Shell Scripting

(bash)

1 / 46
Shell Scripting

◮ A sequence of system programs carrying out a specific task

◮ The simplest script is:
# !/ bin / bash
echo Hello World ;
ls ~/ | fmt

◮ “#” indicates a comment

◮ first line says which shell is to be used (here is bash)
◮ Can do complicated things effectively
# !/ bin / bash
tar - z - cf / var / my - backup . tgz / home / asimina /

2 / 46
Creating Shell Scripts

◮ Parameters to scripts are designated

◮ Variables and Conditions are used
◮ Basic Control Statements (loops for, while and until)
◮ Numeric and alphanumeric operations
◮ Functions and pipes

3 / 46
A Small Script About Input Parameters ($N, $*)
# !/ bin / bash
# all scripts start like this

# will give 11 arguments to this program

# a b c d e f g h i j k

echo Number of input parameters = $ # # 11

echo Program Name = $0 # ./ parameters

echo Other Parameters = $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11

# Other Parameters = a b c d e f g h i a0 a1

echo Other Parameters = $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $ {10} $ {11}

# Other Parameters = a b c d e f g h i j k

echo All Arguments = $ *

# All Arguments = a b c d e f g h i j k

⋄ Output:
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ parameters
a b c d e f g h i j k
Number of input parameters = 11
Program Name = ./ parameters
Other Parameters = a b c d e f g h i a0 a1
Other Parameters = a b c d e f g h i j k
All Arguments = a b c d e f g h i j k
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$

4 / 46
Using Variables, read-ing From the Shell
# !/ bin / bash

# NEVER USE SPACES BEFORE AND AFTER = IN ASSIGNMENTS

# No $ before variable name
a =2334 # Integer - Only digits
echo a # a
echo $a # 2334

hello =" A B C D"

echo $hello # A B C D
echo " $hello " # A B C D
# Double quotes preserve spaces

echo ’ $hello ’ # $hello

# Single quotes quote even $
echo -n " Enter \ " b\ " "
read b
echo " The value of \ " b \" is now $b "
echo ${ PATH } # PATH environment variable

ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro09 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ variables

a
2334
A B C D
A B C D
$hello
Enter " b " alxdelis
The value of "b " is now alxdelis
/ usr / local / sbin :/ usr / local / bin :/ usr / sbin :/ usr / bin :/ sbin :/ bin :/ usr / games
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro09 / Sources / bash - scripts$
5 / 46
Some Arithmetic Operations
# !/ bin / bash
a =2334
let b = a +3 # b = $a +3 also works
let " c = a +3 "
let " d = a + 3 "

z = $ (( $a +13) )
y = $ (( a +23) ) # also works

k = ‘ expr $a + 33 ‘ # expr c o m m a n d !

echo $a $b $c $d $k $z $y
# 2334 2337 2337 2337 2367 2347 2357

◮ For simple integer operations use let (preferred) or expr

◮ The quotes around “expr” are `...`. $(expr...) would also work
◮ For decimal arithmetic use the system program bc
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./
arithmetics
2334 2337 2337 2337 2367 2347 2357
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$
6 / 46
More Arithmetic
# !/ bin / bash

# WARNING : SPACES ESSENTIAL

a =‘ expr 3 + 5 ‘; echo $a # 8
a =‘ expr 5 % 3 ‘; echo $a # 2
a =‘ expr 5 / 3 ‘; echo $a # 1
# a= ‘ expr 1 / 0 ‘ # fault
a =‘ expr 5 \* 3 ‘; echo $a # 15
# need to escape * , since it goes to the shell
a =‘ expr $a + 5 ‘; echo $a # just like a = a +5

string = EnaMegaloString
echo " String is : ${ string } "
position =4
length =6
z =‘ expr substr $string $position $length ‘
# Extract length chars from string ,
# starting at position

echo " Substring is : $z " # Megalo

⋄ Execution:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ myexpr
8
2
1
15
20
String is : EnaMegaloString
Substring is : Megalo 7 / 46
An interesting system program: bc

