Arithmetic syntax error with shell script - bash

I am trying to call the function "warn" if the calculation is TRUE. I am still not quite comfortable with the syntax, would like some tips on how to fix the last line.
if [ "$noproc" -gt 0 ]; then
echo "WARNING: NoProc at $noproc for $process processes." >> $log
elif [ "$max" -ge 11 ]; then
[ $(($max - $total)) -lt 6 && [ $idle -le $(($max \* 0.25 | bc -l)) ] ] | warn $total $process $max $idle
The error I get: line 97: [: missing ` ] '

If your tagging for this question is correct and you're genuinely using bash (which is to say that your script starts with #!/bin/bash, or if not started via a shebang you use bash yourscript rather than sh yourscript), you might as well take advantage of it.
# extended bash math syntax
if (( (max - total) < 6 )) && (( idle <= (max / 4) )); then
warn "$total" "$process" "$max" "$idle"
fi
If, for whatever reason, you don't want to use (( )), you can still use [[ ]], which gives you a test context with its own extended syntax:
# extended bash test syntax
if [[ $((max - total)) -lt 6 && $idle -le $(bc -l <<<"$max*0.25") ]]; then
warn "$total" "$process" "$max" "$idle"
fi
...whereas if you want to be compatible with POSIX sh, you need to end the test before you can put in a shell-level logical-AND operator.
# corrected POSIX-compliant test syntax
if [ "$((max - total))" -lt 6 ] && [ "$idle" -le "$(bc -l <<<"$max*0.25")" ]; then
warn "$total" "$process" "$max" "$idle"
fi
To understand why, let's look at how your original command would parse, if you changed the (utterly incorrect) | symbol to && instead:
# Equivalent (longer form) of the original code, with pipe corrected to logical-AND
if [ $(($max - $total)) -lt 6; then
if [ $idle -le $(($max \* 0.25 | bc -l)) ] ]; then
warn $total $process $max $idle
fi
fi
Note that this is running, as a single command, [ $(($max - $total)) -lt 6.
[ is not special shell syntax -- it's just a command. In older shells it was actually /usr/bin/[; today, there's also a [ builtin as well, but other than being faster to execute, it behaves exactly the same way as it would have were it executing the old, external command.
That [ command expects to be passed a ] as its last argument, since there's no ] after the -lt 6, you get a syntax error and it exits.
Similarly, your code would then (if the first command succeeded) run [ $idle -le $(($max \* 0.25 | bc -l)) ] ]. Here, you have a [ command passed two ]s on the end; it simply doesn't know what to do with the second one.

You can't nest [ invocations. Even if you could, a && (b) === a && b in logic.
You can't use commands in arithmetic expansions.
Bash's [[ is safer than [.
Use More Quotes™.
Result:
[[ "$(($max - $total))" -lt 6 ]] && [[ "$idle" -le "$(bc -l <<< "$max * 0.25")" ]] | warn "$total $process $max $idle"

Related

Why is my arithmetic condition evaluated as true?

I have a sample logic. By calculation, it is -2 > 0 . This is a false condition and I get no result, but I am getting the value as abcd.
#!/bin/bash
Val1=1
Val2=1
Val3=2
Name=abcd
log=/tmp/log
if [ "$((Val1-(Val2 + Val3))) -ge 0" ] ; then echo "$Name" | tee -a "$log"; fi
I have verified on ShellCheck, and it is giving me this message. I couldn't get how to fix this?
$ shellcheck myscript
Line 7:
if [ "$((Val1-(Val2 + Val3))) -ge 0" ] ; then echo "$Name" | tee -a "$log"; fi
^-- SC2157: Argument to implicit -n is always true due to literal strings.
If you use [ 'a string' ], that's the same as [ -n 'a string' ]: it checks if the parameter is non-empty. You're providing the argument "$((Val1-(Val2 + Va3))) -ge 0", which evaluates to the string "-2 -ge 0". "Implicit -n" means that the shell really checks
if [ -n "-2 -ge 0" ]
and that is always true, because that's not an empty string.
The reason is your quoting. This would work instead:
if [ "$((Val1-(Val2 + Val3)))" -ge 0 ]
Strictly speaking, the quotes aren't necessary, but they don't hurt, either.
Or, since you're using Bash, you could use an arithmetic conditional:
if ((Val1 - (Val2 + Val3) > 0))
I figured after posting the question
#!/bin/bash
Val1=1
Val2=1
Val3=2
Name=abcd
log=/tmp/log
if [ "$((Val1-(Val2 + Val3)))" -ge 0 ] ; then echo "$Name" | tee -a "$log"; fi

