Linux Basics

Learning Objectives

• Navigate and manipulate the Linux filesystem confidently
• Understand file and directory permissions and ownership
• Create and execute Bash scripts for automation
• Implement proper file organization practices
• Document system operations effectively

Requirements

You are required to create a Bash script linux-basics.sh that demonstrates core Linux filesystem operations:

1. Directory Management
   • Create a nested directory structure:

     project/
     ├── docs/
     ├── src/
     │   ├── modules/
     │   └── config/
     └── logs/
     

   • Navigate between directories (cd)
   • Display current working directory (pwd)
2. File Operations
   • Create files using different methods (touch, echo, cat)
   • Copy files between directories (cp)
   • Move and rename files (mv)
   • Create symbolic links (ln -s)
   • Display file contents (cat, head, tail)
3. Permissions and Ownership
   • Change file permissions using symbolic and numeric notation (chmod)
   • Change file ownership (chown, chgrp)
   • Create a script with executable permissions
   • Use sudo for elevated operations and document usage
4. File Analysis and Searching
   • List directory contents with detail (ls -la)
   • Search for files by name (find)
   • Search within files (grep)
   • Display file type (file)
5. Script Documentation
   • Add header comments explaining script purpose
   • Document each major section
   • Include usage examples

Stretch Goals

• Implement logging: append all actions and timestamps to a log file
• Add error handling for operations that might fail
• Create a simple interactive menu
• Add compression and archiving (tar, gzip)

Deliverables

• linux-basics.sh implementing all required operations
• Example output from a real execution
• Documentation explaining each command and its purpose

References

• Linux Command Line Basics - Ubuntu
• Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
• Linux File Permissions Explained
• Bash Scripting Tutorial
• Advanced Bash Scripting Guide

Once you complete this task you will navigate the Linux filesystem confidently and automate routine operations via shell script - the daily environment of every DevOps engineer.