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Delete oldest folder based on folder named as date

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# 1  
Old 07-30-2018
Delete oldest folder based on folder named as date
Hi,

I have a script doing backup to synology server, the script create new folder each day with the date as being folder name i.e. 2018-07-30. Just before creating the new folder I want the script to find the oldest folder from the list and delete it including its content.

for example looking at the list below folder 2018-01-01 is the oldest folder as per directory naming. I want the expect code code below to find and delete it.

Code:
2018-07-30
2018-07-29
2018-07-28
2018-07-27
2018-07-26
2018-07-25
.
.
.
2018-01-01




Code:
expect << 'EOF' >> $today.log
set dir [timestamp -format "%Y-%m-%d"]
spawn sftp server@ip
expect "Password:"
send "Password\r"
expect "sftp>"
send "lcd /backup/\r"
expect "sftp>"
send "cd /BackupDirectory/\r"
expect "sftp>"
send "Here I want the code to find the oldest directory as per name and delete it\r"
expect "sftp>"
send "mkdir $dir\r"
expect "sftp>"
send "put -r /backup/$dir/*.gz /BackupDirectory/$dir/\r"
set timeout -1
expect "sftp>"
send "!rm -rf /backup/$dir\r"
expect "sftp>"
send "bye\r"
EOF
}

Last edited by humble_learner; 07-31-2018 at 12:09 AM..
# 2  
Old 07-31-2018
As your directory names are suitably formatted, you can just use ls's inherent sort. Try
Code:
echo rm $(ls -1d 2018* | head -1)

The echo is for testing / debugging only.


BTW, you mayhap don't need the expect command for your purpose. Did you consider sftp's -b batchfile option and ssh's public key authentication?
This User Gave Thanks to RudiC For This Post:
humble_learner
# 3  
Old 07-31-2018
Hi Rudic,

Thank you for the answer, I just had to modify a bit in order to cover years past 2018 but your answer was correct.

Code:
rm -rf $(ls -ld [0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]* | head -1


For your suggestion about -b batchfile and ssh's public key options I did looked into that and tried implementing that solution first. However, at that moment it was too complicated for me and did not worked out. I will look into that in near future. Do you have any guide on implementing that solution? Any input is further appreciated.


Moderator's Comments:
Mod Comment Please use CODE tags as required by forum rules!
Last edited by RudiC; 07-31-2018 at 10:02 AM.. Reason: Added CODE tags.
# 4  
Old 07-31-2018
The batchfile handling might be self-explanatory, and for ssh's public key authentication there's many a thread in these fora. The links at bottom left under "More UNIX and Linux Forum Topics You Might Find Helpful" might be helpful as well.
This User Gave Thanks to RudiC For This Post:
humble_learner
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