Related
I am trying hard to compare two floating point numbers within a Bash script. I have two variables, e.g.
let num1=3.17648e-22
let num2=1.5
Now, I just want do a simple comparison of these two numbers:
st=`echo "$num1 < $num2" | bc`
if [ $st -eq 1]; then
echo -e "$num1 < $num2"
else
echo -e "$num1 >= $num2"
fi
Unfortunately, I have some problems with the right treatment of the num1 which can be of the "e-format".
More conveniently
This can be done more conveniently using Bash's numeric context:
if (( $(echo "$num1 > $num2" |bc -l) )); then
…
fi
Explanation
Piping through the basic calculator command bc returns either 1 or 0.
The option -l is equivalent to --mathlib; it loads the standard math library.
Enclosing the whole expression between double parenthesis (( )) will translate these values to respectively true or false.
Please, ensure that the bc basic calculator package is installed.
Caveat: Exponential notation should be written as *10^; not E, nor e.
For example:
$ echo "1*10^3==1000" |bc
1
Whereas
$ echo "1E3==1000" |bc
0
Strategies to overcome this bc limitation are discussed here.
Bash handles only integer maths, but you can use the bc command as follows:
$ num1=3.17648E-22
$ num2=1.5
$ echo $num1'>'$num2 | bc -l
0
$ echo $num2'>'$num1 | bc -l
1
Note that the exponent sign must be uppercase.
It's better to use AWK for noninteger mathematics. You can use this Bash utility function:
numCompare() {
awk -v n1="$1" -v n2="$2" 'BEGIN {printf "%s " (n1<n2?"<":">=") " %s\n", n1, n2}'
}
And call it as:
numCompare 5.65 3.14e-22
5.65 >= 3.14e-22
numCompare 5.65e-23 3.14e-22
5.65e-23 < 3.14e-22
numCompare 3.145678 3.145679
3.145678 < 3.145679
A pure Bash solution for comparing floats without exponential notation, leading or trailing zeros:
if [ ${FOO%.*} -eq ${BAR%.*} ] && [ ${FOO#*.} \> ${BAR#*.} ] || [ ${FOO%.*} -gt ${BAR%.*} ]; then
echo "${FOO} > ${BAR}";
else
echo "${FOO} <= ${BAR}";
fi
The order of logical operators matters. Integer parts are compared as numbers and fractional parts are intentionally compared as strings. Variables are split into integer and fractional parts using this method.
It won't compare floats with integers (without dot).
You can use AWK combined with a Bash if condition:
if awk "BEGIN {exit !($d1 >= $d2)}"; then
echo "yes"
else
echo "no"
fi
Beware when comparing numbers that are package versions, like checking if grep 2.20 is greater than version 2.6:
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.20 >= 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
NO
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.2 >= 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
NO
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.60 == 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
YES
I solved such problems with such a shell/AWK function:
# Get version of GNU tool
toolversion() {
local prog="$1" operator="$2" value="$3" version
version=$($prog --version | awk '{print $NF; exit}')
awk -vv1="$version" -vv2="$value" 'BEGIN {
split(v1, a, /\./); split(v2, b, /\./);
if (a[1] == b[1]) {
exit (a[2] '$operator' b[2]) ? 0 : 1
}
else {
exit (a[1] '$operator' b[1]) ? 0 : 1
}
}'
}
if toolversion grep '>=' 2.6; then
# Do something awesome
fi
A solution that supports all possible notations, including the scientific notation with both uppercase and lowercase exponents (e.g., 12.00e4):
if (( $(bc -l <<< "${value1/e/E} < ${value2/e/E}") ))
then
echo "$value1 is smaller than $value2"
fi
Of course, if you don't need really floating-point arithmetic, just arithmetic on e.g. dollar values where there are always exactly two decimal digits, you might just drop the dot (effectively multiplying by 100) and compare the resulting integers.
if [[ $((10#${num1/.})) < $((10#${num2/.})) ]]; then
...
This obviously requires you to be sure that both values have the same number of decimal places.
Please check the below edited code:
#!/bin/bash
export num1=(3.17648*e-22)
export num2=1.5
st=$((`echo "$num1 < $num2"| bc`))
if [ $st -eq 1 ]
then
echo -e "$num1 < $num2"
else
echo -e "$num1 >= $num2"
fi
This works well.
num1=0.555
num2=2.555
if [ `echo "$num1>$num2"|bc` -eq 1 ]; then
echo "$num1 is greater then $num2"
else
echo "$num2 is greater then $num1"
fi
I used the answers from here and put them in a function. You can use it like this:
is_first_floating_number_bigger 1.5 1.2
result="${__FUNCTION_RETURN}"
Once called, echo $result will be 1 in this case, otherwise 0.
The function:
is_first_floating_number_bigger () {
number1="$1"
number2="$2"
[ ${number1%.*} -eq ${number2%.*} ] && [ ${number1#*.} \> ${number2#*.} ] || [ ${number1%.*} -gt ${number2%.*} ];
result=$?
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then result=1; else result=0; fi
__FUNCTION_RETURN="${result}"
}
Or a version with debug output:
is_first_floating_number_bigger () {
number1="$1"
number2="$2"
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: comparing ${number1} with ${number2} (to check if the first one is bigger)"
[ ${number1%.*} -eq ${number2%.*} ] && [ ${number1#*.} \> ${number2#*.} ] || [ ${number1%.*} -gt ${number2%.*} ];
result=$?
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then result=1; else result=0; fi
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: result is: ${result}"
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: ${number1} is not bigger than ${number2}"
else
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: ${number1} is bigger than ${number2}"
fi
__FUNCTION_RETURN="${result}"
}
Just save the function in a separated .sh file and include it like this:
. /path/to/the/new-file.sh
AWK and tools like it (I'm staring at you sed...) should be relegated to the dustbin of old projects, with code that everyone is too afraid to touch since it was written in a read-never language.
Or you're the relatively rare project that needs to prioritize CPU usage optimization over code maintenance optimization... in which case, carry on.