⋄ A general purpose calculator

ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$ bc
bc 1.06.94
Copyright 1991 -1994 , 1997 , 1998 , 2000 , 2004 , 2006 Free Software Foundation , Inc .
This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY .
For details type ‘ warranty ’.
1
1
0
0
1 > 0
1
0 > 1
0
12 > 8
1
8> 12
0
123^23
1169008215 0 14 4 32 91 7 46 5 34 8 57 8 88 7 50 6 80 07 6 95 4 11 5 72 6 7
quit
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$

8 / 46
Carrying out decimal arithmetic in bash
# !/ bin / bash
# Allows a r i t h m e t i c on d e c i m a l s
a =100.19
b = $ ( echo " scale =3; $a /100 " | bc )
# scale d e t e r m i n e s d e c i m a l digits in f r a c t i o n a l part

echo b = $b # b = 1.001

# p e r f o r m i n e q u a l i t y tests
A =0.04
B =0.03
let " comp = ‘ echo $A - $B \ >0 | bc ‘ "
echo $comp # 1

let " comp = ‘ echo $B - $A \ >0 | bc ‘ "

echo $comp # 0

⋄ Execution:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ mybc
b = 1.001
1
0
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$
9 / 46
Getting the Return Value of a Program ($?)
# !/ bin / bash

# $ ? r e t u r n s the exit code of the last c o m m a n d to e x e c u t e

echo hello
echo $ ? # 0 : successful

lsdlsd # unknown command

echo $ ? # 127 - n o n z e r o for an error

echo Hello again

exit 113 # Must be 0 -255

echo $ ?

• Output:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ exitStatus
hello
0
./ exitStatus : line 8: lsdlsd : command not found
127
Hello again
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ echo $ ?
113
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$
10 / 46
More on return Values

• Assume that “dada” does not exist”

# !/ bin / bash
cd / dada >& / dev / null
echo rv : $ ?
cd $ ( pwd ) >& / dev / null
echo rv : $ ?

• Output
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./
myreturn
rv : 1
rv : 0
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

11 / 46
bc: working with different scales
ad@ad - desktop :~/ S y s P r o M a t e r i a l / Set002 / Samples$ bc
bc 1.06.94
Copyright 1991 -1994 , 1997 , 1998 , 2000 , 2004 , 2006 Free
Software Foundation , Inc .
This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY .
For details type ‘ warranty ’.
21/2
10
scale =4
21/2
10.5000
scale =8
193/32.23456
5.9873626 3
19/3
6.3333333 3
scale =0
19/3
6
ad@ad - desktop :~/ S y s P r o M a t e r i a l / Set002 / Samples$

12 / 46
bc: working with the binary input base (ibase)
ad@ad - desktop :~/ S y s P r o M a t e r i a l / Set002 / Samples$ bc
bc 1.06.94
Copyright 1991 -1994 , 1997 , 1998 , 2000 , 2004 , 2006 Free
Software Foundation , Inc .
This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY .
For details type ‘ warranty ’.
ibase =16
1A
26
10 * 10
256
ibase =8
10
8
10 * 11
72
ibase =2
1111
15
111 * 111
49
ad@ad - desktop :~/ S y s P r o M a t e r i a l / Set002 / Samples$
13 / 46
bc: using different output base (obase)
ad@ad - desktop :~/ S y s P r o M a t e r i a l / Set002 / Samples$ bc
bc 1.06.94
Copyright 1991 -1994 , 1997 , 1998 , 2000 , 2004 , 2006 Free
Software Foundation , Inc .
This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY .
For details type ‘ warranty ’.
obase =2
5
101
15/3
101
obase =8
9
11
99/10
11
obase =16
26
1A
256
100
16 * 16
100 14 / 46
Conditionals

◮ Conditionals let you decide whether to perform an action.

◮ The decision above is taken by evaluating an expression.
◮ Conditions are of the form [ ... ]; for example:
[ " foo " = " foo " ]

◮ We may have arithmetic conditions such as:

‘2 >1 ’

which evaluates to TRUE.

◮ The construct ((...)) evaluates numerical expressions to either
0 (TRUE) or 1 (FALSE)
◮ Opposite from C convention!!! (Think of it as translating C
values to Unix exit code for success)

15 / 46
Arithmetic Tests
# !/ bin / bash
# Arithmetic tests . The (( ... ) ) construct evaluates and tests
# numerical expressions .

