Sec. 8: Scripting Basics

A ________ lets you edit documents that are stored in plain-text format.

• File editor

• Text Editor

• File viewer

Answer explanation

A text editor allows a user to edit documents in plain text. In the course, you learned how to use vi and nano.

Text files can include graphics, use multiple fonts, emphasize words by italicization,and other special forms of representation.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Text files can only contain plain text represented by ASCII characters. A more complicated file type can contain fonts, bold, and italics.

A ______ is a program written in an interpreted language, typically associated with a shell or a compiled program.

• Command

• Textfile

• Script

Answer explanation

A script is a simple text file that is executable. It contains a list of various commands that can be run within the shell.

One of the most basic features of shell scripts is

• the ability to compile programs

• the ability to run commands

• to ask for user input

Answer explanation

The most basic script is a file containing one or more commands.

_________ is a placeholder for a value that will be determined when the script runs.

• Variable

• Script

• Pipeline command

In this script, the display should be:

• "Pinging ipaddress..."

• "Checking to see if ipaddress is up.."

• "Checking ipaddress..."

Answer explanation

The command echo will display the text to the screen. Since “Checking to see if $ip is up…” is used, the ip variable will be calculated in the second line of the script, and then displayed in the echo command.

By convention, environment variable names are all uppercase.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Environment variables should be written in all uppercase, like $CURRENT_PWD.

_________________ enables a script to perform one of several actions relying on a particular condition or value of a variable.

• Delimiter

• Variables

• Conditional Expression

Answer explanation

A condition expression enables a script to perform one of several actions relying on a particular condition or value of a variable.

Loops tell the script to perform the same task repeatedly until it executes the program in a specified number of times.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

There are for, while, and until loops in bash. Each has a different meaning. The statement above only applies to for loops.

The way to code a script to end is by setting a return value or ___________.

• For loop

• Exit value

• Conditional expression

Answer explanation

An exit value is using the exit command and a number is a handy way of signalling the outcome of your script. It mimics the way that bash commands output a return code. With bash commands the return code 0 usually means that everything executed successfully without errors. exit also makes your script stop execution at that point and return to the command line.