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The Unix shell has been around longer than most of its users have been alive. It has survived because it's a powerful tool that allows users to perform complex and powerful tasks, often with just a few keystrokes or lines of code. It helps users automate repetitive tasks and easily combine smaller tasks into larger, more powerful workflows.

Use of the shell is fundamental to a wide range of advanced computing tasks, including high-performance computing. These lessons will deepen your knowledge and understanding of this powerful tool.

Prerequisites

This course builds on your basic knowledge of file systems and the shell. If you recognise words such as "file", "directory", "command prompt", "text editor" -- and are familiar with commands such as ls and wc -- you're ready for this lesson.

You might have gained this background by attending our introductory course, "on the job" in your research, by self-study or by other means. {: .prereq}