Learning Linux Shell Scripting - Second Edition

Tasks done by the shell

Whenever we type any text in the shell Terminal, it is the responsibility of the shell (/bin/bash) to execute the command properly. The activities done by the shell are as follows:

• Reading text and parsing the entered command
• Evaluating meta-characters, such as wildcards, special characters, or history characters
• Process io-redirection, pipes, and background processing
• Signal handling
• Initializing programs for execution

We will discuss the preceding topics in the subsequent chapters.