Description
Environment Setting
Configuration Files
The two most important configuration files are .bashrc and .bash_profile The file .bashrc
is executed every time you start a subshell. The file .bash_profile is executed every time
you log in.
Environment Variables
Here are some common environment variables:
Variable Meaning
EDITOR User’s preferred editor.
HOME User’s home (login) directory.
HOSTNAME Name of the host machine.
LD_LIBRARY_PATH Path to search for dynamically loadable libraries.
LESS Flags to provide to the GNU “less” pager.
MAIL Location of incoming mail.
MANPATH Path to search for manual pages.
MORE Flags to provide to the “more” pager.
PAGER User’s preferred pagination (terminal file display) program.
PATH The sequence of directory prefixes that bash applies in searching for a file known by an incomplete
path name.
PWD User’s current working directory (yes, it’s PWD, not CWD).
SHELL The file name of the user’s login shell.
TERM Terminal type for which output is to be prepared.
USER The login name of the user.
Task #1:
1. Write down the value of your PS1 environment variable as well as the file in which
it was set.
2. Write down the values of the above environment variables on your Linux machine.
Indicate any that have no value.
Setting the prompt
COSC350 SYSTEM SOFTWARE, SPRING 2021
2
There are a lot of escape sequences offered by the Bash shell for insertion in the prompt.
From the Bash 2.02 man page:
When executing interactively, bash displays the primary prompt PS1 when it is ready to
read a command, and the secondary prompt PS2 when it needs more input to complete a
command. Bash allows these prompt strings to be customized by inserting a number of
backslash-escaped special characters that are decoded as follows:
String Meaning
\a ASCII bell character
\d date in “Thu Mar 17” format
\e ASCII escape character
\H hostname
\n newline
\r carriage return
\s name of the shell
\t current time in 24-hour HH:MM:SS format
\T current time in 12-hour HH:MM:SS format
\@ current time in 12-hour am/pm format
\u username of current user
\v bash version (short form)
\V bash version (long form)
\w current working directory
\W basename of current working directory
\! history number of this command (starting at historic time)
\# command number of this command (starting at shell creation time)
\$ if effective UID is 0 (root), a #, otherwise a $
\nnn character corresponding to octal number nnn
\\ a backslash
\[
begin a sequence of non-printing characters.
Could be used to embed a terminal or control sequence into the prompt.
\] end a sequence of non-printing characters
Task #2:
1. Save your prompt. Write down exactly how you did it.
COSC350 SYSTEM SOFTWARE, SPRING 2021
3
2. Change your prompt so it looks like [COSC350 basecwd]:
where “basecwd” means the basename of the current working directory. Write
down exactly how you did it.
3. Change your prompt to its previous value. Write down exactly how you did it.
Command-line completion in Linux
You can save a lot of typing by getting bash to complete your commands and file or
directory names. Do this by pressing the tab key after enough of the word you are trying to
complete has been typed in. If bash can figure out the rest, it will complete the word for you.
Otherwise, it’s possible that after hitting tab there are multiple possibilities for the
completion. Press tab again and it will list the possibilities.
Task #3:
1. Try out command-line completion. Just type the beginning few letters of something
and hit the “Tab” key. (Suggestion: from your home directory, type ls -l D, then hit
Tab.) Play around a little with this feature. Nothing to write down.
Redirecting Standard Input and Output
There are always three default “files” open, stdin (directed by default from the keyboard),
stdout (directed by default to the screen), and stderr (error messages; also directed by
default to the screen). These, and any other open files, can be redirected. Redirection
simply means changing where the output or input is directed.
Redirection Format Meaning Example
COMMAND_OUTPUT > FILENAME
Output of the command is redirected to
the file. Creates the file if not present,
otherwise overwrites it.
ls -l > foo
Writes a long listing to the file named foo,
creating the file if necessary.
COMMAND_OUTPUT >> FILENAME
Output of the command is redirected to
the file. Creates the file if not present,
otherwise appends to it.
ls -l >> foo
Appends a long listing to the file foo,
creating the file if necessary.
COMMAND_OUTPUT 2> FILENAME
Error output of command is redirected
to the file. Normal output of the
command is not redirected.
nosuchcommand 2> foo
Redirects the error output to the file foo.
2>&1 Redirects stderr to get sent to same
place as stdout.
cmd > foo 2>&1
Redirects normal output to the file foo and
redirects error output to the same place.
COMMAND < FILENAME stdin is redirected from the file to the
command.
sort < foo
Sends the contents of file foo as input to
the sort command.
Task #4:
1. Invoke ls with a non-existent filename. You should see the error output on the
screen. Do it again, but redirect the error output to a file named bar. Write down
exactly how you did this.
COSC350 SYSTEM SOFTWARE, SPRING 2021
4
2. Do it again, but redirect the error output to the "gone forever" file /dev/null. Write
down exactly how you did this.
3. Create a file named foo by echo-ing the numbers 3,5,2,1 into it, one number per line.
Write down exactly how you did this.
4. Create a file named bar by cat-ing foo into it. Write down exactly how you did this.
(Yes, cp would also work, but this lab exercise is about redirection.)
