Is the == functioning like an IN operator when the test string contains wildcards? It's very magical...
example1:
string='My long string';
if [[ $string == *"My long"* ]]; then echo "It's there!"; fi
output:
It's There
example2:
if [[ *"My long"* == $string ]]; then echo "It's there!"; fi
No output.
That's how [[ ]] was designed to work. It's in the manual:
When the ‘==’ and ‘!=’ operators are used, the string to the right of the operator is considered a pattern and matched according to the rules described below in Pattern Matching.
Glob pattern only works on right hand side of comparison that's why
if [[ *"My long"* == $string ]]; then echo "It's there!"; fi
will fail.
Even this won't work:
[[ *"My long"* == "My long" ]] && echo "It's there!"
But this will work:
[[ "My long" == *"My long"* ]] && echo "It's there!"
It's there!
If you are asking how this is working:
string='My long string';
if [[ $string == *"My long"* ]]; then echo "It's there!"; fi
Then it is working due to use of glob matching on your RHS pattern that uses *
Which means match anything before and after literal text "My long" and since your input does contain "My long" hence match succeeds.
Related
How do I compare a variable to a string (and do something if they match)?
Using variables in if statements
if [ "$x" = "valid" ]; then
echo "x has the value 'valid'"
fi
If you want to do something when they don't match, replace = with !=. You can read more about string operations and arithmetic operations in their respective documentation.
Why do we use quotes around $x?
You want the quotes around $x, because if it is empty, your Bash script encounters a syntax error as seen below:
if [ = "valid" ]; then
Non-standard use of == operator
Note that Bash allows == to be used for equality with [, but this is not standard.
Use either the first case wherein the quotes around $x are optional:
if [[ "$x" == "valid" ]]; then
or use the second case:
if [ "$x" = "valid" ]; then
Or, if you don't need an else clause:
[ "$x" == "valid" ] && echo "x has the value 'valid'"
a="abc"
b="def"
# Equality Comparison
if [ "$a" == "$b" ]; then
echo "Strings match"
else
echo "Strings don't match"
fi
# Lexicographic (greater than, less than) comparison.
if [ "$a" \< "$b" ]; then
echo "$a is lexicographically smaller then $b"
elif [ "$a" \> "$b" ]; then
echo "$b is lexicographically smaller than $a"
else
echo "Strings are equal"
fi
Notes:
Spaces between if and [ and ] are important
> and < are redirection operators so escape it with \> and \< respectively for strings.
To compare strings with wildcards, use:
if [[ "$stringA" == *"$stringB"* ]]; then
# Do something here
else
# Do something here
fi
I have to disagree one of the comments in one point:
[ "$x" == "valid" ] && echo "valid" || echo "invalid"
No, that is not a crazy oneliner
It's just it looks like one to, hmm, the uninitiated...
It uses common patterns as a language, in a way;
And after you learned the language.
Actually, it's nice to read
It is a simple logical expression, with one special part: lazy evaluation of the logic operators.
[ "$x" == "valid" ] && echo "valid" || echo "invalid"
Each part is a logical expression; the first may be true or false, the other two are always true.
(
[ "$x" == "valid" ]
&&
echo "valid"
)
||
echo "invalid"
Now, when it is evaluated, the first is checked. If it is false, than the second operand of the logic and && after it is not relevant. The first is not true, so it can not be the first and the second be true, anyway.
Now, in this case is the the first side of the logic or || false, but it could be true if the other side - the third part - is true.
So the third part will be evaluated - mainly writing the message as a side effect. (It has the result 0 for true, which we do not use here)
The other cases are similar, but simpler - and - I promise! are - can be - easy to read!
(I don't have one, but I think being a UNIX veteran with grey beard helps a lot with this.)
The following script reads from a file named "testonthis" line by line and then compares each line with a simple string, a string with special characters and a regular expression. If it doesn't match, then the script will print the line, otherwise not.
