Exercise

Our First Bash Script Exercise

Task

Write a script, make it runnable, and get it to the point where you can run it by name from anywhere.

Host: servera
Script: /home/student/scripts/take_inventory.sh

Write the script in your home directory

Line 1 is the hashbang. It names the interpreter that will run the rest of the file.
```
cd ~
vim take_inventory.sh
```
```
#!/bin/bash
echo "Taking inventory"
ls > inventory
```
```
cat take_inventory.sh
```
Try to run it and fix the permission

A new file is not executable, so the kernel will not run it.
```
ls -l take_inventory.sh
./take_inventory.sh
```
Add the execute bit and look at the change.
```
chmod a+x take_inventory.sh
ls -l take_inventory.sh
```
Run it with ./

./ means run the file at this path.
```
./take_inventory.sh
cat inventory
```
Find out why the bare name does not work
```
take_inventory.sh
```
Bash searches PATH, and your home directory is not on it. Look at what is.
```
echo $PATH
```
You have been here before ~/scripts is on that list because you added it to ~/.bashrc earlier today.
Move it onto your PATH and run it by name
```
mv take_inventory.sh ~/scripts/
take_inventory.sh
```
No ./ this time. Bash found it on PATH, exactly the way it finds ls.

Clean up
```
rm -f ~/inventory
```