If not, though, instead just use something readable and explicit, such as Python. Your fellow coders and future self will thank you. You can use Python code inline with Bash just like all the others.
num1=3.17648E-22
num2=1.5
if python -c "exit(0 if $num1 < $num2 else 1)"; then
echo "yes, $num1 < $num2"
else
echo "no, $num1 >= $num2"
fi
For simplicity and clarity, just use AWK for the calculations as it's a standard Unix tool and so just as likely to be present as bc and much easier to work with syntactically.
For this question:
$ cat tst.sh
#!/bin/bash
num1=3.17648e-22
num2=1.5
awk -v num1="$num1" -v num2="$num2" '
BEGIN {
print "num1", (num1 < num2 ? "<" : ">="), "num2"
}
'
$ ./tst.sh
num1 < num2
And for that other question that was closed as a duplicate of this one:
$ cat tst.sh
#!/bin/bash
read -p "Operator: " operator
read -p "First number: " ch1
read -p "Second number: " ch2
awk -v ch1="$ch1" -v ch2="$ch2" -v op="$operator" '
BEGIN {
if ( ( op == "/" ) && ( ch2 == 0 ) ) {
print "Nope..."
}
else {
print ch1 '"$operator"' ch2
}
}
'
$ ./tst.sh
Operator: /
First number: 4.5
Second number: 2
2.25
$ ./tst.sh
Operator: /
First number: 4.5
Second number: 0
Nope...
I was posting this as an answer to '4.5: syntax error: invalid arithmetic operator (error token is ".5")' - but the code still seems to work. Why? when it got closed as a duplicate of this question, so here it is as it applies here too.
This script may help where I'm checking if the installed Grails version is greater than the minimum required.
#!/bin/bash
min=1.4
current=`echo $(grails --version | head -n 2 | awk '{print $NF}' | cut -c 1-3)`
if [ 1 -eq `echo "${current} < ${min}" | bc` ]
then
echo "Yo, you have an older version of Grails."
else
echo "Hurray, you have the latest version"
fi
Use KornShell. In Bash you may have to compare the decimal part separately:
#!/bin/ksh
X=0.2
Y=0.2
echo $X
echo $Y
if [[ $X -lt $Y ]]
then
echo "X is less than Y"
elif [[ $X -gt $Y ]]
then
echo "X is greater than Y"
elif [[ $X -eq $Y ]]
then
echo "X is equal to Y"
fi
Use this:
VAL_TO_CHECK="1.00001"
if [ $(awk '{printf($1 >= $2) ? 1 : 0}' <<<" $VAL_TO_CHECK 1 ") -eq 1 ] ; then
echo "$VAL_TO_CHECK >= 1"
else
echo "$VAL_TO_CHECK < 1"
fi
Using bashj, a Bash mutant with Java support, you just write (and it is easy to read):
#!/usr/bin/bashj
#!java
static int doubleCompare(double a,double b) {return((a>b) ? 1 : (a<b) ? -1 : 0);}
#!bashj
num1=3.17648e-22
num2=1.5
comp=j.doubleCompare($num1,$num2)
if [ $comp == 0 ] ; then echo "Equal" ; fi
if [ $comp == 1 ] ; then echo "$num1 > $num2" ; fi
if [ $comp == -1 ] ; then echo "$num2 > $num1" ; fi
Of course, the bashj Bash/Java hybridation offers much more...
There's one simple approach which is a bit faster than AWK and does not require bc to be installed. It leverages sort's ability to sort float numbers:
A=1280.4
B=9.325
LOW=$(sort -n <<< "$A"$'\n'"$B" | head -1)
if [[ "$LOW" == "$A" ]]; then
echo "A <= B"
else
echo "A >= B"
fi
Of course, it does not work for numbers that are equal.
Just replace the echo with a printf (it understands floats):
st=$( printf '%50G < %50G\n' "$num1" "$num2" | bc -l )
A one-liner solution
Suppose you have two variables A and B,
echo "($A > $B) * $B + ($A < $B) * $A" | bc
Here's a gawk+GMP based approach to account for a broader range of potential input :
echo " 5.65e-23 3.14e-22\n
5.65 3.14e-2203\n
3.145678 3.145679\n
3.25353E+9293 325353e9288\n
3.14159e+200000000001 3.1415899999999999999999E200000000001\n
100000 100000.0\n
4096 4096" \
\
| gawk -v PREC=9999999 -nMbe '
NF+=OFS=sprintf(" %s ",
(+($!_=sprintf("%24s",$!_)<+$NF) \
? "<" \
: (+$NF<+$!_) \
? ">" \
: (int(+$!_)==(__=int(+$NF)))*\
(__==+$NF)*index($!_,$NF ) \
? "=" \
: "\342\211\210")' | ecp
5.65e-23 < 3.14e-22
5.65 > 3.14e-2203
3.145678 < 3.145679
3.25353E+9293 ≈ 325353e9288
3.14159e+200000000001 ≈ 3.1415899999999999999999E200000000001
100000 ≈ 100000.0
4096 = 4096
For more clear-cut cases, it'll give you back a definitive answer of
less than <,
greater than >, or
exactly equal to = (purely integer cases, for now)
When it's relatively ambiguous, it outputs the Unicode character U+2248 ≈ ALMOST EQUAL TO instead of attempting to resolve it at all cost.
Most of the time you won't need PREC of 10-million; something like PREC = 32767 is good enough for most scenarios one encounters on a typical basis.
A very simple perl solution:
$ num1=3.2E8
$ num2=2.5E9
$ perl -e "print $num2 > $num1? \"true\" : \"false\", \"\n\";"
true
$ perl -e "print $num2 < $num1? \"true\" : \"false\", \"\n\";"
false
This proves that perl really understands the 'E' notation for scientific numerical representation:
$ perl -e "print $num1, \"\n\";"
320000000
If you need a 'if' statment in your shell script, use exit command in perl:
$ if perl -e "exit ($num1 > $num2? 0 : 1);"; then echo true; else echo false; fi
false
Note that in shell script, a command returning 0 is a success, and passes the 'if' condition (so the if-clause is executed). Any other non-zero return values means a failure.
