Re: Script does not do what it is told to do

[deloptes <deloptes@gmail.com>]

Ken Heard wrote:

> Whenever I run this script -- or several others like it
> 
> #!/bin/bash
> # Script to back up all browser files in directory /home/ken/mozilla.
> STARTDIR=$PWD
> cd /home/ken
> tar -czf /media/fde/backups/kbrowsers.tgz  --exclude-caches \
> --wildcards -T docs/tarlists/kbrowsers.lst
> cd "$STARTDIR"
> 
> it returns the following:
> 

this is not possible because in the script you tell tar to create archive
in /media/fde/backups/

> ken@Turing:~$ tarkbrowsers
> tar (child): /media/ssda/backups/kbrowsers.tgz: Cannot open: No such
> file or directory
> tar (child): Error is not recoverable: exiting now
> tar: /media/ssda/backups/kbrowsers.tgz: Cannot write: Broken pipe
> tar: Child returned status 2
> tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now
> 

and here you are failing to write /media/ssda/backups/kbrowsers.tgz

> It is trying to save the tarball to a different portable storage
> device, ssda, which had failed and consequently is no longer in
> /etc/fstab.  How could such a thing happen?
> 

obviously it is another script or whatever

> However, if I pull the line with the tar command out of the script and
> running it independently it does what it is told.  If there is
> something wrong with the script I can't find it.
> 
> I also tried the script with the second line reading STARTDIR="$PWD";
> but that change made no difference, the result was the same.
> 

The question is where do you want to write the data - if on media attached
then create entry in /etc/fstab so that you can mount it in consistent way,
change the script and the problem will be gone.

I have seen all kind of stupid and ugly admin scripts, where the author
himself does not know how or why it is or it is not working at the end.

regards