Writing a do while loop in bash with multiple conditions - bash

I'm having some trouble writing a do-while loop in bash with multiple conditions.
My code currently works when it is like this:
while
count=$((count+1))
( MyFunction $arg1 $arg2 -eq 1 )
do
:
done
But I want to add a second condition to the "do-while" loop like so:
while
count=$((count+1))
( MyFunction $arg1 $arg2 -eq 1 ) || ( $count -lt 20 )
do
:
done
When I do this I get an "command not found error".
I've been trying some of the while loop examples from this post but had no luck and the do-while example I use is from here. In particular the answer with 137 likes.

The ( is part of syntax and $count is not a valid command. The test or [ is a valid command that is used to "test" expressions.
while
count=$((count+1))
[ "$(MyFunction "$arg1" "$arg2")" -eq 1 ] || [ "$count" -lt 20 ]
do
:
done
The answer you mention uses arithmetic expressions with (( (not a single (, but double (( without anything between). You could also do:
while
count=$((count+1))
(( "$(MyFunction "$arg1" "$arg2")" == 1 || count < 20 ))
do
:
done

You can use for loop:
for ((count=0; i<20 && $(MyFunction $arg1 $arg2) == 1; count++)); do
echo $count
done

Related

How to say less than but no equal to in bash?

I'm getting an error with this, I did my research but found nothing.
if [ $value -lt 3 -ne 1 ]; then
execute code
fi
line 6: [: syntax error: -ne unexpected
One way to make this work is
if [ "${value}" -lt 3 ] && [ "${value}" -ne 1 ]; then
echo "Hello"
fi
I like to switch to arithmetic expressions using (( when I need tests like these:
declare -a values=(1 2 3)
for value in "${values[#]}"; do
if (( value != 1 && value < 3 )); then
echo "execute code for $value"
fi
done
The above outputs:
execute code for 2
use (( )) brackets for arithmetic operations and [[ ]] for strings comparison
$ is redundant in round brackets so (( $a == 1 )) is the same as (( a == 1 ))
typeset a=2
(( a < 3 )) && (( a != 1 )) && echo "Execute code"
more details : http://faculty.salina.k-state.edu/tim/unix_sg/bash/math.html

How to fix count that doesn't work in while loop

I have been trying to resolve an issue where my loop's count should decrease, however nothing is working. I need to create a while loop that will read over a given amount of times. For instance, if I enter in "files.txt -a 3" in the terminal, I need my loop to repeat "Enter in a string: " 3 times. With my code below, I am only able to get it to loop once. I am not to sure where to put the counter and I can say that I have put it everywhere. Inside the if statement, in inside of the for loop, and inside the while loop but none seem to work. The number that the user will put is held in the $count variable.
#!/bin/bash
if ["$1" = "-a" ]
then
read in user String and save into file
fi
while [ "$count" > 0 ]
do
for i in $count
do
if [ "-a" ]
then
read -p "Enter in a string: " userSTR
echo userSTR >> files.txt
count=$(($count - 1))
fi
done
done
For conditional expression you need to use [[ expression ]], e.g. this will loop four times:
count=4
while [[ $count > 0 ]] ; do
echo "$count"
count=$(( $count - 1 ))
done
To fetch the count from the command-line argument, you could replace the assignment count=4 above with the following, parsing the command-line arguments:
if [ $# -lt 2 ] ; then
echo "Usage: $0 -a [count]"
exit 1
fi
if [ "$1" = "-a" ] ; then
shift
count=$1
fi

Shell Script command not found error

Below my script for up to n prime numbers. When I run it, it always shows an error that command not found in line 12 and 18 both. What am I doing wrong?
clear
echo"enter the number upto which you want prime numbers : "
read n
for((i=1;i<=n;i++))
do
flag=0
for((j=2;j<i;j++))
do
if [expr $i % $j-eq 0]
then
flag=1
fi
done
if [$flag-eq 0]
then
echo $i
fi
done
As pointed out in comments, you must use spaces around [ and ], as well as the comparison operators. Even more safe when using [ and ] is quoting your variables to avoid word splitting (not actually required in this specific case, though).
Additionally, you want to compare the output of expr to 0, so you have to use command substitution:
if [ $(expr "$i" % "$j") -eq 0 ]
and
if [ "$flag" -eq 0 ]
Since you're using Bash, you can use the (( )) compound command:
if (( i % j == 0 ))
and
if (( flag == 0 ))
No expr needed, no command substitution, no quoting required, no $ required, and the comparison operators have their "normal", expected meaning.
There are a number of syntax errors other than the brackets of if statement. Kindly go through the piece of code below. I have checked it running on my system.
#!/bin/sh
echo "enter the number upto which you want prime numbers : "
read n
for((i=1;i<=n;i++))
do
flag=0
for((j=2;j<i;j++))
do
if [ `expr $i % $j` -eq 0 ]
then flag=1
fi
done
if [ $flag -eq 0 ]
then echo $i
fi
done