I am trying hard to compare two floating point numbers within a Bash script. I have two variables, e.g.
let num1=3.17648e-22
let num2=1.5
Now, I just want do a simple comparison of these two numbers:
st=`echo "$num1 < $num2" | bc`
if [ $st -eq 1]; then
echo -e "$num1 < $num2"
else
echo -e "$num1 >= $num2"
fi
Unfortunately, I have some problems with the right treatment of the num1 which can be of the "e-format".
More conveniently
This can be done more conveniently using Bash's numeric context:
if (( $(echo "$num1 > $num2" |bc -l) )); then
…
fi
Explanation
Piping through the basic calculator command bc returns either 1 or 0.
The option -l is equivalent to --mathlib; it loads the standard math library.
Enclosing the whole expression between double parenthesis (( )) will translate these values to respectively true or false.
Please, ensure that the bc basic calculator package is installed.
Caveat: Exponential notation should be written as *10^; not E, nor e.
For example:
$ echo "1*10^3==1000" |bc
1
Whereas
$ echo "1E3==1000" |bc
0
Strategies to overcome this bc limitation are discussed here.
Bash handles only integer maths, but you can use the bc command as follows:
$ num1=3.17648E-22
$ num2=1.5
$ echo $num1'>'$num2 | bc -l
0
$ echo $num2'>'$num1 | bc -l
1
Note that the exponent sign must be uppercase.
It's better to use AWK for noninteger mathematics. You can use this Bash utility function:
numCompare() {
awk -v n1="$1" -v n2="$2" 'BEGIN {printf "%s " (n1<n2?"<":">=") " %s\n", n1, n2}'
}
And call it as:
numCompare 5.65 3.14e-22
5.65 >= 3.14e-22
numCompare 5.65e-23 3.14e-22
5.65e-23 < 3.14e-22
numCompare 3.145678 3.145679
3.145678 < 3.145679
A pure Bash solution for comparing floats without exponential notation, leading or trailing zeros:
if [ ${FOO%.*} -eq ${BAR%.*} ] && [ ${FOO#*.} \> ${BAR#*.} ] || [ ${FOO%.*} -gt ${BAR%.*} ]; then
echo "${FOO} > ${BAR}";
else
echo "${FOO} <= ${BAR}";
fi
The order of logical operators matters. Integer parts are compared as numbers and fractional parts are intentionally compared as strings. Variables are split into integer and fractional parts using this method.
It won't compare floats with integers (without dot).
You can use AWK combined with a Bash if condition:
if awk "BEGIN {exit !($d1 >= $d2)}"; then
echo "yes"
else
echo "no"
fi
Beware when comparing numbers that are package versions, like checking if grep 2.20 is greater than version 2.6:
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.20 >= 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
NO
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.2 >= 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
NO
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.60 == 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
YES
I solved such problems with such a shell/AWK function:
# Get version of GNU tool
toolversion() {
local prog="$1" operator="$2" value="$3" version
version=$($prog --version | awk '{print $NF; exit}')
awk -vv1="$version" -vv2="$value" 'BEGIN {
split(v1, a, /\./); split(v2, b, /\./);
if (a[1] == b[1]) {
exit (a[2] '$operator' b[2]) ? 0 : 1
}
else {
exit (a[1] '$operator' b[1]) ? 0 : 1
}
}'
}
if toolversion grep '>=' 2.6; then
# Do something awesome
fi
A solution that supports all possible notations, including the scientific notation with both uppercase and lowercase exponents (e.g., 12.00e4):
if (( $(bc -l <<< "${value1/e/E} < ${value2/e/E}") ))
then
echo "$value1 is smaller than $value2"
fi
Of course, if you don't need really floating-point arithmetic, just arithmetic on e.g. dollar values where there are always exactly two decimal digits, you might just drop the dot (effectively multiplying by 100) and compare the resulting integers.
if [[ $((10#${num1/.})) < $((10#${num2/.})) ]]; then
...
This obviously requires you to be sure that both values have the same number of decimal places.
Please check the below edited code:
#!/bin/bash
export num1=(3.17648*e-22)
export num2=1.5
st=$((`echo "$num1 < $num2"| bc`))
if [ $st -eq 1 ]
then
echo -e "$num1 < $num2"
else
echo -e "$num1 >= $num2"
fi
This works well.
num1=0.555
num2=2.555
if [ `echo "$num1>$num2"|bc` -eq 1 ]; then
echo "$num1 is greater then $num2"
else
echo "$num2 is greater then $num1"
fi
I used the answers from here and put them in a function. You can use it like this:
is_first_floating_number_bigger 1.5 1.2
result="${__FUNCTION_RETURN}"
Once called, echo $result will be 1 in this case, otherwise 0.
The function:
is_first_floating_number_bigger () {
number1="$1"
number2="$2"
[ ${number1%.*} -eq ${number2%.*} ] && [ ${number1#*.} \> ${number2#*.} ] || [ ${number1%.*} -gt ${number2%.*} ];
result=$?
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then result=1; else result=0; fi
__FUNCTION_RETURN="${result}"
}
Or a version with debug output:
is_first_floating_number_bigger () {
number1="$1"
number2="$2"
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: comparing ${number1} with ${number2} (to check if the first one is bigger)"
[ ${number1%.*} -eq ${number2%.*} ] && [ ${number1#*.} \> ${number2#*.} ] || [ ${number1%.*} -gt ${number2%.*} ];
result=$?
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then result=1; else result=0; fi
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: result is: ${result}"
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: ${number1} is not bigger than ${number2}"
else
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: ${number1} is bigger than ${number2}"
fi
__FUNCTION_RETURN="${result}"
}
Just save the function in a separated .sh file and include it like this:
. /path/to/the/new-file.sh
AWK and tools like it (I'm staring at you sed...) should be relegated to the dustbin of old projects, with code that everyone is too afraid to touch since it was written in a read-never language.
Or you're the relatively rare project that needs to prioritize CPU usage optimization over code maintenance optimization... in which case, carry on.
