[SOLVED] Using if statement

wielgeraats · 03-20-2013, 05:21 AM

Hi.

I'm creating a script to clean up a map periodically. The goal is to maintain 3 files in the map and to clean up the oldest file. The problem for me is the if statement.
Belowstanding scripts does create an output redirection and creates a file named 3.

if `ls | wc -l > 3'
then rm `ls -t | tail -1`
fi

the following gives an error message "command not found"

if `ls | wc -l` -gt 3

Can someone help me?

Wiel Geraats

shivaa · 03-20-2013, 05:33 AM

Just try like this:

Code:

#!/bin/bash
num=`ls -l | wc -l`
if [ $num -gt 3 ]; then
rm `ls -t | tail -1`
fi

OR, you can use:

Code:

#!/bin/bash
if [ `ls -l | wc -l` -gt 3 ]; then
rm `ls -t | tail -1`
fi

Note: Better use ls -l instead of just ls. Also use $(command) instead of using backticks i.e. "`" in script.

chrism01 · 03-20-2013, 05:51 AM

Code:

if [[ `ls | wc -l` -gt 3 ]]
then 
    echo 'here'
fi

http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz

wielgeraats · 03-20-2013, 05:54 AM

Hi shivaa and chris

Thanks for the quick response, it works fine now.

shivaa · 03-20-2013, 05:57 AM

Happy to hear that.

Please Mark the thread as solved (option is under Thread Tools on top menu), if you think it has so.

David the H. · 03-20-2013, 08:21 AM

1) Please use ***[code][/code]*** tags around your code and data, to preserve the original formatting and to improve readability. Do not use quote tags, bolding, colors, "start/end" lines, or other creative techniques.

2) $(..) is highly recommended over `..`

3) When using bash or ksh, it's recommended to use [[..]] for string/file tests, and ((..)) for numerical tests. Avoid using the old [..] test unless you specifically need POSIX-style portability.

http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/031
http://mywiki.wooledge.org/ArithmeticExpression

4) parsing ls for filenames and metadata is not recommended. If you want to know how many files are in a directory, you can use an array.

Code:

files=( * )

if (( ${#files[@]} > 3 )); then
    rm "${files[@]: -3}"          #removes the last 3 files in the file list
fi

How can I use array variables?
http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/005/

Although the above simply relies on the shell's default sorting. If you can ensure that all the files have the same pattern and their date directly in their filename in YYYY-MM-DD form, then this would be just fine.

Otherwise you'll have to run them through a loop to test the metadata, or else use find.

How can I find the latest (newest, earliest, oldest) file in a directory?
http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/003
http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/099