Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- 1. What exactly is a shell?
- 2. What exactly is Shell Scripting?
- 3. Explain the benefits of shell scripting.
- 4. Describe GUI programming.
- 5. In shell programming, what exactly is a superblock?
- 6. List the numerous kinds of accessible shells.
- 7. Write the distinction between Bourne Shell and C Shell.
- 8. What exactly are Shell variables?
- 9. What are the many kinds of variables in Shell Script?
- 10. Which command is used to run a shell file?
- 11. What can you tell me about the Super Block in Shell scripting?
- 12. What exactly is a metacharacter?
- 13. What is the distinction between soft and hard links?
- 14. What is the meaning of the Shebang line in Shell Scripting?
- 15. What several steps does a Linux process go through?
- 16. Describe Crontab.
- 17. What exactly are control instructions?
- 18. What is the distinction between $* and $@?
- 19. Please explain how you compare strings in a shell script.
- 20. How can I create, read, and remove files?
- 21. Is it possible to distinguish hard and soft links in shell scripting?
- 22. How will you troubleshoot bugs in the shell program?
- 23. How many blocks are there in a file system?
- 24. Why is bash a weakly typed language?
- 25. How long does a variable in a shell script have?
- 26. Name the replacement command for echo.
- 27. Define IFS
- 28. Is it possible to run numerous scripts in a Shell?
- 29. What are the many modes of vi editors?
- 30. What’s the difference between $! and $$?
- 31. What does $# mean?
- 32. Name the command used to create the backup.
- 33. When is it inappropriate to utilize Shell Scripting?
- 34. How are you going to connect to a database server from Linux?
- 35. What are the two crontab command files?
- 36. What are the three distinct UNIX security protections for a file or data?
- 37. Explain the sed command briefly using an example.
- 38. In shell scripting, what is the purpose of the tools that come with the open client driver?
- 49. Name the command that should be used to determine the system’s duration.
- 40. Make a script to add numerous values.
- 41. Create a function example.
- Conclusion
A shell script is a computer program or command-line interpreter that is intended to be run by the Unix shell. The nicest aspect about building a shell script is that the instructions and syntax are identical to those entered directly at the command line.
Linux is a popular open-source operating system recognized for its high security and command-line interface. It is vital for aspiring DevOps engineers to understand shell scripting or bash scripting.
If you are familiar with shell scripting and are preparing for a job interview, this shell scripting interview questions and answers article will provide you with the best shell scripting interview questions that will make your preparation easier.
1. What exactly is a shell?
The shell serves as a bridge between the user and the kernel. Even though there can only be one kernel, a system can have several shells running at the same time.
As a result, anytime a user types a command into the keyboard, the shell talks with the kernel to execute it and then displays the results to the user.
2. What exactly is Shell Scripting?
Shell Scripting is a free and open-source computer software that runs in the Unix/Linux shell. Shell Scripting software allows you to write a series of commands that the shell will execute.
It can integrate lengthy and repetitive command sequences into a single and easy script that can be saved and performed at any time, reducing programming efforts.
3. Explain the benefits of shell scripting.
- Almost every current operating system, including UNIX, Linux, BSD, and Mac OS X, can run shell scripts since they are created in an interpreted language.
- A debugging tool that is interactive, as well as a rapid start.
- It saves time by helping to automate administrative duties.
- Programmers do not need to adjust their syntax because the command and syntax are the same as those placed straight into the command line.
- Shell scripts are simple to use and write.
- With this tool, software applications can be produced in accordance with their respective platforms.
- Instead of single instructions, they can be used for mass execution.
- You can use it to create your own custom operating system with the necessary functionality.
4. Describe GUI programming.
The Graphical User Interface (GUI) programming needed to operate the computer and apps is referred to as GUI scripting. It works with several operating systems and is used to control various programs.
5. In shell programming, what exactly is a superblock?
A software called a superblock stores the records of certain file systems. Size, counts of filled and empty blocks, use data, block group size, and the location and size of inode tables are among the properties that can be found in a block.
6. List the numerous kinds of accessible shells.
- Bourne shell: When using a Bourne-type shell, the default prompt is the $ symbol.
