Shell Programming and Scripting

I was quite proud of it. It works fast and efficiently. BTW there is no security issue here. I work in visual fx. We use files called cdl (color decision list) ... well if the cdl file is in the parent directory of the files you're viewing it'll load the cdl automatically. If not, you have to go find it and move it in manually. Originally, I put copies of the cdl files where they need to be and next thing I know there's a company wide email about keeping the file structure clean and cdl files don't belong in the ... So, now I just hide them. They're still there and they work just fine with the . prefix but these people can't see them and therefore don't complain. If you heard them go on and on about you'd think I rearranged the living room of a blind person. I have to do the same with any symlinks and aliases as well.
"What is this?"
An alias ...
"Why is it here?"
So you can go to that directory quickly and easily ...
"Who's it for?"
Anyone ...
"Well, we don't use these here!"
It's not hurting anyone ...
"We need to keep things consistent!"
What is the problem?

This is what I'm dealing with.

Thank you for cheering me up with that story.. and for reminding me that not everything is black or white.

It drives me crazy when I start a new job and they say, "This is how we do ..."
I sit and watch and when they finish I usually say, "You do that every time, with every file?"
"Yes!"
"I could easily write a script that'll do all that stuff in about 5 seconds ... and it won't make mistakes."
"THIS IS THE WAY WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT HERE! And we want you to do it that way."
"Oh, I'll do it the same as you do but I'm not going through all that ..."

Usually, after a few days the other artists are asking me, "How do you do that so fast?"
"I wrote a script. These are computers! They're made to do repetitive tasks quickly and easily." What is wrong with you people?!

So, back to the original question, is that a dumb way to copy the file and rename it with a . prefix? If there's another way, I'd love to hear it.

I've worked in a bank.. you're preaching to the converted lol.

I'm not sure that the original way we showed you was wrong, so...

Note that the following code:

Code:

c=$(cd ../../bla/bla ; find . -name *.xyz) # Set variable c to filename (./filename.xyz)
c=$(c:3:23) # Remove "./" from c variable's filename
c=.$(c:0:26) # Add a "." to the variable filename

cp ../..bla/bla/*.zyz ./$c # Copy the file and rename it with c variable's name

won't work if no files match the pattern and won't work if more than one file matches the pattern ../../bla/bla/*.xyz. The following should work no matter how many files in that directory match:

Code:

find ../../bla/bla -name '*.xyz' | while read -r c
do	cp "$c" ".${c##*/}"
done

If you want it to keep you informed about what it's doing, either add a set -x to the start of the script or add an echo "$c" before the copy command in the loop.

P.S. Note however that if there is a hidden file in your source directory that ends in .xyz you'll end up creating a file with two leading <period>s in your current working directory.

Actually, I wanted it to fail if no files matched.

I like the cp "$c" ".${c##*/}" idea. I'll try that.
Thanks!

Thanks for allowing me to vent. My wife can't comprehend. I told her it's as if someone was still using the pony express because "That's the way we've always done it!" I'm still not sure she gets it. I find that after a certain age many people literally refuse to learn anything new.

Even better... Now you can get rid of the find too:

Code:

for c in ../../bla/bla/*.xyz
do	cp "$c" ".${c##*/}"
done

If there aren't any matching files, you'lll get a diagnostic from cp saying something like:

Code:

cp: ../../bla/bla/*.xyz: No such file or directory

and a non-zero exit from your script.

P.S.: Note that (as mentioned before) this code won't copy hidden files.