William Shotts has been a software professional for more than 40 years and a dedicated Linux user and advocate since 1996. Over his career, he’s worked as a programmer, teacher, photographer, and technical manager leading teams in customer support, software quality assurance, system administration, and documentation. He is also the creator of LinuxCommand, a long-running site that helps users master the Linux command line.

"It trains you to think like the system thinks---not just run commands until something works."—LinuxSecurity.com"Thorough and approachable. A great resource for those new to Linux and for seasoned Linux veterans wanting to dive deeper."—Philip Polstra, PhD, author of Linux ForensicsPraise for The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition:"This excellent Linux command line book is more than cubicle decoration, it's a secret super power."—Ken Hess, Red Hat"For those looking to master the Linux command line and get an essential understand of the core Linux command line tools, this book is a highly effective and useful guide."—Ben Rothke, RSA Conference"I can honestly say I have found THE beginner's guide to Linux."—Jayson Broughton, Linux Journal"This is exactly what a Linux beginner needs to get up to speed quickly. The book goes beyond simply walking through all of the command line utilities, and ventures into the realm of theory and how things work together."—Nicholas C. Zakas, Yahoo!"The most approachable tome on the subject."—Federico Lucifredi, Linux Magazine

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: Learning the ShellChapter 1: What Is the Shell?Chapter 2: NavigationChapter 3: Exploring the SystemChapter 4: Manipulating Files and DirectoriesChapter 5: Working with CommandsChapter 6: RedirectionChapter 7: Seeing the World as the Shell Sees ItChapter 8: Advanced Keyboard TricksChapter 9: PermissionsChapter 10: ProcessesPart II: Configuration and the EnvironmentChapter 11: The EnvironmentChapter 12: A Gentle Introduction to vi(m)Chapter 13: Customizing the PromptPart III: Common Tasks and Essential ToolsChapter 14: Package ManagementChapter 15: Storage MediaChapter 16: NetworkingChapter 17: Searching for FilesChapter 18: Archiving and BackupChapter 19: Regular ExpressionsChapter 20: Text ProcessingChapter 21: Formatting OutputChapter 22: PrintingChapter 23: Compiling ProgramsPart IV: Writing Shell ScriptsChapter 24: Writing Your First ScriptChapter 25: Starting a ProjectChapter 26: Top-Down DesignChapter 27: Flow Control: Branching with ifChapter 28: Reading Keyboard InputChapter 29: Flow Control: Looping with while/untilChapter 30: TroubleshootingChapter 31: Flow Control: Branching with caseChapter 32: Positional ParametersChapter 33: Flow Control: Looping with forChapter 34: Strings and NumbersChapter 35: ArraysChapter 36: ExoticaIndex

William Shotts has been a software professional for more than 40 years and a dedicated Linux user and advocate since 1996. Over his career, he’s worked as a programmer, teacher, photographer, and technical manager leading teams in customer support, software quality assurance, system administration, and documentation. He is also the creator of LinuxCommand, a long-running site that helps users master the Linux command line.

"It trains you to think like the system thinks---not just run commands until something works."—LinuxSecurity.com"Thorough and approachable. A great resource for those new to Linux and for seasoned Linux veterans wanting to dive deeper."—Philip Polstra, PhD, author of Linux ForensicsPraise for The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition:"This excellent Linux command line book is more than cubicle decoration, it's a secret super power."—Ken Hess, Red Hat"For those looking to master the Linux command line and get an essential understand of the core Linux command line tools, this book is a highly effective and useful guide."—Ben Rothke, RSA Conference"I can honestly say I have found THE beginner's guide to Linux."—Jayson Broughton, Linux Journal"This is exactly what a Linux beginner needs to get up to speed quickly. The book goes beyond simply walking through all of the command line utilities, and ventures into the realm of theory and how things work together."—Nicholas C. Zakas, Yahoo!"The most approachable tome on the subject."—Federico Lucifredi, Linux Magazine

