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Hands-on Introduction to Linux Commands and Shell Scripting

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BeginnerCourse

Introduction to Linux/UNIX shell commands: Learn basics of Bash shell scripting, work with commands, navigate directories, edit files, schedule cron jobs. Ideal for data engineers, data scientists, software developers and cloud practitioners.

4.6 (1k+ Reviews)

Language

  • English

Topic

  • Linux

Enrollment Count

  • 30.69K

Skills You Will Learn

  • System Software, Operating Systems, Shell Script, System Programming, Linux, Bash (Unix Shell)

Offered By

  • IBMSkillsNetwork

Estimated Effort

  • 14 hours

Platform

  • Coursera

Last Update

  • April 26, 2025
About this Course
Introduction to Linux and UNIX Shell Commands

This course provides a practical introduction to Linux and commonly used Linux / UNIX shell commands. It teaches you the basics of Bash shell scripting to automate a variety of tasks. The course includes both video-based lectures as well as hands-on labs to practice and apply what you learn. You will have no-charge access to a virtual Linux server that you can access through your web browser, so you don't need to download and install anything to perform the labs.


You will learn how to interact with the Linux Terminal, execute commands, navigate directories, edit files, as well as install and update software.


You will work with general purpose commands like id, date, uname, ps, top, echo, man; directory management commands such as pwd, cd, mkdir, rmdir, find, df; file management commands like cat, wget, more, head, tail, cp, mv, touch, tar, zip, unzip; access control command chmod; text processing commands - wc, grep, tr; as well as networking commands - hostname, ping, ifconfig and curl.


You will create simple to more advanced shell scripts that involve Metacharacters, Quoting, Variables, Command substitution, I/O Redirection, Pipes & Filters, and Command line arguments. You will also schedule cron jobs using crontab.


This course is ideal for data engineers, data scientists, software developers, DevOps professionals, and cloud practitioners who want to get familiar with frequently used commands on Linux, MacOS and other Unix-like operating systems as well as get started with creating shell scripts.

Instructors

Sam Prokopchuk

Software Engineer, Data Scientist Intern

Software Engineer/Data Scientist Intern at IBM.

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Rav Ahuja

Global Program Director, IBM Skills Network

Rav Ahuja is a Global Program Director at IBM. He leads growth strategy, curriculum creation, and partner programs for the IBM Skills Network. Rav co-founded Cognitive Class, an IBM led initiative to democratize skills for in demand technologies. He is based out of the IBM Canada Lab in Toronto and specializes in instructional solutions for AI, Data, Software Engineering and Cloud. Rav presents at events worldwide and has authored numerous papers, articles, books and courses on subjects in managing and analyzing data. Rav holds B. Eng. from McGill University and MBA from University of Western Ontario.

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