bash script syntax error: unexpected end of file?

smecnb · 12-28-2011, 01:30 PM

I am trying to put together a script (see below) that will backup data to a removable HHD by date. After the first input, the unexpected-end-of-file error points to line #37 . . . only there is no line #37. I assume, then, that something is wrong in the whole durn thing. BTW, adding "fi" at line #37 results in line #38 being the culprit. Any help/explanation/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanx in advance.

Code:

#!/bin/bash

clear

echo “Back up your data? Type y or n and press [ENTER]”

read answer1
if [[ $answer1 == “N” || $answer1 == “n” ]]; then 
      echo “Goodbye” -t 5
else 
      if [[ $answer1 == “Y” || $answer == “y” ]]; then 
	    echo “Please confirm backup. Type y or n and press [ENTER]” -t 10
read answer2
if [[ $answer2 == “N” || $answer2 == “n” ]]; then 
      echo “Goodbye” -t 5
else 
      if [[ $answer2 == “Y” || $answer == “y” ]]; then 
	    if [$(date +%u) -eq 1]; then 
		  cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Monday
else 
      if [[ $answer2 == “Y” || $answer == “y” ]]; then 
	    if [$(date +%u) -eq 2]; then 
		  cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Tuesday
else 
      if [[ $answer2 == “Y” || $answer == “y” ]]; then 
	    if [$(date +%u) -eq 3]; then 
		  cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Wednesday
else 
      if [[ $answer2 == “Y” || $answer == “y” ]]; then 
	    if [$(date +%u) -eq 4]; then 
		  cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Thursday
else 
      if [[ $answer2 == “Y” || $answer == “y” ]]; then 
	    if [$(date +%u) -eq 5]; then 
		  cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Friday
      echo “BACKUP COMPLETE! PLEASE UNMOUNT DEVICE, REMOVE CARTRIDGE AND STORE IN THE SAFE. SEE YOU NEXT TIME!”

zQUEz · 12-28-2011, 01:39 PM

I might be wrong, but I am always under the impression you need to leave whitespace between the "[]" in your if statement:

Code:

[$(date +%u) -eq 1]

should be

Code:

[ $(date +%u) -eq 1 ]

Also, is your date command correct? Normally I would use:

Code:

[ `date +%u` -eq 1 ]

. I'm not in a position to test right now, so there might not be anything wrong with yours - I am just not sure.

Finally, where are all your closing `fi`'s? You need one for each `if`.

T3RM1NVT0R · 12-28-2011, 01:50 PM

Hi smecnb,

Welcome to LQ!!!

I would request you to use quote or code to keep the indenting of the script when you are posting in the thread. First thing that I would like to point is that you should use elif instead of else because there is no point using else with a condition.

Code:

#!/bin/bash

clear

echo “Back up your data? Type y or n and press [ENTER]”

read answer1
if [[ $answer1 == “N” || $answer1 == “n” ]]; then
       echo “Goodbye” -t 5
elif [[ $answer1 == “Y” || $answer == “y” ]]; then
       echo “Please confirm backup. Type y or n and press [ENTER]” -t 10
       read answer2
            if [[ $answer2 == “N” || $answer2 == “n” ]]; then
               echo “Goodbye” -t 5
            elif [[ $answer2 == “Y” || $answer == “y” ]]; then
                     if [ $(date +%u) -eq 1 ]; then
                          cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Monday
                     elif [ $(date +%u) -eq 2 ]; then
                          cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Tuesday
                     elif [ $(date +%u) -eq 3 ]; then
                          cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Wednesday
                     elif [ $(date +%u) -eq 4 ]; then
                          cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Thursday
                     elif [ $(date +%u) -eq 5 ]; then
                          cp /home/XXXXDATA -R /dev/xxxxbkp/Friday
                          echo “BACKUP COMPLETE! PLEASE UNMOUNT DEVICE, REMOVE CARTRIDGE AND STORE IN THE SAFE. SEE YOU NEXT TIME!”
                     fi
             fi
fi

I hope the above script should work the way you want it to be.

colucix · 12-28-2011, 02:11 PM

I agree with T3RM1NVT0R. The main problem of your code is that there is no fi keyword to close the if/then/else constructs, hence the unexpected end error! See: http://linuxcommand.org/wss0090.php#if.

David the H. · 12-28-2011, 04:48 PM

No... Please DO NOT use [quote][/quote] tags around code! They are only supposed to be used to repeat and highlight something another person has said. They do not preserve formatting in any way.

Please only use [code][/code] tags around your code and data. code tags preserve all whitespace and formatting, and display the data in a nice monospace font.

Anyway, another possible problem with the above is the quotation marks used, at least as displayed above. Your shell only treats standard ascii ', ", and ` as special. None of the other fancy-style quotation marks can be used in shell syntax patterns.

Code:

if [[ $answer1 == “N” || $answer1 == “n” ]]; then  ## incorrect
if [[ $answer1 == "N" || $answer1 == "n" ]]; then  ## correct

But anyway, case statements are generally better for evaluating the input from read. It's also common to embed your menus in a never-ending while loop, so that it keeps repeating until you get the input you want and force it to break.

Example code:

Code:

while true; do

	read -p "Exit this loop? [y/n]: " answer

	case $answer in

		y|Y*)	echo "Ok, exiting now.  Goodbye."
			break
		;;

		n|N*)	echo "What, you want to try again?"
           		continue  #not really necessary here
		;;

		*)	echo "Huh?  What did you say?  It's Yes or No!"
		;;
	esac

done

You can also use a select statement for simple menus, which works almost the same as above.

Code:

PS3="Exit this loop [choose 1 or 2]? "

select answer in Yes No; do

     case $answer in

          Yes) echo "Ok, exiting now.  Goodbye."
               break
          ;;

          No)  echo "What, you want to try again? "
          ;;

          *)   echo "Huh?  What did you say?  It's Yes or No!"
          ;;
     esac

done

colucix · 12-28-2011, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David the H.

No... Please DO NOT use [quote][/quote] tags around code! They are only supposed to be used to repeat and highlight something another person has said. They do not preserve formatting in any way.

Hey David, maybe I'm too tired tonight, but I cannot see any quoted code here, nor any editing after your post. Please, show me exactly what do you refer to and I will fix it. Thank you.

David the H. · 12-28-2011, 07:07 PM

The OP has fixed it now, but the script was originally posted raw.

My comment was really in response to T3RM1NVT0R's post, where he recommended using "quote or code [tags]".

colucix · 12-29-2011, 01:54 AM

Ok... understood, now. Sorry.

smecnb · 12-30-2011, 11:13 AM

Thank you all so much for your input! T3RM1NVT0R, I will try these excellent corrections asap. The intended structure/indents become so much clearer using 'elif' rather than 'else' and 'if', as well as the proper locations for 'fi'. Thank you for this introduction to it's use and proper indentation.

zQUEz, I will keep this in mind if it bombs out as is. Thanx.

colucix, thanks for your corroboration and the link. It is a great help.

David, your terrific examples have already generated ideas for the expansion/improvement of the original script! As for the quotes . . . not sure what happened. I merely copied/pasted the script here and it looked fine at that point with standard ASCII quotes. Many thanks!

Thanks again to all. And to you and yours, I wish the very best for the coming new year.

T3RM1NVT0R · 12-30-2011, 12:06 PM

@ smecnb

You're welcome. Please mark the thread as solved.

Wish you the same for the new year!!! Enjoy linux!!!

@ David

Thanks for clearing quote and code tag stuff.