- C Shell: When using a C-type shell, the default prompt is the character %.
- Korn shell: Korn is a Unix-based Shell scripting application that was originally based on Bash Shell Scripting. This shell is highly complex and uses a high-level programming language.
- TCSH: There is no one complete form of TCSH. It is how it is. TCSH is a more sophisticated version of the Berkeley Unix C shell. It now supports C syntax.
7. Write the distinction between Bourne Shell and C Shell.
Bourne Shell: Its compactness and speed distinguish it from other shells. However, interactive elements such as the ability to remember prior requests are missing. Furthermore, arithmetic and logical expressions are not supported by the Bourne shell.
C Shell: It is a UNIX improvement that includes interactive features such as aliases and command history. It contains easy programming capabilities in addition to its built-in arithmetic and expression grammar.
8. What exactly are Shell variables?
Shell variables are the foundation of every Shell program or script. Variables enable Shell to store and alter data within a Shell application. String variables are commonly used to hold shell variables.
9. What are the many kinds of variables in Shell Script?
The operating system (Linux) creates and defines system-defined variables. These variables are often defined in capital letters and can be examined with the “set” command.
User-defined variables are generated or specified by system users, and their values can be examined by executing the command “echo.”
10. Which command is used to run a shell file?
11. What can you tell me about the Super Block in Shell scripting?
A Super Block is simply software that stores information about certain file systems.
A superblock contains information such as the block size, the number of empty and full blocks and their corresponding counts, the size and placement of the inode tables, the disk block map, and use statistics and the size of the block groups.
12. What exactly is a metacharacter?
A metacharacter is a unique character that is incorporated into a shell’s program or data field. It provides information on other characters. To list all files beginning with the character ‘s’, for example, use the ‘ls s*’ command.
13. What is the distinction between soft and hard links?
Soft links are linked to the file name and can live on various file systems; whereas, hard links are linked to the file’s inode and must be on the same file system as the file.
Deleting the original file renders the soft link inactive (broken link), but has no effect on the hard connection and the hard link will still access a copy of the file.
14. What is the meaning of the Shebang line in Shell Scripting?
The Shebang line is normally located at the head of the script, for example, #!/bin/sh. This line specifies the engine’s position. This engine is generally the one that runs the script.
15. What several steps does a Linux process go through?
Typically, a Linux process goes through the following four stages:
- Waiting: The resource is being awaited by the Linux process.
- Running: Right now, the Linux process is running.
- Stopped: Following a successful execution, the Linux process is terminated.
- ZombieeThe process has halted, but the process table still shows it as active.
16. Describe Crontab.
Crontab stands for cron table since the job scheduler ‘cron’ is used to perform the jobs. It is a collection of commands that are performed on a regular basis, and the command’s name also controls the list.
The schedule and the tool used to change the schedule are both called Crontab.
17. What exactly are control instructions?
Control instructions indicate how the script’s various instructions will be performed. They are generally used in Shell applications to assess control flow.
Without these instructions, the execution of a shell script proceeds in sequence. Control instructions influence how execution proceeds in shell programs.
18. What is the distinction between $* and $@?
$@ considers each quoted argument to be a separate argument, whereas $* considers the full collection of positional parameters to be a single string.
19. Please explain how you compare strings in a shell script.
The ‘test’ command is used to compare text strings. This command compares text strings by comparing each string’s characters.
20. How can I create, read, and remove files?
21. Is it possible to distinguish hard and soft links in shell scripting?
Shell scripting is a strong solution that, like Windows, employs links to construct shortcuts. Soft links have no fixed location and can be found everywhere on the same file system.
They are usually tied to the file name. Hard links, on the other hand, stay on the same file system. In most situations, hard linkages are associated with nodes and have a certain fixed position.
22. How will you troubleshoot bugs in the shell program?
Some common ways of troubleshooting script bugs are:
- Set-x is used to allow debugging.
- Insert debug statements into a shell script to show information that aids in the discovery of a problem.
23. How many blocks are there in a file system?
- Superblock: This block provides details on the condition of a file system, including block size, block group size, use data, the number of empty and filled blocks, the size and placement of inode tables, etc.
