Shell

A shell is a command-line interface that allows users to interact with the operating system.

  • The shell reads commands and tells the OS what to do.
  • Bash is the most common Linux shell.

Types of shells :

Shell Description
sh Bourne Shell (original Unix shell)
ksh Korn Shell
bash Bourne Again Shell (most common default shell)
zsh Z Shell (for macOS)

Bash Features

  • History – reuse old commands
  • Scripting – run commands from a file
  • Aliases – short names for long commands
  • Variables – store settings and values

common prompt structure

alamgir@fedora:~$ 
  • alamgirusername on the system
  • fedorahostname (the computer’s name)
  • ~current directory (tilde ~ means “home directory”)
  • $ → prompt symbol for a regular user (if were root, it would be #)