CLI-Bootcamp

Ideas on how to quickly learn to build command-line tools

Part 1-Bash

Week1: Using Linux

• Lesson 1: Using Linux Shell Lab
• Lesson 2: How shell piping works
• Lesson 3: Using SSH

Week2: Using Bash

• Lesson 1: Create and Use .bashrc
• Lesson 2: Sourcing shell variables from a script
• Lesson3: Using stdout and stdin

Week3: Building Bash Scripts

• Lesson 1: Build a for loop in Bash
• Lesson 2: Truncate large files with Bash
• Lesson 3: Building a command-line tool for data processing
• Lesson 4: Build Bash CLI with options

Week4: Composing File and Data Management Solutions with Linux

• Lesson 1: Understand the search commands
• Lesson 2: Setting permissions
• Lesson 3: Using regex to process text from file
• Lesson 4: Search the filesystem with find

Part 2-Build CLI in Python

• python-click-cli-cookbook

Challenges

Bash and ZSH Challenges

• Customize your ~/.bashrc with at least one alias, function and variable.
• Build a Bash CLI tool that takes options
• Truncate a large file and randomly sample at the same time
• Write a find command and a locate command
• Install ohmzsh, what did you learn?

Python Challenges

• Pick a Python command-line tool library you are not familar with and build a module with a function that is called in a CLI. A few examples:
  • python-fire,
  • argparse
  • python-click
• Write a test for your python CLI tool
• Containerize your Python CLI tool and deploy to a public container repo like Github Container Registry or Docker Hub or Amazon Public Container Registry. Here is an example project.

Additional Thoughts on Challenge

• How tiny can you make your container (hint try alpine python)? What is the approach that shrinks the size?
• Can you lint your container with a linting tool like: hadolint? What about security scanning?
• Why would it be impressive to have a docker pull command for a CLI on your resume?
• Can you automatically build and push new containers in Github Actions? Hint...yes.
• Can you build a GPT-3 CLI tool? https://openai.com/blog/openai-api/

GPT 3:

• Book: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/gpt-3/9781098113612/
• Interview: https://learning.oreilly.com/videos/52-weeks-of/021822022VIDEOPAIML/

Advanced Challenges

• Write a CLI in a language you don't know:

  • cli-rosetta
  • Bash, Powershell and C# CLI

References

• Python Command Line Tools Course
• Python Command Line Tools-Book
• Python CI/CD for the Command-Line
• Nuclear Powered CLI Tools
• mlops cookbook