[diek]

I am writing a basic script. I am just learning and I have been reading various tuts on the internet. I just cannot figure this out. I have been using openSUSE, staying away from windows to help the learning curve.

Is using touch the only way to create a file? I know that if I have test I can add it to echo and create the file. Are there other options?

I cannot figure out how to report to the screen that the file or folder was successfully created and return the file/folder name. The echo `ls*` is just overkill, is there something that will be more specific?

Thank you,

diek

This post has been edited by diek: 04 March 2012 - 09:43 PM

[no2pencil]

The following will test if a file exists using dash f. If the file does exist, it will be deleted, if it does not, it will be created using touch.

#!/bin/sh

file=test.file
if [ ! -f ${file} ]; then
  echo ${file} does not exist...
  touch ${file}
else
  echo ${file} does exist...
  rm -f ${file}
fi

[diek]

That makes perfect sense, can the same be done for folders?

[no2pencil]

Fairly certain directories (not folders) is the dash d option. Also you can't touch a directory, you have to use mkdir. Lastly you use rm -r to remove a directory.

[diek]

Okay, when linux executes commands, can the successful execution be captured in an echo statement? The file and folder were two of the examples, permissions, moving files, are a few more examples. So I have to do add a number of other commands and return success in each case.

And I do appreciate the help, thank you.

d

[no2pencil]

You can check $? for the return result of the previous command.

rm -f ${file}
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo The file failed to be removed
fi

[diek]

I am doing something wrong here, but I am just not seeing it.

new_folder=W0235269
rmdir ${new_folder}
mkdir ${new_folder}

Do I need the curly braces?

This post has been edited by diek: 04 March 2012 - 10:56 PM

[no2pencil]

no2pencil, on 04 March 2012 - 11:59 PM, said:

Lastly you use rm -r to remove a directory.

[diek]

opensuse whined like a ---- when I used rm, so I had to use rmdir. So folders and files portion complete, again I appreciate the guidance. its late and I gotta get some rack, hardware class tomorrow.

d