If not, though, instead just use something readable and explicit, such as Python. Your fellow coders and future self will thank you. You can use Python code inline with Bash just like all the others.
num1=3.17648E-22
num2=1.5
if python -c "exit(0 if $num1 < $num2 else 1)"; then
echo "yes, $num1 < $num2"
else
echo "no, $num1 >= $num2"
fi
For simplicity and clarity, just use AWK for the calculations as it's a standard Unix tool and so just as likely to be present as bc and much easier to work with syntactically.
For this question:
$ cat tst.sh
#!/bin/bash
num1=3.17648e-22
num2=1.5
awk -v num1="$num1" -v num2="$num2" '
BEGIN {
print "num1", (num1 < num2 ? "<" : ">="), "num2"
}
'
$ ./tst.sh
num1 < num2
And for that other question that was closed as a duplicate of this one:
$ cat tst.sh
#!/bin/bash
read -p "Operator: " operator
read -p "First number: " ch1
read -p "Second number: " ch2
awk -v ch1="$ch1" -v ch2="$ch2" -v op="$operator" '
BEGIN {
if ( ( op == "/" ) && ( ch2 == 0 ) ) {
print "Nope..."
}
else {
print ch1 '"$operator"' ch2
}
}
'
$ ./tst.sh
Operator: /
First number: 4.5
Second number: 2
2.25
$ ./tst.sh
Operator: /
First number: 4.5
Second number: 0
Nope...
I was posting this as an answer to '4.5: syntax error: invalid arithmetic operator (error token is ".5")' - but the code still seems to work. Why? when it got closed as a duplicate of this question, so here it is as it applies here too.
This script may help where I'm checking if the installed Grails version is greater than the minimum required.
#!/bin/bash
min=1.4
current=`echo $(grails --version | head -n 2 | awk '{print $NF}' | cut -c 1-3)`
if [ 1 -eq `echo "${current} < ${min}" | bc` ]
then
echo "Yo, you have an older version of Grails."
else
echo "Hurray, you have the latest version"
fi
Use KornShell. In Bash you may have to compare the decimal part separately:
#!/bin/ksh
X=0.2
Y=0.2
echo $X
echo $Y
if [[ $X -lt $Y ]]
then
echo "X is less than Y"
elif [[ $X -gt $Y ]]
then
echo "X is greater than Y"
elif [[ $X -eq $Y ]]
then
echo "X is equal to Y"
fi
Use this:
VAL_TO_CHECK="1.00001"
if [ $(awk '{printf($1 >= $2) ? 1 : 0}' <<<" $VAL_TO_CHECK 1 ") -eq 1 ] ; then
echo "$VAL_TO_CHECK >= 1"
else
echo "$VAL_TO_CHECK < 1"
fi
Using bashj, a Bash mutant with Java support, you just write (and it is easy to read):
#!/usr/bin/bashj
#!java
static int doubleCompare(double a,double b) {return((a>b) ? 1 : (a<b) ? -1 : 0);}
#!bashj
num1=3.17648e-22
num2=1.5
comp=j.doubleCompare($num1,$num2)
if [ $comp == 0 ] ; then echo "Equal" ; fi
if [ $comp == 1 ] ; then echo "$num1 > $num2" ; fi
if [ $comp == -1 ] ; then echo "$num2 > $num1" ; fi
Of course, the bashj Bash/Java hybridation offers much more...
There's one simple approach which is a bit faster than AWK and does not require bc to be installed. It leverages sort's ability to sort float numbers:
A=1280.4
B=9.325
LOW=$(sort -n <<< "$A"$'\n'"$B" | head -1)
if [[ "$LOW" == "$A" ]]; then
echo "A <= B"
else
echo "A >= B"
fi
Of course, it does not work for numbers that are equal.
Just replace the echo with a printf (it understands floats):
st=$( printf '%50G < %50G\n' "$num1" "$num2" | bc -l )
A one-liner solution
Suppose you have two variables A and B,
echo "($A > $B) * $B + ($A < $B) * $A" | bc
Here's a gawk+GMP based approach to account for a broader range of potential input :
echo " 5.65e-23 3.14e-22\n
5.65 3.14e-2203\n
3.145678 3.145679\n
3.25353E+9293 325353e9288\n
3.14159e+200000000001 3.1415899999999999999999E200000000001\n
100000 100000.0\n
4096 4096" \
\
| gawk -v PREC=9999999 -nMbe '
NF+=OFS=sprintf(" %s ",
(+($!_=sprintf("%24s",$!_)<+$NF) \
? "<" \
: (+$NF<+$!_) \
? ">" \
: (int(+$!_)==(__=int(+$NF)))*\
(__==+$NF)*index($!_,$NF ) \
? "=" \
: "\342\211\210")' | ecp
5.65e-23 < 3.14e-22
5.65 > 3.14e-2203
3.145678 < 3.145679
3.25353E+9293 ≈ 325353e9288
3.14159e+200000000001 ≈ 3.1415899999999999999999E200000000001
100000 ≈ 100000.0
4096 = 4096
For more clear-cut cases, it'll give you back a definitive answer of
less than <,
greater than >, or
exactly equal to = (purely integer cases, for now)
When it's relatively ambiguous, it outputs the Unicode character U+2248 ≈ ALMOST EQUAL TO instead of attempting to resolve it at all cost.
Most of the time you won't need PREC of 10-million; something like PREC = 32767 is good enough for most scenarios one encounters on a typical basis.
A very simple perl solution:
$ num1=3.2E8
$ num2=2.5E9
$ perl -e "print $num2 > $num1? \"true\" : \"false\", \"\n\";"
true
$ perl -e "print $num2 < $num1? \"true\" : \"false\", \"\n\";"
false
This proves that perl really understands the 'E' notation for scientific numerical representation:
$ perl -e "print $num1, \"\n\";"
320000000
If you need a 'if' statment in your shell script, use exit command in perl:
$ if perl -e "exit ($num1 > $num2? 0 : 1);"; then echo true; else echo false; fi
false
Note that in shell script, a command returning 0 is a success, and passes the 'if' condition (so the if-clause is executed). Any other non-zero return values means a failure.
