UNIX Fundamentals

Start by building a solid understanding of how the UNIX operating system works. You’ll learn to navigate the file system, structure commands efficiently, and manage files and directories with confidence. Key concepts such as redirection, piping, and logical command execution will become second nature as you complete targeted exercises. This foundational knowledge sets you up to use UNIX effectively, whether you're supporting systems, working with applications, or preparing for more advanced scripting and automation roles. 

In this module, you'll work extensively with the vi/Vim editor to create and modify files directly from the command line. You’ll explore essential editing commands, undo and redo functionality, and environment customisation. Beyond editing, you'll gain skills in text searching and manipulation using grep, sed, and regular expressions. You’ll also learn to recall and edit previously executed commands using features in the Bash and Korn shells - improving productivity and reducing the chance of manual errors in repetitive tasks.  

This part of the course guides you through the process of writing shell scripts that make everyday tasks faster and more reliable. You’ll learn how to declare and manipulate variables, use conditional logic, and incorporate loop structures such as for, while, and until. You’ll write interactive scripts, manage runtime data, and explore how to generate dynamic outputs. By the end of this section, you’ll be able to create clear, reusable scripts that can deliver immediate value in operational environments.  

The course concludes with advanced scripting techniques that extend your capabilities in UNIX. You’ll implement multi-branch decisions using case and select statements, and learn to design menu-driven scripts that improve usability. You’ll also use AWK for advanced text processing and integrate it within Bash constructs. Finally, you’ll explore how to trap and handle interrupt signals and write functions to modularise your code. These advanced tools allow you to write cleaner, more scalable, and more robust scripts.