> If you have scripts that read data files, process them, and output more files, consider using a Makefile.
Dear sweet hypnotoad, don't use Makefiles for this. Scripts in a pipeline are perfectly well suited for ETL. They have the advantage of using the same language as the command language (Makefile is not shell, and when it differs it's a significant surprise). Plus, you can drop a script into a dir in your PATH and it will work in any project.
Use make if you have a project which expensively computes assets and reusing partial outputs is possible.
> pushd and popd are useful in shell scripts to temporarily change directories without forgetting where you were.
I would start with
cd - # go back to where I just came from
Which handles most of the pushd/popd use cases (outside of writing a script).
Really, there's a whole separate set of skills for effective interactive shell use & writing great bash scripts (e.g. parameter expansion and history manipulation).
is that an advantage? Do you have the time to explain this a bit more?
I feel that new users need less expressiveness, to avoid decision overload, and keeping one automatic directory save point is easier to mentally manage than a stack of them.
I do recommend using pushd/popd in shell scripts (always) and interactively (if you must), but I think 'cd -' should be the first thing you introduce to newcomers w.r.t tracking working directory changes.
'cd -' only saves one previous directory, which is held in $OLDPWD. pushd can store an arbitrary history in its stack. And of course, $OLDPWD will change if you hop around after a cd, but the pushd/popd stack will persist.
That's true, but I rather would have liked to hear how the expressiveness of pushd/popd was superior to cd - (especially with respect to a newcomer internalizing all the weird coreutils & bash things).
Speaking for myself, I'm often using pushd & popd precisely because I expect to potentially be moving around in the new directory too, and cd - will just take me to the previous dir. pushd & popd don't result in me having even a bit of stress about typing another cd command. Your mileage will vary.
That said, I don't disagree that cd - is a good introduction to the idea that there's more to the cd command than meets the eye. (I'm also a big fan of the CDPATH variable, despite its issues.)
Dear sweet hypnotoad, don't use Makefiles for this. Scripts in a pipeline are perfectly well suited for ETL. They have the advantage of using the same language as the command language (Makefile is not shell, and when it differs it's a significant surprise). Plus, you can drop a script into a dir in your PATH and it will work in any project.
Use make if you have a project which expensively computes assets and reusing partial outputs is possible.
> pushd and popd are useful in shell scripts to temporarily change directories without forgetting where you were.
I would start with
Which handles most of the pushd/popd use cases (outside of writing a script).Really, there's a whole separate set of skills for effective interactive shell use & writing great bash scripts (e.g. parameter expansion and history manipulation).