Wicked Cool Shell Scripts

by Dave Taylor

Fun and functional Linux, Mac OS X and UNIX shell scripts

The UNIX shell is the main scripting environment of every Linux, Mac OS X and UNIX system, whether a rescued laptop or a million-dollar mainframe. This cookbook of useful, customizable, and fun scripts gives you the tools to solve common Linux, Mac OS X and UNIX problems and personalize your computing environment. Among the more than 100 scripts included are an interactive calculator, a spell checker, a disk backup utility, a weather tracker, and a web logfile analysis tool. The book also teaches you how to write your own sophisticated shell scripts by explaining the syntax and techniques used to build each example scripts. Examples are written in Bourne Shell (sh) syntax.

Genres: Programming, Computer Science, Reference, Technology, Technical, Software, Nonfiction

488 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2004

About the author

Dave Taylor has been involved in the online world since the ARPANET era and is recognized internationally as an expert in technology and business. He has published more than a thousand articles, launched four Internet startups, written over twenty business and technical books, and holds both an MBA and an MS Ed.

He runs the popular YouTube consumer electronics review channel AskDaveTaylor, writes for the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper, and contributes to various other publications online and in print. Dave teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in marketing, public speaking, film, and media & society at the University of Denver, where he has been recognized as a Leader in Teaching Excellence.

Based in Longmont, Colorado, Dave is an award-winning speaker, frequent conference and workshop presenter, and regular guest on radio and podcast programs. He is also an active member of his community and the father of three avid readers.

You can find Dave online at AskDaveTaylor.com and catch up on his latest film, game, and car reviews at PlanetDave.com

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Taylor's style. These scripts are not really "wicked cool" anymore (dated), but they are good for showing syntax in context, and for sparking ideas. With a bit of hacking skill, you could put together a simple script to automate some menial task. If you don't already have programming skills, the key is knowing what tools (small programs) are available to you and having a clear idea of what you want to accomplish.

[Marc]

Really good so far. Probably best for intermediate shell scripters, or beginner/intermediate.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm mentioned in this book, helped dave test these scripts on mac, linux, hp-ux and solaris... lots of great scripts and ideas...

[Chris Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did not read every line in the book, but rather dug deep into a few areas of interest to me. This will be a great reference for me plus there are some very useful ready-to-use scripts included.

[Elie De Brauwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wicked Cool Shell Scripts feel a bit like it missed the opportunity when going to a second edition. For a book updated around 2016 I'd expect much more curl, wget and json handling than lynx for example. Also a lot of these scripts focus on external utilities (the awks and cuts, ...) while some of these activities could also happened in bash itself which feels like a missed opportunity to me. That being said it remains and interesting and entertaining read.