A Simple Linux Shell

Build Instructions

1. Ensure that you are in the source directory

/simple-linux-shell$

2. make

/simple-linux-shell$ make

3. make run

/simple-linux-shell$ make run

4. You should now be able to interact with a very basic linux shell

linux(mpe12)|>

How to Use

The simple linux shell supports a set of internal commands. Here's how to use them:

• C file1 file2: Copy the contents of file1 to file2 without deleting file1.
• D file: Delete the specified file.
• E comment: Display the provided comment on the screen. If no argument is given, it will issue a new prompt.
• H: Display a user manual with information on how to use the shell.
• L: List the contents of the current directory.
• M file: Create a new text file using a text editor.
• P file: Print the contents of the named file on the screen.
• Q: Quit the shell.
• S: Launch a web browser as a background process.
• W: Clear the screen.
• X program: Execute the specified program.

Please note that all commands are case-sensitive. If you want to execute external commands not listed here, you can simply enter them, and the shell will attempt to run them using execvp().

Functions in the Shell

The Simple Linux Shell contains the following functions:

• Input and command parsing
  • parseCommand()
  • readCommand()
• Execution of internal commands using execvp() and process management using fork() and wait().
• Handling of internal commands
  • cp
  • rm
  • printf
  • man
  • pwd
  • ls -l
  • nano
  • more
  • firefox
  • clear
  • wipe

Citations

In the development of this project, the following resources were referenced:

• POSIX man pages for information on system calls.
• Various online forums and tutorials for assistance with POSIX system calls.
• Linux command documentation for equivalent commands used in the shell.