Solving problems with your script

Even if your environment is set up correctly, any long script that you write will almost certainly fail to work correctly under some circumstances. This may be due to a failure to consider all the conditions under which the script may be run, or due to an oversight or syntax error in the script. The best way to get used to creating small to medium sized shell scripts is to do the following:

• Work out what you want the script to do.

• Decompose the successive stages in the process into separate steps.

• Test and debug each individual step interactively, at the shell prompt.