Akshay Dhan

Akshay Dhan

Senior Research Fellow at Computer Science Unit, ISI Chennai centre

3 Ways to Be Better at Shell Scripting

1 minute read

Published:

In the journey of Homo sapiens, we have constantly sought to simplify our daily lives. Automation has become the epitome of intelligence, and scripting plays a crucial role in achieving that automation. In this blog post, we will delve into the art of scripting and explore three ways to enhance your skills as a command-line Jedi.

More Macho Man is Here: TLDR and Cheat.sh

If you find yourself frustrated with lengthy and complex man pages, fear not! TLDR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) and cheat.sh come to your rescue. TLDR provides concise and practical help pages, while Cheat.sh is a website packed with numerous examples. You can even integrate Cheat.sh into your terminal by adding a simple function to your bashrc/zshrc file.

wtis(){
	curl -s "cheat.sh/$1" | less -R
}

Now you can search and clarify your command-line doubts right from the terminal itself.

How to Understand Scripts Better: Explainshell

When encountering unfamiliar scripts, it’s natural to feel bewildered. But fret no more! Explain shell comes to your aid. This website helps you unravel the hidden intentions behind shell scripts. Simply paste a command or script, and Explainshell breaks it down into understandable components, explaining each element’s purpose and functionality. Understanding scripts has never been easier!

How to Make Your Scripts Better: Shellcheck

Improving your scripts is a constant endeavor. Fortunately, Shellcheck is here to assist you. This powerful tool analyzes your script and provides warnings and suggestions to help you identify and rectify potential issues. By incorporating Shellcheck into your workflow, you can remove edge cases, enhance code quality, and make your scripts more robust.

For Vim users, consider adding Shellcheck to a Vim key binding.

Conclusion:

Mastering shell scripting opens up a world of automation and efficiency in your daily tasks. By leveraging TLDR, Cheat.sh, Explainshell, and Shellcheck , you can enhance your scripting skills, understand complex scripts, and write more robust and error-free code. Embrace these tools, and embark on your journey to becoming a command-line Jedi.

May the scripts be with you!

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