variables, making UNIX powerful and programmable.​

Common shells: sh, bash, ksh, zsh.

b) Define a shell script. How do you create and execute a basic shell
script? (7 marks)

Shell Script:

●​ A shell script is a text file containing a series of UNIX commands written in shell syntax.​
 ●​ It is interpreted and executed by the shell.​

Steps to Create and Execute:

Create the script:​

​
nano [Link]

1.​

Write contents:​
​
#!/bin/bash

echo "Hello, World!"

2.​

Make it executable:​
​
chmod +x [Link]

3.​

Execute the script:​

​
./[Link]

4.​

c) Write a simple shell script that reads a user’s name and prints a greeting
message. (6 marks)

#!/bin/bash

echo "Enter your name:"

read name

echo "Hello, $name! Welcome to UNIX."

Shell Scripting: Input and Arguments

a) Explain the use of read command in shell scripting with an example. (6

marks)

read Command:

●​ Used to take input from the user during script execution.​

Syntax:

read variable_name

Example:

echo "Enter your age:"

read age

echo "You are $age years old."

b) What are command line arguments? How do you access them inside a
shell script? (7 marks)

Command Line Arguments:

●​ These are values passed to a shell script at the time of execution.​

●​ They allow the script to be dynamic and reusable.​

Accessing Arguments:

●​ $0 → Script name​
 ●​ $1, $2, ... → First, second, ... arguments​

●​ $# → Number of arguments​

●​ $@ or $* → All arguments​

Example:

./[Link] apple banana

Inside script:

echo $1 # apple

echo $2 # banana

c) Write a shell script that takes two numbers as command line arguments
and displays their sum. (7 marks)

#!/bin/bash

num1=$1

num2=$2

sum=$((num1 + num2))

echo "Sum: $sum"

Usage:

./[Link] 5 10

# Output: Sum: 15
Exit Status and Logical Operators

a) What is the exit status of a command? How can you use it in a script? (6
marks)

Exit Status:

●​ A value returned by a command or script to indicate success or failure.​

●​ 0 → success​

●​ Non-zero → error or failure​

Access:

echo $?

Usage in Script:

ls [Link]

if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then

echo "File found."

else

echo "File not found."

fi

b) Explain the logical operators && and || in shell scripting with examples.
(7 marks)

Logical AND &&:

 ●​ Executes the second command only if the first succeeds (exit status 0).​

mkdir newdir && cd newdir

Logical OR ||:

●​ Executes the second command only if the first fails (non-zero exit status).​

cd mydir || echo "Directory does not exist."

These operators are useful for conditional execution without full if statements.

c) Write a script that executes two commands where the second runs only
if the first succeeds. (7 marks)

#!/bin/bash

echo "Creating backup directory..."

mkdir backup && echo "Directory created successfully."

If mkdir backup succeeds, the message is printed. If it fails, nothing happens after.

✅ Shell Scripting: Control, Execution, and Loops

a) Describe the use of exit command in shell scripts. (5 marks)

Use of exit Command:

●​ The exit command is used to terminate a shell script and optionally return a status
code to the calling process or shell.​
Purpose:

1.​ Signals the end of the script.​

2.​ Returns an exit status:​

○​ 0 for success​

○​ Non-zero for failure or specific error codes​

Example:

if [ "$USER" != "root" ]; then

echo "Run as root."
exit 1
fi

b) Explain if and case conditional statements with syntax. (8 marks)

if Statement:

Used for conditional execution of code.

Syntax:

if [ condition ]; then
commands
elif [ another_condition ]; then
commands
else
commands
fi

Example:

if [ $x -gt 0 ]; then
echo "Positive"
else
echo "Non-positive"
fi
case Statement:

Simplifies multiple condition checking, especially for menu-driven programs.

Syntax:

case $variable in
pattern1) commands ;;
pattern2) commands ;;
*) default commands ;;
esac

Example:

case $1 in
start) echo "Starting..." ;;
stop) echo "Stopping..." ;;
*) echo "Invalid option" ;;
esac

c) Write a shell script using if to check if a file exists. (7 marks)

#!/bin/bash
echo "Enter filename:"
read file
if [ -f "$file" ]; then
echo "File '$file' exists."
else
echo "File '$file' does not exist."
fi

✅ Shell Scripting: Commands and Process Control

a) What is the expr command? Give examples of its usage. (6 marks)

expr Command:
 ●​ Used for integer arithmetic and string operations in shell scripts.​

Examples:

Addition:​
​
expr 5 + 3 # Output: 8

1.​

Multiplication:​
​
expr 4 \* 2 # Output: 8 (Note: `*` must be escaped)

2.​

String Length:​
​
expr length "Hello" # Output: 5

3.​

b) Explain the purpose of sleep and wait commands in shell scripting. (7

marks)

sleep:

●​ Pauses the script for a specified amount of time.​

●​ Used to add delays between commands or simulate processing time.​

Syntax:

sleep [seconds]

wait:

●​ Waits for background processes to complete before continuing.​

●​ Ensures sequential execution when using & (background tasks).​

Syntax:

wait [PID]

Use Cases:

●​ sleep: animations, delays between retries​

●​ wait: coordination of multiple script processes​

c) Write a script demonstrating the use of sleep and wait. (7 marks)

#!/bin/bash
echo "Starting task..."
(sleep 5; echo "Task done!") &
wait
echo "All background tasks completed."

