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Re: My script almost works but spams the terminal its launched from if useing dash.



On Saturday 16 April 2016 12:01:28 Aero Maxx wrote:

> On 16/04/2016 16:23, Gene Heskett wrote:
> > But when I run it with dash, it doesn't seem to work right, and
> > spams the terminal with its error messages.  One that appears to
> > kill its function is the bashism of using [[ ]] to surround string
> > variables, reported like this:
> > bin/mailwatcher: 64: bin/mailwatcher: [[: not found
> > bin/mailwatcher: 70: bin/mailwatcher: [[: not found
> > bin/mailwatcher: 77: bin/mailwatcher: [[: not found
>
> dash isn't the same as bash, as it has a limited set of instructions
> or commands it can do.
>
> But I too would be interested to know if it is possible to get it to
> work in dash, I don't believe it is, but I am happy to be corrected
> or proved wrong.
>
> > And finally, once its working with either shell, how do I shut it up
> > totally?  Even the above command line launch fails as it outputs to
> > that shell, a newline for every incoming mail which gradually
> > scrolls any output that was on-screen, offscreen without leaving a
> > prompt until I tap the return key to restore it.
>
> Also isn't the command you are running supposed to be as follows ?
>
> > bin/mailwatcher 2>&1 > /dev/null &
>
Is the space you inserted into my line between the > and the /dev/null a 
game changer? In either bash or dash?  Its been a while since I last 
read the bash docs, but I don't recall there was any emphasis on that.

Looking at man bash, I see this:
   The general format for redirecting output is:

              [n]>word

Dash lists the same syntax as one of several variations.

So if either has changed to require a space there, it apparently hasn't 
made it into the manpage.  I dare say that such a change, breaking a 
good share of our scripts, might lead to a search party carrying buckets 
of verbal hot tar and big bags of verbal abuse feathers. ;-)

Me, goes off scratching whats left of a thinning head of hair.

Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>


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