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Linux shell scripting and automation

Linux shell scripting and automation involves writing scripts to automate tasks and processes on a Linux system. Here are some code examples for common shell scripting and automation tasks in Linux:

  • Writing a shell script

To write a shell script in Linux, create a new file with a .sh extension and add the desired shell commands. Here's an example of a simple shell script that prints a message to the console:

bash
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#!/bin/bash

echo "Hello, world!"

Save this script as hello.sh and make it executable by running the following command:

bash
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chmod +x hello.sh

Now you can run the script by executing the following command:

bash
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./hello.sh

This will print the message "Hello, world!" to the console.

  • Automating backups with a shell script

To automate backups on a Linux system, you can write a shell script that uses the tar command to archive the desired files and folders. Here's an example:

bash
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#!/bin/bash

# Set the backup destination directory
backup_dir="/mnt/backups"

# Set the filename for the backup archive
backup_filename="mybackup_$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S).tar.gz"

# Set the files and folders to include in the backup
backup_files="/home/user/Documents /home/user/Pictures"

# Create the backup archive
tar -czf "${backup_dir}/${backup_filename}" ${backup_files}

Save this script as backup.sh and make it executable. You can then run the script periodically using a cron job to automate the backup process.

  • Automating system updates with a shell script

To automate system updates on a Linux system, you can write a shell script that uses the apt-get command to install updates. Here's an example:

bash
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#!/bin/bash

# Update the package lists
sudo apt-get update

# Upgrade the installed packages
sudo apt-get upgrade -y

# Clean up old package files
sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo apt-get autoremove

Save this script as update.sh and make it executable. You can then run the script periodically using a cron job to automate the update process.

These are some examples of basic shell scripting and automation tasks in Linux. There are many more advanced options available, such as parsing command-line arguments and interacting with databases, but these examples should be enough to get you started.



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