Those who use UNIX-like operating systems , such as GNU/Linux, spend many hours sitting in front of a terminal, a console from which they often work in text mode. Even if you're not a system administrator but are a Linux user, you've surely had to use the console more than once to perform some kind of installation or management task that you couldn't complete from the graphical environment. Therefore, having a good shell is essential for efficient work.
As is often the case in the open-source world, there are many forks and alternatives for the same tool, sometimes making it difficult to choose between them. And of course, shells are no exception; there are many, each with its own advantages or unique features that might interest us depending on our needs or preferences. Therefore, in this article, we'll introduce you to five of the best , in case you weren't already familiar with them…
The selection is as follows:
- Bash: it is the most popular and widespread, it is installed by default in most distributions. It is a clone of the original Bourne shell that AT&T created for UNIX. As I always say, to taste the colors, but for me personally it is the one I like the most ... that does not mean that it is neither better nor worse.
- KSH: Korn Shell is another of the shells created by AT & T's Bell Labs, specifically by David Korn, hence its name. The motivation was to improve what already exists. Although it is not as popular in the Linux world as bash, it is a great and powerful shell.
- ZSH: originally created in the 90's and with similar characteristics to ksh, it was also created based on the Bourne Shell as bash, fixing and improving many things. Both this and the previous ones are open source, specifically this one is distributed under the MIT license.
- HSCT: It is based on the famous Berkeley csh, a C shell for Unix and from which it inherits some features with other improvements that have been incorporated. It is distributed under a BSD license.
- FISH: it is a less known shell even than the previous ones. It is relatively modern, since it was created in 2005 and includes numerous changes that bring a fresh and friendlier air.