[ Thanks to Bob
Roberts for this link. ]
“Any Linux administrator who wishes to remain sane relies
heavily on scripting to automate routine tasks, customize jobs, and
build the plumbing that connects the different utilities that make
a Linux system run smoothly. The Linux world is chock-full of
scripting languages: Perl, Python, PHP, Scheme, Tcl, Tk, Ruby,
Forth, Smalltalk, Eiffel, and doubtless many more. To get the
column started, we’ll look at shell scripting with Bash, and
scripting with Python and Perl.“Understanding what Bash does is fundamental to using Linux.
Bash is a command interpreter, the direct interface between you and
your Linux system. Python is easy-to-learn, yet capable of handling
any system administration chore. Perl is endlessly flexible, which
makes learning it rather vexing at times. But it can do almost
anything: Complex programs are written in Perl, such as the
indispensible game Frozen-Bubble…”