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HomeShellIntroduction to Shell

Introduction to Shell

4.6+
57 reviews
Beginner

The Unix command line helps users combine existing programs in new ways, automate repetitive tasks, and run programs on clusters and clouds.

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4 Hours55 Exercises
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Course Description

The Unix command line has survived and thrived for almost 50 years because it lets people do complex things with just a few keystrokes. Sometimes called "the universal glue of programming," it helps users combine existing programs in new ways, automate repetitive tasks, and run programs on clusters and clouds that may be halfway around the world. This course will introduce its key elements and show you how to use them efficiently.
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  1. 1

    Manipulating files and directories

    Free

    This chapter is a brief introduction to the Unix shell. You'll learn why it is still in use after almost 50 years, how it compares to the graphical tools you may be more familiar with, how to move around in the shell, and how to create, modify, and delete files and folders.

    Play Chapter Now
    How does the shell compare to a desktop interface?
    50 xp
    Where am I?
    50 xp
    How can I identify files and directories?
    50 xp
    How else can I identify files and directories?
    100 xp
    How can I move to another directory?
    100 xp
    How can I move up a directory?
    50 xp
    How can I copy files?
    100 xp
    How can I move a file?
    100 xp
    How can I rename files?
    100 xp
    How can I delete files?
    100 xp
    How can I create and delete directories?
    100 xp
    Wrapping up
    100 xp
  2. 2

    Manipulating data

    The commands you saw in the previous chapter allowed you to move things around in the filesystem. This chapter will show you how to work with the data in those files. The tools we’ll use are fairly simple, but are solid building blocks.

    Play Chapter Now
    How can I view a file's contents?
    100 xp
    How can I view a file's contents piece by piece?
    100 xp
    How can I look at the start of a file?
    50 xp
    How can I type less?
    100 xp
    How can I control what commands do?
    100 xp
    How can I list everything below a directory?
    100 xp
    How can I get help for a command?
    100 xp
    How can I select columns from a file?
    50 xp
    What can't cut do?
    50 xp
    How can I repeat commands?
    100 xp
    How can I select lines containing specific values?
    100 xp
    Why isn't it always safe to treat data as text?
    50 xp
  3. 3

    Combining tools

    The real power of the Unix shell lies not in the individual commands, but in how easily they can be combined to do new things. This chapter will show you how to use this power to select the data you want, and introduce commands for sorting values and removing duplicates.

    Play Chapter Now
    How can I store a command's output in a file?
    100 xp
    How can I use a command's output as an input?
    100 xp
    What's a better way to combine commands?
    100 xp
    How can I combine many commands?
    100 xp
    How can I count the records in a file?
    100 xp
    How can I specify many files at once?
    100 xp
    What other wildcards can I use?
    50 xp
    How can I sort lines of text?
    100 xp
    How can I remove duplicate lines?
    100 xp
    How can I save the output of a pipe?
    50 xp
    How can I stop a running program?
    100 xp
    Wrapping up
    100 xp
  4. 4

    Batch processing

    Most shell commands will process many files at once. This chapter shows you how to make your own pipelines do that. Along the way, you will see how the shell uses variables to store information.

    Play Chapter Now
    How does the shell store information?
    50 xp
    How can I print a variable's value?
    100 xp
    How else does the shell store information?
    100 xp
    How can I repeat a command many times?
    100 xp
    How can I repeat a command once for each file?
    100 xp
    How can I record the names of a set of files?
    50 xp
    A variable's name versus its value
    50 xp
    How can I run many commands in a single loop?
    100 xp
    Why shouldn't I use spaces in filenames?
    50 xp
    How can I do many things in a single loop?
    50 xp
  5. 5

    Creating new tools

    History lets you repeat things with just a few keystrokes, and pipes let you combine existing commands to create new ones. In this chapter, you will see how to go one step further and create new commands of your own.

    Play Chapter Now
    How can I edit a file?
    100 xp
    How can I record what I just did?
    100 xp
    How can I save commands to re-run later?
    100 xp
    How can I re-use pipes?
    100 xp
    How can I pass filenames to scripts?
    100 xp
    How can I process a single argument?
    50 xp
    How can one shell script do many things?
    100 xp
    How can I write loops in a shell script?
    100 xp
    What happens when I don't provide filenames?
    50 xp
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Collaborators

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Greg Wilson
Filip Schouwenaars HeadshotFilip Schouwenaars

Data Science Instructor at DataCamp

Filip is the passionate developer behind several of DataCamp's most popular Python, SQL, and R courses. Currently, Filip leads the development of DataCamp Workspace, a collaborative data science notebook. Under the motto 'Eat your own dog food', he uses Workspace to understand how users learn on and interact with DataCamp. Filip holds degrees in Electrical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence.
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*4.6
from 57 reviews
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  • Pablo R.
    6 months

    Topics are introduced naturally , explanations are good. I recommend to explore variants to the excercises on the provided sandbox shell.

  • Isaac C.
    9 months

    OK

  • Andy S.
    10 months

    I thought it was an important topic and probably should be added to the data engineering career track. I'd add some videos for context and maybe a section for using shell to work with a specific dataset.

  • Ju N.
    10 months

    Very good and informative

  • Kehinde J.
    11 months

    Memorable lessons

"Topics are introduced naturally , explanations are good. I recommend to explore variants to the excercises on the provided sandbox shell."

Pablo R.

"OK"

Isaac C.

"I thought it was an important topic and probably should be added to the data engineering career track. I'd add some videos for context and maybe a section for using shell to work with a specific dataset."

Andy S.

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