Shell Test

The Shell online test uses scenario-based multiple-choice questions to evaluate a candidate's knowledge and skills related to shell scripting fundamentals, file and directory management, text processing and manipulation, command-line tools and utilities, process management and control, networking and system administration, and shell scripting best practices and design patterns. The test aims to assess the candidate's proficiency in Unix shell scripting and their ability to perform system administration tasks using shell scripts.

Covered skills:

Shell commands
Shell Scripting
File Handling
Memory Management
Concurrent execution
Troubleshooting

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About the Shell Assessment Test

The Shell Test helps recruiters and hiring managers identify qualified candidates from a pool of resumes, and helps in taking objective hiring decisions. It reduces the administrative overhead of interviewing too many candidates and saves time by filtering out unqualified candidates at the first step of the hiring process.

The test screens for the following skills that hiring managers look for in candidates:

Able to write shell commands and scripts to automate tasks
Proficient in handling files and directories in the shell environment
Knowledgeable in memory management and optimization in shell scripting
Skilled in concurrent execution and multitasking in the shell
Capable of troubleshooting and resolving issues in the shell
Familiar with common shell commands and their usage
Able to manipulate and extract data from files in the shell
Experienced in using shell scripting for automation and repetitive tasks
Knowledgeable in process management and job control in the shell
Proficient in shell scripting techniques and best practices

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Non-googleable questions

We have a very high focus on the quality of questions that test for on-the-job skills. Every question is non-googleable and we have a very high bar for the level of subject matter experts we onboard to create these questions. We have crawlers to check if any of the questions are leaked online. If/ when a question gets leaked, we get an alert. We change the question for you & let you know.

How we design questions

These are just a small sample from our library of 15,000+ questions. The actual questions on this Shell Test will be non-googleable.

🧐 Question
Easy Commands Unix Commands String Manipulation	Solve
Which of the following unix commands change the case of first three lines of file “classified” from lowercase to uppercase
Easy Expressions	Solve
What does this shell script output?
Easy Loops Conditional Logic Looping	Solve
What are fourth and sixth lines output by this script:

	🧐 Question	🔧 Skill
	Easy Commands Unix Commands String Manipulation	2 mins Shell Scripting	Solve
Which of the following unix commands change the case of first three lines of file “classified” from lowercase to uppercase
	Easy Expressions	2 mins Shell Scripting	Solve
What does this shell script output?
	Easy Loops Conditional Logic Looping	2 mins Shell Scripting	Solve
What are fourth and sixth lines output by this script:

	🧐 Question	🔧 Skill	💪 Difficulty	⌛ Time
	Commands Unix Commands String Manipulation	Shell Scripting	Easy	2 mins	Solve
Which of the following unix commands change the case of first three lines of file “classified” from lowercase to uppercase
	Expressions	Shell Scripting	Easy	2 mins	Solve
What does this shell script output?
	Loops Conditional Logic Looping	Shell Scripting	Easy	2 mins	Solve
What are fourth and sixth lines output by this script:

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Why you should use Pre-employment Shell Test?

The Shell Test makes use of scenario-based questions to test for on-the-job skills as opposed to theoretical knowledge, ensuring that candidates who do well on this screening test have the relavant skills. The questions are designed to covered following on-the-job aspects:

Shell commands execution and navigation
Shell scripting and automation
File handling and manipulation in Shell
Memory management and optimization
Concurrent execution and process management
Troubleshooting shell-related issues
Operating system concepts and Linux architecture
Advanced shell scripting techniques
Network and system monitoring using shell
Security and access control in shell scripting

Once the test is sent to a candidate, the candidate receives a link in email to take the test. For each candidate, you will receive a detailed report with skills breakdown and benchmarks to shortlist the top candidates from your pool.

What topics are covered in the Shell Test?

Shell commands: Shell commands refer to the commands that are executed in a shell or terminal to interact with an operating system. This skill is essential in assessing a candidate's knowledge and proficiency in working with command-line interfaces and executing various operations such as file manipulation, process management, and system configuration.

Shell Scripting: Shell scripting involves writing sequences of commands in a scripting language to automate tasks and perform complex operations. Assessing this skill is crucial as it demonstrates a candidate's ability to create efficient and reusable scripts that enhance productivity and streamline system administration.

File Handling: File handling encompasses the operations performed on files, such as creating, reading, writing, modifying, and deleting files. Evaluating this skill allows recruiters to gauge a candidate's understanding of file systems, their ability to manipulate files, and their knowledge of file permissions, file formats, and file system organization.

Memory Management: Memory management refers to the management of computer memory resources to optimize the utilization of memory for efficient execution of programs. Assessing this skill helps recruiters assess a candidate's understanding of memory allocation, deallocation, memory leaks, and the ability to optimize memory usage in shell scripts.

Concurrent execution: Concurrent execution pertains to the ability to overlap multiple tasks to improve overall system performance. Evaluating this skill is significant as it demonstrates a candidate's familiarity with concurrent programming, process synchronization, scheduling, and efficient utilization of system resources.

Troubleshooting: Troubleshooting involves identifying and resolving issues or problems that may arise during the execution of shell scripts or system operations. This skill is vital to assess as it indicates a candidate's ability to analyze and debug errors, perform system diagnosis, and apply effective troubleshooting techniques to ensure smooth execution and optimal performance.

Full list of covered topics

The actual topics of the questions in the final test will depend on your job description and requirements. However, here's a list of topics you can expect the questions for Shell Test to be based on.

Shell variables

Conditional statements

Loops

Arrays

Functions

I/O redirection

Regular expressions

Command substitution

String manipulation

Error handling

Process management

Job control

File permissions

File manipulation

Directory navigation

Shell options

Pattern matching

Command line arguments

Input validation

Script debugging

Shell environment variables

Signals and traps

Process substitution

Background execution

Command history

Scripting best practices

System monitoring

Remote execution

Error codes

Filesystem manipulation

Text processing

Command-line utilities

Resource monitoring

Network utilities

User management

Environment customization

TIMTOWTDI (There's More Than One Way To Do It)

Handling signals

File compression

Stream editing

Job scheduling

String comparison

Filesystem hierarchy

IO redirection operators

Shell configuration files

Background processes

Command substitution

File permissions

Directory permissions

Memory usage

Filesystem monitoring

FIFOs (named pipes)

Shell scripting security

Shell script debugging

Process synchronization

Concurrent execution

Troubleshooting techniques

What roles can I use the Shell Test for?

Linux Deveoper
Bash Developer
Shell Scripting Developer
DevOps Engineer

How is the Shell Test customized for senior candidates?

For intermediate/ experienced candidates, we customize the assessment questions to include advanced topics and increase the difficulty level of the questions. This might include adding questions on topics like

Advanced Linux commands and utilities
Performance optimization and resource utilization
Diagnostic and debugging techniques in shell
Shell scripting best practices and standards
Working with system logs and log analysis
Handling file permissions and ownership
Efficient data processing and manipulation in shell
Automating system backups and recovery
Knowledge of shell programming languages
Experience with shell-based deployment and version control

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Have questions about the Shell Hiring Test?

What is Shell Test?

The Shell Test evaluates a candidate's proficiency in shell scripting, Linux commands, and related topics. It's used by recruiters to identify skilled candidates for roles that require expertise in shell programming and Linux system administration.

Can I combine Shell Test with Linux questions?

Yes, you can request a custom test combining Shell Test with Linux questions. For more details on assessing Linux skills, check out our Linux Online Test.

What topics are evaluated in the Shell Test?

The Shell Test covers shell commands, shell scripting, file handling, memory management, concurrent execution, and troubleshooting.

How to use Shell Test in my hiring process?

Use the Shell Test as a pre-screening tool. Include a link to the test in your job post or invite candidates via email. This replaces traditional resume screening and helps find skilled candidates early.

Can I test Shell Scripting and Linux together in a test?

Yes, we recommend combining Shell Scripting and Linux in a test. It provides a comprehensive assessment. Check out our Shell Online Assessment Test.

What are the main technical aptitude tests?

Our technical aptitude tests include Shell Online Assessment Test, Linux Online Test, and PowerShell Online Test.

Can I combine multiple skills into one custom assessment?

Yes, absolutely. Custom assessments are set up based on your job description, and will include questions on all must-have skills you specify. Here's a quick guide on how you can request a custom test.

Do you have any anti-cheating or proctoring features in place?

We have the following anti-cheating features in place:

Non-googleable questions
IP proctoring
Screen proctoring
Web proctoring
Webcam proctoring
Plagiarism detection
Secure browser
Copy paste protection

Read more about the proctoring features.

How do I interpret test scores?

The primary thing to keep in mind is that an assessment is an elimination tool, not a selection tool. A skills assessment is optimized to help you eliminate candidates who are not technically qualified for the role, it is not optimized to help you find the best candidate for the role. So the ideal way to use an assessment is to decide a threshold score (typically 55%, we help you benchmark) and invite all candidates who score above the threshold for the next rounds of interview.

What experience level can I use this test for?

Each Adaface assessment is customized to your job description/ ideal candidate persona (our subject matter experts will pick the right questions for your assessment from our library of 10000+ questions). This assessment can be customized for any experience level.

Does every candidate get the same questions?

Yes, it makes it much easier for you to compare candidates. Options for MCQ questions and the order of questions are randomized. We have anti-cheating/ proctoring features in place. In our enterprise plan, we also have the option to create multiple versions of the same assessment with questions of similar difficulty levels.

I'm a candidate. Can I try a practice test?

No. Unfortunately, we do not support practice tests at the moment. However, you can use our sample questions for practice.

What is the cost of using this test?

You can check out our pricing plans.

Can I get a free trial?

Yes, you can sign up for free and preview this test.

I just moved to a paid plan. How can I request a custom assessment?

Here is a quick guide on how to request a custom assessment on Adaface.

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Along with scorecards that report the performance of the candidate in detail, you also receive a comparative analysis against the company average and industry standards.

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