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Getting category when given the variable from external file to shell script

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# 1  
Old 01-25-2011
Getting category when given the variable from external file to shell script
Hi, I have a script that interacts with a config file in the format:

Code:
[CategoryA]
file1.txt
file2.txt
 
[CategoryB]
file3.txt
file4.txt
file5.txt
 
[CategoryC]
 
[CategoryD]
file6.txt

I would like to return the Category, when given the file name.

Code:
FILENAME=file4.txt
CATEGORY=?

Anyone know how to do this?
# 2  
Old 01-25-2011
Nothing to it but to look through the file and check.

Code:
#!/bin/ksh

TOFIND="file4.txt"
CATEGORY=""

while read LINE
do
        [ -z "$LINE" ] && continue

        if [ "${LINE:0:1}" == "[" ]
        then
                CATEGORY="${LINE:1:$((${#LINE}-2))}"
                continue
        fi

        if [ "$LINE" == "$TOFIND" ]
        then
            echo "category is $CATEGORY"
            break
        fi
done < conf.file

Should also work in BASH.
# 3  
Old 01-25-2011
Thank you for the quick reply. I get the following output:

Code:
 
./script.sh[10]: "${LINE:0:1}": bad substitution

Smilie
# 4  
Old 01-25-2011
I copy-pasted that from the working script so it shouldn't contain typos. Did you type that in or copy it?

What is your shell? What is your system?
# 5  
Old 01-25-2011
I copy/pasted.

Bash ver 3.00.16(1)
Running on AIX5.1
# 6  
Old 01-25-2011
That's very strange. The "${VAR:OFFSET:LENGTH}" syntax works even in bash 2.0, let alone 3.0. It even works in ASH. I don't know how they butchered it to get it working in AIX. Are you running it as /bin/bash or /bin/sh ?

Are you sure you don't have DASH installed? That's a BASH-alike that throws up on that syntax.

If you have ksh available could you try using it instead.
# 7  
Old 01-25-2011
Sorry, I should have been more explicit.

I'm using bash, but the script is using ksh (I did copy/paste your example).

I changed the first line to reference bash and it does work, unfortunately the rest of my script uses ksh and that can't change for various reasons.

I see here:

[Edit: You are only allowed to post URL once you have at least 5 posts. ]
h t t p : // w w w .issociate.de/board/post/265609/ksh_variable_substitution_quandry.html

that various versions of ksh can't use that substitution syntax. I've been trying to figure out the version of ksh we have but can't seem to ...
Last edited by MoreCowbell; 01-25-2011 at 04:16 PM..
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