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test(1f) [opensolaris man page]

test(1F)							   FMLI Commands							  test(1F)

NAME
test - condition evaluation command SYNOPSIS
test expression expression DESCRIPTION
test evaluates the expression expression and if its value is true, sets a 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 test. 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. -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 0. -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 0. -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 |SUNWcsu | +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+ SEE ALSO
find(1), sh(1), attributes(5) NOTES
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 5 Jul 1990 test(1F)

Check Out this Related Man Page

TEST(1) 						    BSD General Commands Manual 						   TEST(1)

NAME
test, [ -- condition evaluation utility SYNOPSIS
test expression [ expression ] DESCRIPTION
The test utility evaluates expression and, if it evaluates to true, returns a zero (true) exit status; otherwise it returns 1 (false). If expression is not given, 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. -k file True if file exists and its sticky bit is set. -n string True if the length of string is nonzero. -p file True if file exists and is a named pipe (FIFO). -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 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 indi- cates that file can be searched. -z string True if the length of string is zero. -L file True if file exists and is a symbolic link. This operator is retained for compatibility with previous versions of this pro- gram. Do not rely on its existence; use -h instead. -O file True if file exists and its owner matches the effective user id of this process. -G file True if file exists and its group matches the effective group id of this process. -S file True if file exists and is a socket. file1 -nt file2 True if file1 exists and is newer than file2. file1 -ot file2 True if file1 exists and is older than file2. file1 -ef file2 True if file1 and file2 exist and refer to the same file. 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. s1 < s2 True if string s1 comes before s2 based on the ASCII value of their characters. s1 > s2 True if string s1 comes after s2 based on the ASCII value of their characters. 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. Note that all file tests with the exception of -h and -L follow symbolic links and thus evaluate the test for the file pointed at. GRAMMAR AMBIGUITY
The test grammar is inherently ambiguous. In order to assure a degree of consistency, the cases described in IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') section 4.62.4, are evaluated consistently according to the rules specified in the standards document. All other cases are subject to the ambiguity in the command semantics. EXIT STATUS
The test utility exits with one of the following values: 0 expression evaluated to true. 1 expression evaluated to false or was missing. >1 An error occurred. STANDARDS
The test utility implements a superset of the IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') specification. BSD
November 10, 2009 BSD
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