UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Attempting to break from a case/esac paragraph while inside of a function. When executing the code below, entering the letter 'a', will prove that the directory exists, but the break command works for the if/fi, but not for the case/esac. So, in my example below, if an A is entered, the function testf validates the directory A exists, but then it doesn't. Maybe there is a far simpler way to accomplish what I want to do, limit to a set # of predefined entries, then validate those entries are available.

testf ()
{
dir=$reply
if [ -x /main/$dir ]; then
echo dir $dir exists
break /* want this command to break out of case/esac */
else
echo no dir $dir exists, try again
fi
}

while (true)
do
echo " a b "
echo " Enter one of the directories from above: \c"
read reply
typeset -u reply
case $reply in
A) testf ;;
B) testf ;;
*) echo $reply is not valid dir to choose - try again
esac
done


Appreciate the assistance!

First. Please dont open a new thread when you have already opened one concerning this topic.

Code:

testf () {
dir=$reply

if [ -x /main/$dir ]
 then
    echo dir $dir exists
    #useless use of the command break here #
 else
    echo "no dir $dir exists, try again"
    bflag=n
fi
}

typeset -u reply
while (true)
do
echo " a b "
echo " Enter one of the directories from above: \c"
read reply

case $reply in
A) testf 
    break
    ;;
B) testf
    break
    ;;
*) echo $reply is not valid dir to choose - try again
esac
done

First, my apology for starting a new thread. What I am attempting is if I choose a, and it exists, then I'm out of the case/esac loop. If I choose, b, which does not exist, then I want to stay in the case/esac loop and not break until I select a good entry. Want to basically stay in this loop until I have selected a valid directory.

You can build a valid list programmatically of direcoties to display rather than have the user input a directory. Alternatively, you can build the list of directories to display and allow the user to enter a directory. If you programmatically build the list then all you have to worry about is validating input from your user. Can you elaborate more on what it is you are trying to build?

Code:

testf () {
dir=$reply

if [ -x /main/$dir ]
 then
    echo dir $dir exists
    #useless use of the command break here #
    FLAG=1
 else
    echo "no dir $dir exists, try again"
    bflag=n
    FLAG=0
fi
}
FLAG=0
typeset -u reply
while [ $FLAG -eq 0 ]
do
echo " a b "
echo " Enter one of the directories from above: \c"
read reply

case $reply in
A) testf 
    break
    ;;
B) testf
    break
    ;;
*) echo $reply is not valid dir to choose - try again
esac
done

Okay, the logic you show makes sense and should work for me.

I have a root directory called root. Within it there are 10 or so subdirectories each of varying size (in terms of name). Of those 10 directories there are around 3 or so that I want the user to access. There are around 3 more that I will want the user to access if they are available. So, basically I want to list all 6 directories, the user selects the one they want and the program says, yes it exists, or "no, at this time it doesn't exist select another". So, I know all six directories that I will have a few months from now, but I want to limit their access to those that exist.

If I could programatically build the list that would be great, though I'm uncertain on how to do that. If I could filter the list of files/directories that exist under main down to only those that are uppercase, then that might work.

I can do this that will produce a list of directories from my main directory

list=`ls ?? ???|grep -E "P|T"`
echo $list
TRN UT:

I don't know why it shows the colon following the UT directory.

Then, in my logic I guess I could just bypass validation and it would work as long as the user doesn't enter some other bogus directory.

Is this what you were thinking?

I was actually thinking of building a list of directories using the find command. But this may not be the best idea. If you have at most 6 directories that could be accessed, why not hard code them into the script, but only display those that are available. You could do this by loading an array of only those directories (of the six) that are currently available.