06-09-2008
need help testing for length of variable
Hello, I'm new to shell scripting and need a little help please.
I'm working on a script that asks the user to input a name that can be 1 to 12 alphanumeric characters and can have dots(.) dashes(-) and spaces. I want to test that the answer is valid and if not make the user try again. I have no problem doing this with y|n questions or numeric only , but I haven't been able to figure this out.
Thanks.
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QUIZ(6) BSD Games Manual QUIZ(6)
NAME
quiz -- random knowledge tests
SYNOPSIS
quiz [-t] [-i file] [question answer]
DESCRIPTION
The quiz utility tests your knowledge of random facts. It has a database of subjects from which you can choose. With no arguments, quiz
displays the list of available subjects.
The options are as follows:
-t Use tutorial mode, in which questions are repeated later if you didn't get them right the first time, and new questions are presented
less frequently to help you learn the older ones.
-i Specify an alternative index file.
Subjects are divided into categories. You can pick any two categories from the same subject. quiz will ask questions from the first cate-
gory and it expects answers from the second category. For example, the command ``quiz victim killer'' asks questions which are the names of
victims, and expects you to answer with the cause of their untimely demise, whereas the command ``quiz killer victim'' works the other way
around.
If you get the answer wrong, quiz lets you try again. To see the right answer, enter a blank line.
Index and Data File Syntax
The index and data files have a similar syntax. Lines in them consist of several categories separated by colons. The categories are regular
expressions formed using the following meta-characters:
pat|pat alternative patterns
{pat} optional pattern
[pat] delimiters, as in pat[pat|pat]pat
In an index file, each line represents a subject. The first category in each subject is the pathname of the data file for the subject. The
remaining categories are regular expressions for the titles of each category in the subject.
In data files, each line represents a question/answer set. Each category is the information for the question/answer for that category.
The backslash character (``'') is used to quote syntactically significant characters, or at the end of a line to signify that a continuation
line follows.
If either a question or its answer is empty, quiz will refrain from asking it.
FILES
/usr/share/games/quiz.db The default index and data files.
BUGS
quiz is pretty cynical about certain subjects.
BSD
May 31, 1993 BSD