#!/bin/bash
echo 'Hello, World!'.webp){kind=logo}
Ask the right questions to secure the right Bash talent among an increasingly shrinking pool of talent.
Bash, an acronym for Bourne Again SHell, is a Unix shell and command language created by Brian Fox for the GNU Project in 1989. It is a free software replacement for the Bourne shell (sh), originally developed by Stephen Bourne for AT&T's Unix version 7 in 1979. Bash is a powerful programming language, providing complete control over UNIX/Linux systems, and is widely used for its command line interface (CLI) scripting capabilities. It is the default shell for most UNIX systems, including Linux and macOS, and has been ported to Microsoft Windows and distributed with Cygwin and MinGW. Bash's features include programmable command-line completion, command-line editing, and a history mechanism.
The next 20 minutes of the interview should attempt to focus more specifically on the development questions used, and the level of depth and skill the engineer possesses.
A conditional statement in Bash can be written using if, then, else, and fi. For example: if [ $a -gt $b ]; then echo 'a is greater than b'; else echo 'b is greater than a'; fi.
The 'echo' command in Bash is used to print output to the terminal. It can be used to display text or the value of a variable.
A for loop in Bash can be written as follows: for i in {1..10}; do echo $i; done. This will print the numbers 1 to 10.
Bash only supports one data type, which is a string. Even when you are using numbers, they are still treated as strings.
You can create a variable in Bash by using the equals sign with no spaces, like this: variableName=value.
This will show if the candidate can handle the complexity of the tasks they will be given.
This shows that the candidate has in-depth knowledge and experience.
This is a common use of Bash scripting and shows practical knowledge.
Debugging is a key skill in any software development role, including Bash scripting.
Bash scripting is often used in these environments, so familiarity with them is important.
This is crucial as the candidate will be writing and dealing with scripts on a daily basis.
The next 20 minutes of the interview should attempt to focus more specifically on the development questions used, and the level of depth and skill the engineer possesses.
Errors in a Bash script can be handled using the 'set' command with the '-e' option, which causes the script to exit when a command fails. You can also use conditional statements to check the status of a command and take appropriate action.
'source' and '.' are both commands in Bash that are used to read and execute commands from a file in the current shell environment. There is no difference between them except for their name.
A Bash script can be executed by either giving it execute permissions using the chmod command and then running it directly, or by passing the script name as an argument to the Bash command.
Arguments can be passed to a Bash script after the script name, separated by spaces. Inside the script, they can be accessed as $1, $2, etc.
A script is a file that contains a sequence of commands for a Unix-based operating system. A function, on the other hand, is a group of commands that is given a name and can be called from anywhere within the script.
At this stage, the candidate should demonstrate advanced bash scripting knowledge, problem-solving ability, and experience with Unix/Linux systems. Red flags include inability to explain commands or scripts in detail, lack of understanding of system processes or over-reliance on tools without understanding underlying principles.
#!/bin/bash
echo 'Hello, World!'#!/bin/bash
var='Hello, World!'
echo $var#!/bin/bash
array=('one' 'two' 'three')
for i in "${array[@]}"
do
echo $i
done#!/bin/bash
(echo 'Hello, World!' &)#!/bin/bash
: ${CLASS:=DefaultClass}
: ${METHOD:=defaultMethod}
$CLASS() {
$METHOD() {
echo 'Hello, World!'
}
}
$CLASS
$METHOD#!/bin/bash
function func() {
local temp=$[ $value + 5 ]
result=$[ $temp * 2 ]
}
value=4
func
echo $resultThe final few interview questions for a Bash candidate should typically focus on a combination of technical skills, personal goals, growth potential, team dynamics, and company culture.
Input can be read in a Bash script using the 'read' command, which reads a line from the standard input and splits it into words. These words can then be stored in variables. Another way to read input is by using command line arguments.
You can make a Bash script run in the background by appending an ampersand (&) to the end of the command that runs the script. You can also use the 'nohup' command to ensure that the script continues running even if the terminal is closed.
Both '$*' and '$@' are used to refer to all arguments passed to a script. The difference is in how they handle arguments that contain spaces. '$*' treats the entire set of positional parameters as a single string, while '$@' treats each argument as a separate string.
You can debug a Bash script by running it with the '-x' option, which prints each command to the terminal before it is executed. You can also use the 'set' command with the '-x' option to enable debugging for part of the script.
The 'trap' command in Bash is used to specify commands that will be executed when a signal is received by the script. This can be used to perform cleanup tasks before the script exits.
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