read text file

Why9999 · 08-31-2011, 10:58 AM

Sorry, I'm quite the newbie. I'm looking at a korn script here and the first command is this:

read_text_file()

But when I Google on the above, I don't see that this is a std Linux/Unix command.

Assuming that's the case, how do I find out where this function or whatever it is is?

jdkaye · 08-31-2011, 11:07 AM

Hi and welcome!
This is not a command that you type on a command line. It is a statement in a korn script.

Quote:

Assuming that's the case, how do I find out where this function or whatever it is is?

You look here.
Is there any reason you're particularly interested in korn scripts rather than bash scripts? Are you trying to learn programming using scripts? There are loads of tutorials for that.
ciao,
jdk

Why9999 · 08-31-2011, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdkaye

Hi and welcome!
This is not a command that you type on a command line. It is a statement in a korn script.

You look here.
Is there any reason you're particularly interested in korn scripts rather than bash scripts? Are you trying to learn programming using scripts? There are loads of tutorials for that.
ciao,
jdk

This was written by another person and was a Korn shell script.

I, of course, don't mind searching for this, but I don't know what to search on. Would this be under global variables or something?

jdkaye · 08-31-2011, 11:17 AM

Well it might help to give more information. Why not explain what you're trying to do and you might get some good suggestions about how to do it. I can't really say how to search for something when I don't know what it is you're looking for. A short clear description of what you want should do the trick.

If all you want to do is read a text file, you can use the cat command as in

Code:

cat /path to text file/filename

or load it into a text editor like vim or nano.
ciao,
jdk

Why9999 · 08-31-2011, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdkaye

Well it might help to give more information. Why not explain what you're trying to do and you might get some good suggestions about how to do it. I can't really say how to search for something when I don't know what it is you're looking for. A short clear description of what you want should do the trick.
ciao,
jdk

I'm just trying to understand this person's script. I did a crontab and am looking at the scripts that are running there, so I'm not really trying to do anything but comprehend what is going on.

This was the first line in the shell script and I don't see it defined anywhere else.

Why9999 · 08-31-2011, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Why9999

This was written by another person and was a Korn shell script.

I, of course, don't mind searching for this, but I don't know what to search on. Would this be under global variables or something?

Nevermind. I figured it out.

jdkaye · 08-31-2011, 11:23 AM

I'm sorry to ask the obvious but if it's supposed to be a korn script have you tried googling korn manual or korn tutorial or korn guide?
jdk

Why9999 · 08-31-2011, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdkaye

I'm sorry to ask the obvious but if it's supposed to be a korn script have you tried googling korn manual or korn tutorial or korn guide?
jdk

Sure, but I thought this was some kind of weird functionality because I couldn't find anything that I was looking for. But I figured it out. Gracias...

grail · 08-31-2011, 11:44 AM

And are you going to share with the rest of the kids so when someone else does search and finds your question they get an idea?

Why9999 · 08-31-2011, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grail

And are you going to share with the rest of the kids so when someone else does search and finds your question they get an idea?

Ummm, well, I feel a little boneheaded:

He was of course just defining a function. I thought it was an isolated command, but then realized the error of my ways...

chrism01 · 08-31-2011, 07:03 PM

Just in case its useful to anyone, here is a link to complete ksh docs http://kornshell.com/

grail · 08-31-2011, 07:40 PM

Don't beat yourself up too badly ... we have all had that 'ahuh' moment with different things and now when someone
finds your post they might have the same moment

ramkatral · 08-31-2011, 07:45 PM

Man, it's always a learning experience. I think the most seasoned guys asks some of the dumbest questions sometimes. It's just life! You get to where you try to look too deeply and miss the obvious simple things.