I'm unable to get numeric comparisons working:
echo "enter two numbers";
read a b;
echo "a=$a";
echo "b=$b";
if [ $a \> $b ];
then
echo "a is greater than b";
else
echo "b is greater than a";
fi;
The problem is that it compares the number from the first digit on, i.e., 9 is bigger than 10, but 1 is greater than 09.
How can I convert the numbers into a type to do a true comparison?
In Bash, you should do your check in an arithmetic context:
if (( a > b )); then
...
fi
For POSIX shells that don't support (()), you can use -lt and -gt.
if [ "$a" -gt "$b" ]; then
...
fi
You can get a full list of comparison operators with help test or man test.
Like this:
#!/bin/bash
a=2462620
b=2462620
if [ "$a" -eq "$b" ]; then
echo "They're equal";
fi
Integers can be compared with these operators:
-eq # Equal
-ne # Not equal
-lt # Less than
-le # Less than or equal
-gt # Greater than
-ge # Greater than or equal
See this cheatsheet.
There is also one nice thing some people might not know about:
echo $(( a < b ? a : b ))
This code will print the smallest number out of a and b
In Bash I prefer doing this as it addresses itself more as a conditional operation unlike using (( )) which is more of arithmetic.
[[ n -gt m ]]
Unless I do complex stuff like
(( (n + 1) > m ))
But everyone just has their own preferences. Sad thing is that some people impose their unofficial standards.
You can also do this:
[[ 'n + 1' -gt m ]]
Which allows you to add something else which you could do with [[ ]] besides arithmetic stuff.
The bracket stuff (e.g., [[ $a -gt $b ]] or (( $a > $b )) ) isn't enough if you want to use float numbers as well; it would report a syntax error. If you want to compare float numbers or float number to integer, you can use (( $(bc <<< "...") )).
For example,
a=2.00
b=1
if (( $(bc <<<"$a > $b") )); then
echo "a is greater than b"
else
echo "a is not greater than b"
fi
You can include more than one comparison in the if statement. For example,
a=2.
b=1
c=1.0000
if (( $(bc <<<"$b == $c && $b < $a") )); then
echo "b is equal to c but less than a"
else
echo "b is either not equal to c and/or not less than a"
fi
That's helpful if you want to check if a numeric variable (integer or not) is within a numeric range.
One-line solution.
a=2
b=1
[[ ${a} -gt ${b} ]] && echo "true" || echo "false"
gt reference: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/Bash-Conditional-Expressions.html
&& reference: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/Shell-Arithmetic.html
[[...]] construct reference: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bash.html#index-_005b_005b
${} reference: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/V3_chap02.html#tag_18_06_02 (2.6.2)
The format for parameter expansion is as follows:
${expression}
where expression consists of all characters until the matching '}'.
Any '}' escaped by a or within a quoted string, and
characters in embedded arithmetic expansions, command substitutions,
and variable expansions, shall not be examined in determining the
matching '}'.
The simplest form for parameter expansion is:
${parameter}
This code can also compare floats. It is using AWK (it is not pure Bash). However, this shouldn't be a problem, as AWK is a standard POSIX command that is most likely shipped by default with your operating system.
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 == -1.2345) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
0
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 >= -1.2345) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
0
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 < -1.2345) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
1
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 < 2) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
0
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 > 2) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
To make it shorter for use, use this function:
compare_nums()
{
# Function to compare two numbers (float or integers) by using AWK.
# The function will not print anything, but it will return 0 (if the comparison is true) or 1
# (if the comparison is false) exit codes, so it can be used directly in shell one liners.
#############
### Usage ###
### Note that you have to enclose the comparison operator in quotes.
#############
# compare_nums 1 ">" 2 # returns false
# compare_nums 1.23 "<=" 2 # returns true
# compare_nums -1.238 "<=" -2 # returns false
#############################################
num1=$1
op=$2
num2=$3
E_BADARGS=65
# Make sure that the provided numbers are actually numbers.
if ! [[ $num1 =~ ^-?[0-9]+([.][0-9]+)?$ ]]; then >&2 echo "$num1 is not a number"; return $E_BADARGS; fi
if ! [[ $num2 =~ ^-?[0-9]+([.][0-9]+)?$ ]]; then >&2 echo "$num2 is not a number"; return $E_BADARGS; fi
# If you want to print the exit code as well (instead of only returning it), uncomment
# the awk line below and comment the uncommented one which is two lines below.
#awk 'BEGIN {print return_code=('$num1' '$op' '$num2') ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
awk 'BEGIN {return_code=('$num1' '$op' '$num2') ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
return_code=$?
return $return_code
}
$ compare_nums -1.2345 ">=" -1.2345 && echo true || echo false
true
$ compare_nums -1.2345 ">=" 23 && echo true || echo false
false
If you have floats, you can write a function and then use that. For example,
#!/bin/bash
function float_gt() {
perl -e "{if($1>$2){print 1} else {print 0}}"
}
x=3.14
y=5.20
if [ $(float_gt $x $y) == 1 ] ; then
echo "do stuff with x"
else
echo "do stuff with y"
fi
I solved this by using a small function to convert version strings to plain integer values that can be compared:
function versionToInt() {
local IFS=.
parts=($1)
let val=1000000*parts[0]+1000*parts[1]+parts[2]
echo $val
}
This makes two important assumptions:
The input is a "normal SemVer string"
Each part is between 0-999
For example
versionToInt 12.34.56 # --> 12034056
versionToInt 1.2.3 # --> 1002003
Example testing whether npm command meets the minimum requirement...
NPM_ACTUAL=$(versionToInt $(npm --version)) # Capture npm version
NPM_REQUIRED=$(versionToInt 4.3.0) # Desired version
if [ $NPM_ACTUAL \< $NPM_REQUIRED ]; then
echo "Please update to npm#latest"
exit 1
fi
Just adding to all the above answers:
If you have more than one expression in single if statement, you can do something like this:
if (( $a % 2 == 0 )) && (( $b % 2 != 0));
then
echo "What you want to do"
fi
Hope this helps!
