Learning shell programming or bash scripting is absolutely necessary for those who aspire to work as DevOps engineers. In this guide on shell scripting for DevOps, I will give my best advice and resources for learning Linux shell scripting in the most effective way possible.
In my guide to becoming a DevOps engineer, I have also discussed the significance of shell scripting and its role in the industry.
DevOps and Linux foundation containers enable your team cloud-native development technology. Containers support development, delivery, integration, and automation.
This book is for anyone who wants to learn shell scripting the correct way, which will help you with your day-to-day job as well as interviews for DevOps positions. When it comes to the process of learning, patience and self-control are two traits that are absolutely necessary to have.
What are Shell Scripting for DevOps?
How crucial is shell scripting for a DevOps engineer might be your first query. This inquiry came from both newcomers and seasoned IT professionals.
The answer is that it’s crucial. In the poll conducted by Stackoverflow in 2021, 27% of the participants claimed to utilise shell scripting.
Although there are many automation tool available, do we still need to learn how to develop shell scripts, I am frequently asked this question. Yes, it is the answer. We no longer write shell scripts for complete automation; instead, we employ automation tools and scripting for ad hoc activities.
For instance, there’s a chance you’ll employ a shell script inside the AWS user data option. Another illustration is utilising a shell script for the AMI setup while using a packer to create AMI images. Additionally, there have been times when I’ve had to use shell scripts with containers, configuration management systems, etc. In the parts that follow, we’ll go into further detail on this.
Shell script is also useful for development chores that need to be repeated. For instance, it can involve setting up the development environment itself or creating a Vagrant VM with the necessary tools.
Most notably, initial DevOps interview rounds are now required to include hands-on programming and scripting. Therefore, it is still another important justification for learning shell scripting.
How to Get Started With Shell Scripting?
The requirement for beginning shell scripting is practical Linux familiarity. As a result, you should be familiar with using Linux commands before beginning to write shell scripts.
If you are completely unfamiliar with Linux, you might want to start by setting up a few servers locally with Vagrant or on cloud services like AWS, Google Cloud, etc.
For new users, every platform provides free credits. You may also check out the $100 free credit offered by the digital ocean. It’s simple to get going.
You can start with basic lessons for Shell scripting if you feel confident with Linux. I also want you to take the next action.
Establish a Github repository, make folders for each idea you learn, and add all of your work scripts to it. Whether the script is on the internet is irrelevant. Own the documentation you need. In the README section, you can add references and credit websites and blog links.
You can share your learning on LinkedIn once it is complete. Trust me, it will aid in both your retention of the information and the retention of others.
Which Free Resources are the Best for Learning Shell Scripting?
Linux shell scripting does not require you to take any pricey courses. There is much too much advertising for programmes that claim to turn you into a master of DevOps Shell scripting.
But if you feel comfortable learning through a paid course, go for it. I have nothing against courses. I’ll also include those sources.
For you to get started, I’ve compiled a list of the top free shell scripting resources. Go through all the resources once, select one that feels comfortable, and make sure you read the content from beginning to end. As I mentioned previously, patience and discipline are necessary for technology mastery.
The free resources are listed below. It offers free courses, interactive lessons, web-based information, and PDF documents.
What are some real world shell scripting use cases?
Assuming you know everything there is to know about shell scripting and have probably written and run shell scripts to learn.
The next thing anyone would want to know is how to learn shell scripting use cases in the real world.
If you work at a company, you can find project documentation and automation codes for infrastructure where shell scripts are used by existing projects.
Here’s what you can do if you don’t have access to project documents and code.
Find the repository on Github for the most common docker base images, such as the Nginx base image.
What are the shell scripting DevOps interview questions?
Interview questions pertaining to shell scripting and DevOps can vary from company to company.
For instance, a service-based corporation might be interested in nothing more than your fundamental understanding of Linux and shell scripting.
On the other hand, a product-based corporation would anticipate a high level of familiarity with the Linux command line and shell scripting.
These days, the majority of businesses will provide platforms like as Hackerank so that you can test your programming abilities. Therefore, it is essential to acquire experience with shell scripting in order to resolve issues.
Some of the questions that were asked about shell scripts during the DevOps interviews are included below.
- Reverse string shell script
- Find all occurrences of a word in a log
- Schell script to copy a file’s first 10 lines.
- Merge two files and output to a third.
- Replace duplicate strings in a file
- Write a log file’s IP addresses to another file.
Final thoughts
I hope you found this tutorial on Shell scripting for DevOps engineers to be interesting.
Which technique or tool from today’s tutorial are you planning to use first, I now want to hear from you?
Are you going to begin with the fundamentals of Linux? or begin concentrating on interview-based inquiries.
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