Space in Bash is so much important. So the following will work:
[ "$LINE" != "table_name" ]
But the following won't:
["$LINE" != "table_name"]
So please use as is:
cat testonthis | while read LINE
do
if [ "$LINE" != "table_name" ] && [ "$LINE" != "--------------------------------" ] && [[ "$LINE" =~ [^[:space:]] ]] && [[ "$LINE" != SQL* ]]; then
echo $LINE
fi
done
You can also use use case/esac:
case "$string" in
"$pattern" ) echo "found";;
esac
Bash 4+ examples. Note: not using quotes will cause issues when words contain spaces, etc. Always quote in Bash, IMO.
Here are some examples in Bash 4+:
Example 1, check for 'yes' in string (case insensitive):
if [[ "${str,,}" == *"yes"* ]] ;then
Example 2, check for 'yes' in string (case insensitive):
if [[ "$(echo "$str" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')" == *"yes"* ]] ;then
Example 3, check for 'yes' in string (case sensitive):
if [[ "${str}" == *"yes"* ]] ;then
Example 4, check for 'yes' in string (case sensitive):
if [[ "${str}" =~ "yes" ]] ;then
Example 5, exact match (case sensitive):
if [[ "${str}" == "yes" ]] ;then
Example 6, exact match (case insensitive):
if [[ "${str,,}" == "yes" ]] ;then
Example 7, exact match:
if [ "$a" = "$b" ] ;then
Enjoy.
I would probably use regexp matches if the input has only a few valid entries. E.g. only the "start" and "stop" are valid actions.
if [[ "${ACTION,,}" =~ ^(start|stop)$ ]]; then
echo "valid action"
fi
Note that I lowercase the variable $ACTION by using the double comma's. Also note that this won't work on too aged bash versions out there.
I did it in this way that is compatible with Bash and Dash (sh):
testOutput="my test"
pattern="my"
case $testOutput in (*"$pattern"*)
echo "if there is a match"
exit 1
;;
(*)
! echo there is no coincidence!
;;esac
I was struggling with the same situation for a while, here is how I could resolve:
if [ "$var1" == "$var2" ]; then
#dowhateveryouwant
fi
Be careful with the spaces left before and after the comparison sign, otherwise it won't work or it'll give you an unexpected result.
I've spent so much time on using a single equal(=) sign but didn't work. I Hope it can help.
Are you having comparison problems? (like below?)
var="true"
if [[ $var == "true" ]]; then
# It should be working, but it is not...
else
# It is falling here...
fi
Try like the =~ operator (regular expression operator) and it might work:
var="true"
if [[ $var =~ "true" ]];then
# Now it works here!!
else
# No more inequality
fi
Bash regex operator =~ (official reference)
StackOverflow further examples (here)
How do I compare a variable to a string (and do something if they match)?
Using variables in if statements
if [ "$x" = "valid" ]; then
echo "x has the value 'valid'"
fi
If you want to do something when they don't match, replace = with !=. You can read more about string operations and arithmetic operations in their respective documentation.
Why do we use quotes around $x?
You want the quotes around $x, because if it is empty, your Bash script encounters a syntax error as seen below:
if [ = "valid" ]; then
Non-standard use of == operator
Note that Bash allows == to be used for equality with [, but this is not standard.
Use either the first case wherein the quotes around $x are optional:
if [[ "$x" == "valid" ]]; then
or use the second case:
if [ "$x" = "valid" ]; then
Or, if you don't need an else clause:
[ "$x" == "valid" ] && echo "x has the value 'valid'"
a="abc"
b="def"
# Equality Comparison
if [ "$a" == "$b" ]; then
echo "Strings match"
else
echo "Strings don't match"
fi
# Lexicographic (greater than, less than) comparison.
if [ "$a" \< "$b" ]; then
echo "$a is lexicographically smaller then $b"
elif [ "$a" \> "$b" ]; then
echo "$b is lexicographically smaller than $a"
else
echo "Strings are equal"
fi
Notes:
Spaces between if and [ and ] are important
> and < are redirection operators so escape it with \> and \< respectively for strings.