(( 0 ))
echo " Exit status of \ " (( 0 ) ) \" is $ ?. " # 1
(( 1 ))
echo " Exit status of \ " (( 1 ) ) \" is $ ?. " # 0
(( 5 > 4 )) # true
echo " Exit status of \ " (( 5 > 4 ) ) \" is $ ?. " # 0
(( 5 > 9 )) # false
echo " Exit status of \ " (( 5 > 9 ) ) \" is $ ?. " # 1
(( 5 - 5 )) # 0
echo " Exit status of \ " (( 5 - 5 ) ) \" is $ ?. " # 1
(( 5 / 4 )) # Division o. k .
echo " Exit status of \ " (( 5 / 4 ) ) \" is $ ?. " # 0
(( 1 / 2 )) # Division result < 1.
echo " Exit status of \ " (( 1 / 2 ) ) \" is $ ?. "
# Division is rounded off to 0.
# 1
(( 1 / 0 )) 2 >/ dev / null # Illegal division by 0.
# ^^^^^^^^^^^
echo " Exit status of \ " (( 1 / 0 ) ) \" is $ ?. " # 1
# What effect does the "2 >/ dev / null " have ?
# What would happen if it were removed ?
# Try removing it , then rerunning the script .
exit 0

16 / 46
Output

ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./

arithmeticTests
Exit status of " (( 0 ) ) " is 1.
Exit status of " (( 1 ) ) " is 0.
Exit status of " (( 5 > 4 ) ) " is 0.
Exit status of " (( 5 > 9 ) ) " is 1.
Exit status of " (( 5 - 5 ) ) " is 1.
Exit status of " (( 5 / 4 ) ) " is 0.
Exit status of " (( 1 / 2 ) ) " is 1.
Exit status of " (( 1 / 0 ) ) " is 1.
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

17 / 46
Checking Files/Directories (-e, -d, -r)
# !/ bin / bash

if [ -e $1 ] # exists file
then if [ -f $1 ] # is a r e g u l a r file
then echo Regular File
fi
fi
# -d checks if it ’ s a d i r e c t o r y

if [ -r $1 ] # have read rights

then echo I can read this file !!!
fi
# also -w , -x

⋄ checking files - output

ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ fileTests fileTests
Regular File
I can read this file !!!
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ fileTests / tmp / hhh
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

18 / 46
Forming Conditions with Integers

-eq equal
if [ ”$a” –eq ”$b” ] ((”$a” == ”$b”))
-ne not-equal
if [ ”$a” –ne ”$b” ] ((”$a” <> ”$b”))
-gt greater than
if [ ”$a” –gr ”$b” ] ((”$a” > ”$b”))
-lt less than
if [ ”$a” –lt ”$b” ] ((”$a” < ”$b”))
-le less or equal
if [ ”$a” –le ”$b” ] ((”$a” <= ”$b”))

19 / 46
Creating Conditions involving Strings
• always use quotes (confusing: [...] interprets $ or > but not =)
• even more confusing: the spaces in [ ... ] are important!
= equal
if [ ”$a” = ”$b” ]
== equal
if [ ”$a” == ”$b” ]
!= not-equal
if [ ”$a” != ”$b” ]
< alphanumerically less
if [ ”$a” \< ”$b” ]
> alphanumerically greater
if [ ”$a” \> ”$b” ]
-n not-null
if [ -n ”a” ]
-z Null (size 0)
if [ -z ”a”]
20 / 46
Creating Conditions involving Strings

! Logical NOT
if [ ! -f ”file” ]
-a Logical AND
if [ ”$a” -a ”$b” ]
-o Logical OR
if [ ”$a” -o ”$b” ]

21 / 46
If-then-else Control Statement
if [ expressio n 1 ];
then statement1
elif [ expressio n 2 ];
then statement2
elif [ expressio n 3 ];
then statement3
else
statement 4
fi

• The sections “else if” and “else” are optional.

