test(1) [plan9 man page]
TEST(1) General Commands Manual TEST(1) NAME
test - set status according to condition SYNOPSIS
test expr DESCRIPTION
Test evaluates the expression expr. If the value is true the exit status is null; otherwise the exit status is non-null. If there are no arguments the exit status is non-null. The following primitives are used to construct expr. -r file True if the file exists (is accessible) and is readable. -w file True if the file exists and is writable. -x file True if the file exists and has execute permission. -e file True if the file exists. -f file True if the file exists and is a plain file. -d file True if the file exists and is a directory. -s file True if the file 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 the same file as /dev/cons. s1 = s2 True if the strings s1 and s2 are identical. s1 != s2 True if the strings s1 and s2 are not identical. s1 True if s1 is not the null string. (Deprecated.) -n s1 True if the length of string s1 is non-zero. -z s1 True if the length of string s1 is zero. n1 -eq n2 True if the integers n1 and n2 are arithmetically equal. Any of the comparisons -ne, -gt, -ge, -lt, or -le may be used in place of -eq. The (nonstandard) construct -l string, meaning the length of string, may be used in place of an integer. These primaries may be combined with the following operators: ! unary negation operator -o binary or operator -a binary and operator; higher precedence than -o ( expr ) parentheses for grouping. The primitives -b, -u, -g, and -s return false; they are recognized for compatibility with POSIX. Notice that all the operators and flags are separate arguments to test. Notice also that parentheses and equal signs are meaningful to rc and must be enclosed in quotes. EXAMPLES
Test is a dubious way to check for specific character strings: it uses a process to do what an rc(1) match or switch statement can do. The first example is not only inefficient but wrong, because test understands the purported string "-c" as an option. if (test $1 '=' "-c") echo OK # wrong! A better way is if (~ $1 -c) echo OK Test whether is in the current directory. test -f abc -o -d abc SOURCE
/sys/src/cmd/test.c SEE ALSO
rc(1) TEST(1)
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 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. This operator is retained for compatibility with previous versions of this pro- gram. Do not rely on its existence; use -L instead. -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 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. -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. s1 True if s1 is not the null string. 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. Some shells may provide a builtin test command which is similar or identical to this utility. Consult the builtin(1) manual page. 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.2''), 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. SEE ALSO
builtin(1), expr(1), sh(1) STANDARDS
The test utility implements a superset of the IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') specification. BSD
May 31, 1993 BSD