Gary Bernhardt[1] gave a great talk about practical problem solving with the unix shell: "The Unix Chainsaw"[2].
"Half-assed is OK when you only need half of an ass."
In the talk, he gives several demonstrations a key aspect of why unix pipelines are so practically useful: you build them interactively. A complicated 4 line pipeline started as a single command that was gradually refined into something that actually solves a complicated problem. This talk demonstrates the part that isn't included in the the usual tutorials or "cool 1-line command" lists: the cycle of "Try something. Hit up to get the command back. Make one iterative change and try again."
[1] You might know him from his other hilarious talks like "The Birth & Death of JavaScript" or "Wat".
"Half-assed is OK when you only need half of an ass."
In the talk, he gives several demonstrations a key aspect of why unix pipelines are so practically useful: you build them interactively. A complicated 4 line pipeline started as a single command that was gradually refined into something that actually solves a complicated problem. This talk demonstrates the part that isn't included in the the usual tutorials or "cool 1-line command" lists: the cycle of "Try something. Hit up to get the command back. Make one iterative change and try again."
[1] You might know him from his other hilarious talks like "The Birth & Death of JavaScript" or "Wat".
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZJblyT_XM