To compare strings with wildcards, use:
if [[ "$stringA" == *"$stringB"* ]]; then
# Do something here
else
# Do something here
fi
I have to disagree one of the comments in one point:
[ "$x" == "valid" ] && echo "valid" || echo "invalid"
No, that is not a crazy oneliner
It's just it looks like one to, hmm, the uninitiated...
It uses common patterns as a language, in a way;
And after you learned the language.
Actually, it's nice to read
It is a simple logical expression, with one special part: lazy evaluation of the logic operators.
[ "$x" == "valid" ] && echo "valid" || echo "invalid"
Each part is a logical expression; the first may be true or false, the other two are always true.
(
[ "$x" == "valid" ]
&&
echo "valid"
)
||
echo "invalid"
Now, when it is evaluated, the first is checked. If it is false, than the second operand of the logic and && after it is not relevant. The first is not true, so it can not be the first and the second be true, anyway.
Now, in this case is the the first side of the logic or || false, but it could be true if the other side - the third part - is true.
So the third part will be evaluated - mainly writing the message as a side effect. (It has the result 0 for true, which we do not use here)
The other cases are similar, but simpler - and - I promise! are - can be - easy to read!
(I don't have one, but I think being a UNIX veteran with grey beard helps a lot with this.)
The following script reads from a file named "testonthis" line by line and then compares each line with a simple string, a string with special characters and a regular expression. If it doesn't match, then the script will print the line, otherwise not.
Space in Bash is so much important. So the following will work:
[ "$LINE" != "table_name" ]
But the following won't:
["$LINE" != "table_name"]
So please use as is:
cat testonthis | while read LINE
do
if [ "$LINE" != "table_name" ] && [ "$LINE" != "--------------------------------" ] && [[ "$LINE" =~ [^[:space:]] ]] && [[ "$LINE" != SQL* ]]; then
echo $LINE
fi
done
You can also use use case/esac:
case "$string" in
"$pattern" ) echo "found";;
esac
Bash 4+ examples. Note: not using quotes will cause issues when words contain spaces, etc. Always quote in Bash, IMO.
Here are some examples in Bash 4+:
Example 1, check for 'yes' in string (case insensitive):
if [[ "${str,,}" == *"yes"* ]] ;then
Example 2, check for 'yes' in string (case insensitive):
if [[ "$(echo "$str" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')" == *"yes"* ]] ;then
Example 3, check for 'yes' in string (case sensitive):
if [[ "${str}" == *"yes"* ]] ;then
Example 4, check for 'yes' in string (case sensitive):
if [[ "${str}" =~ "yes" ]] ;then
Example 5, exact match (case sensitive):
if [[ "${str}" == "yes" ]] ;then
Example 6, exact match (case insensitive):
if [[ "${str,,}" == "yes" ]] ;then
Example 7, exact match:
if [ "$a" = "$b" ] ;then
Enjoy.
I would probably use regexp matches if the input has only a few valid entries. E.g. only the "start" and "stop" are valid actions.
if [[ "${ACTION,,}" =~ ^(start|stop)$ ]]; then
echo "valid action"
fi
Note that I lowercase the variable $ACTION by using the double comma's. Also note that this won't work on too aged bash versions out there.
I did it in this way that is compatible with Bash and Dash (sh):
testOutput="my test"
pattern="my"
case $testOutput in (*"$pattern"*)
echo "if there is a match"
exit 1
;;
(*)
! echo there is no coincidence!
;;esac
I was struggling with the same situation for a while, here is how I could resolve:
if [ "$var1" == "$var2" ]; then
#dowhateveryouwant
fi
Be careful with the spaces left before and after the comparison sign, otherwise it won't work or it'll give you an unexpected result.
I've spent so much time on using a single equal(=) sign but didn't work. I Hope it can help.
