Interactive Scripts
As an administrator, you may view shell scripts as wordless minions that do their job and die silently – unless an error occurs, of course. At least, that's what we expect from a well-behaving Unix command. There are good reasons for that (think pipelining), but it doesn't mean you must have it that way all the time.
In this Core Tech, we'll learn some tricks to make shell scripts interact with the user via command prompts and dialog boxes. This is how you got Slackware installed, right? (You did try Slackware, didn't you?) Yes, the Slackware installer is basically a shell script, and with some tools under your belt, you can do no worse than Patrick Volkerding. Sound good? If so, let's go and have some text-mode fun.
Command Prompt
Perhaps the simplest form of interactivity you can have in your scripts is a command prompt. That's how shell itself is made interactive, after all. Getting pieces of data from the user is possible with the read built-in command [1]. But, to make things fancier, let's throw some history support and other readline goodies into the mix.
[...]
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.