Scripting: Shebang

 

What is a Shebang?

The shebang (#!/bin/bash) is a special sequence of characters used at the very beginning of a script. It is sometimes referred to as a "hashbang" or "pound-bang." The shebang tells the operating system which interpreter to use to execute the script that follows.

Structure of a Shebang

The shebang line always starts with #!, followed by the path to the interpreter that should execute the script. Here’s the structure:

#!/path/to/interpreter

In the Context of #!/bin/bash

1. #!:

   • This sequence indicates the start of the shebang line.

2. /bin/bash:

   • This specifies the path to the bash interpreter.
   • bash stands for "Bourne Again Shell," which is a commonly used command-line interpreter on Unix-like operating systems, including Linux.

When the script starts with #!/bin/bash, it tells the operating system to use the bash shell to interpret and run the commands within the script.