✅ Shell Scripting: Loops

a) Explain the loops: while, until, and for in shell scripting. (9 marks)

1. while Loop:

●​ Executes as long as the condition is true.​

Syntax:

while [ condition ]; do
commands
done

Example:

count=1
while [ $count -le 5 ]; do
 echo $count
count=$((count + 1))
done

2. until Loop:

●​ Executes until the condition becomes true (opposite of while).​

Syntax:

until [ condition ]; do
commands
done

Example:

count=1
until [ $count -gt 5 ]; do
echo $count
count=$((count + 1))
done

3. for Loop:

●​ Iterates over a list or range.​

Syntax:

for var in list; do

commands
done

Example:

for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do
echo $i
done
b) Write a shell script using a for loop to print numbers from 1 to 5. (5
marks)
#!/bin/bash
for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do
echo "Number: $i"
done

c) Write a script using while loop that reads user input until "exit" is
entered. (6 marks)
#!/bin/bash
while true; do
echo "Enter text (type 'exit' to quit):"
read input
if [ "$input" = "exit" ]; then
break
fi
echo "You entered: $input"
done

✅ Special Variables, Redirection, and Here Documents

a) What do the special variables $, $@, and $# represent in shell scripting?
(7 marks)

Variable Description Example Usage

$ Process ID of the currently running echo $$ → Displays PID

script/process
$@ All the command-line arguments passed to for arg in "$@"; do echo
the script $arg; done

$# Total number of command-line arguments echo "Total args: $#"

Example Script:

#!/bin/bash

echo "Script PID: $$"

echo "All arguments: $@"

echo "Number of arguments: $#"

b) Explain input/output redirection with examples. (7 marks)

I/O Redirection in Shell:

1.​ Output Redirection (> and >>)​

○​ >: Overwrites file​

○​ >>: Appends to file​

echo "Hello" > [Link] # Creates or overwrites

echo "World" >> [Link] # Appends to file

2.​
3.​ Input Redirection (<)​

○​ Reads input from a file​

sort < [Link]

 4.​
5.​ Error Redirection​

○​ Redirect stderr: 2>​

○​ Redirect both stdout and stderr: &>​

command 2> [Link]

command &> [Link]

6.​

c) What is a "here document"? Illustrate with a sample script. (6 marks)

Here Document (heredoc):

●​ Allows multi-line input within the script using <<.​

Syntax:

command <<DELIMITER

text lines

DELIMITER

Example Script:

#!/bin/bash

cat <<EOF

This is a test.

Multiple lines printed.

EOF
Used commonly for user prompts, documentation, or testing.

✅ Set, Trap, and Signal Handling

a) What does the set command do in shell scripting? How can it be used
for debugging? (6 marks)

set Command:

●​ Modifies shell behavior or variables.​

For Debugging:

●​ set -x: Enables debug mode; displays each command before execution.​

●​ set +x: Disables debug mode.​

Example:

#!/bin/bash

set -x

echo "Start"

ls

set +x

echo "Done"

Other Common Options:

●​ set -e: Exit on any error​

●​ set -u: Treat unset variables as an error​

b) Explain the purpose of the trap command with an example. (7 marks)

trap Command:

●​ Used to catch and handle signals (like CTRL+C, SIGINT, etc.) during script execution.​

Purpose:

●​ Clean up resources, show custom messages, avoid script crashes.​

Example:

trap "echo 'Script interrupted'; exit" SIGINT

This traps Ctrl+C (SIGINT) and executes a message before exiting.

c) Write a script that traps the SIGINT signal and displays a message before
exiting. (7 marks)

#!/bin/bash

trap "echo 'Interrupt signal caught. Exiting safely...'; exit" SIGINT

echo "Press Ctrl+C to test trap..."

while true; do

sleep 1

done

✅ Validation and Data Entry Scripts

a) Write a shell script for validating a user-entered email address. (8 marks)

#!/bin/bash

echo "Enter email:"

read email

if [[ "$email" =~ ^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,4}$ ]]; then

echo "Valid email."

else

echo "Invalid email format."

fi

Uses a regular expression to validate email pattern.

b) Create a sample data entry script that asks for username and password
and confirms the entry. (7 marks)

#!/bin/bash

read -p "Enter username: " username

read -s -p "Enter password: " password

echo

read -s -p "Confirm password: " confirm

echo

if [ "$password" = "$confirm" ]; then

 echo "User $username added successfully."

else

echo "Passwords do not match. Try again."

fi

●​ -s hides password input​

●​ Confirms password before proceeding​

c) Explain how validation improves script robustness. (5 marks)

Importance of Validation in Scripts:

1.​ Prevents Errors:​

○​ Stops scripts from processing invalid inputs (e.g., empty or malformed data).​

2.​ Improves User Experience:​

○​ Gives clear feedback for incorrect input and allows correction.​

3.​ Ensures Data Integrity:​

○​ Accepts only expected formats (like valid emails, numbers, file paths).​

4.​ Security:​

○​ Prevents injection attacks and misuse by verifying inputs.​

5.​ Reliable Execution:​

○​ Avoids unexpected script crashes or bugs during execution.​