# !/ bin / bash

T1 = " foo "

T2 = " bar "

if [ " $T1 " = " $T2 " ]; then

echo expression evaluated as true
else
echo expression evaluated as false
fi

22 / 46
The case control statement
case $variable in
$conditi on 1 )
statement s 1 ;;
$conditi on 2 )
statement s 2 ;;
$conditi on 3 )
statement s 3 ;;
....
esac

An example:
echo -n " Enter the name of an animal : "
read ANIMAL
echo -n " The $ANIMAL has "
case $ANIMAL in
horse | dog | cat ) echo -n " four " ;;
man | kangaroo ) echo -n " two " ;;
*) echo - n " an unknown number of " ;;
esac
echo " legs . "

23 / 46
# !/ bin / bash
# Usage : math n1 op n2
case $2 in
+) echo " Addition requested . "
echo " $1 + $3 = ‘ expr $1 + $3 ‘ " ;;
-) echo " Substraction requested . "
echo " $1 - $3 = ‘ expr $1 - $3 ‘ " ;;
\*) echo " Multiplication requested ."
echo " $1 * $3 = ‘ expr $1 \* $3 ‘" ;;
/) echo " Division requested . "
echo " $1 / $3 = ‘ expr $1 / $3 ‘ " ;;
%) echo " Modulo arithmetic requested . "
echo " $1 % $3 = ‘ expr $1 % $3 ‘ " ;;
*) echo " Unknown operation specified . " ;;
esac

Outcome:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ math
Unknown operation specified .
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ math 34 - 56
Substraction requested .
34 - 56 = -22
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ math 34 % 22
Modulo arithmetic requested .
34 % 22 = 12
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ math 34 * 2
Unknown operation specified .
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ math 34 \* 2
Multiplication requested .
34 * 2 = 68
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ math 34 # 4
Unknown operation specified .
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ 24 / 46
For Loops
# !/ bin / bash

for koko in 1 2 3 4 5 do
echo $koko
# print in different lines
done

for koko in " 1 2 3 4 5 " do

echo $koko
# print in one line
done

NUMS = "1 2 3 4 5 "

for koko in $NUMS do
echo $koko
# print in different lines
done

for koko in ‘ echo $NUMS ‘ do

echo $koko
# print in different lines
done

LIMIT =8
# Double parentheses
for (( koko =1; koko <= LIMIT ; koko ++) ) do
echo $koko " loop with limit "
# print in different lines
done

25 / 46
⋄ Outcome:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ forLoops
1
2
3
4
5
1 2 3 4 5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1 loop with limit
2 loop with limit
3 loop with limit
4 loop with limit
5 loop with limit
6 loop with limit
7 loop with limit
8 loop with limit
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

26 / 46
More For-Loop + implicit var ($*)
# !/ bin / bash
# Without a value list , it processes the program ’ s parameter list ( implicit var )
for koko
do
echo -n $koko ;
done
echo

# how to parse some arguments from $2 until the end

for j in $ {*:2}
do
echo -n $j ;
done
echo

# $2 to $4 - start at position 2 and use 3 args

for j in $ {*:2:3}
do
echo -n $j
done
echo

ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ forLoops2 aa bb cc dd ee

ff ggg uuu
aabbccddeeffgg gu uu
bbccddeeffggguu u
bbccdd
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

27 / 46
while [..] do ... done loop
# !/ bin / bash
LIMIT =19 # Upper limit
echo " Numbers 1 through 20 ( but not 3 or 11) . "
a =0
while [ $a - le " $LIMIT " ]
do
a =$ (( $a +1) )
# Ignore 3 , 11
if [ " $a " - eq 3 ] || [ " $a " - eq 11 ]
then continue ;
fi
echo -n " $a " # not executed for 3 or 11
done
echo
a =0
while [ " $a " -le " $LIMIT " ]
do
a =$ (( $a +1) )
if [ " $a " - gt 2 ]
then break ; # Skip entire rest of loop .
fi
echo -n " $a "
done
echo

ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ breakCont

Numbers 1 through 20 ( but not 3 and 11) .
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
1 2
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$
28 / 46
More on While Loop

# !/ bin / bash
var0 =0
LIMIT =10

while [ " $var0 " - lt " $LIMIT " ]

do
echo -n " $var0 "
var0 =‘ expr $var0 + 1‘
# var0 = $ (( $var0 +1) ) also works .
# var0 = $ (( var0 + 1) ) also works .
# let " var0 += 1" also works .
done
echo
exit 0

⋄ Outcome:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ whileLoops
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

29 / 46
Setting implicit var ($*)
# !/ bin / bash

echo Input parameters = $ #

myvar =" one two three four five six "