I'm unable to get numeric comparisons working:
echo "enter two numbers";
read a b;
echo "a=$a";
echo "b=$b";
if [ $a \> $b ];
then
echo "a is greater than b";
else
echo "b is greater than a";
fi;
The problem is that it compares the number from the first digit on, i.e., 9 is bigger than 10, but 1 is greater than 09.
How can I convert the numbers into a type to do a true comparison?
In Bash, you should do your check in an arithmetic context:
if (( a > b )); then
...
fi
For POSIX shells that don't support (()), you can use -lt and -gt.
if [ "$a" -gt "$b" ]; then
...
fi
You can get a full list of comparison operators with help test or man test.
Like this:
#!/bin/bash
a=2462620
b=2462620
if [ "$a" -eq "$b" ]; then
echo "They're equal";
fi
Integers can be compared with these operators:
-eq # Equal
-ne # Not equal
-lt # Less than
-le # Less than or equal
-gt # Greater than
-ge # Greater than or equal
See this cheatsheet.
There is also one nice thing some people might not know about:
echo $(( a < b ? a : b ))
This code will print the smallest number out of a and b
In Bash I prefer doing this as it addresses itself more as a conditional operation unlike using (( )) which is more of arithmetic.
[[ n -gt m ]]
Unless I do complex stuff like
(( (n + 1) > m ))
But everyone just has their own preferences. Sad thing is that some people impose their unofficial standards.
You can also do this:
[[ 'n + 1' -gt m ]]
Which allows you to add something else which you could do with [[ ]] besides arithmetic stuff.
The bracket stuff (e.g., [[ $a -gt $b ]] or (( $a > $b )) ) isn't enough if you want to use float numbers as well; it would report a syntax error. If you want to compare float numbers or float number to integer, you can use (( $(bc <<< "...") )).
For example,
a=2.00
b=1
if (( $(bc <<<"$a > $b") )); then
echo "a is greater than b"
else
echo "a is not greater than b"
fi
You can include more than one comparison in the if statement. For example,
a=2.
b=1
c=1.0000
if (( $(bc <<<"$b == $c && $b < $a") )); then
echo "b is equal to c but less than a"
else
echo "b is either not equal to c and/or not less than a"
fi
That's helpful if you want to check if a numeric variable (integer or not) is within a numeric range.
One-line solution.
a=2
b=1
[[ ${a} -gt ${b} ]] && echo "true" || echo "false"
gt reference: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/Bash-Conditional-Expressions.html
&& reference: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/Shell-Arithmetic.html
[[...]] construct reference: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bash.html#index-_005b_005b
${} reference: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/V3_chap02.html#tag_18_06_02 (2.6.2)
The format for parameter expansion is as follows:
${expression}
where expression consists of all characters until the matching '}'.
Any '}' escaped by a or within a quoted string, and
characters in embedded arithmetic expansions, command substitutions,
and variable expansions, shall not be examined in determining the
matching '}'.
The simplest form for parameter expansion is:
${parameter}
This code can also compare floats. It is using AWK (it is not pure Bash). However, this shouldn't be a problem, as AWK is a standard POSIX command that is most likely shipped by default with your operating system.
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 == -1.2345) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
0
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 >= -1.2345) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
0
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 < -1.2345) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
1
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 < 2) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
0
$ awk 'BEGIN {return_code=(-1.2345 > 2) ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
$ echo $?
To make it shorter for use, use this function:
compare_nums()
{
# Function to compare two numbers (float or integers) by using AWK.
# The function will not print anything, but it will return 0 (if the comparison is true) or 1
# (if the comparison is false) exit codes, so it can be used directly in shell one liners.
#############
### Usage ###
### Note that you have to enclose the comparison operator in quotes.
#############
# compare_nums 1 ">" 2 # returns false
# compare_nums 1.23 "<=" 2 # returns true
# compare_nums -1.238 "<=" -2 # returns false
#############################################
num1=$1
op=$2
num2=$3
E_BADARGS=65
# Make sure that the provided numbers are actually numbers.
if ! [[ $num1 =~ ^-?[0-9]+([.][0-9]+)?$ ]]; then >&2 echo "$num1 is not a number"; return $E_BADARGS; fi
if ! [[ $num2 =~ ^-?[0-9]+([.][0-9]+)?$ ]]; then >&2 echo "$num2 is not a number"; return $E_BADARGS; fi
# If you want to print the exit code as well (instead of only returning it), uncomment
# the awk line below and comment the uncommented one which is two lines below.
#awk 'BEGIN {print return_code=('$num1' '$op' '$num2') ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
awk 'BEGIN {return_code=('$num1' '$op' '$num2') ? 0 : 1; exit} END {exit return_code}'
return_code=$?
return $return_code
}
$ compare_nums -1.2345 ">=" -1.2345 && echo true || echo false
true
$ compare_nums -1.2345 ">=" 23 && echo true || echo false
false
If you have floats, you can write a function and then use that. For example,
#!/bin/bash
function float_gt() {
perl -e "{if($1>$2){print 1} else {print 0}}"
}
x=3.14
y=5.20
if [ $(float_gt $x $y) == 1 ] ; then
echo "do stuff with x"
else
echo "do stuff with y"
fi
I solved this by using a small function to convert version strings to plain integer values that can be compared:
function versionToInt() {
local IFS=.
parts=($1)
let val=1000000*parts[0]+1000*parts[1]+parts[2]
echo $val
}
This makes two important assumptions:
The input is a "normal SemVer string"
Each part is between 0-999
For example
versionToInt 12.34.56 # --> 12034056
versionToInt 1.2.3 # --> 1002003
Example testing whether npm command meets the minimum requirement...
NPM_ACTUAL=$(versionToInt $(npm --version)) # Capture npm version
NPM_REQUIRED=$(versionToInt 4.3.0) # Desired version
if [ $NPM_ACTUAL \< $NPM_REQUIRED ]; then
echo "Please update to npm#latest"
exit 1
fi
Just adding to all the above answers:
If you have more than one expression in single if statement, you can do something like this:
if (( $a % 2 == 0 )) && (( $b % 2 != 0));
then
echo "What you want to do"
fi
Hope this helps!
