[SOLVED] Find statement for multiple folder names

rjo98 · 01-21-2010, 10:13 AM

Through other posts, I think I'll finally be able to knock out a problem I'm having if someone can help me tweak a find statement, as I only know how to do very simple ones.

right now i'm doing a

find . -type d -iname "z*"

to find all folders who's name starts with z or Z.

Is there a way I could with one command find all folders who's name starts with the letters M through Z, without having to do the same command over and over and just changing the letter each time?

ozanbaba · 01-21-2010, 10:27 AM

for loop will help you. some docs: http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/

rjo98 · 01-21-2010, 10:30 AM

I kind get what the for loop would do, like automate the switching of the letters. But can I do it right in that find command somehow too?

ozanbaba · 01-21-2010, 11:10 AM

i don't remember if you can do it in the find command, and don't forget for is command, too. actually for ia a command, find is an awesome program.

rjo98 · 01-21-2010, 11:15 AM

I tried reading the for loop stuff, and I definitely think that's over my head. Perhaps I'd be better just manually doing it for each letter.

ozanbaba · 01-21-2010, 11:33 AM

it's easier than you think but scripting specially bash scripting is annoying thing to learn.

rjo98 · 01-21-2010, 11:34 AM

I'll have to read up on it when I get some time. good to know that such a thing exists, luckily there aren't that many letter in the alphabet so I'll do this one by hand for now.

GrapefruiTgirl · 01-21-2010, 11:35 AM

Code:

bash-3.1# find / -type d -regextype posix-awk -iregex .*/x*
/
/var/cache/packages/slackware64/x
/usr/lib64/python2.6/site-packages/pynche/X
/usr/share/terminfo/x
/usr/share/terminfo/X
/usr/share/texmf/texconfig/x
/usr/share/apps/ksgmltools2/customization/xx
bash-3.1#

You might like to fiddle with the above a bit, altering the regex. I don't know why it returns the "/" (root folder) but otherwise it *seems* to work. And, change the 'x' to a 'z' to suit your requirements.

rjo98 · 01-21-2010, 11:36 AM

Thanks, i'll use it as an example once i read up on for loops

Tinkster · 01-21-2010, 11:53 AM

Code:

find -iname [m-z]\* -type d

rjo98 · 01-21-2010, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinkster

Code:

find -iname [m-z]\* -type d

Wow, is it really that straightforward? I'd see [] before but never understood what it meant, but i think i do now! its for ranges it appears. Also, what does the \ do after the [m-z] ?

Tinkster · 01-21-2010, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Also, what does the \ do after the [m-z] ?

It escapes the *
Otherwise the shell would interpret it, and you may end up with
fewer hits than you were after, or an error message, depending
on how many directories in the current working directory match
[m-z]*.

Here's an example from a tmp-directory ...

Code:

$ ls -p
Makefile  cleaned_up           os2/             sr21/
a.out     clusternodes.awk     pam.d/           te_agent_7.0.0_en_linux/
back.tgz  course_extended.lyx  slackware-12.0/  test/


$ find -iname [st]\* -type d
./os2/graphics/se
./os2/graphics/tw
./os2/graphics/sbcs
./sr21
./test
./te_agent_7.0.0_en_linux
./slackware-12.0
./slackware-12.0/testing
./slackware-12.0/source
./slackware-12.0/slackware
./slackware-12.0/patches/source
./slackware-12.0/patches/slackware-12.0

$ find -iname [st]* -type d
find: paths must precede expression: sr21
Usage: find [-H] [-L] [-P] [-Olevel] [-D help|tree|search|stat|rates|opt|exec] [path...] [expression]


$ rm -rf ./sr21 ./te_agent_7.0.0_en_linux ./slackware-12.0


$ find -iname [st]* -type d
./test

rjo98 · 01-21-2010, 12:43 PM

Thanks for providing the examples, it makes sense now, and even shows why I need to do [m-z] rather than [mz]. I'd rather learn with guidance than just get an answer than no feedback as to why that solves my problem, you would never learn that way. Appreciate the time Tinkster!

Tinkster · 01-21-2010, 02:34 PM

Most welcome. Just trying to live up to the statement in my sig :}

chrism01 · 01-21-2010, 05:00 PM

@GrapefruiTgirl: that's probably because '*' in most regex engines means zero or more instances of the preceding character ...