Tag: Batch files

Windows Batch Scripting for Beginners and how to use it.

Paul

What is a Batch file?

Most people will never really understanding what the extension .bat is in Windows or even DOS.  However it is something that is native to programmers around the world because it is the first thing most people who make programs or works with scripting start to use way before they do anything else.  It should be considered the first linguistic languages that is very powerful.  It is designed to be used in DOS but can also be used in Windows as a DOS command easily and effectively through Windows OS.   Some of these are what you should explore even more to learn how to program and create scripts even more.  However this blog post is just a introduction into doing it and how you can use this in your everyday IT Job.

According to Wikipedia:

A batch file is a script file in DOS, OS/2 and Microsoft Windows. It consists of a series of commands to be executed by the command-line interpreter, stored in a plain text file. A batch file may contain any command the interpreter accepts interactively and use constructs that enable conditional branching.

Understanding scripting is the first part in creating powerful scripts for everyday use.  However, I am one of the few to use the help command in DOS:

HELP [command]

This is a good tool for those who might want to explore the power of using a Batch to get your job done or to creating a batch file because you will need to know what you can use in the batch file.

Here are a few commands you might want to use in a batch file:

  • SET /P variable=[promptString]
  • Start of the batch file ECHO OFF and ECHO ON after the batch file is complete.
  • If and THEN (Wikipedia)
  • CALL filename.bat

Creating Batch files

I’m not going to go into much details about creating the batch in the way you might need but I will be talking about this in general about ways you can create a batch and which programs are good at helping you create a batch file.

First you need a program to create it.  You can always use Wordpad or Notepad but you could find it isnt’ a good as Notepad ++.   I have used it in the past for programming in many different programming languages such as Pascal, C++, COBOL, and SHELL Scripting.  I’ve talked about SHELL scripting in past for LINUX which you can use Notepad++ for it also to create Linux shell scripting.  I will say you can do a lot with the open-sourced program that is free to use.  So I always want to use this with anything I am doing because it shows you where you might have a problem in your scripting language and helps you identify how to fix it.  You’re best advice is to just try to think about what you want to accomplish with a batch file and start thinking logically about how you would do that.

You will need to make sure the .batextension is on the file name.  Make the filename something that you can easily run in DOS because you don’t want to make the batch file anything complicated because that might not work properly if you use a call command in another batch file.  So consider the naming convention of your batch file(s).

Trial and Error

After creating the batch file you will need to do some trial and error test to make sure it will work with what you need to use it for and also make sure there isn’t something unexpected.   This is what programmers do all the time by compiling  the program and running it on different systems to see what it will do in different Windows environments.

Finally, You will see that you can do so much more with a batch that you previously did and it can be a great asset in doing repetitive stuff at work or at home.   If you do this right it can even help speed up your life.   Here are a few Blog posts that I have talked about previous:

As you can see these will help you understanding scripting but also help you to figure out what you might want to do with a Batch and why you might need to create a batch file.  Even I know this is only a few blog post that will at least hopefully give you even more ideas on what will help you to create batch files.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to my blog page for even more updates.   Do you have a favorite DOS command?  why not share it with others so they can learn even more.

Understanding Shell Script in Linux Mint and how to use it properly

Paul

 

Shell script

Shell scripts are powerful!

Any Admin who has used shell scripts to complete a bunch of tasks on Linux will tell that you should already be using it.  It’s something that even I can’t really understand but know a lot about since I have to install Linux a lot.   Sometimes it can go weeks before I have to use my shell script again or the next day.  It varies from time to time when I will need to use it but it is an admins best friend.   Is shell scripts like python, absolutely but there is something that we should at least explore and understand.   I am going to talk about this and give examples for those who might want to follow along with me as we talk about “What is shell scripts and how can I use them?”.  I am sure this will be a long series maybe a few post here and there but it will be really good for those who might want to learn even more about the world of Linux.

Shell scripts vs python

Let’s at least get this one out of the way, because someone is bound to ask this question.  What’s the difference in shell scripts verses python?  In the short answer not much, but in the long answer the python language is more complex and you can do a lot more with the python did you can do with shell but only to a point.  Each one has it’s own unique qualities and can be used on Linux and Windows.   Although shell scripts can’t be run on exactly, they can be renamed to be batch files (.bat) which is DOS(Directory of System) old system.  Way before Windows we had DOS and way before any GUI interfaces we had to create batch files to load up the system.  If you’re old enough you probably remember autoexec.bat or even the config.sys files that you occasionally had to edit to get to the command prompt.

Shell scripts in Linux

What’s the use of using shell scripts in Linux you might be asking yourself?  It’s very useful to use when there is a problem or need to install a bunch of things that would take longer to install individually.  Shell script basics are really just that like a batch file in DOS and it can do a lot of things from asking a question to installing many different files.   It can rename or remove files, it is also good for cleaning up a directory that might be full of junk files or maybe you want to have a shell script to backup your /home directory.  This is the power of shell scripting in Linux.  Shell script basics can make your life so much easier and better in the long when you finally decide to delve into the Linux system.

Shell scripts If and then

Just like batch files, you can use this in Shell scripting.  If something happens then do this or you can even go farther that by using Else statements also.  You can ask something from the admin like where the file location of a file you want to use.  It can make your life so much simpler and can help keep the Linux system running smoothly.

if [ expression ]
then
statement
fi

You can do so much more with the shell script when you personalize it to what ever you might need.

echo What is the shell script you want to run?
read $FILE
if ! [ +r $FILE ]; then
Echo "Admin permissions are required to run this shell script"
then exit 0

As you can see this can be very useful when you want to get around certain installation situations and needing to install files without prompting.

Here’s a good one for those who might need to do just that:

echo y|sudo apt-get install [apt program]

This will allow you to bypass the yes question when it is asked and you can just create a basic shell script to install the files that you wanting to do like I have from time to time with gaming systems.   If you don’t want to wait around and install them manually this is the best approach for people who might want to multiple programs at once.

Executing the shell script

if you can’t execute the shell script than you haven’t given permissions to execute it in Linux.  You either have edit the properties in Linux, by right clicking on the shell script and clicking on the properties tab.   Then check “Allow executing file as a program” or you can do a command line

chmod 0700 script.sh (only allow owner to run script)
chmod 0755 script.sh (Allow owner users, and groups to run script)

As you can see the chmod command can be very useful in Linux, so take care to use it wisely.   I will talk about even more about shell scripting in the coming days and hopefully provide you with a very powerful script for installing all the gaming and even the drivers that you might need to for your new Linux gaming system.