LinuxQuestions.org - [SOLVED] rename several files sequentially

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docaia

04-12-2011 03:36 AM

rename several files sequentially

Hello everyone,
I am trying to rename some files that do not have a pattern in their names to a sequential names. original file names are in the form of REC92837498, REC9837449 and so on.
I want to rename them to REC_1, REC_2...etc.

I used the following script:

Code:

j=1

for i in $(ls -rt REC*)

do

/path/${i} /path/REC_${j}

j = {j} + 1

done

however the value of j does not increase, when I do sh -x to trouble shoot the code, it says command not found.
what is the proper command to increment j by 1?

Thanks.

docaia

04-12-2011 03:38 AM

Thanks everyone,
I found the problem
I should use j = $((j+1)

colucix

04-12-2011 03:50 AM

Or simply

Code:

(( j++ ))

without the dollar sign and using the C notation for incrementing a variable by one. BTW your script above contains some errors (but most likely they're typos). Have you tried it? Be sure to have a backup copy of the original files or perform tests on some (dummy) files placed into another directory.

grail

04-12-2011 08:12 AM

Also, have a look here at why using ls to feed a loop is inherently dangerous.
Try something as simple as:

Code:

for i in REC*

docaia

04-13-2011 04:42 AM

Thanks Colucix and Grail for your replies.
Colucix I tried the script and it worked, may be you mean I should reframe it in a more professional way, can you please provide an example on to correct the code?

Thanks again.

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