I am trying hard to compare two floating point numbers within a Bash script. I have two variables, e.g.
let num1=3.17648e-22
let num2=1.5
Now, I just want do a simple comparison of these two numbers:
st=`echo "$num1 < $num2" | bc`
if [ $st -eq 1]; then
echo -e "$num1 < $num2"
else
echo -e "$num1 >= $num2"
fi
Unfortunately, I have some problems with the right treatment of the num1 which can be of the "e-format".
More conveniently
This can be done more conveniently using Bash's numeric context:
if (( $(echo "$num1 > $num2" |bc -l) )); then
…
fi
Explanation
Piping through the basic calculator command bc returns either 1 or 0.
The option -l is equivalent to --mathlib; it loads the standard math library.
Enclosing the whole expression between double parenthesis (( )) will translate these values to respectively true or false.
Please, ensure that the bc basic calculator package is installed.
Caveat: Exponential notation should be written as *10^; not E, nor e.
For example:
$ echo "1*10^3==1000" |bc
1
Whereas
$ echo "1E3==1000" |bc
0
Strategies to overcome this bc limitation are discussed here.
Bash handles only integer maths, but you can use the bc command as follows:
$ num1=3.17648E-22
$ num2=1.5
$ echo $num1'>'$num2 | bc -l
0
$ echo $num2'>'$num1 | bc -l
1
Note that the exponent sign must be uppercase.
It's better to use AWK for noninteger mathematics. You can use this Bash utility function:
numCompare() {
awk -v n1="$1" -v n2="$2" 'BEGIN {printf "%s " (n1<n2?"<":">=") " %s\n", n1, n2}'
}
And call it as:
numCompare 5.65 3.14e-22
5.65 >= 3.14e-22
numCompare 5.65e-23 3.14e-22
5.65e-23 < 3.14e-22
numCompare 3.145678 3.145679
3.145678 < 3.145679
A pure Bash solution for comparing floats without exponential notation, leading or trailing zeros:
if [ ${FOO%.*} -eq ${BAR%.*} ] && [ ${FOO#*.} \> ${BAR#*.} ] || [ ${FOO%.*} -gt ${BAR%.*} ]; then
echo "${FOO} > ${BAR}";
else
echo "${FOO} <= ${BAR}";
fi
The order of logical operators matters. Integer parts are compared as numbers and fractional parts are intentionally compared as strings. Variables are split into integer and fractional parts using this method.
It won't compare floats with integers (without dot).
You can use AWK combined with a Bash if condition:
if awk "BEGIN {exit !($d1 >= $d2)}"; then
echo "yes"
else
echo "no"
fi
Beware when comparing numbers that are package versions, like checking if grep 2.20 is greater than version 2.6:
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.20 >= 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
NO
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.2 >= 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
NO
$ awk 'BEGIN { print (2.60 == 2.6) ? "YES" : "NO" }'
YES
I solved such problems with such a shell/AWK function:
# Get version of GNU tool
toolversion() {
local prog="$1" operator="$2" value="$3" version
version=$($prog --version | awk '{print $NF; exit}')
awk -vv1="$version" -vv2="$value" 'BEGIN {
split(v1, a, /\./); split(v2, b, /\./);
if (a[1] == b[1]) {
exit (a[2] '$operator' b[2]) ? 0 : 1
}
else {
exit (a[1] '$operator' b[1]) ? 0 : 1
}
}'
}
if toolversion grep '>=' 2.6; then
# Do something awesome
fi
A solution that supports all possible notations, including the scientific notation with both uppercase and lowercase exponents (e.g., 12.00e4):
if (( $(bc -l <<< "${value1/e/E} < ${value2/e/E}") ))
then
echo "$value1 is smaller than $value2"
fi
Of course, if you don't need really floating-point arithmetic, just arithmetic on e.g. dollar values where there are always exactly two decimal digits, you might just drop the dot (effectively multiplying by 100) and compare the resulting integers.
if [[ $((10#${num1/.})) < $((10#${num2/.})) ]]; then
...
This obviously requires you to be sure that both values have the same number of decimal places.
Please check the below edited code:
#!/bin/bash
export num1=(3.17648*e-22)
export num2=1.5
st=$((`echo "$num1 < $num2"| bc`))
if [ $st -eq 1 ]
then
echo -e "$num1 < $num2"
else
echo -e "$num1 >= $num2"
fi
This works well.
num1=0.555
num2=2.555
if [ `echo "$num1>$num2"|bc` -eq 1 ]; then
echo "$num1 is greater then $num2"
else
echo "$num2 is greater then $num1"
fi
I used the answers from here and put them in a function. You can use it like this:
is_first_floating_number_bigger 1.5 1.2
result="${__FUNCTION_RETURN}"
Once called, echo $result will be 1 in this case, otherwise 0.
The function:
is_first_floating_number_bigger () {
number1="$1"
number2="$2"
[ ${number1%.*} -eq ${number2%.*} ] && [ ${number1#*.} \> ${number2#*.} ] || [ ${number1%.*} -gt ${number2%.*} ];
result=$?
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then result=1; else result=0; fi
__FUNCTION_RETURN="${result}"
}
Or a version with debug output:
is_first_floating_number_bigger () {
number1="$1"
number2="$2"
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: comparing ${number1} with ${number2} (to check if the first one is bigger)"
[ ${number1%.*} -eq ${number2%.*} ] && [ ${number1#*.} \> ${number2#*.} ] || [ ${number1%.*} -gt ${number2%.*} ];
result=$?
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then result=1; else result=0; fi
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: result is: ${result}"
if [ "$result" -eq 0 ]; then
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: ${number1} is not bigger than ${number2}"
else
echo "... is_first_floating_number_bigger: ${number1} is bigger than ${number2}"
fi
__FUNCTION_RETURN="${result}"
}
Just save the function in a separated .sh file and include it like this:
. /path/to/the/new-file.sh
AWK and tools like it (I'm staring at you sed...) should be relegated to the dustbin of old projects, with code that everyone is too afraid to touch since it was written in a read-never language.
Or you're the relatively rare project that needs to prioritize CPU usage optimization over code maintenance optimization... in which case, carry on.
