Checking for the existence of multiple directories
I want to check for the existence of multiple directories, say, dir1
, dir2
and dir3
, in the working directory.
I have the following
if [ -d "$PWD/dir1" ] && [ -d "$PWD/dir2" ] && [ -d "$PWD/dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this. Do not assume that there is a rule in the names of the directories.
The goal is to check for the existence of a few directories and for the nonexistence of others.
I'm using Bash, but portable code is preferred.
shell-script shell files directory control-flow
New contributor
add a comment |
I want to check for the existence of multiple directories, say, dir1
, dir2
and dir3
, in the working directory.
I have the following
if [ -d "$PWD/dir1" ] && [ -d "$PWD/dir2" ] && [ -d "$PWD/dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this. Do not assume that there is a rule in the names of the directories.
The goal is to check for the existence of a few directories and for the nonexistence of others.
I'm using Bash, but portable code is preferred.
shell-script shell files directory control-flow
New contributor
add a comment |
I want to check for the existence of multiple directories, say, dir1
, dir2
and dir3
, in the working directory.
I have the following
if [ -d "$PWD/dir1" ] && [ -d "$PWD/dir2" ] && [ -d "$PWD/dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this. Do not assume that there is a rule in the names of the directories.
The goal is to check for the existence of a few directories and for the nonexistence of others.
I'm using Bash, but portable code is preferred.
shell-script shell files directory control-flow
New contributor
I want to check for the existence of multiple directories, say, dir1
, dir2
and dir3
, in the working directory.
I have the following
if [ -d "$PWD/dir1" ] && [ -d "$PWD/dir2" ] && [ -d "$PWD/dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this. Do not assume that there is a rule in the names of the directories.
The goal is to check for the existence of a few directories and for the nonexistence of others.
I'm using Bash, but portable code is preferred.
shell-script shell files directory control-flow
shell-script shell files directory control-flow
New contributor
New contributor
edited 8 hours ago
Elegance
New contributor
asked 10 hours ago
EleganceElegance
283
283
New contributor
New contributor
add a comment |
add a comment |
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
If you already expect them to be directories and are just checking whether they all exist, you could use the exit code from the ls
utility to determine whether one or more "errors occurred":
ls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir3" >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo All there
I redirect the output and stderr to /dev/null
in order to make it disappear, since we only care about the exit code from ls
, not its output. Anything that's written to /dev/null
disappears — it is not written to your terminal.
Can you help me understand this command? I know what file descriptors are. I know1
is stdout,2
is stderr and I know what redirecting is. I don't understand the significance of/dev/null
, and I do not know how to parse the command.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
@Elegance I added a little explanation. For more in-depth answers regarding /dev/null, see unix.stackexchange.com/questions/163352/… and unix.stackexchange.com/questions/438130/…
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
Still trying to figure out how the syntax works. I read that&>filename
redirects both stdout and stderr tofilename
. So couldn't the command be simplified (at least to me it is more simple) asls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2" &>/dev/null && echo All there
?
– Elegance
8 hours ago
It could, but not portably -- plainsh
does not understand&>
; it would misinterpret that as "run me in the background and send stdout to the redirection". I spelled it out from habit and kept it there because of the "portable code" preference.
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
1
I got it finally. Thanks.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
I would loop:
result=True
for dir in
"$PWD/dir1"
"$PWD/dir2"
"$PWD/dir3"
do
if ! [ -d "$dir" ]; then
result=False
break
fi
done
echo "$result"
The break
causes the loop to short-circuit, just like your chain of &&
add a comment |
A loop might be more elegant:
arr=("$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2")
for d in "${arr[@]}"; do
if [ -d "$d"]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
done
This is Bash. A more portable one is Sh. There you can use the positional array:
set -- "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2"
Then to loop over it use "$@"
.
