UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hello all,

Quick question from a fairly new to Unix developer.

if [ -a $logfile ]
then
completedLogFile=$logfile.$(date +%Y%m%d-%H:%M:%S)
mv $logfile $completedLogFile
fi

I understand that this portion of code is simply copying a tmp logfile to a completed logfile when a condition is true. The problem is I'm not sure what the comparative expression is(the part in bold). Could any one clear this up for me?

Thanks in advance,

Johnny

Not copying a file. Rather renaming/moving the logfile to completeLogFile.

-a $logfile means if the $logfile exists.

I am surprised it is not part of man test. It is a shell builtin of sh/ksh.

Sorry thats what I meant.

Thanks for your help.