Numeric computations in bash


 
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# 1  
Old 04-12-2012
Numeric computations in bash

I am on Ubuntu 11.10 using bash.

I want to perform some numeric computations and have the following options:

Code:
# Setting verbosity levels
none=0; low=1; medium=2; high=3; debug=4

(( vbLevel=medium ))
if (( vbLevel > low )); then
  echo "Test 1, $vbLevel"
fi

vbLevel=$medium
if [[ vbLevel -gt low ]]; then
  echo "Test 2"
fi

if [ $vbLevel -gt $low ]; then
  echo "Test 3"
fi

I am wondering what is the best way to:

1. Set the number
Code:
vbLevel=$medium     or     ((vbLevel=medium))

2. Doing the comparison
Code:
(())     or     [[]]     or     []

# 2  
Old 04-12-2012
In shell code you are concerned about: efficiency and readability
The former because you want to minimize the impact of your code on the system, the latter because you and others will have to change this stuff X years from now when you have completely forgotten about it, and it no longer works the way you need.

Either of these is equally fast:
Code:
a=$b
((a=b))

The first one is more conventional, and is more likely to port.

[ is a bash builtin, [[ is a keyword so they both run as part of the shell, as does (( )).
So it boils down to which one is the easiest to for another person to interpret, which is a personal matter.
This User Gave Thanks to jim mcnamara For This Post:
# 3  
Old 04-12-2012
This one is best (and the most portable):
Code:
vbLevel=$medium
if [ $vbLevel -gt $low ]; then
  echo "Test 3"
fi

This User Gave Thanks to methyl For This Post:
# 4  
Old 04-12-2012
I am thinking of setting the verbosity level using a call to a function.

In the bash script I have two variables

Code:
hasArgument_vbLevel       # set to "true" if user specified vbLevel
 value_vbLevel                  # contains the verbosity level of the user

I would want to call the function and pass it value_vbLevel. The function setVerbosity
will set vbLevel which will be used in the script.

In the script I will have

Code:
value_vbLevel=$1   # User inputs " none", "low", "medium", "high" or "debug"
 
none=0; low=1; medium=2; high=3; debug=4

vbLevel=$medium                        # Set default verbosity
if [ "$hasArgument_vbLevel" == "true" ]; then
  setVerbosity $value_vbLevel     # In the program I would use vbLevel. Need to set vbLevel somehow
fi

if [ $vbLevel -gt $low ]; then  # Example of use of the vbLevel as number 0-4
   ...
fi

Here I have started doing some code, but need some help and suggestions on the way forward.

Code:
function setVerbosity() {

  # -- Check for valid verbosity level -------------------------------------------------------------

  local locl_vbLevelStr=$1

  isVbLevel="false"
  for vb in "none" "low" "medium" "high" "debug"
  do
    echo $vb
    if [ "$locl_vbLevelStr" == "$vb" ]; then
      isVbLevel="true"
    fi
  done

  # -- Set verbosity level -------------------------------------------------------------------------

  vbLevel="${!locl_vbLevel}"

  if [ "$isVbLevel" == "false" ]; then
    echo "EXIT"
    exit 1
  fi

}


Last edited by kristinu; 04-12-2012 at 11:45 AM..
 
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