bash comparing variables that are integers with -gt -lt

I'm trying to make a bash script that reads integers from a file (one number per line, name of the file is passed as the script argument), finds maximum, minimum and sum. I've got a problem with the part, where I'm comparing variables, though. Code below (I've skipped here the part which checks whether the file exists or is empty):
#!/bin/bash
min=`cat "$1" | head -n 1`
max=$min
sum=0
lw=`cat "$1" | wc -l`
while [ $lw -gt 0 ];
do
num=`cat "$1" | tail -n $lw | head -n 1`
if [ "$num" -gt "$max" ]
then
max=$num
elif [ "$num" -lt "$min" ]
then
min=$num
fi
sum=$[sum+num]
lw=$[$lw-1]
done
echo "Maximum: $max"
echo "Minimum: $min"
echo "Sum: $sum"
With this code I'm getting errors in lines 13 and 16: [: : integer expression expected
If I change the comparision part inside the while loop to:
if [ $num -gt $max ]
then
max=$num
elif [ $num -lt $min ]
then
min=$num
fi
I'm getting errors:
line 13: [: -gt: unary operator expected
line 16: [: -lt: unary operator expected
What am I doing wrong? I'm a total newbie in bash, so I'll be extremely grateful for any help.
Data that I used for testing:
5
6
8
2
3
5
9
10
Probably your input file contains DOS line endings or other improper formatting. Your code should work for well-formed inputs.
However, the proper way to loop over the lines in a file is
#!/bin/bash
min=$(sed 1q "$1")
max=$min
sum=0
while read -r num; do
if [ "$num" -gt "$max" ]
then
max=$num
elif [ "$num" -lt "$min" ]
then
min=$num
fi
((sum+=num))
done<"$1"
echo "Maximum: $max"
echo "Minimum: $min"
echo "Sum: $sum"
Notice also that backticks and $[[...]]] use syntax which has been obselescent for decades already.
My guess would be that the expression
num=`cat "$1" | tail -n $lw | head -n 1`
assigns to num some value that is not a number in one of the iterations. I would suggest adding echo "$num" in the prev line to check this assumption
Another thing: instead of reading lines using cat | tail | head it is easier to read file line by line using the following syntax
while IFS= read -r line
do
echo "$line"
done < "$input"
This will read contents of input file into line variable.
See here for explanations about IFS= and -r https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/unix-howto-read-line-by-line-from-file/ - both of them not really necessary in your case

Bash - How to word if then statement

I'm attempting to append to a file this pseudo code:
if [ `expr $MOD % 5` -eq 0 ]; then.
I did it on shell as:
echo if [ `expr $MOD % 5` -eq 0 ]; then
But it gives me a syntax error near unexpected token 'then'. I can't figure out where I'm going wrong.
Use single quotes:
$ echo 'if [ `expr $MOD % 5` -eq 0 ]; then'
if [ `expr $MOD % 5` -eq 0 ]; then
If I am reading this right, you are trying to append this actual text to a file?
if [ `expr $MOD % 5` -eq 0 ]; then
Then the issue is your command structure. You used this:
echo if [ `expr $MOD % 5` -eq 0 ]; then
This is actually two commands as far as the shell is concerned, due to the semicolon. So it is the same as:
echo if [ `expr $MOD % 5` -eq 0 ]
then
Since then is not normally a valid command, and this is outside the context of a shell conditional (for instance if), the shell doesn't know what to do with it.
What you need to do is quote the entire thing as a string and pass that to echo.
echo 'if [ `expr $MOD % 5` -eq 0 ]; then'
Using single quote (') rather than double quote (") is important. If you use double quote, then the bit in backticks (expr $MOD % 5) would be evaluated instead of passed to the file as-is.

shell script - why code executing in infinite loop [duplicate]

I wrote a bash script that performs a curl call only during business hours. For some reason, the hourly comparison fails when I add an "-a" operator (and for some reason my bash does not recognize "&&").
Though the script is much larger, here is the relevant piece:
HOUR=`date +%k`
if [ $HOUR > 7 -a $HOUR < 17 ];
then
//do sync
fi
The script gives me the error:
./tracksync: (last line): Cannot open (line number): No such file
However, this comparison does not fail:
if [ $DAY != "SUNDAY" -a $HOUR > 7 ];
then
//do sync
fi
Is my syntax wrong or is this a problem with my bash?
You cannot use < and > in bash scripts as such. Use -lt and -gt for that:
if [ $HOUR -gt 7 -a $HOUR -lt 17 ]
< and > are used by the shell to perform redirection of stdin or stdout.
The comparison that you say is working is actually creating a file named 7 in the current directory.
As for &&, that also has a special meaning for the shell and is used for creating an "AND list" of commands.
The best documentation for all these: man bash (and man test for details on comparison operators)
There are a few answers here but none of them recommend actual numerical context.
Here is how to do it in bash:
if (( hour > 7 && hour < 17 )); then
...
fi
Note that "$" is not needed to expand variables in numerical context.
I suggest you use quotes around variable references and "standard" operators:
if [ "$HOUR" -gt 7 -a "$HOUR" -lt 17 ]; ...; fi
Try using [[ instead, because it is safer and has more features. Also use -gt and -lt for numeric comparison.
if [[ $HOUR -gt 7 && $HOUR -lt 17 ]]
then
# do something
fi

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

Resources