5. Redirect input from foo (it contains numbers, right?) to the sort function. You
should see the sorted numbers on the screen. Write down exactly how you did this.
Did the numbers turn out sorted numerically? If not, explain how the sort was done.
6. Do it again, but redirect the output from the screen into the file bar. Write down
exactly how you did this.
Piping
Bash allows processes to be connected to other processes. When we connect the output of
one process to the input of another, we say we are piping the first process into the second.
You can think of a water pipe connecting the first process to the second; output of the first
"travels" through the pipe into the second process. Any number of processes can be piped
together.
The pipe symbol is | (found on most keyboards above the backslash character). The format
for using pipes is CMD1 | CMD2.
For example: ls | less pipes the output of the command ls into the command less.
Another (but silly) example is ls | cat | less. Here we have three processes piped together.
The output of ls is piped into cat which merely copies it and pipes its output into less.
It's important to realize that all of the processes in the pipe chain run concurrently. As soon
as one process starts producing output, the next process starts working on it.
Task #5:
1. Create a file named numbs that contains the integers 1 through 100, one integer per
line. The file will have 100 lines. Write down a short description of how you did this.
(You can do it any way you want, including dumb brute force. You might also want
to consider the bash for loop or a small C++ program.)
2. Run wc on the file numbs. Write down the output and your explanation of what it
means. Check the man page for wc if you're not sure.
3. Use pipes and redirection to produce a second file named somenumbs that contains
lines 25 through 38 of numbs. Write down exactly what you did.
4. Run wc on the file somenumbs. Write down the output and your explanation of
what it means.
COSC350 SYSTEM SOFTWARE, SPRING 2021
5
Task #6: Bash shell script
Write shell script to display following shapes. For each program need get input from keyboard for
size of a shape. . Do not use (()) in looping or any value evaluation
a. Diamond - a diamond size is determined by wide of base. A base value must be odd
number greater than 3. Your program must validate an odd number input from keyboard.
b. Left-Arrow - left arrow size is determined by two numbers: a length of tail and a wide of
base of arrow head. The wide of the base cannot be an even number, and your program
should check to make sure that base is always odd number.
*
***
*****
*******
*****
***
*
Base 7 Diamond
*
***
*****
*******
*********
*******
*****
***
*
Base 9 Diamond
*
***
*****
*******
****************
*******
*****
***
*
Tail 8, Base 9 Left Arrow
*
***
*****
*****************
*****
***
*
Tail 10, Base 7 Left Arrow
COSC350 SYSTEM SOFTWARE, SPRING 2021
6
c. Right-Arrow - right arrow size is determined by two numbers; length of tail and wide of
base of arrow head. The wide of the base cannot be an even number, and your program
should check to make sure that base is always odd number.
Task #7: Bash shell scripts
Write a script named task7.sh to calculating factorial of given number by using while loop.
The shell accepts one integer argument as a parameter and calculates factorial and display
the result. . Do not use (()) in looping or any value evaluation
Task #8: Bash shell scripts
Write a script named “task8.sh” to print given numbers sum of all digit. The shell accept
one integer argument as a parameter. Your program must check number of argument is
one. If number of argument is not one, your program must display error message and exit.
For example)
[separk@sejong] ./task8.sh 345
Sum of digit for number is 12
[separk@sejong] ./take8.sh.sh
You need pass one numerical argument
Do not use (()) in looping or any value evaluation
Task #9: Bash shell scripts ( Do not use (()) in looping or any value evaluation)
Write a Bash shell script named task9.sh that searches for a word in a file as follows:
1. Asks user for a directory in which to find the file.
*
***
*****
*******************
*****
***
*
Tail 12, Base 7 right Arrow
*
***
*****
*******
************
*******
*****
***
*
Tail 3, Base 9 right Arrow
COSC350 SYSTEM SOFTWARE, SPRING 2021
7
o If not a valid directory, quits with appropriate error message.
2. Asks user for the name of a readable file in that directory, giving the user three
attempts to name one.
o If no readable file is named, quits with appropriate error message.
3. Asks user for a word to find in the file.
o If word is in the file,
o Otherwise,
4. Exit codes are to be:
0 success
1 no such directory
2 no such file (after three attempts)
3 file is not readable
4 word not found in the file
What to Hand In
Please organize your materials in the order given below. Clearly identify your materials by task. Write your name on every page. Staple
the pages neatly.
Task #1:
Value of your PS1
Values of the given environment variables.
Task #2:
Command to save prompt.
Command to change prompt.
Command to change prompt to its previous value.
Task #3:
Nothing required.
Task #4:
Command to redirect error output to bar.this.
Command to redirect error output to /dev/null.
Command(s) to create foo containing numbers.
Command(s) to cat foo into bar.
Command to redirect foo into sort
Answer to numeric sort question with explanation.
Command to redirect above into bar.
Task #5:
Description of how you created numbs.
Output of wc on numbs and your explanation of what it means.
Command(s) using pipes and redirection to produce somenumbs.
Output of wc on somenumbs and explanation.
Task #6, 7, 8, 9: write each shell script with name task6a.sh, task6b.sh task6c.sh, task7.sh task8.sh, task9.sh
Submit by email to cosc350@gmail.com
