UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi All,

I have one shell script start.sh which executes another shell script test.sh something like below :

Code:

test.sh -param1 -param2

In the test.sh there is one command for removing file:

Code:

rm file1.bak

I want whenever I execute start.sh, it will execute test.sh and if it finds string rm file1.bak in test.sh, it does not execute it, exit and return back to start.sh script and then I will handle the rm statement from start.sh

Please suggest some solution. Thanks.

That sounds over-engineered... why don't you perform that string search first, and then decide if the test script needs to be run at all? Following is my proposal, assuming both scripts are in the same directory:

start.sh

Code:

#!/bin/sh

#checking test.sh for occurrence of "rm file1.bak"
string="rm file1.bak"
if grep "$string" test.sh >/dev/null; then
 echo "String \"$string\" found in test.sh"
 echo "Executing rm command here and now ..."
 $string
else
 echo "Starting test.sh script ..."
 ./test.sh
fi

But there are other statements also in test.sh which should be executed so cannot apply below method , the only issue is whenever I find rm statement in test.sh while executing it it should be executed from start.sh and not from test.sh.

How do you expect us to help without seeing your code?
From you you say in post#1 I suggest you replace in test.sh your line with rm by something else e.g. a flag you can use after in start.sh.
We can say more not knowing the code...

Code:

./test.sh -param1 -param2

note that the 2nd script is called using a dot (./)
this dot notation runs the second script in the same shell ..i.e calling shell ..
if u call it without using a dot ...then also the script will run ... but in a new shell ..( sub-shell)

@Makarand Dodmis please do not confuse:
that dot is because most certainly that script is not in $PATH and so is the only way to be executed when you get the shell complaining and outputs test.sh not found other than giving the full path to it (when it is found in current directory...)
not the same as
. /test.sh - Notice the space after the dot? This is "sourcing"
./test.sh .. - This is "execute - to be found in current directory"

I am not using "." anywhere ...i am executing test.sh from start.sh and it is running fine . no issues with that

-- start.sh script

$path/$1 -param1 -param2


so i run ./start.sh $filename

this filename is passed inside start.sh as $1, right now $1 is test.sh . I have to pass 100 similar files like test.sh and all these files are using command -> rm $somefile.I have to perform more function along with rm so i dont want to change all the 100 files , i want to handle it in start.sh . so i want when executing start.sh , it executes test.sh and when it goes to rm command in test.sh it ignores it /skips it whatever , exit from test.sh and control is return back to start.sh .. i will handle rm and other extra function from start.sh after that.