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: Learning the ShellChapter 1: What Is the Shell?Chapter 2: NavigationChapter 3: Exploring the SystemChapter 4: Manipulating Files and DirectoriesChapter 5: Working with CommandsChapter 6: RedirectionChapter 7: Seeing the World as the Shell Sees ItChapter 8: Advanced Keyboard TricksChapter 9: PermissionsChapter 10: ProcessesPart II: Configuration and the EnvironmentChapter 11: The EnvironmentChapter 12: A Gentle Introduction to vi(m)Chapter 13: Customizing the PromptPart III: Common Tasks and Essential ToolsChapter 14: Package ManagementChapter 15: Storage MediaChapter 16: NetworkingChapter 17: Searching for FilesChapter 18: Archiving and BackupChapter 19: Regular ExpressionsChapter 20: Text ProcessingChapter 21: Formatting OutputChapter 22: PrintingChapter 23: Compiling ProgramsPart IV: Writing Shell ScriptsChapter 24: Writing Your First ScriptChapter 25: Starting a ProjectChapter 26: Top-Down DesignChapter 27: Flow Control: Branching with ifChapter 28: Reading Keyboard InputChapter 29: Flow Control: Looping with while/untilChapter 30: TroubleshootingChapter 31: Flow Control: Branching with caseChapter 32: Positional ParametersChapter 33: Flow Control: Looping with forChapter 34: Strings and NumbersChapter 35: ArraysChapter 36: ExoticaIndex

William Shotts has been a software professional for more than 40 years and a dedicated Linux user and advocate since 1996. Over his career, he’s worked as a programmer, teacher, photographer, and technical manager leading teams in customer support, software quality assurance, system administration, and documentation. He is also the creator of LinuxCommand, a long-running site that helps users master the Linux command line.

"It trains you to think like the system thinks---not just run commands until something works."—LinuxSecurity.com"Thorough and approachable. A great resource for those new to Linux and for seasoned Linux veterans wanting to dive deeper."—Philip Polstra, PhD, author of Linux ForensicsPraise for The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition:"This excellent Linux command line book is more than cubicle decoration, it's a secret super power."—Ken Hess, Red Hat"For those looking to master the Linux command line and get an essential understand of the core Linux command line tools, this book is a highly effective and useful guide."—Ben Rothke, RSA Conference"I can honestly say I have found THE beginner's guide to Linux."—Jayson Broughton, Linux Journal"This is exactly what a Linux beginner needs to get up to speed quickly. The book goes beyond simply walking through all of the command line utilities, and ventures into the realm of theory and how things work together."—Nicholas C. Zakas, Yahoo!"The most approachable tome on the subject."—Federico Lucifredi, Linux Magazine

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: Learning the ShellChapter 1: What Is the Shell?Chapter 2: NavigationChapter 3: Exploring the SystemChapter 4: Manipulating Files and DirectoriesChapter 5: Working with CommandsChapter 6: RedirectionChapter 7: Seeing the World as the Shell Sees ItChapter 8: Advanced Keyboard TricksChapter 9: PermissionsChapter 10: ProcessesPart II: Configuration and the EnvironmentChapter 11: The EnvironmentChapter 12: A Gentle Introduction to vi(m)Chapter 13: Customizing the PromptPart III: Common Tasks and Essential ToolsChapter 14: Package ManagementChapter 15: Storage MediaChapter 16: NetworkingChapter 17: Searching for FilesChapter 18: Archiving and BackupChapter 19: Regular ExpressionsChapter 20: Text ProcessingChapter 21: Formatting OutputChapter 22: PrintingChapter 23: Compiling ProgramsPart IV: Writing Shell ScriptsChapter 24: Writing Your First ScriptChapter 25: Starting a ProjectChapter 26: Top-Down DesignChapter 27: Flow Control: Branching with ifChapter 28: Reading Keyboard InputChapter 29: Flow Control: Looping with while/untilChapter 30: TroubleshootingChapter 31: Flow Control: Branching with caseChapter 32: Positional ParametersChapter 33: Flow Control: Looping with forChapter 34: Strings and NumbersChapter 35: ArraysChapter 36: ExoticaIndex