The help center [states][1]states that (emphasis mine):
Using and administering official Ubuntu flavors including: Edubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Kubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin, Lubuntu, Mythbuntu, Ubuntu Studio, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Touch and Ubuntu MATE.
Shell scripting is an essential part of administering (and using, really) a Linux system. Including Ubuntu.
We also have a [meta discussion][2]meta discussion that has been well accepted and which states that:
Bash is the default shell on Ubuntu. Shell scripting is an integral part of managing a Linux system. I believe that all bash related questions are on-topic, even the ones that have to do clearly with programming tasks like how to add 1 to a variable.
As far as I can tell, these all mean that bash questions, any bash questions are welcome and on topic here. This should also apply to any other shell since they are all basic Linux tools and are easily available on Ubuntu. In any case, bash most certainly is on topic.
To illustrate, we currently have
- 2,848 questions tagged with bash
- 83 questions tagged with zsh
- 21 questions tagged with one of ksh,tcsh or csh.
- 46 questions tagged with scripting
- 537 questions tagged with shell-scripting
- 1,553 questions tagged with scripts
- 1,722 questions tagged with python
- 139 questions tagged with perl
So, in conclusion, yes shell scripting questions are perfectly on topic and welcome here. Please stop closing such questions as off topic. [1]: https://askubuntu.com/help/on-topic [2]: Can we please ban unrelated programming questions?