# split based on blank chars

# assign to input parameters !!
set $myvar

echo Input parameters = $ #

# Now prints 6

for koko
do
echo $koko
done

• Outcome
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ setProg
Input parameters = 0
Input parameters = 6
one
two
three
four
five
six
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

30 / 46
A (horrible, old-style sh) script that prints strings in reverse
# !/ bin / bash
# Usage : revstrs [ string1 [ string2 ...]]
#
for str
do
strlen =‘ expr length " $str " ‘
# Start from the end . Need to know length
chind = $strlen
while test $chind - gt 0
do
echo -n " ‘ expr substr \" $str \ " $chind 1‘ "
chind =‘ expr $chind - 1‘
done
echo -n " --> "
echo -n " $strlen "
echo " character ( s ). "
done

ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ revstrs
system programming k24 operating systems k22
metsys --> 6 character (s ) .
gnimmargorp --> 11 character ( s ).
42 k --> 3 character ( s ) .
gnitarepo --> 9 character ( s) .
smetsys --> 7 character ( s ) .
22 k --> 3 character ( s ) .
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$

31 / 46
Same script using bash facilities (length, substring)

# !/ bin / bash
# Usage : revstrs [ string1 [ string2 ...]]
#
for str do
# Start from the end
for (( chind = $ {# str }; chind !=0; chind - -) ) do
echo -n $ { str : chind -1:1}
done
echo -n " --> "
echo -n $ {# str }
echo " character ( s ). "
done

32 / 46
Other facilities: redirection, -
# !/ bin / bash
# Listing of Regular Files
OUTFILE = files . lst
dirName = $ {1 - ‘ pwd ‘} # - declares a default value
# i .e . , if there is no $1
echo " The name of the directory to work in : $ { dirName }"
echo " Regular files in directory $ { dirName }" > $OUTFILE
# -type f means regular files
for file in " $( find $dirName - type f )"
do
echo " $file "
done | sort >> " $OUTFILE "
# ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^ redirecting sorted stdout

⋄ Outcome:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts / tmp$ ls
alex asoee delis papi uoa upatras
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts / tmp$ cd ..
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ listRegFiles tmp /
The name of the directory to work in : tmp /
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ cat files . lst
Regular files in directory tmp /
tmp / alex
tmp / asoee
tmp / delis
tmp / papi
tmp / uoa
tmp / upatras
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$
33 / 46
Shifting parameters in a shellschipt
# !/ bin / bash
# call with > 5 arguments
echo " All args are = $ *" ;
echo " Number of Parameters = $ #"
for str # prints OK even with change
do
echo " The value of the iterator is : $ { str } "
var = $1
shift
echo " var = $var and args = $ # "
done

⋄ Outcome:
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./
shiftCommand one two three four five six
All args are = one two three four five six
Number of Parameters = 6
The value of the iterator is : one
var = one and args = 5
The value of the iterator is : two
var = two and args = 4
The value of the iterator is : three
var = three and args = 3
The value of the iterator is : four
var = four and args = 2
The value of the iterator is : five
var = five and args = 1
The value of the iterator is : six
var = six and args = 0
34 / 46
Overflow: Computing factorial
# !/ bin / bash
# Usage : factorial number
if (( "$ # " != 1 || $1 < 0) )
then echo " A single non - negative integer expected "
exit 1
fi
fact =1
for (( i = 1; i <= $1 ; i ++) ) do
fact =‘ expr $fact \* $i ‘ # what about fact = $ (( fact * i ) ) ?
done
echo $fact

⋄ Outcome:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ factorial 5
120
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ factorial -23
Please give positive number
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ factorial a
./ factorial : line 9: [: a : integer expression expected
1
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ factorial 24
expr : *: Numerical result out of range
expr : syntax error
expr : syntax error
expr : syntax error

35 / 46
Computing the Factorial using bc
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$ bc
bc 1.06.94
Copyright 1991 -1994 , 1997 , 1998 , 2000 , 2004 , 2006 Free Software Foundation , Inc .
This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY .
For details type ‘ warranty ’.

