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Practice Exercises – 1

Overview​

Complete these exercises to reinforce what you have learned in Sessions 1–3. Work at your own pace, and use man pages or reliable online documentation when you need clarification.

Safety Tip: Be careful with rm — once deleted, files do not go to trash. Always double-check with ls before removing anything.

Part 1: Directory Navigation & File Management​

Exercise 1.1 – Create a Project Structure​

Navigate to your home directory and create the following directory structure:

~/practice/
├── documents/
│   ├── notes/
│   └── reports/
├── scripts/
└── logs/

Hints

  • Go to your home directory: cd ~
  • Create nested directories: mkdir -p parent/child/grandchild
  • Check your location: pwd
  • List contents: ls or ls -la
  • Display structure recursively: ls -R (use tree if installed)
Show Solution
cd ~
mkdir -p practice/documents/{notes,reports}
mkdir -p practice/scripts
mkdir -p practice/logs

ls -R practice/
# or: tree practice/

Something to Try

  • Create the same structure using a simple Bash script to automate setup.
  • Add an optional README.txt file in each top-level folder describing its purpose.

Exercise 1.2 – File Operations​

  1. Create five empty files in ~/practice/documents/notes/ named note1.txt through note5.txt.
  2. Copy all files from notes/ to reports/.
  3. Rename note1.txt to important.txt in reports/.
  4. Create a symbolic (soft) link quick-access in your home directory pointing to ~/practice/documents/notes/.
  5. Create a hard link to important.txt named important-backup.txt in the same directory.
  6. List all files with detailed information and observe the link counts.

Hints

  • Create files: touch file1.txt file2.txt …
  • Copy: cp source destination or cp ~/path/source/* ~/path/destination/
  • Rename/move: mv old new
  • Symbolic link: ln -s target linkname
  • Hard link: ln target linkname
  • List detailed view: ls -lah
Show Solution
cd ~/practice/documents/notes
touch note1.txt note2.txt note3.txt note4.txt note5.txt
cp * ../reports/
cd ../reports
mv note1.txt important.txt
cd ~
ln -s ~/practice/documents/notes quick-access
cd ~/practice/documents/reports
ln important.txt important-backup.txt
ls -lah

Something to Try

  • Create a script to automate copying and renaming of files.
  • Add a timestamp to renamed files for version tracking.
  • Try removing and recreating the symbolic link to see how it behaves when the target moves.

Exercise 1.3 – File Content and System Information​

  1. Create a file system-info.txt in ~/practice/documents/notes/.
  2. Add a short description manually.
  3. Append output from system commands.
  4. View the file contents using different tools.

Hints

  • Write interactively: cat > filename.txt (press Ctrl + D to save)

  • Append output: echo text >> file or command >> file

  • View files: cat, less, head, tail

  • Useful commands:

    • df -h – disk usage
    • du -sh ~/practice – directory size
    • whoami – username
    • hostname – system name
Show Solution
cat > ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
My System Information
=====================
Details about my system.
# Press Ctrl+D to save

echo "Username: $(whoami)" >> ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
echo "Hostname: $(hostname)" >> ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
echo "" >> ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
echo "Disk Usage:" >> ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
df -h >> ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
echo "" >> ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
echo "Practice folder size:" >> ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
du -sh ~/practice >> ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt
cat ~/practice/documents/notes/system-info.txt

Something to Try

  • Add more system information, such as OS version (uname -a) or uptime (uptime -p).
  • Use formatted section headers to make the report easier to read.
  • Redirect the output to a dated file (e.g., system-info_$(date +%F).txt).

Part 2: Shell Scripting Basics​

Exercise 2.1 – Hello World Script​

Create hello.sh in ~/practice/scripts/.

Requirements

  • Print “Hello, World!”
  • Print today’s date in a readable format
  • Print your username
Show Solution
#!/bin/bash
# Hello World script
echo "Hello, World!"
echo "Today is $(date '+%A, %B %d, %Y')"
echo "My username is $(whoami)"

Something to Try

  • Add a blank line or separator between outputs for readability.
  • Allow the user to input their name and greet them personally.
  • Save the output to a log file in ~/practice/logs/hello.log.

Exercise 2.2 – Simple Greeting Script​

Create greeting.sh that prints a personalized greeting.

Requirements

  • Greeting with username
  • Current date and time
  • Home directory path
Show Solution
#!/bin/bash
# Simple greeting
echo "Hello, $(whoami)!"
echo "Today is $(date '+%A, %B %d, %Y')"
echo "The time is $(date '+%H:%M')"
echo "Your home directory is $HOME"

Something to Try

  • Add system uptime (uptime -p) or current shell ($SHELL) to the output.
  • Let the user pass a custom message as a command-line argument.
  • Format the output neatly using line separators or indentation.

Exercise 2.3 – Folder Backup Script​

Create backup.sh in ~/practice/scripts/.

