Android Shell

[Android Question]

For a homework assignment I have to name the shell Android uses and it's role. I am having a hard time finding one. Does Android use multiple shells? I do know it is a Linux operating system and not a Unix OS

 

[Rukbat]

I don't believe that Android comes with a shell, but there are a few different shells you can download. (Look in the Play store for terminals.)

 

[ravensfan]

Thanks RuKbat. That is what I was thinking. I did find a couple of different shells Android Shell Emulator, Busybox, and Debian. Just was not sure if there was a default one like Unix has. Getting ready to start a new class on programming and need to complete a matrix on 3 different Unix and/or Linux operating systems. Had a previous class where I did research on developing apps for different OS and really enjoyed learning about developing apps for Android.

 

[scary alien]

There's a shell at /system/bin/sh (or at least there is on my Galaxy Nexus).

Doing an adb shell from my PC yields:

C:\Users\Scary Alien>adb shell
shell@android:/ $ which sh
which sh
/system/bin/sh
shell@android:/ $

Also, when I did a "strings /system/bin/sh" I found this (note: I'm rooted and have busybox installed, so that's where the strings command comes from):

KSH_VERSION=@(#)MIRBSD KSH R40 2011/10/07

which appears is related to https://www.mirbsd.org/mksh.htm ("This is the website of the MirBSD™ Korn Shell").

Cheers and hope that helps!