I need to create a zip file of jpg and bmp files. The zip file is named after the first file it finds which ends with .dat. Here is my script:

BTW my sed command cut off the first two chars and last four chars since find will return the filename is the form of "./filename.dat" and I just want to extract filename.

When I run this script, it creates a zip file named ".zip". How do I fix this so the zip file is named after my dat file? Thanks for any tips!

your sed command is pretty redundant... just use the basename command, don't reinvent the wheel! ;-)

why is the 2nd line 1) all on one line and 2) in parentheses? Split it out, use new lines and it should make more sense.

I think you're real problem is that you have a space after the = sign. that'll screw things up loads. also don't use `find...` for execution, use $(find....) instead, better syntax makes it easier to understand.

in fact i think you actually have nothing more than...unless i've over simplified things somehow. something a bit screwy about the logic behind the head usage, but it's fairly harmless if it already works for you.

Thanks for the suggestions. I forgot about basename! I need the script to be case insensitive so it has to handle finding .DAT and .dat as well as JPG/jpg and BMP/bmp. Specifying multiple or case insensitive suffixes to basename is not possible it seems. BTW using head is the only way I figure out for using just the first .dat file I get back for naming the zip.

I tried removing the space after the = and that did not fix it.

Also, I think I'll need to use find instead of just using do a shell expansion of pics/*.jpg due to argument limit.

Okay figured out how to get my initial script to work:

When I echoed the DAT_FILE in my original script, it was blank so no wonder I was getting a file called .zip only. Using the above works, although I know it's very ugly.