TEST(1) General Commands Manual TEST(1)NAME
test - condition evaluation utility
SYNOPSIS
test expression
DESCRIPTION
The test utility evaluates the expression and, if it evaluates to true, returns a zero (true) exit status; otherwise it returns 1 (false).
If there is no expression, test also returns 1 (false).
All operators and flags are separate arguments to the test utility.
The following primaries are used to construct expression:
-b file
True if file exists and is a block special file.
-c file
True if file exists and is a character special file.
-d file
True if file exists and is a directory.
-e file
True if file exists (regardless of type).
-f file
True if file exists and is a regular file.
-g file
True if file exists and its set group ID flag is set.
-h file
True if file exists and is a symbolic link.
-n string
True if the length of string is nonzero.
-p file
True if file is a named pipe
-r file
True if file exists and is readable.
-s file
True if file exists and has a size greater than zero.
-t [file_descriptor]
True if the file whose file descriptor number is file_descriptor (default 1) is open and is associated with a terminal.
-u file
True if file exists and its set user ID flag is set.
-w file
True if file exists and is writable. True indicates only that the write flag is on. The file is not writable on a read-only file
system even if this test indicates true.
-x file
True if file exists and is executable. True indicates only that the execute flag is on. If file is a directory, true indicates
that file can be searched.
-z string
True if the length of string is zero.
string
True if string is not the null string.
s1 = s2
True if the strings s1 and s2 are identical.
s1 != s2
True if the strings s1 and s2 are not identical.
n1 -eq n2
True if the integers n1 and n2 are algebraically equal.
n1 -ne n2
True if the integers n1 and n2 are not algebraically equal.
n1 -gt n2
True if the integer n1 is algebraically greater than the integer n2 .
n1 -ge n2
True if the integer n1 is algebraically greater than or equal to the integer n2 .
n1 -lt n2
True if the integer n1 is algebraically less than the integer n2 .
n1 -le n2
True if the integer n1 is algebraically less than or equal to the integer n2 .
These primaries can be combined with the following operators:
! expression
True if expression is false.
expression1 -a expression2
True if both expression1 and expression2 are true.
expression1 -o expression2
True if either expression1 or expression2 are true.
(expression)
True if expression is true.
The
-a operator has higher precedence than the -o operator.
GRAMMAR AMBIGUITY
The test grammar is inherently ambiguous. In order to assure a degree of consistency, the cases described in the IEEE Std 1003.2
("POSIX"), section D11.2/4.62.4, standard are evaluated consistently according to the rules specified in the standards document. All other
cases are subject to the ambiguity in the command semantics.
RETURN VALUES
The test utility exits with one of the following values:
0 expression evaluated to true.
1 expression evaluated to false or expression was missing.
>1 An error occurred.
BUGS
Named pipes are not implemented in 2.11BSD.
STANDARDS
The test function is expected to be IEEE Std 1003.2 ("POSIX") compatible.
7th Edition March 13, 1995 TEST(1)
Check Out this Related Man Page
test(1B) SunOS/BSD Compatibility Package Commands test(1B)NAME
test - condition evaluation command
SYNOPSIS
/usr/ucb/test expression
expression
DESCRIPTION
test evaluates the expression expression and, if its value is true, sets 0 (true) exit status; otherwise, a non-zero (false) exit status
is set. test also sets a non-zero exit status if there are no arguments. When permissions are tested, the effective user ID of the process
is used.
All operators, flags, and brackets (brackets used as shown in the second SYNOPSIS line) must be separate arguments to the test command;
normally these items are separated by spaces.
USAGE
Primitives
The following primitives are used to construct expression:
-r filename True if filename exists and is readable.
-w filename True if filename exists and is writable.
-x filename True if filename exists and is executable.
-f filename True if filename exists and is a regular file. Alternatively, if /usr/bin/sh users specify /usr/ucb before /usr/bin in
their PATH environment variable, then test will return true if filename exists and is (not-a-directory). This is also the
default for /usr/bin/csh users.
-d filename True if filename exists and is a directory.
-c filename True if filename exists and is a character special file.
-b filename True if filename exists and is a block special file.
-p filename True if filename exists and is a named pipe (fifo).
-u filename True if filename exists and its set-user- ID bit is set.
-g filename True if filename exists and its set-group- ID bit is set.
-k filename True if filename exists and its sticky bit is set.
-s filename True if filename exists and has a size greater than zero.
-t[ fildes ] True if the open file whose file descriptor number is fildes (1 by default) is associated with a terminal device.
-z s1 True if the length of string s1 is zero.
-n s1 True if the length of the string s1 is non-zero.
s1 = s2 True if strings s1 and s2 are identical.
s1 != s2 True if strings s1 and s2 are not identical.
s1 True if s1 is not the null string.
n1 -eq n2 True if the integers n1 and n2 are algebraically equal. Any of the comparisons -ne, -gt, -ge, -lt, and -le may be used in
place of -eq.
Operators
These primaries may be combined with the following operators:
! Unary negation operator.
-a Binary and operator.
-o Binary or operator (-a has higher precedence than -o).
(expression) Parentheses for grouping. Notice also that parentheses are meaningful to the shell and, therefore, must be quoted.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Availability |SUNWscpu |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
SEE ALSO find(1), sh(1), attributes(5)NOTES
The not-a-directory alternative to the -f option is a transition aid for BSD applications and may not be supported in future releases.
If you test a file you own (the -r , -w , or -x tests), but the permission tested does not have the owner bit set, a non-zero (false) exit
status will be returned even though the file may have the group or other bit set for that permission. The correct exit status will be set
if you are super-user.
The = and != operators have a higher precedence than the -r through -n operators, and = and != always expect arguments; therefore, = and !=
cannot be used with the -r through -n operators.
If more than one argument follows the -r through -n operators, only the first argument is examined; the others are ignored, unless a -a or
a -o is the second argument.
SunOS 5.11 1 Apr 1996 test(1B)