Bash Script, no new line for echo command

jorisb · 11-04-2005, 11:10 PM

I need my script to show a percentage, I'd like the percentage be updated on the same line so that I can display some other information as well.
The echo is inside a loop.

Also.. is there a simple way to figure out how long the command took to execute?

debianmike · 11-04-2005, 11:10 PM

well, the time command may help you with the second question...

jorisb · 11-04-2005, 11:15 PM

Can you tell me how to use it?

Dark_Helmet · 11-04-2005, 11:38 PM

The man pages are your friend... I promise

(man echo)

Try this in your script:

Code:

echo -ne "${percentage}   ${other_data}\r"

Substitute the appropriate variables of course

As for the time command: (man time)

Code:

time cat /path/to/some/document.txt
<document text omitted>
real    0m0,059s
user    0m0.002s
sys     0m0.002s

Of course, those numbers will vary depending on the command, load on the system, etc. It's likely you're only interested in the "real" time. THe man page has all the details.

jorisb · 11-04-2005, 11:53 PM

Thanks, I know man pages can be usefull.. and I was trying but I just needed an example.

I was missing the quotations.. obvious.. but not to me at the time.

Dark_Helmet · 11-05-2005, 12:08 AM

Don't worry. The man pages seem a bit rough to handle for a while, but you just have to stick with it. The echo and time man pages are relatively simple. You can always just experiment as well. The echo command isn't going to crash your computer

It's all a part of learning the ropes.

As for the quotes with the echo command, they actually aren't necessary. I add them out of habit. This will do the same thing:

Code:

echo -ne ${percentage}   ${other_data}\\r

The only difference is an extra backslash. The reason for that involves how bash tries to interpret/process commands entered before actually executing them. The details aren't that important. Just keep in mind that if you use a backslash outside of double- or single-quotes, then you may have to sprinkle in some more backslashes to make things work as expected.