Shell Programming and Scripting

Newbie question. I want to create a shell script that will only move/copy a file if it's determined that the eof string exists. This is to control files being uploaded via FTP. I don't want to move incomplete files, so my only thought is to check for eof, or compare file size every 15-30 seconds on the same file until size in bytes is the same and then move/copy the file. Some uploads occur over very slow connections, with large file sizes, and can take up to 10 minutes.

Anyone already have something like this? What commands would be best to use to facilitate this?

what do you mean EOF (end of file) string?

are you looking for something on the last line of the file?

if you are going the shell route you can use if [`tail -1 $file` eq "some_string" ]; then
........
fi

you might need a double [[ ]] vs the single []

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Optimus_P
[B]what do you mean EOF (end of file) string?

Specifically, I'm working with pdf files, all of which end with EOF.

cat -v /testfile*.pdf on a complete file contains "EOF" at the end. I want to detect that to know if the file is completely uploaded before any cp/mv command on the same file.

Am I wrong to assume all files have an EOF?

>> Am I wrong to assume all files have an EOF?

Yes, you are.

fpmurphy, could you possibly elaborate on your answer at all?

I rather liked fpmurphy's answer. But to spell it out...

Do a "tail /etc/passwd", "tail /etc/group", and "tail /etc/hosts". I'll bet that you can quickly locate a file that does not literally have "EOF\n" as the last four characters. Some files are even less than four characters in length. They don't pop out of existence or anything.

So yes, while pdf files end with the string "EOF\n", many files do not.

Guess I read too quickly.. didn't realize the OP was asking literally for a string that says EOF or that PDF files have that string at the end. Thanks, Perderabo.