Requirements

  • Copy ~/practice/documents to a new folder named with today’s date
  • Print the full backup path after completion
Show Solution
#!/bin/bash
# Backup script with date-based folder name
cp -r ~/practice/documents ~/practice/documents_backup_$(date +%F)
echo "Backup complete: ~/practice/documents_backup_$(date +%F)"

Something to Try

  • Compress the backup into a .tar.gz archive.
  • Check whether the destination already exists and skip or overwrite based on input.
  • Log backup activity with timestamps in a file (backup.log).

Exercise 2.4 – File Counter Script​

Create count-files.sh that counts files in a directory.

Requirements

  • Display directory being checked
  • Show total file count
  • Include date and time of check
Show Solution
#!/bin/bash
# Count files in a directory
echo "Counting files in ~/practice/documents/notes"
echo "Number of files: $(ls -1 ~/practice/documents/notes | wc -l)"
echo "Checked on $(date '+%Y-%m-%d at %H:%M')"

Something to Try

  • Accept a directory as an argument ($1) instead of hardcoding the path.
  • Count only specific file types (e.g., .txt files).
  • Extend the script to display both file and directory counts separately.

Part 3: Vim Mastery​

Exercise 3.1 – Navigation​

  1. Create vim-practice.txt with approximately 50 lines.
  2. Practice motion commands (gg, G, w, b, $, 0, /word, n, N, :25).

Something to Try

  • Experiment with searching and replacing across multiple lines.
  • Use marks (ma, 'a) to jump quickly between sections.

Exercise 3.2 – Editing​

Create shopping-list.txt and:

  • Insert items in Insert mode
  • Delete lines with dd
  • Undo (u) / redo (Ctrl + r)
  • Copy and paste (yy, p)
  • Replace a word (cw)
  • Delete to end of line (D)
  • Save and quit (:wq)

Something to Try

  • Create numbered lists or aligned columns using Visual Block mode (Ctrl + v).
  • Try recording a macro (q and @) to automate repetitive edits.

Exercise 3.3 – Note-Taking​

Create ~/practice/documents/notes/linux-notes.txt and record:

  • A summary of what you learned
  • Favorite commands
  • Questions or unclear topics

Practice Visual mode (v, V), multi-line delete (5dd), and global replace (:%s/old/new/g). After saving, open the same file in VS Code to compare editors.

Something to Try

  • Configure a .vimrc file with syntax highlighting and line numbers.
  • Try folding sections (zf / zo) for long notes.

Part 4: VS Code Mastery​

Exercise 4.1 – Markdown Document​

Create ~/practice/documents/linux-guide.md and include headings, lists, code blocks, links, images, and tables. Preview with Ctrl + Shift + V. Recommended extension: Markdown All in One.

Something to Try

  • Add a table of contents using Markdown extensions.
  • Include command examples with syntax highlighting.
  • Export your Markdown file as a PDF for sharing.

Exercise 4.2 – LaTeX Document​

Create ~/practice/documents/report.tex.

Use the LaTeX Workshop extension and a local TeX distribution.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

\title{My Linux Journey}
\author{Your Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
\section{Introduction}
Why you are learning Linux.

\section{Key Concepts}
\begin{itemize}
\item File system hierarchy
\item Command line basics
\item Package management
\end{itemize}

\section{Conclusion}
Your reflections.

\end{document}

Add a table (tabular) and a formula ($E = mc^2$), then compile to PDF.

Something to Try

  • Add a title page or abstract section.
  • Include figures, references, or footnotes.
  • Learn to use the minted package for formatted code snippets.

Exercise 4.3 – Terminal Integration​

Open the integrated terminal (Ctrl + `) and:

  • Split panes
  • Run your scripts
  • Navigate your project
  • Edit a file in the terminal using vim or nano

Something to Try

  • Set up a custom keybinding for quick terminal access.

Exercise 4.4 – Workspace Setup​

Open ~/practice/ in VS Code and adjust:

  • Default shell and font
  • Auto-save behavior Install extensions and themese specific to the lanugauges you are working on. Save the configuration as practice.code-workspace.

Something to Try

  • Create workspace-specific settings for indentation and tab width.
  • Add launch configurations for future Python or shell scripts.

Checklist​

  • Directory structure created
  • Scripts (hello.sh, greeting.sh, backup.sh, count-files.sh) work correctly
  • Comfortable navigating and editing in Vim
  • Markdown document previewed in VS Code
  • LaTeX document compiled to PDF
  • Practiced symbolic and hard links
  • Used man pages to learn at least three new commands

Resources and Tips​

Command Reference

  • man <command> – manual pages
  • <command> --help – quick help
  • history – view previous commands
  • Ctrl + R – search command history
  • Tab – auto-complete

Vim Reference

  • i – insert mode
  • Esc – normal mode
  • :w – save
  • :q – quit
  • u – undo
  • Ctrl + r – redo

Practice Tips:

  1. Don't rush - focus on understanding
  2. Make mistakes - that's how you learn
  3. Use man pages frequently
  4. Keep notes on commands you find useful
  5. Try to avoid using the mouse in Vim
  6. Experiment with commands in a safe directory

Questions for Next Session: Keep a list of questions or problems you encountered. We'll address them when we reconvene!

Good luck and happy learning!