Learn or teach the bash CLI in UNIX operating systems with this fun ghost-hunting activity!
Inspired by https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/pacman-terminal from the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
You'll want to try this activity on a UNIX OS that uses Bash (the Bourne-Again Shell language) in a CLI (such as Debian Linux). We recommend Raspbian (since it comes with a ~/python_games directory; if you want to use with another OS, you'll just need to create the directory manually first).
Note: You shouldn't clone this repo unless you want to look at the source or modify the code.
From your home directory, run the following command from the terminal:
wget -O http://bit.ly/raspighosts | bash
Note that this is generally NOT a recommended way to execute code, but we're doing it here for simplicity. This code pipes a raw shell script from the GitHub repository into bash on your computer.
If (for whatever reason) the bit.ly link does not work, you can substitute the http://bit.ly/raspighosts URL with https://raw.githubusercontent.com/andrewcarnes/RasPi-Ghostbusters/master/launch.sh.
Once the bash script gets going, it will do three things:
- Create a
~/quarantinedirectory. - Download the
ghost-tracker.shscript. - Download seven .gh0st files (some of which are hidden!) to seven different folders inside of your home folder.
After running the initial command above, your mission is to move all the ghosts from their hiding spots to the ~/quarantine folder and run the ghost-tracker.sh script to check if you were successful.
You'll need to move around the filesystem (only under the home folder) with the cd command to look in different folders for the .gh0st files.
Use the ls command to list out directory contents in different folders. The ghosts are hiding, so you may need to use the -ah flag (shows all human-readable files), too.
Once you find a ghost, move it to the ~/quarantine directory with the mv command. You'll also want to use this command to remove any .s at the beginning of file names (which will hide files!) so that the tracker can see them. Be sure to keep the ghost names the same and keep the .gh0st extension. Here's an example usage of mv:
mv .oldfile.txt ../NewPlace/samefile-newname.txt
When you think you've found the ghosts (or you just need a hint), use the Ghost Tracker script to verify your progress. From the ~/quarantine directory, run
bash ghost-tracker.sh
The ghost tracker will tell you if you've caught them all or if you have more hunting work to do. Remember: the ghost file names are important! The script will fail if you've changed the ghosts' names!
Look inside the gh0st files with cat for a surprise.
cat ghoul.gh0st
You can also use a text editor, like nano or vi!
Remember: text editors work differently from bash, so you'll need to press a key combination or sequence to exit the editor and return to the bash CLI.
Coming Soon: I plan to update this with a lesson plan framework.
I don't own or claim ownership of the following persons, characters, or creative works:
- Ghostbusters, Slimer, Zuul, or the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
- Beetlejuice
- Super Mario Bros or Boo
- Spongebob Squarepants or the Flying Dutchman
- Patrick Swayze, Sam Wheat, or the film Ghost (1990)
- Casper the Friendly Ghost
Materials in this repository are licensed under the MIT license. Redistribution and remixing of the contents with attribution is encouraged.