Shell Programming and Scripting

I am new to this forum, so please go easy on me

I created a basic script to backup my router, which runs a linux firmware called OpenWrt. The script uses dd to image the router's RAM blocks, copy's the file to local usb storage, and then uploads it to a remote ISP personal ftp account. What I would like to happen though is that instead of manually naming the .bin file (router image) in the script, I would like the script to prompt to name the file before the dd, cp, and ftp upload process.

Here is the script that I created for a better understanding:

Code:

#!/bin/sh
cd /tmp
rm *.bin

****Prompt to name the bin file at this stage, and then continue with the remainder of the script processes*****

dd if=/dev/mtd0 of=/tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin
dd if=/dev/mtd1 of=/tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin
dd if=/dev/mtd2 of=/tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin
dd if=/dev/mtd3 of=/tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin
dd if=/dev/mtd4 of=/tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin
dd if=/dev/mtd5 of=/tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin
cd /mnt/150GB/openwrt-backup
rm *.bin
cd /mnt/32GB/openwrt-backup
rm *.bin
cd /mnt/8GB/openwrt-backup
rm *.bin
cp -Rv /tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin /mnt/150GB/openwrt-backup
cp -Rv /tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin /mnt/32GB/openwrt-backup
cp -Rv /tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin /mnt/8GB/openwrt-backup
wput -v -u -R username:password@ftpserver:21/router/images/ask-for-file-name.bin
cd /tmp
rm *.bin

Thanks in avance for those that can help me out.

Give name in the command line => You can give the name or caller script can give the name.

Code:

#!/bin/sh
# cmd somename

name="$1"

# if name is empty = exit
[ "$name" = "" ] && echo "usage:$0 name" >&2 && exit 1


cd /tmp
rm -f *.bin 2>/dev/null

dd if=/dev/mtd0 of=/tmp/"$name.0.bin"
#...

Thank you for your input. However, what I'm looking for is for the script to prompt to enter the in a desired file name for the backup file instead of specifying the filename right in the script.

Your request is confusing.

Do you want the script to prompt for the single filename to replace /tmp/ask-for-file-name.bin?

Why does the user need to enter a filename at all? Why shouldn't the script create its own filename (indicating the date and time of the backup) without involving the user? Do you think the user is going to need to specify a directory other than /tmp to hold the temporary file? (If so, removing /tmp/*.bin at the end of the script also needs to be changed!)

If the script has to be given the filename for some reason, is there a reason why the user can't give the filename as a command line operand as suggested by kshji? Would you like the script to accept a command line operand as the temporary filename, but to prompt for it if no operand is given?

Do you realize that your backup of /dev/mtd1 overwrites your backup of /dev/mtd0, your backup of /dev/mtd2 overwrites your backup of /dev/mtd1, your backup of /dev/mtd3 overwrites your backup of /dev/mtd2, your backup of /dev/mtd4 overwrites your backup of /dev/mtd3, and your backup of /dev/mtd5 overwrites your backup of /dev/mtd4? So the only thing this script backs up is /dev/mtd5.

Why is your script removing all filenames ending with .bin from /tmp? Why not just remove the file you created?

I assume that you realize that since you never check for errors, any failed backup will cause all backups to be destroyed. Wouldn't it be better to keep your previous backup at least until you have confirmed that your new backup completed successfully and was successfully copied to the corresponding backup directory?