About the Author Richard Blum has worked in the IT industry for over 19 years as both a systems and network administrator. During this time he has administered Unix, Linux, Novell, and Microsoft servers, as well as helped design and maintain a 3500-user network utilizing Cisco switches and routers. He has used Linux servers and shell scripts to perform automated network monitoring, and has written shell scripts in just about every Unix shell environment. Rich has a bachelor of science degree in Electrical Engineering, and a master of science degree in Management, specializing in management information systems, from Purdue University. He is the author of several Linux books, including sendmail for Linux, Running qmail, Postfix, Open Source E-mail Security, Network Performance Open Source Toolkit, and Professional Assembly Language Programming. He’s also a coauthor of Professional Linux Programming and Linux For Dummies, 8th Edition. When he’s not being a computer nerd, Rich plays bass guitar for his church worship band and enjoys spending time with his wife, Barbara, and their two daughters, Katie Jane and Jessica. Contents at a Glance Part I The Linux Command Line Part II Shell Scripting Basics Part III Advanced Shell Scripting Part IV Alternative Linux Shells Part V Advanced Topics