Introduction to Bash

Bash (short for "Bourne Again Shell") is a command-line interpreter and scripting language for Unix-like operating systems. It is widely used for system administration, task automation, and scripting tasks in Linux environments. Bash is the default shell for most Linux distributions and macOS.

What is Bash Best Used For?

• Automating repetitive tasks like file manipulation, backup processes, or deployment.
• Writing scripts for system management and maintenance.
• Quickly executing shell commands and pipelines.
• Interfacing with Linux/Unix tools.

Example Bash Script

This script demonstrates how to declare variables, use a loop, and produce output.

#!/bin/bash

# Declare variables
greeting="Hello, Bash User!"
count=5

# Display greeting
echo $greeting

# Loop through numbers 1 to $count
for i in $(seq 1 $count); do
  echo "Iteration: $i"
done

# Print completion message
echo "Loop completed! Total iterations: $count"

Explanation:

1. Variables: greeting holds a welcome message, and count specifies the loop count.
2. Loop: The for loop uses seq to generate numbers from 1 to the value of $count. Each iteration prints the current number.
3. Output: The script outputs a greeting, the iteration numbers, and a completion message.

Sample Output:

Hello, Bash User!
Iteration: 1
Iteration: 2
Iteration: 3
Iteration: 4
Iteration: 5
Loop completed! Total iterations: 5