Beginning Portable Shell Scripting: From Novice to Professional

CHAPTER 7Shell Language Portability

So far, this book has mostly discussed the portable subset of shell languages, with an occasional warning that a useful technique may not always be portable. This chapter discusses shell portability in much greater detail, starting with more discussion on what portability is and how bugs and features differ. The next sections discuss some of the most common additional features and extensions, with brief notes on where you might find them. This includes substitution rules, redirections, and even additional syntax structures found in some shells. There is also a discussion of which features may be omitted for a stripped-down shell.

Following the discussion of extensions is a list of common shell variants, including ...