define f (x ) {
if ( x <= 1) return (1) ;
return ( f (x -1) * x );
}
f (3)
6
f (5)
120
f (6)
720
f (123)
121463043 67 0 25 3 29 6 75 7 66 2 43 2 4 18 8 12 9 58 5 54 5 42 1 70 8 84 8 33 8 2 31 5 32 8 91 8 16 1 82 9 \
235892362 16 7 66 8 83 1 15 6 96 0 61 2 6 40 2 02 1 70 7 35 8 35 2 21 2 94 0 47 7 8 25 9 10 9 15 7 04 1 16 5 \
147218602 95 1 99 0 62 6 16 4 67 3 07 3 3 90 7 41 9 81 4 95 2 96 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 \
00

f (180)
200896062 49 9 13 4 29 9 65 6 95 1 33 6 8 98 4 66 8 38 9 17 5 40 3 40 7 98 8 67 7 7 79 4 04 3 53 3 51 6 00 4 \
486095339 59 8 09 4 11 8 01 3 81 1 20 9 7 30 9 73 5 63 1 59 4 10 1 03 7 39 9 60 9 6 71 0 32 1 32 1 86 3 31 4 \
952736095 98 5 31 9 66 7 30 9 72 9 45 6 5 35 5 88 1 98 0 64 7 50 6 43 5 38 5 68 5 8 15 7 44 5 04 0 80 9 20 9 \
560358463 31 9 64 4 66 4 89 1 11 4 25 6 4 30 0 17 8 24 1 41 7 96 7 53 8 18 1 92 3 3 86 4 23 0 26 9 33 2 78 1 \
8731986039 6 03 2 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00
quit
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / bash - scripts$
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Size of directories
# !/ bin / bash
# Usage : maxsize dirName1 ... dirNameN
#
max =0; maxdir = $1 ; dirs =$ *;
for dir do
if [ ! -d $dir ]
then echo " No directory with name $dir "
else
size =‘ du -sk $dir | cut -f1 ‘
echo " Size of dir $dir is $size "
if [ $size - ge $max ]
then
max = $size ; maxdir = $dir
fi # if size ...
fi # if directory
set - $dirs
done
echo " $maxdir $max "

⋄ Outcome:
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ dirSize ~/ ~/
Correspondence / ~/ EditingProceed in gs /
Size of dir / home / ad / is 16711548
Size of dir / home / ad / Correspondence / is 62456
Size of dir / home / ad / EditingProceed in gs / is 69368
/ home / ad / 16711548
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

37 / 46
Lists as arrays
Printing out the contents of a file (with delimiters)
# !/ bin / bash
text =( $ ( cat " $1 " ) ) # all contents in a single array
echo ${ text } # just " text " means text [0] !
echo " " ; echo " ";

for element in $ ( seq 0 $ (( $ {# text [@ ]} - 1) ) )

do
echo -n " ${ text [ $element ]} "; echo -n " #"
done

echo " " ; echo " ";

for (( i =0; i <= $ {# text [ @ ]} - 1; i ++) )

do
echo -n " ${ text [ $i ]} " ; echo -n " !! "
done
echo " " ; echo " ";

for i in ‘ cat " $ {1} " ‘

do
echo -n " ${ i } "; echo -n " . "
done
echo " "

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Output

ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ cat tmp / bosnia
Within the spacious , modern courtrooms of
Bosnia ’s war crimes chamber , the harrowing details
of the country ’s civil conflict in the 1990 s are laid bare .
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ printContents tmp / bosnia
Within

Within # the # spacious ,# modern # courtrooms # of # Bosnia ’s # war # crimes # chamber ,# the #
harrowing # details # of # the # country ’s # civil # conflict # in # the #1990 s # are # laid #
bare .#

Within !! the !! spacious ,!! modern !! courtrooms !! of !! Bosnia ’s !! war !! crimes !! chamber
,!! the !! harrowing !! details !! of !! the !! country ’s !! civil !! conflict !! in !! the
!!1990 s !! are !! laid !! bare .!!

Within . the . spacious ,. modern . courtrooms . of . Bosnia ’s . war . crimes . chamber ,. the .
harrowing . details . of . the . country ’s . civil . conflict . in . the .1990 s . are . laid .
bare ..
ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$

39 / 46
Using the exec builtin

# !/ bin / bash
# filename : goalone

exec echo " Exiting \ " $0 \ " . " # Exit from script here .
# - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - -- - -- - - -- - -
# The following lines never execute .

echo " This echo will never echo . "

exit 99 # This script will not exit here .
# Check exit value after script terminates
# + with an ’ echo $ ? ’.
# It will * not * be 99.