Counting down in a loop to zero by the number being given

I am trying to write a while loop to determine the number is being given to count down to 0. Also, if there's no argument given, must display "no parameters given.
Now I have it counting down but the last number is not being 0 and as it is counting down it starts with the number 1. I mush use a while loop.
My NEW SCRIPT.
if [ $# -eq "0" ] ;then
echo "No paramters given"
else
echo $#
fi
COUNT=$1
while [ $COUNT -gt 0 ] ;do
echo $COUNT
let COUNT=COUNT-1
done
echo Finished!
This is what outputs for me.
sh countdown.sh 5
1
5
4
3
2
1
Finished!
I need it to reach to 0
#Slizzered has already spotted your problem in a comment:
You need operator -ge (greater than or equal) rather than -gt (greater than) in order to count down to 0.
As for why 1 is printed first: that's simply due to the echo $# statement before the while loop.
If you're using bash, you could also consider simplifying your code with this idiomatic reformulation:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Count is passed as the 1st argument.
# Abort with error message, if not given.
count=${1?No parameters given}
# Count down to 0 using a C-style arithmetic expression inside `((...))`.
# Note: Increment the count first so as to simplify the `while` loop.
(( ++count ))
while (( --count >= 0 )); do
echo $count
done
echo 'Finished!'
${1?No parameters given} is an instance of shell parameter expansion
bash shell arithmetic is documented here.
You should also validate the variable before using it in an arithmetic context. Otherwise, a user can construct an argument that will cause the script to run in an infinite loop or hit the recursion limit and segfault.
Also, don't use uppercase variable names since you risk overriding special shell variables and environment variables. And don't use [ in bash; prefer the superior [[ and (( constructs.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
shopt -s extglob # enables extended globs
if (( $# != 1 )); then
printf >&2 'Missing argument\n'
exit 1
elif [[ $1 != +([0-9]) ]]; then
printf >&2 'Not an acceptable number\n'
exit 2
fi
for (( i = $1; i >= 0; i-- )); do
printf '%d\n' "$i"
done
# or if you insist on using while
#i=$1
#while (( i >= 0 )); do
# printf '%d\n' "$((i--))"
#done
Your code is far from being able to run. So, I don't know where to start to explain. Let's take this small script:
#!/bin/sh
die() {
echo $1 >&2
exit 1;
}
test -z "$1" && die "no parameters given"
for i in $(seq $1 -1 0); do
echo "$i"
done
The main part is the routine seq which does what you need: counting from start value to end value (with increment in between). The start value is $1, the parameter to our script, the increment is -1.
The test line tests whether there is a parameter on the command line - if not, the script ends via the subroutine die.
Hth.
There are a number of ways to do this, but the general approach is to loop from the number given to an ending number decrementing the loop count with each iteration. A C-style for loop works as well as anything. You will adjust the sleep value to get the timing you like. You should also validate the required number and type of input your script takes. One such approach would be:
#!/bin/bash
[ -n "$1" ] || {
printf " error: insufficient input. usage: %s number (for countdown)\n" "${0//*\//}"
exit 1
}
[ "$1" -eq "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 ] || {
printf " error: invalid input. number '%s' is not an integer\n" "$1"
exit 1
}
declare -i cnt=$(($1))
printf "\nLaunch will occur in:\n\n"
for ((i = cnt; i > 0; i--)); do
printf " %2s\n" "$i"
sleep .5
done
printf "\nFinished -- blastoff!\n\n"
exit 0
Output
$ bash ./scr/tmp/stack/countdown.sh 10
Launch will occur in:
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Finished -- blastoff!
Your Approach
Your approach is fine, but you need to use the value of COUNT $COUNT in your expression. You also should declare -i COUNT=$1 to tell the shell to treat it as an integer:
#!/bin/bash
if [ $# -eq "0" ] ;then
echo "No paramters given"
else
echo -e "\nNumber of arguments: $#\n\n"
fi
declare -i COUNT=$1
while [ $COUNT -gt 0 ] ;do
echo $COUNT
let COUNT=$COUNT-1
done
echo -e "\nFinished!\n"

How do I rewrite a bash 'while' loop as a 'for' loop?

