Slides: bash_seagl_2016.pdf

A fast paced, broad (but not too shallow) introduction to Bash features for users familiar with command line environments who want to go beyond simple command execution. Exciting concepts and syntax illustrated in the slides and demonstrated with live examples.

Topics include command types, parameters (arguments, variables, arrays, special parameters), parameter expansion (interpolation, directly or with truncation or substitution), stream redirection, compound commands (loops, groups, conditionals), subshells, brace expansion (word and sequence generation), tests and pattern matching, branching (if, case, logical operators), functions, and the encapsulation of parameters and functions for expansion into distinct Bash instances (run your functions in a root shell or on remote hosts via SSH). Throughout the talk, topics covered are combined to demonstrate higher level constructions and abstractions.

The focus remains on Bash itself, as opposed to commands one might run from Bash (many of which could easily be entire talks on their own). In the face of a rapidly changing tapestry of free software that runs on our computers and defines the internet, Bash has been a constant and reliable system component for software and systems operations, integration, testing, and prototyping. Whether you are an administrator, engineer, developer, or user, you are certain to see something in this talk which can be used to improve your work flows and tooling.