In the last chapter, we created the VM and logged in using SSH, but how do we interact with the Linux machine and instruct it to perform tasks? As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, we'll use the shell.

We'll be exploring the widely used Bash shell, the configuration of the Bash shell, and how to use it. A shell is a user interface in which you can do the following:

• Interact with the kernel, filesystem, and processes
• Execute programs, aliases, and shell built-ins

A shell provides features such as the following:

• Scripting
• Auto-completion
• History and aliasing

There are many different shells available, such as the KornShell, Bash, and the Z shell (Zsh). Bash is the default shell on almost every Linux system. Its development started in 1988 as a replacement for one of the oldest shells: the Bourne shell. Bash was based on the Bourne shell and lessons learned from other shells such as the KornShell and the...