This is my bash scripting code so I want to know How to Rewrite the below Bash script using a “for” loop instead of the “while” loop.
#!/bin/bash
if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
a=0;
if [ -f RandNos ]; then
rm RandNos;
fi
while [ $a -lt $1 ]
do
a='expr $a + 1';
myrand=$RANDOM;
if [ "$2" "1"]; then
echo "No. $a ==> $myrand";
fi
echo $myrand>>RandNos
done
else
echo "please use with an argument..."
fi
Thanks.
The short of it: for counter-based loops, use the C-like form of the for loop:
for (( a = 0; a < $1; a++ )); do
# ... use $a
done
(This replaces while [ $a -lt $1 ]; do a='expr $a + 1' ...; done.)
See below for more on the rules that apply inside (( ... )).
As for the rest of your code:
Conditional [ "$2" "1"] is broken: it's missing the mandatory space before ]
With that fixed, it'll only work if $2 expands to a unary test operator such as -n.
Perhaps you meant if [[ -z $myrand ]]; then, to check if $RANDOM resulted in a nonempty string?
a='expr $a + 1' - which you don't need anymore with the for loop - doesn't actually invoke expr, because you're using single quotes - you'd need backticks (`) instead, or, preferably, the modern equivalent: $(expr $a + 1). However, with arithmetic evaluation, this could be simplified to (( ++a )).
[ ... ] conditionals work in bash, but they're provided for POSIX compatibility - use [[ ... ]] as the bash-specific alternative, which is more robust, has more features, and is faster.
bash statements only need terminating with ; if you place multiple on a single line
Note that bash considers do ... and then ... separate statements, hence you often see if ...; then and for ...; do.
In general, I encourage you to syntax-check your shell code at http://shellcheck.net - it's a great tool for detecting syntax problems.
Note how different rules apply inside (( ... )) compared to elsewhere in bash:
spaces around the = in the variable assignment are allowed.
referencing a variable without the $ prefix (a++) is allowed.
< performs numerical comparison (whereas inside [[ ... ]] it's lexical) -i.e., it's the more natural equivalent to -lt inside [ ... ] or [[ ... ]].
several other mathematical and even bit-wise operators are supported
...
All these different rules apply when bash operates in an arithmetic context, which applies to (( ... )), $(( ... )), array subscripts, and other cases.
For all the rules, run man bash and read the ARITHMETIC EVALUATION section.
Simply rewriting it with a for loop results in:
#!/bin/bash
if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
if [ -f RandNos ]; then
rm RandNos;
fi
lim=$(expr $1 - 1)
as=$(seq 0 $lim)
for a in $as
do
a='expr $a + 1';
myrand=$RANDOM;
if [ "$2" "1"]; then # <- Caveat: conditional is BROKEN
echo "No. $a ==> $myrand";
fi
echo $myrand>>RandNos
done
else
echo "please use with an argument..."
fi
But there are several things wrong with the script anyhow. Like the last if statement.
if [ $# -lt 1 ];then
echo "First argument must be number".
exit 1;
fi
for a in `seq $1`
do
...
done
Several things can be improved:
#!/bin/bash
if (( $# )); then # anything but 0 is true
rm -f RandNos # remove if existing, otherwise fail silently
for ((a=0; a<$1; a++)); do
myrand=$RANDOM
# what is the intention here?
(( $2 > 1 )) && echo "No. $a ==> $myrand"
echo "$myrand" >> RandNos
done
else
echo "please use with an argument..."
fi
not sure what your intention was with the [ "$2" "1" ] expression. it is probably not what I made from it.
for ((a=1; a<=$1; a++)); do
may reflect your intended logic better, as you use $a for output only after incrementing it. as pointed out and corrected by #mklement0
!/bin/bash
if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
a=0;
if [ -f RandNos ]; then
rm RandNos;
fi
for (( i=$a; i<$1; i++ ))
do
myrand=$RANDOM;
if [ "$2" = "1" ]; then
echo "No. $a ==> $myrand";
fi
echo $myrand >> RandNos
done
else
echo "please use with an argument..."
fi

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