Unix Scripting Practice Exam

The Unix Scripting exam evaluates candidates on their proficiency in writing shell scripts for Unix-based operating systems. It covers various scripting languages commonly used on Unix platforms, such as Bash, Korn shell (ksh), and C shell (csh). This exam assesses individuals' ability to automate tasks, manipulate files and directories, manage processes, and perform system administration tasks using shell scripting.

Skills Required

• Unix Operating Systems: Familiarity with Unix-based operating systems like Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris.
• Scripting Languages: Proficiency in shell scripting languages such as Bash, Korn shell (ksh), and C shell (csh).
• Basic Unix Commands: Understanding of basic Unix commands for file manipulation, process management, and system administration.
• Text Processing Tools: Knowledge of text processing utilities like grep, sed, and awk for manipulating and analyzing text data.
• System Administration: Understanding of system administration tasks and the ability to automate routine administrative tasks using shell scripts.
• Problem-Solving Skills: Strong problem-solving skills to write efficient and effective scripts for various tasks and scenarios.
• Debugging and Troubleshooting: Ability to debug and troubleshoot shell scripts for errors and issues.

Who should take the exam?

• System Administrators: IT professionals responsible for automating system administration tasks on Unix-based servers.
• Developers: Software developers who need to write shell scripts for automating tasks or integrating Unix systems with other platforms.
• DevOps Engineers: Professionals involved in automating deployment, configuration, and management of Unix-based infrastructure.
• Unix Support Engineers: Technical support personnel who troubleshoot and resolve issues on Unix systems using shell scripts.
• Aspiring Unix Scripting Professionals: Individuals seeking to enhance their scripting skills and advance their careers in Unix system administration or software development.

Course Outline

The Unix Scripting exam covers the following topics :-

Module 1: Introduction to Shell Scripting

• Overview of shell scripting and its importance in Unix system administration.
• Different types of Unix shells: Bash, Korn shell (ksh), C shell (csh).

Module 2: Shell Scripting Basics

• Writing and executing simple shell scripts.
• Shell script syntax: comments, variables, data types, and expressions.
• Using command-line arguments and environment variables in shell scripts.

Module 3: Control Structures and Flow Control

• Conditional statements: if-else, case, and test constructs.
• Looping constructs: for, while, and until loops.
• Controlling script execution with break and continue statements.

Module 4: File and Directory Operations

• Working with files and directories: creation, deletion, copying, moving, and renaming.
• File permissions and ownership: chmod, chown, and chgrp commands.
• File manipulation commands: cat, touch, rm, mv, cp, and mkdir.

Module 5: Text Processing and Manipulation

• Introduction to text processing tools: grep, sed, and awk.
• Searching and filtering text data using regular expressions.
• Text substitution, extraction, and formatting with sed and awk.

Module 6: Process Management and Automation

• Managing processes: starting, stopping, and monitoring processes.
• Automating repetitive tasks with shell scripts: scheduling, cron jobs, and batch processing.
• Process control commands: ps, kill, pgrep, and pkill.

Module 7: Error Handling and Debugging

• Error handling techniques: trap, exit codes, and error messages.
• Debugging shell scripts: echo statements, tracing, and error logging.
• Handling common errors and troubleshooting script issues.

Module 8: Advanced Shell Scripting Techniques

• Advanced scripting features: functions, arrays, and command substitution.
• Scripting best practices: code optimization, portability, and documentation.
• Using external commands and utilities in shell scripts.