BASH (Bourne Again Shell) is a terminal (or a console) used to manage software & tasks on Linux.
BASH is comparable to the DOS command prompt on Windows operating systems but easier to read.
Since I started using Linux (around 2009) & BASH has helped me become a better general developer. It soon became a part of my daily routine.
It allowed me to run a few installation shell scripts, which allowed me to launch a demo Drupal website much faster than having to click around a GUI (Graphical User Interface).
I was thrilled that there was another alternative to Windows, mainly because I could not afford to purchase a Professional License for Windows at the time & did not want to pirate it.
I remember the day my friend came to me & introduced me to the Ubuntu Operating System.
I felt like it was perhaps not as easy to use at first as I was only familiar with Windows operating systems. I felt nervous at first due to my unfamiliarity with Ubuntu. I started keeping notes on how to run commonly used BASH commands on my Ubuntu OS & that helped a lot.
After realising that I wanted to build websites, it became clear that I needed to install my LAMP (Linux - Apache2 - MySQL - PHP) server locally to assist my development efforts toward Drupal CMS websites.
I then eventually got this to work & felt like I had achieved something decent, as I could now launch my websites to my desktop computer at the time.
With BASH, launching a demo Drupal website was very straightforward, & with a basic understanding of Ubuntu, I was making progress using free & open-source software.
Installing software on Ubuntu happens at a rapid pace & is very stable when using BASH.
After some years passed, I started telling other friends & family about Ubuntu & free software. I got a good feeling, someone who helped people save money on license fees for software.
I remember seeing an old friend one day. He said that he had an old laptop that didn't run very well using the newer versions of Windows & updating was not an option. I suggested we try installing a version of Linux called XUbuntu, which runs smoother on older computers with less impressive specs. The endeavour was successful.
He was able to migrate to Linux from Windows after becoming familiar with the new Linux Operating System. It didn't take too long because we used BASH to update & upgrade all stable software packages for XUbuntu.
After using Linux for 21-years, I recommend using BASH on your Linux OS.
A blog by Stefan de Beer