Concept
The most generic sense of the term shell means any program that users employ to type commands. A shell hides the details of the underlying operating system with the shell interface and manages the technical details of the operating system kernel interface, which is the lowest-level, or 'inner-most' component of most operating systems. In Unix-like operating systems users typically have many choices of command-line interpreters for interactive sessions. When a user logs in to the system, a shell program is automatically executed. The login shell may be customized for each user, typically in the passwd file, and can be customized via passwd -e, or on some systems via the chsh program. In addition, a user is typically allowed to execute another shell program interactively.
The Unix shell was unusual when it was introduced. It is both an interactive command language as well as a scripting programming language, and is used by the operating system as the facility to control (shell script) the execution of the system. Shells created for other operating systems than Unix, often provide similar functionality.
On systems with a windowing system, some users may never use the shell directly. On Unix systems, the shell is still the implementation language of system startup scripts, including the program that starts the windowing system, the programs that facilitate access to the Internet, and many other essential functions.
Graphical user interfaces for Unix, such as GNOME, KDE, and Xfce are often called visual or graphical shells.
Read more about this topic: Unix Shell
Famous quotes containing the word concept:
“I was thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process. If we can just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we got something here.”
—Michael Tolkin, U.S. screenwriter, and Robert Altman. Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins)
“Obscenity is a moral concept in the verbal arsenal of the Establishment, which abuses the term by applying it, not to expressions of its own morality, but to those of another.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)
“The nearer a conception comes towards finality, the nearer does the dynamic relation, out of which this concept has arisen, draw to a close. To know is to lose.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)