[K12OSN] OT: bash help - copying a series of files

[Nils Breunese]

Rob Owens wrote:

> Nils Breunese wrote:
>> Rob Owens wrote:
>>
>> You could first change the current working directory, so you don't  
>> need
>> to supply the path to every file.
>>
>>    cd /usr/local/share/icons
>>    cp Drawings.desktop Obsolete\ Drawings.desktop Obsolete\ a\
>> Drawing.desktop /dest/dir
>>
>
> That would work, but how do I error check?  I'd like some verification
> that the cd worked before cp'ing (because what if I was rm'ing  
> instead?)

You could check if the current working directory is the directory you  
want it to be, using the pwd command.

	#!/bin/bash
	TARGET_DIR=/some/directory
	cd $HOME
	if [ `pwd` == $TARGET_DIR ]; then
		echo "OK"
	else
		echo "Not OK"
	fi

You could also use the $? variable to check the exit code of last  
command

	$ cd $HOME
	$ echo $?
	0
	$ cd non-existent-directory
	-bash: cd: non-existent-directory: No such file or directory
	$ echo $?
	1

Or in a script:

	#!/bin/bash
	TARGET_DIR=/some/directory
	cd $HOME
	if [ "$?" == "0" ]; then
		echo "OK"
		... do some stuff in the $TARGET_DIR ...
	else
		echo "Not OK"
	fi

I haven't tested a line of code in this post, but the general idea is  
clear, I hope.

Nils Breunese.