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By Example
Overview

Overview

The Linux Command-Line By Example tutorial provides hands-on learning through practical, annotated code examples. This tutorial targets experienced developers who want to quickly understand command-line patterns and shell scripting techniques through direct code exploration.

Tutorial Approach

This tutorial follows the by-example methodology:

  • Code-first learning - Examples presented with minimal prose
  • Annotated commands - Inline comments explain syntax and behavior
  • Progressive complexity - Examples build from basic to advanced patterns
  • Real-world scenarios - Commands and scripts based on practical use cases
  • Immediate applicability - Copy, modify, and use examples in actual work

What You’ll Learn

By working through these examples, you’ll understand:

  • Shell Basics - Command syntax, options, arguments, and shell behavior
  • File System Navigation - Moving through directories and locating files
  • File Operations - Creating, copying, moving, deleting, and managing files
  • Text Processing - Searching, filtering, transforming, and analyzing text
  • Pipes and Redirection - Combining commands and controlling I/O streams
  • Process Management - Monitoring, controlling, and scheduling processes
  • Shell Scripting - Writing reusable automation scripts
  • Environment Configuration - Customizing shell behavior and profiles
  • Command Composition - Building complex workflows from simple commands

Prerequisites

This tutorial assumes:

  • Linux access - WSL, virtual machine, or native Linux installation
  • Terminal familiarity - Comfort opening and using a terminal emulator
  • Programming experience - Understanding of variables, loops, and conditionals
  • Text editor skills - Ability to create and edit text files

No prior shell scripting experience required - the examples teach through demonstration.

Coverage Overview

This tutorial provides 75% coverage of essential Linux shell skills through 30 annotated examples, organized into two levels:

Beginner Level (Examples 1-20, 0-40% Coverage)

  • Basic Commands: echo, ls, cd, pwd, mkdir, rm, cp, mv, touch, cat
  • File Viewing: less, head, tail, wc
  • Text Search: grep, find
  • Pipes & Redirection: |, >, », <, 2>&1, tee
  • Variables: assignment, expansion, command substitution, environment
  • Conditionals: if/else, test, [[]], case
  • Loops: for, while, arrays
  • Functions: definition, arguments, return values

Intermediate Level (Examples 21-30, 40-75% Coverage)

  • Text Processing: sed, awk for log analysis and data transformation
  • Scripting Patterns: argument parsing, error handling, exit codes
  • Process Management: ps, kill, jobs, signals
  • Permissions: chmod, chown, file security
  • Archiving: tar, gzip, zip for backups
  • Network: curl, wget, ssh, scp, rsync
  • Scheduling: cron, at for automation
  • Best Practices: production-ready script patterns

How to Use This Tutorial

  1. Read the code - Study each example to understand command structure
  2. Run the commands - Execute examples in your terminal to see results
  3. Modify and experiment - Change parameters to explore command behavior
  4. Apply to projects - Adapt examples to solve real problems in your work
  5. Reference later - Return to specific examples when facing similar tasks

Example Format

Examples follow a consistent annotation pattern:

# Descriptive comment explaining the command's purpose
command --option argument  # Inline note about specific syntax

# Multi-line examples include step-by-step comments
variable="value"           # Variable assignment
echo "$variable"           # Variable expansion in double quotes

What is “By Example”?

By-example tutorials are code-first learning materials designed for experienced developers switching to or deepening their Linux shell knowledge. Unlike narrative tutorials, by-example focuses on:

  • Working, runnable code - Every example is copy-paste-executable
  • Heavy annotations - Inline comments with # => notation show outputs and states
  • Self-contained examples - Each example includes all necessary context
  • Production relevance - Real-world patterns used in actual work
  • Progressive complexity - Examples build from basics to production patterns

Tutorial Structure

  • Example 1-20 (Beginner): Core commands, file operations, basic scripting
  • Example 21-30 (Intermediate): Text processing, automation, production patterns

Future expansion will add Examples 31-90 for advanced topics (90% coverage), including performance optimization, debugging, system administration, and security patterns.

Next Steps

Start with Beginner examples for fundamentals, then progress to Intermediate for production patterns.

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