Running it...
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$ ./ goalone
Exiting " ./ goalone " .
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$ echo $?
0
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$

40 / 46
Spawning in-place a process with exec

# !/ bin / bash
# filename " gorepeated
echo
echo " This line appears ONCE in the script , yet it keeps echoing . "
echo " The PID of this instance of the script is still $$ . "
# Demonstrates that a subshell is not forked off .

echo " ============== == == == Hit Ctl -C to exit ============= == == == = "

sleep 1

exec $0 # Spawns another instance of this same script

# + that replaces the previous one .

echo " This line will never echo ! " # Why not ?

exit 99 # Will not exit here !

# Exit code will not be 99!

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Outcome
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$ ./ gorepated

This line appears ONCE in the script , yet it keeps echoing .

The PID of this instance of the script is still 4235.
============= == == == = Hit Ctl - C to exit ============== == == ==

This line appears ONCE in the script , yet it keeps echoing .

The PID of this instance of the script is still 4235.
============= == == == = Hit Ctl - C to exit ============== == == ==
^C
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$ echo $?
130
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$ ./ gorepated

This line appears ONCE in the script , yet it keeps echoing .

The PID of this instance of the script is still 4239.
============= == == == = Hit Ctl - C to exit ============== == == ==

This line appears ONCE in the script , yet it keeps echoing .

The PID of this instance of the script is still 4239.
============= == == == = Hit Ctl - C to exit ============== == == ==

This line appears ONCE in the script , yet it keeps echoing .

The PID of this instance of the script is still 4239.
============= == == == = Hit Ctl - C to exit ============== == == ==
^C
ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$ echo $?
130

42 / 46
# !/ bin / bash
# Redirecting stdin using ’ exec ’.

exec 6 <&0 # Link file descriptor #6 with stdin .

# Saves stdin .

exec < data - file # stdin replaced by file " data - file "

read a1 # Reads first line of file " data - file ".

read a2 # Reads second line of file " data - file ."

echo
echo " Following lines read from file . "
echo " ---------- -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - "
echo $a1
echo $a2

echo ; echo ; echo

exec 0 <&6 6 <& -

# Now restore stdin from fd #6 , where it had been saved ,
# + and close fd #6 ( 6 <& - ) to free it for other processes to use .
# <&6 6 <& - also works .

echo -n " Enter data "

read b1 # Now " read " functions as expected , reading from normal stdin .
echo " Input read from stdin . "
echo " ----------- - -- - -- -- - -- "
echo " b1 = $b1 "

echo
exit 0
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Outcome

ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$ ./

goredirection

Following lines read from file .

---------- - - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -
alex
delis athens monastiraki

Enter data pyrosvestio

Input read from stdin .
---------- -- - -- - -- - -- -
b1 = pyrosvestio

ad@ad - desktop :~/ SysProMaterial / Set002 / Samples / Sources / additional$

44 / 46
Reading a file line by line (vs. as a sequence)
# !/ bin / bash

while read line

do
echo $line
echo -------------
done < $1
# take input from $1

# IFS is an internal variable specifying

# how bash separates fields , word boundaries
# ALWAYS SAVE TO TEMP VARIABLE AND
# RESET AFTERWARDS

OLDIFS = " $IFS " ; echo " -- Old IFS value : " " $IFS "

IFS =$ ’\n ’ # IFS = also works

echo " -- New IFS value : " " $IFS "

for line in ‘ cat " $1 " ‘

do
echo " $line "
done

IFS = " $OLDIFS "

exit 0

45 / 46
Output

ad@cairns :~/ Courses / Sys . Pro10 / Sources / bash - scripts$ ./ printContents2 bosnia
Within the spacious , modern courtrooms of
------------ -
Bosnia ’ s war crimes chamber , the harrowing details
------------ -
of the country ’ s civil conflict in the 1990 s are laid bare .
------------ -
-- Old IFS value :

-- New IFS value :

Within the spacious , modern courtrooms of

Bosnia ’ s war crimes chamber , the harrowing details
of the country ’ s civil conflict in the 1990 s are laid bare .

46 / 46