10 Bash Scripting Constructs Every Engineer Should Know

Mastering Bash for Engineers: 10 Constructs to Rule Them All

Bash scripting is a superpower for engineers. Whether automating repetitive tasks, gluing together tools, or managing systems, Bash is always there, simple yet powerful.

But like any power, it requires mastery. Let me walk you through 10 essential Bash constructs through the lens of a plausible scenario.

Bash

The Scenario

You’re tasked with analyzing server logs from multiple files, extracting failed login attempts, and generating a report. It’s a routine problem, but with Bash, we’ll make it elegant and reusable.

1. Setting the Stage with a Script

We begin our journey by writing the skeleton of our script:

#!/bin/bash

set -e # Exit on errors
trap 'echo "Error on line $LINENO"; exit 1' ERR

Why?:

• set -e ensures the script stops at the first sign of trouble.
• trap catches errors, giving us helpful debugging information.

2. Modularize with Functions

Good scripts are modular. Let’s define a function to parse log files: