Build Your Own Shell in Go

Welcome to my solution for the "Build Your Own Shell" Challenge by Codecrafters! 🚀

In this challenge, I've implemented a POSIX-compliant shell capable of interpreting shell commands, executing external programs, and handling built-in commands like cd, pwd, and echo. This project dives deep into concepts like shell command parsing, REPLs (Read-Eval-Print Loops), and the mechanics of how a shell interacts with the operating system. It's been a fantastic way to explore Go's standard library while building something practical.

Note: If you're viewing this repo on GitHub, check out codecrafters.io to try the challenge yourself!

---

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Go 1.19 or later installed on your system.
• A Unix-like environment (Linux or macOS). For Windows, use WSL or a compatible terminal emulator.

How to Run the Shell

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/codecrafters-shell.git
   cd codecrafters-shell

2. Run the shell program:

   ./your_program.sh

3. Start entering shell commands:

   $ echo "Hello, Shell!"
   Hello, Shell!

4. To exit the shell, use:

   exit
   

How It Works

• The shell is implemented as a REPL in Go.
• Commands are read from standard input, parsed into components (handling quotes and escape sequences), and executed either as built-in or external commands.
• Key features implemented:
  • Built-in Commands: Includes cd, pwd, echo, etc.
  • Quoting Support: Handles single quotes, double quotes, and backslashes.
  • External Command Execution: Uses Go's os/exec package to run external programs.

---

Progress

This implementation follows the stages outlined in the Codecrafters challenge:

• Stage 1: Basic shell functionality (REPL setup and external command execution).
• Stage 2: Support for built-in commands like echo, cd, and pwd.
• Stage 3 and Beyond: Advanced features like quoting, backslash handling, and argument parsing.

Follow the progress banner at the top to see how far this project has come!