- Bootblock: The bootstrap loader software, which runs when a user boots the host system, is stored in this block.
- Data block: This block of data contains the file contents of the file system.
- Inode table: UNIX treats all components as files, and the inode table is the repository for all file-related data.
24. Why is bash a weakly typed language?
Due to the lack of a data type declaration requirement when declaring variables, Bash is a weakly typed language. The type of a variable is determined by its current value and is treated as a string in Bash.
The declare command can be used to define Bash variables.
However, the possibilities for defining data types are restricted and do not cover all data kinds. For instance, the declare command cannot be used with the float data type.
25. How long does a variable in a shell script have?
A variable in a shell script has a lifetime of just till the conclusion of execution.
26. Name the replacement command for echo.
The tput command is an alternative to echo. We can use this command to control how the output is displayed. Furthermore, regardless of screen size, shell scripts can perform things like underline and center text.
27. Define IFS
IFS stands for Internal Field Separator. It is a system variable with the default value of space, tab, followed by a new line. IFS indicates where one field or word ends in a line and another begins.
28. Is it possible to run numerous scripts in a Shell?
Yes, many scripts can be executed in a Shell. You can call one script from another by running several scripts. To do so, you must specify the name of the script you want to invoke.
29. What are the many modes of vi editors?
- Command mode: this is the mode in which you begin.
- Edit mode: This option allows you to perform subsequent edits.
- In this mode, you interact with vi and give it instructions to process.
30. What’s the difference between $! and $$?
$! Displays the process id of the process that recently went into the background.
$$ returns the process id of the currently executing process.
31. What does $# mean?
$# typically holds the number of arguments, though this can differ for functions. Simply described, it was used to record the number of command-line parameters supplied to a shell script.
32. Name the command used to create the backup.
The tar command is used to create a backup. Tar is an abbreviation for tape archive, and it is used to build backups that employ tar, gzip, and bzip. This command can save and restore files from and to a tape.
Generally, files and directories are compressed into tarballs, which are archive files. It is one of the most used instructions for this reason. In addition, the tarball is simply transferable from one server to another.
33. When is it inappropriate to utilize Shell Scripting?
We should not utilize Shell Scripting if the work is really complex, such as building a whole payroll processing system.
We should not employ Shell Scripting if the work needs a high degree of productivity.
We should not utilize Shell Scripting if the project demands several software solutions.
34. How are you going to connect to a database server from Linux?
We can utilize the isql utility included with the open client driver as follows:
35. What are the two crontab command files?
cron.allow determines which users must be allowed to use the crontab command.
cron.deny, which determines whether users should be barred from using the crontab command.
36. What are the three distinct UNIX security protections for a file or data?
- It offers file-level security by granting read, write, and execute rights to files.
- It offers users a unique user id and password for authentication so that unfamiliar or unauthorized individuals cannot access it.
- It offers security by encrypting files. This approach enables you to encode a file in an unreadable format. Even if a file is opened, its contents cannot be read until it is decrypted.
37. Explain the sed command briefly using an example.
sed is an abbreviation for stream editor. It is used to edit a file without the usage of an editor. It is used to alter a given stream, such as a file or pipeline input.
38. In shell scripting, what is the purpose of the tools that come with the open client driver?
The system is solely connected to a database server via the tools. Users are required to complete a number of important and necessary activities for programming.
For scripting, more data and information are needed, and it is not always practical to keep them in one place. Users who use this approach must guarantee error-free output.
49. Name the command that should be used to determine the system’s duration.
Using the Uptime command, you can determine how long your system has been operational. The number of users with active sessions and the typical system load over 1, 5, and 15 minutes are also available.
You can also filter the information that is presented all at once according to the choices you make.
40. Make a script to add numerous values.
41. Create a function example.
Conclusion
You can comprehend that shell is primarily an interface between the operating system and the user that translates user-entered instructions to the operating system or kernel with the aid of these shell-scripting interview questions.
This concept is frequently crucial in the interview preparation process for DevOps engineers and automation testers. Shell scripting enables the creation of scripts of different complexity levels. Shell scripting can also be used to automate a variety of recurring processes.
See Hashdork’s Interview Series for help with interview preparation.
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