Strengthen your technical capability with ILX’s UNIX Advanced Shell Scripting course. Designed for those with prior UNIX knowledge, this course shows you how to automate system tasks, manage data, and confidently use tools like AWK, sed, grep and more - delivering job-ready skills for advanced programming in UNIX settings.
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UNIX Advanced Shell Programming Tools
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Course overview
Master real-world UNIX scripting tools and techniques
This three-day advanced UNIX course is tailored for IT professionals ready for next-level UNIX shell scripting. Learn to automate common tasks, process text, and build more efficient workflows. With a focus on practical application through live lab sessions, this course supports confident use of UNIX tools for real business scenarios.
Learning objectives
- Build scripts with complex UNIX command sets
- Schedule and manage background tasks with cron and at
- Extract and transform data using sed and AWK
- Leverage grep and regex for flexible pattern matching
- Work with file compression, comparison and splitting tools
- Modify characters and structure data using UNIX utilities
- Create structured AWK programs with logic and flow control
- Use AWK arrays to manage complex data sets
- Enhance scripts with tools like xargs, getopts, eval
What you’ll learn
Improve your scripting with our focused training in advanced UNIX shell tools. From job scheduling and text editing to AWK scripting and data processing, this course delivers hands-on methods to automate systems and work more efficiently across UNIX platforms.
Backup, scheduling and file handling
Learn essential scripting tools for managing data and automating system backups in UNIX. This session covers using tar for reliable archiving and restoration, compressing files efficiently, and scheduling background jobs with cron and at. You’ll also learn to compare file contents with tools like diff, sdiff, and comm, and how to split large files based on content rules. These techniques are vital for anyone managing file systems or scripting automated maintenance tasks in production environments - ensuring better reliability, reproducibility and reduced manual effort.
Text processing and regex mastery
This section builds your ability to parse, clean and structure textual data directly from the UNIX command line. You’ll cover standard and extended regular expressions, including POSIX character classes and PERL-compatible patterns, to match complex text strings with precision. Tools like grep and tr simplify searching and character replacement, while sed provides powerful capabilities for stream editing, substitution and flow control. By the end, you’ll confidently manipulate input and output text streams - essential for scripting automation, log processing, or batch file transformations.
AWK programming in depth
Explore the AWK language in detail and develop your ability to write structured scripts for data reporting and analysis. Learn to define variables, use arithmetic and logical operators, and apply pattern matching techniques for selective data extraction. You'll also format output with printf, create efficient scripts with BEGIN and END blocks, and structure logic using if, while and other control constructs. These skills give you the confidence to automate real-time data analysis directly in UNIX - perfect for developers and sysadmins working with logs or structured text files.
Advanced tools for enterprise scripting
Advance your scripting with complex data structures and professional-grade shell tools. You'll master AWK arrays - both associative and multi-dimensional - for managing hierarchical data. The session also covers user-defined functions, enhancing the modularity and reuse of your code. Beyond AWK, you’ll work with key shell scripting tools such as xargs for building dynamic command arguments, getopts for handling script options, and logger for system-level logging. These capabilities are essential for creating reliable, scalable scripts in high-performance enterprise environments.
What’s included
- Three days of interactive, instructor-led training
- Hands-on activities in a virtual live lab environment
- Structured exercises with expert guidance
- Delivery by experienced industry professionals
- Downloadable course materials and resources
- ILX certificate of completion and attendance
Key facts
Ideal for
UNIX developers, technical leads and IT admins seeking to automate processes, streamline complex tasks and expand their scripting abilities.
Prerequisites
You should be comfortable working in a UNIX environment and have a solid understanding of basic shell scripting. This includes prior learning equivalent to ILX’s UNIX Introduction and UNIX Shell Programming courses. Alternatively, relevant hands-on experience with UNIX or Linux systems (such as server administration or command-line scripting) is sufficient to join this advanced-level training.
Learning experience
Our experienced trainers and interactive labs create a focused, practical environment – so you can put theory into practice from day one.
FAQs
This interactive course teaches key tools for advanced programming in UNIX, covering automation, data manipulation, scripting logic and command-line utilities. You’ll gain practical experience using tools like AWK, sed and grep to build efficient, task-focused scripts in a professional UNIX environment.
What career benefits can this course support?
Mastering advanced UNIX shell scripting can significantly boost your professional value, especially in technical roles that demand automation and efficiency. By learning to script at an advanced level, you’ll be equipped to reduce operational overhead, standardise processes and improve system resilience. These are key competencies for stepping into more senior roles such as system administrator, DevOps engineer or automation specialist. The course also helps you stay current with in-demand skills that support progression into infrastructure, cloud or development-focused careers.
How can this course help in my current role?
Whether you're managing systems, developing tools or supporting infrastructure, this course teaches you proven scripting techniques to automate routine operations and eliminate inefficiencies. You’ll be equipped to handle large volumes of data, edit files programmatically, and write scripts that respond dynamically to real-time conditions. These improvements can free up your time, reduce errors and increase the reliability of your workflows to make you a more capable, adaptable and indispensable part of your technical team.
What advanced scripting techniques will I learn?
You’ll work with scripting techniques that go beyond the basics, focusing on real-world problem-solving. This includes building AWK programs with logical control structures, handling complex data sets using associative and multi-dimensional arrays, and formatting outputs with precision using printf. You'll also use sed for line-by-line stream editing and substitution, and tools like xargs, eval and getopts to write modular, efficient and flexible shell scripts for enterprise tasks.
What are the ILX live labs?
ILX live labs are interactive, instructor-supported environments where you can practise using the tools and techniques covered in your course. These labs simulate real UNIX system conditions and allow you to apply concepts such as job scheduling, AWK scripting, file manipulation and stream editing in a guided setting. You’ll receive real-time feedback from your trainer and have the chance to reinforce your learning through practical, scenario-based tasks - building confidence and competence for your day-to-day role.
What our customers say
“The instructor was very good in explaining, and very patient, finding alternative ways to explain concepts where understanding was not grasped on the first attempt. I would recommend to all colleagues.”
Stuart, ILX Learner
“The instructor was great, kind, and thoroughly explained the topic alongside the use of multiple examples to demonstrate. He was very helpful in answering any questions that arose with detailed explanations and/or examples when relevant.”
Jessica, ILX Learner
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