Code:

 
OS: Linux Lite 4.0

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  bash -version = GNU bash, version 4.4.19(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
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-Thank you for replying, Don. My code works when $input is a file in the pwd, but as stated I get a fatal error when $input is not actually a file in the working directory, and commands under else do not execute. Finding where I went wrong is what I'm looking for in the 1st question. When $input is actually a file in pwd, the if condition returns true, and the fields specified ($1 and $2) are printed along with the tab separating them. So code works but only if $input is a file in the directory. Else doesn't work if $input isn't in the directory.


The way I have coded the script allows for the if-expression to take the condition as expressed and returns true if the file is present, but if I am not using awk, for instance outside the script, as in: (at prompt)


Note* AfileinDir is a file present in the pwd, not calling for any of the info in it, just trying to understand why awk/if returns true as in my script, and why if with the bracket syntax outside the script doesn't.

Code:

input=“AfileinDir” 

          if [ $input == echo$(ls) ];  # or if [ $input == $(ls) ]
             then echo $input " was found via if condition"
             else echo $input " was not found via if condition"
          fi

returns this:

Code:

          bash: [: too many arguments
          AfileinDir was not found via if condition

you see how this is different from when I used awk in my script with the alternate syntax. The awk/if statement yielded a true response and no errors (if the file was in the directory) and it printed out just the fields requested with the tab separating them. Using if[] outside the script and without awk as above returns a negative response and “too many arguments” error. Using the double brackets [[]] around the condition yields a negative response but no error. I am trying to understand the why of all this to better understand the commands and syntax rather than look for an alternative method. I will, however, look over your code to see what I can learn from it, thank you.