Table of content:

Shell Scripting Interview Questions for Beginners.

What is Shell Scripting?

Shell scripting or programming is one of the ways to automate tasks on a computer by writing a series of commands in a plain text file. Shell scripts can be used to do anything from simple tasks like copying files to more complex tasks like running programs or processing data.

Shell scripting offers similar features to modern programming languages. With shell scripting, you can accomplish specific tasks by executing simple UNIX commands. It’s a powerful tool that helps to enable automation of day-to-day activity.

Here are some examples of what you can do with shell scripting:

• Automate the backing up process of your files.
• Create a script that will download new software updates automatically.
• Write a script that will send you an email notification when a certain event happens.
• Create a script that will help you manage finances.

The possibilities are endless! So what are you waiting for? Start learning shell scripting today!

Shell Scripting Interview Questions for Beginners

1. What is shell scripting?

Shell scripting is a programming language that uses the shell to automate tasks. The shell is a command-line interface that allows users to interact with the operating system. Shell scripts are typically written in a text editor and saved with a .sh extension. They can then be executed by the shell to perform the desired task.

2. What is shell scripting, and how does it differ from shell programming?

Shell scripting is the process of writing scripts using shell commands and programming constructs to automate tasks in a Unix/Linux environment. Shell programming refers to the broader concept of programming in a shell language such as Bash. Shell scripting is a subset of shell programming.

3. What are the advantages of shell scripting?

Shell scripting has many advantages, including:

• It is a powerful tool that can be used to automate tasks.
• It is easy to learn and use.
• It is portable, meaning that shell scripts can be used on different operating systems.
• It is efficient, meaning that shell scripts can be used to perform tasks quickly and easily.

4. Explain the different types of shells used in Unix/Linux systems.

The common shells used in Unix/Linux systems are:

• Bash (Bourne Again SHell): This is the default shell for most Linux distributions.
• sh (Bourne Shell): The original Unix shell that serves as the foundation for other shells. Mostly used ones.
• csh (C Shell): Provides a C-like syntax and features.
• ksh (Korn Shell): A more advanced version of the Bourne Shell.
• zsh (Z Shell): An extended and feature-rich shell.

5. What are the disadvantages of shell scripting?

• Shell scripting also has some disadvantages, including:
• It can be difficult to debug shell scripts.
• Shell scripts can be vulnerable to security vulnerabilities.
• Shell scripts can be difficult to maintain.

6. How to do comment out lines in a shell script?

Comments in shell scripts added using the ‘#’ character. Anything after the ‘#’ on a line is considered a comment and this will be ignored by the shell.

7. What are the different types of shells available?

There are many different types of shells available, including:

• Bourne shell
• C shell
• Korn shell
• Bash shell
• Zsh shell

8. How do you pass command-line arguments to a shell script?

Command-line arguments can be accessed within a shell script using variables such as $1, $2, $3, and so on. $1 represents the first argument, $2 represents the second argument, and so on.

9. What are the different types of variables used in shell scripting?

There are two main types of variables used in shell scripting:

• Local variables
• Global variables

Local variables are only accessible within the function or script in which they are defined. Global variables are accessible from anywhere within the script.

10. What is the purpose of the shebang (#!) line at the beginning of a shell script?

The shebang line specifies the interpreter to use when executing the script. For example, #!/bin/bash indicates that the script should be executed using the Bash shell.

11. How do you assign a value to a variable in a shell script?

Variable assignment in shell scripting is done by using the syntax variable_name=value. For example, name=”John” assigns the value “John” to the variable name.

12. What are the different types of control instructions used in shell scripting?

There are many different types of control instructions used in shell scripting, including:

• If statements
• While loops
• For loops
• Switch statements
• Case statements

Control instructions allow you to control the flow of your script.