Are you having comparison problems? (like below?)
var="true"
if [[ $var == "true" ]]; then
# It should be working, but it is not...
else
# It is falling here...
fi
Try like the =~ operator (regular expression operator) and it might work:
var="true"
if [[ $var =~ "true" ]];then
# Now it works here!!
else
# No more inequality
fi
Bash regex operator =~ (official reference)
StackOverflow further examples (here)
How can I best compare two similar strings in bash?
I want to compare 1.1.1.1:1000 to 1.1.1.1 and find it to be a match.
1.1.1.1:1000 1.1.1.1 MATCH
1.1.1.2:1000 1.1.1.1 NO MATCH
Here's a simple script illustrating the challenge:
#!/bin/sh
IPONE="1.1.1.1:1000"
IPTWO="1.1.1.1"
if [[ "$IPONE" == "$IPTWO*" ]] ; then
echo "$IPONE $IPTWO Match"
else
echo "$IPONE $IPTWO ERROR"
fi
If I understand correctly, you want to compare, for an exact match, the part before the colon. In that case:
if [[ "${IPONE%%:*}" == "${IPTWO%%:*}" ]] ; then
echo "$IPONE $IPTWO Match"
else
echo "$IPONE $IPTWO ERROR"
fi
If you want to use glob-syntax, then you need to use =~ instead of == in your [[ ... ]], and you can't have the second parameter quoted. So it should like this:
if [[ "$IPONE" =~ $IPTWO* ]]; then
If you need to have the second parameter quoted, just do this:
if [[ "$IPONE" =~ "$IPTWO"* ]]; then
If you need to find a match that matches a string up to the last of a delimiter, in this case ., then try this:
if [[ "$IPONE" =~ ([0-9]|\.){3}[0-1]* ]]; then
I think POSIX substring parameter expansion, may be have trick
#!/bin/bash
IPONE="1.1.1.1:1000"
IPTWO="1.1.1.1"
if test "${IPONE#*$IPTWO}" != "$IPONE"
then
echo "$IPONE $IPTWO Match"
else
echo "$IPONE $IPTWO ERROR"
fi
OR
IPONE="1.1.1.1:1000"
IPTWO="1.1.1.1"
if [[ "${IPONE}" == *$IPTWO* ]]
then
echo "$IPONE $IPTWO Match"
else
echo "$IPONE $IPTWO ERROR"
fi
I need to check that the input consists only of numeric characters. I have the code below, but it didn't work properly.
if [[ $1 =~ [0-9] ]]; then
echo "Invalid input"
fi
It should give true only for 678686 not for yy66666.
How about this:-
re='^[0-9]+$'
if ! [[ $Number =~ $re ]] ; then
echo "error: Invalid input" >&2; exit 1
fi
or
case $Number in
''|*[!0-9]*) echo nonnumeric;;
*) echo numeric;;
esac
Try using start/end anchors with your pattern. If you don't, the match succeeds with a part of a test string. Don't forget that you have to use a pattern matching the complete test string if you follow this suggestion.
if [[ $1 =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
echo "Invalid input"
fi
Check out this SO post for more details.
In a bash (version 3.2.48) script I get a string that can be something like:
'XY'
' Y'
'YY'
etc
So, I have either an alphabetic character OR a space (first slot), then the relevant character (second slot). I tried some variation (without grep, sed, ...) like:
if [[ $string =~ ([[:space]]{1}|[[:alpha:]]{1})M ]]; then
and
if [[ $string =~ (\s{1}|.{1})M ]]; then
but my solutions did not always work correctly (matching correctly every combination).
This should work for you:
if [[ $string =~ [[:space:][:alpha:]]M ]]; then
if [[ ${string:1:1} == "M" ]]; then
echo Heureka
fi
or (if you want to do it with patterns)
if [[ $string =~ ([[:space:]]|[[:alpha:]])M ]]; then
echo Heureka
fi
or (even simpler)
if [[ $string == ?M ]]; then
echo Heureka
fi
Without using regular expressions, simply pattern matching is sufficient:
if [[ $string == [[::upper:]\ ]M ]]; then
echo match
fi
Given your example, you want [[:upper:]] rather than merely [[:alpha:]]