If not, though, instead just use something readable and explicit, such as Python. Your fellow coders and future self will thank you. You can use Python code inline with Bash just like all the others.
num1=3.17648E-22
num2=1.5
if python -c "exit(0 if $num1 < $num2 else 1)"; then
echo "yes, $num1 < $num2"
else
echo "no, $num1 >= $num2"
fi
For simplicity and clarity, just use AWK for the calculations as it's a standard Unix tool and so just as likely to be present as bc and much easier to work with syntactically.
For this question:
$ cat tst.sh
#!/bin/bash
num1=3.17648e-22
num2=1.5
awk -v num1="$num1" -v num2="$num2" '
BEGIN {
print "num1", (num1 < num2 ? "<" : ">="), "num2"
}
'
$ ./tst.sh
num1 < num2
And for that other question that was closed as a duplicate of this one:
$ cat tst.sh
#!/bin/bash
read -p "Operator: " operator
read -p "First number: " ch1
read -p "Second number: " ch2
awk -v ch1="$ch1" -v ch2="$ch2" -v op="$operator" '
BEGIN {
if ( ( op == "/" ) && ( ch2 == 0 ) ) {
print "Nope..."
}
else {
print ch1 '"$operator"' ch2
}
}
'
$ ./tst.sh
Operator: /
First number: 4.5
Second number: 2
2.25
$ ./tst.sh
Operator: /
First number: 4.5
Second number: 0
Nope...
I was posting this as an answer to '4.5: syntax error: invalid arithmetic operator (error token is ".5")' - but the code still seems to work. Why? when it got closed as a duplicate of this question, so here it is as it applies here too.
This script may help where I'm checking if the installed Grails version is greater than the minimum required.
#!/bin/bash
min=1.4
current=`echo $(grails --version | head -n 2 | awk '{print $NF}' | cut -c 1-3)`
if [ 1 -eq `echo "${current} < ${min}" | bc` ]
then
echo "Yo, you have an older version of Grails."
else
echo "Hurray, you have the latest version"
fi
Use KornShell. In Bash you may have to compare the decimal part separately:
#!/bin/ksh
X=0.2
Y=0.2
echo $X
echo $Y
if [[ $X -lt $Y ]]
then
echo "X is less than Y"
elif [[ $X -gt $Y ]]
then
echo "X is greater than Y"
elif [[ $X -eq $Y ]]
then
echo "X is equal to Y"
fi
Use this:
VAL_TO_CHECK="1.00001"
if [ $(awk '{printf($1 >= $2) ? 1 : 0}' <<<" $VAL_TO_CHECK 1 ") -eq 1 ] ; then
echo "$VAL_TO_CHECK >= 1"
else
echo "$VAL_TO_CHECK < 1"
fi
Using bashj, a Bash mutant with Java support, you just write (and it is easy to read):
#!/usr/bin/bashj
#!java
static int doubleCompare(double a,double b) {return((a>b) ? 1 : (a<b) ? -1 : 0);}
#!bashj
num1=3.17648e-22
num2=1.5
comp=j.doubleCompare($num1,$num2)
if [ $comp == 0 ] ; then echo "Equal" ; fi
if [ $comp == 1 ] ; then echo "$num1 > $num2" ; fi
if [ $comp == -1 ] ; then echo "$num2 > $num1" ; fi
Of course, the bashj Bash/Java hybridation offers much more...
There's one simple approach which is a bit faster than AWK and does not require bc to be installed. It leverages sort's ability to sort float numbers:
A=1280.4
B=9.325
LOW=$(sort -n <<< "$A"$'\n'"$B" | head -1)
if [[ "$LOW" == "$A" ]]; then
echo "A <= B"
else
echo "A >= B"
fi
Of course, it does not work for numbers that are equal.
Just replace the echo with a printf (it understands floats):
st=$( printf '%50G < %50G\n' "$num1" "$num2" | bc -l )
A one-liner solution
Suppose you have two variables A and B,
echo "($A > $B) * $B + ($A < $B) * $A" | bc
Here's a gawk+GMP based approach to account for a broader range of potential input :
echo " 5.65e-23 3.14e-22\n
5.65 3.14e-2203\n
3.145678 3.145679\n
3.25353E+9293 325353e9288\n
3.14159e+200000000001 3.1415899999999999999999E200000000001\n
100000 100000.0\n
4096 4096" \
\
| gawk -v PREC=9999999 -nMbe '
NF+=OFS=sprintf(" %s ",
(+($!_=sprintf("%24s",$!_)<+$NF) \
? "<" \
: (+$NF<+$!_) \
? ">" \
: (int(+$!_)==(__=int(+$NF)))*\
(__==+$NF)*index($!_,$NF ) \
? "=" \
: "\342\211\210")' | ecp
5.65e-23 < 3.14e-22
5.65 > 3.14e-2203
3.145678 < 3.145679
3.25353E+9293 ≈ 325353e9288
3.14159e+200000000001 ≈ 3.1415899999999999999999E200000000001
100000 ≈ 100000.0
4096 = 4096
For more clear-cut cases, it'll give you back a definitive answer of
less than <,
greater than >, or
exactly equal to = (purely integer cases, for now)
When it's relatively ambiguous, it outputs the Unicode character U+2248 ≈ ALMOST EQUAL TO instead of attempting to resolve it at all cost.
Most of the time you won't need PREC of 10-million; something like PREC = 32767 is good enough for most scenarios one encounters on a typical basis.
A very simple perl solution:
$ num1=3.2E8
$ num2=2.5E9
$ perl -e "print $num2 > $num1? \"true\" : \"false\", \"\n\";"
true
$ perl -e "print $num2 < $num1? \"true\" : \"false\", \"\n\";"
false
This proves that perl really understands the 'E' notation for scientific numerical representation:
$ perl -e "print $num1, \"\n\";"
320000000
If you need a 'if' statment in your shell script, use exit command in perl:
$ if perl -e "exit ($num1 > $num2? 0 : 1);"; then echo true; else echo false; fi
false
Note that in shell script, a command returning 0 is a success, and passes the 'if' condition (so the if-clause is executed). Any other non-zero return values means a failure.