about READ...please help! - UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

fiol73 · #1 (**permalink**) 12-28-2006

hi guys i have a question:

i am creating an interactive programme and i need some help on the READ command. let's say that i use the echo command and ask something to my user in the form:

echo 'Please, insert filenames: \c'

then i read his/her answer with:

read answer

i need to test the answer given to see, for example, if the user has really chosen files and not directories for example so i use:

if [[ -d $answer ]]; then
echo 'Attention: you have selected a directory!'
fi

now my problem is this: if the user, instead of just one file, writes 2 or more files?
i know i can write:

read answer1 answer2 etc.

but then it becomes too difficult to check all variables in the IF STATEMENT...and also...what if the user uses more variables than those i have specified? too complicated...

any suggestion on how to include all the possible filenames the user could specify in just one variable to check? (a bit like $@ instead of "$1" "$2" etc.)

hope my question is clear...

thanks.

blowtorch · #2 (**permalink**) 12-28-2006

Try this:

Code:

#!/bin/ksh
echo 'Please, insert filenames: \c'
read filenames
filelist=""
for file in $filenames; do
        if [ -d $file ]; then
                echo "Oops, $file is a directory! Leaving that out of the final list"
        elif [ -f $file ]; then
                echo "Adding $file to the list"
                filelist="$filelist $file"
        else
                echo "$file is something I can't handle"
        fi
done
echo "Final list: $filelist"

-Edit
Oops, I missed a space there...
-/Edit

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