Table 4-1 is a sampling of features that are common to bash and other Unix shells .
Symbol/command | Meaning/action |
---|---|
> | Redirect output |
>> | Append to file |
< | Redirect input |
<< | Here document (redirect input) |
| Pipe output |
& | Run process in background |
; | Separate commands on same line |
* | Match any character(s) in filename |
? | Match single character in filename |
! n | Repeat command number n |
[ ] | Match any characters enclosed |
( ) | Execute in subshell |
'' | Substitute output of enclosed command |
" " | Partial quote (allows variable and command expansion) |
' ' | Full quote (no expansion) |
\ | Quote following character |
$ var | Use value for variable |
$$ | Process ID |
$0 | Command name |
$ n | n th argument (0< n 9) |
$* | All arguments as simple words |
# | Begin comment |
Tab | Complete current word |
bg | Background execution |
break | Break from loop statements |
cd | Change directory |
continue | Resume a program loop |
echo | Display output |
eval | Evaluate arguments |
exec | Execute a new shell |
fg | Foreground execution |
jobs | Show active jobs |
kill | Terminate running jobs |
newgrp | Change to a new group |
shift | Shift positional parameters |
stop | Suspend a background job |
suspend | Suspend a foreground job (such as a shell created by su ) |
time | Time a command |
umask | Set default file permissions for new files |
unset | Erase variable or function definitions |
wait | Wait for a background job to finish |