Learn This, Save Time

[@yashKadam619]

My first few bash scripts were install scripts, I always install fedora on any machine, so now there are post-install tweaks, App install scripts in my dotfiles, and I can just sit back and scroll on my phone until the scripts do their thing.

[@thingsiplay]

I think this is one of the best advice one can get on Linux. The good thing is, that the entire ecosystem of Linux is good for scripting, unlike some winderful operating systems. If you can do stuff on the terminal, then you can just save the commands in a script; Now you can scripting. But obviously there are some more programming language constructs that can help you further and automate even better. In short: Yes, learn basics of Bash and how to script most common constructs. You can use this knowledge until rest of your life. It's worth it.

[@emreersoz9499]

Tuncay kankam ac bir kanal sen de. Seni de dinleyelim :)

[@greywolf271]

So you can't do it in Windows ? You can do much more if you bother to learn about it. And you have an extremely good compiler in Visual Studio that is well documented. Linux can be a pain in the ass because so called system builders are so up themselves, they can't collaborate on a useful legacy system that does'nt change every 6 months.

[@thingsiplay]

@@greywolf271 The point is, the eco system and applications are not made for scripting in Windows. In Linux most standard programs and additional tools are especially made for. Linux is far ahead Windows in regard this.

[@UliTroyo]

I recently spent an afternoon automating everything I often do: aliases for common cd commands, scripts to auto update programs and plugins, scripts to pull repos, scripts to edit config files, aliases for one-line git add commit and push… I’m already saving crazy amounts of time and mental overhead. Nuts I didn’t do it earlier.

[@notliach]

Last week the company I work for came up with a attendance tracking website, where you have to log in and press a button to check when you're working. I ended up finding the API endpoints and scripting a scheduling tool to do the work on a cloud server, even when I'm away (don't tell them...). My experience as a developer is that you don't really need to learn, just know that it exists and "google for it" what you need.

[@Mugnmastr]

This video came out at the perfect time! I started learning bash scripting just a few days ago and I am currently going through a couple of books right now titled the Linux Bible and Mastering Linux Shell Scripting. Both are turning out to be excellent resources if you want to get your start in Bash scripting, but the Mastering book covers it in much greater detail.

[@carltaylor4942]

Coffeecan5577 - Both of those books are excellent for learning bash. Good luck. It's a really useful skill.

[@blakehensley]

I remember back when I didn’t even know what the command line was 😂

[@ForikiTheRat]

"wtf is even cli"

[@JohnBortins]

Love the command line - much more efficient for elements of my work flow.

[@itsfish8672]

I agree Matt. GVM.

[@keylowmike85]

Bash scripting is something that i would like to learn at some point, just going to have to make time for it. Excellent presentation as always, Matt!

[@openroomxyz]

Thanks for creating!

[@Prophet6000]

I learned how to use the command line man I love it now. You can change everything with just the basic commands.

[@phonewithoutquestion80]

I'm currently using a script that makes launching applications from the terminal more practical.

[@A_G420]

Nerd points ARE real I love learning & breaking things learning. This is why I love Timeshift snapshots right before I "go wild" so to speak. Love your videos man

[@maurolimaok]

Very nice video. Thanks.

[@Bruces-Eclectic-World]

Sink Hole is putting it mildly... LOL It is a awesome and fun road to go down... My kindergartner script's was done with a 2" paint brush. 😛 BTW Matt, thanks for the donation! I seen that on the GoFundMe page! While it was just a old house and yes sister lost everything and no insurance. The Linux community comes up and surprise's you one more time even though were are all like step-child's and fright all the time. Sometimes we do move as one.. Lol Thanks again Matt and everyone! LLAP 🖖

[@scotth8828]

I'm learning bash and I'm trying to reinforce vim (maybe neovim in the near future) keyboard shortcuts because I just finished up learning vim. It's a good way to learn the environment, learn the editor you choose and, as you say, to clear that hurdle that others say "nah" to.

[@tylerdean980]

I followed DT’s video on dmenu scripting and I’ve already applied the principles to several dmenu scripts, makes things a little faster. I’d like to fork LARBS next.

[@lucashandekyn]

Could you do a tutorial on the theme changing? It is really cool!

[@anon_y_mousse]

Even though I know multiple programming languages I still use bash to automate a lot of tasks, it's just easier. If I need more complex processing in a script, I've found that there's generally a program I can use. Fun fact: there's even a standard utility to reverse a string.

[@jamesb2877]

i have an script to tell me browser is open do you want to open another window? And 1 text editor open I all so uses a lot tts scripts. my Computer sounds like a person speaking to me all the time and no it not a screen reader.

[@daveprice9128]

Ive never seen any bash script worth making but backup

[@Go.el_Hadam]

Could you make a tutorial series on how to learn to script? I would love to script but I have no idea where to start.

[@Rbourk252]

My old ma is 89 and she can’t use a keyboard any more. She uses Linux gui all the time with no problem. Admittedly I do pop by and do security updates and other bash tasks for her from time to time.

[@johnterpack3940]

I do a ton of scripting on windows. Not for automation. I use it to manage all the mods I have for various games. I can't imagine using a GUI to try and find all the files of a certain type in all the subfolders I just unzipped and move them up to the main folder.

[@pewolo]

Bash is a powerful scripting language. We know it’s capable of big things, but we don’t want to read the manuals to find out.

[@soppaism]

Just remember to test/develop your scripts in some safe directory. Even if somehow experienced, you can easily end up overwriting/removing stuff in your working dir by accident (even the sortest of scripts usually take some attempts before they work as intended).

[@etopowertwon]

I found that afte learning python I use bash scripts less and less. Python has better IDE support, less error prone than bash, it's easier to split load to subprocesses (I don't want to deal with xargs delimiters). I generally prefer python for anything complex because the moment space appears in bash script, all hell breaks loose. Python is easier to reuse. And easier to expand (pickle->sqlite3)

[@diveallz1044]

So in theory would it be possible to make a script to automatically clear RAM cache when it hits a specific amount.?

[@erdanxiloscient3666]

If you can figure out how to do it on the command line, then yeah. A script is just a bunch of commands put into a convenient file. I think you can make a script that checks the amount of ram cache being used every so often and clears it if it’s above a certain amount. Just run the script every time your system boots up (cron job, .profile, other methods). Also I’ve never dealt with ram cache, but why would you want to do this? As far as I know, the OS manages ram automatically

[@CyperN077]

Matt The only thing I hate about to using scripts is using be careful of relying on libraries from other programs. It can break your script tealy quickly.

[@t0menlegam890]

rite bro

[@nrdfoss]

did i just watch future me?

[@locatemarbles]

It is kind of sad that people think bash scripting is for developers/programmers. When Unix was made, the idea was that programmers/developers would use assembly and C, while the regular end-user would use shell (bash) scripting.

[@guilherme5094]

👍!

[@garethdawkins7471]

i’ll script something if i’ve done it 100 times by myself. Ive gotta know that I know something. Even a trivial command

[@GreyDeathVaccine]

If i do something rarely that I don't have much of understanding of it, than I create a note for it. 🙂 When I understand something better and use it more often, I create an alias or short script for it.

[@NoLoginIdea]

Everyday my hate for shell scripting grows a little.That syntax is horrid.

[@summerishere2868]

Bash for a few lines script it is fine, more than that python is imo better and cross platform.

[@synen]

Python is no replacement for Bash, apples and oranges.

[@summerishere2868]

@@synen No one said that.

[@newplayer7743]

no longer use bash, take a look at dash, it will be nicer to create simple script with shebang sh POSIX complaint instead

[@Stopinvadingmyhardware]

No