Fixes #1312: adding bash programming howto as follow up reference

[JimCircadian]

Will email to [email protected], but will also look through the issues too :)

[deppen8]

It is new to me so I just skimmed it, but I like that guide, @bkmgit .

My one hesitation: Is there any chance it is out of date compared to the lesson? Unless I am reading it wrong, it was last updated in 2000.

[JimCircadian]

@deppen8 by comparison to the advanced bash scripting guide it's out of date, but the coverage of this simpler guide and the lessons is such that there won't have been breaking changes in the last 22 years. The subject matter for bash users presented in both is fundamental functionality that hasn't changed.

That said, it could be an argument for putting both in, and certainly it won't cover recent features of bash! Could be worth having a look at #1312 for context...

[JimCircadian]

Just looking at bash version history and this would've been (assuming the date has been updated) last updated as of v2. My own version of bash is a 2011 release, so you can see that the timescales are huge.

More than happy to add information/extra links, or have a more in depth look at the changelog to verify my statements above @bkmgit @deppen8 :)

[bkmgit]

Bash changes quite slowly, so I think it should be ok. The more advanced guide is at a very different level than the lesson.

[JimCircadian]

@gcapes

1. I'm not sure I agree that this isn't a manual, but that's an argument based on semantics. 😉 It's aimed at providing information on "how to write intermediate shell scripts", which is what a manual is by definition. Originally I was after the advanced shell scripting guide which is better maintained and a very useful reference manual, but was deemed too much extra information. All told, these (or rather the ABS I originally proposed) have been useful references I've used over a number of years, so I thought they'd be helpful: certainly users should become reasonably able over time to use references such as this, hence proposing to put them under extras.
2. That is also a very good reference, I've not used it but certainly makes more sense. Happy to swap it out.
3. My thought is that the "Extras" section is a place to point students to further materials, so adding in useful sources of material past the end of the course would be welcome.

I very much accept that the references I proposed might not be the best, so happy to amend to the GNU manual. Please let me know if you'd prefer this.

Thanks

[bkmgit]

The manual is nice when one wants to look up a particular command. The how to is closer to the Carpentries style, one can type out the programs and run them. The programs also perform useful tasks. They are good practice for someone who has taken the shell lesson and wants to learn some more on their own. A separate title could be used, for example Further Practice

[bkmgit]

@JimCircadian We need to close all pull requests before migrating to a new format.

[JimCircadian]

Hello @bkmgit to avoid delaying any other work I've closed this, it was only a small change.

[bkmgit]

Ok. Will open a new issue to resolve this after migration to the new format. Thanks for the contribution.