Linux Ask!

Linux Ask! is a Q & A web site specific for Linux related questions. Questions are collected, answered and audited by experienced Linux users.

Check if a file exist in Bash Shell

Answer:

The following script demonstrates how to check if a file exist, using shell (Bash) script

#!/bin/bash

if [ -e test.txt ]
then
  echo 'The file exists.'
else
  echo 'The file does not exist.'
fi

How to add a directory into the PATH environment variable?

Answer:

To add a new directory into the PATH environment variable, you can use the following command.

# export PATH=$PATH:/opt/myprogram/bin

If you want to have this path being set automatically, then follow this article.

How to echo string to standard error (stderr)?

Answer:

To echo string to the standard error (stderr), rather than the standard output (stdout), you can define the following function in your shell (put in your ~/.bashrc file)

# function echo2() { echo "$@" 1>&2; }

Then you can execute the command like:

# echo2 test

Simple for loop in Bash shell

Answer:

A simple for loop in Bash shell would like the following. You can use it wisely to skip a lot of repetitive tasks.

#!/bin/bash

for i in {1..10}
do
   echo "I am command No. $i"
done

Printing the exclamation mark using echo

Answer:

You might observed a problem when you try to print the exclamation mark (!) using the echo command

E.g.

# echo "test!"
-bash: !": event not found

To solve it, you can use single quote instead

# echo 'test!'
test!