add a comment |
Why not just:
if [ -d "dir1" -a -d "dir2" -a -d "dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
This is essentially what the OP started with,But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this
– Jeff Schaller
6 hours ago
2
Also POSIX discourages the use of-a
: "-a
and-o
binary primaries (...) operators have been marked obsolescent": pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799
– Elegance
6 hours ago
@JeffSchaller It's more terse since it does it all in one call to test.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
@Elegance They're still supported on all the systems I use, and probably will be a hundred years from now.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
add a comment |
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4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
If you already expect them to be directories and are just checking whether they all exist, you could use the exit code from the ls
utility to determine whether one or more "errors occurred":
ls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir3" >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo All there
I redirect the output and stderr to /dev/null
in order to make it disappear, since we only care about the exit code from ls
, not its output. Anything that's written to /dev/null
disappears — it is not written to your terminal.
Can you help me understand this command? I know what file descriptors are. I know1
is stdout,2
is stderr and I know what redirecting is. I don't understand the significance of/dev/null
, and I do not know how to parse the command.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
@Elegance I added a little explanation. For more in-depth answers regarding /dev/null, see unix.stackexchange.com/questions/163352/… and unix.stackexchange.com/questions/438130/…
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
Still trying to figure out how the syntax works. I read that&>filename
redirects both stdout and stderr tofilename
. So couldn't the command be simplified (at least to me it is more simple) asls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2" &>/dev/null && echo All there
?
– Elegance
8 hours ago
It could, but not portably -- plainsh
does not understand&>
; it would misinterpret that as "run me in the background and send stdout to the redirection". I spelled it out from habit and kept it there because of the "portable code" preference.
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
1
I got it finally. Thanks.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
If you already expect them to be directories and are just checking whether they all exist, you could use the exit code from the ls
utility to determine whether one or more "errors occurred":
ls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir3" >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo All there
I redirect the output and stderr to /dev/null
in order to make it disappear, since we only care about the exit code from ls
, not its output. Anything that's written to /dev/null
disappears — it is not written to your terminal.
Can you help me understand this command? I know what file descriptors are. I know1
is stdout,2
is stderr and I know what redirecting is. I don't understand the significance of/dev/null
, and I do not know how to parse the command.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
@Elegance I added a little explanation. For more in-depth answers regarding /dev/null, see unix.stackexchange.com/questions/163352/… and unix.stackexchange.com/questions/438130/…
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
Still trying to figure out how the syntax works. I read that&>filename
redirects both stdout and stderr tofilename
. So couldn't the command be simplified (at least to me it is more simple) asls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2" &>/dev/null && echo All there
?
– Elegance
8 hours ago
It could, but not portably -- plainsh
does not understand&>
; it would misinterpret that as "run me in the background and send stdout to the redirection". I spelled it out from habit and kept it there because of the "portable code" preference.
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
1
I got it finally. Thanks.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
If you already expect them to be directories and are just checking whether they all exist, you could use the exit code from the ls
utility to determine whether one or more "errors occurred":
ls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir3" >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo All there
I redirect the output and stderr to /dev/null
in order to make it disappear, since we only care about the exit code from ls
, not its output. Anything that's written to /dev/null
disappears — it is not written to your terminal.
If you already expect them to be directories and are just checking whether they all exist, you could use the exit code from the ls
utility to determine whether one or more "errors occurred":
ls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir3" >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo All there
I redirect the output and stderr to /dev/null
in order to make it disappear, since we only care about the exit code from ls
, not its output. Anything that's written to /dev/null
disappears — it is not written to your terminal.
edited 5 mins ago
G-Man
13.2k93566
13.2k93566
answered 10 hours ago
Jeff SchallerJeff Schaller
42.8k1159136
42.8k1159136
Can you help me understand this command? I know what file descriptors are. I know1
is stdout,2
is stderr and I know what redirecting is. I don't understand the significance of/dev/null
, and I do not know how to parse the command.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
@Elegance I added a little explanation. For more in-depth answers regarding /dev/null, see unix.stackexchange.com/questions/163352/… and unix.stackexchange.com/questions/438130/…
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
Still trying to figure out how the syntax works. I read that&>filename
redirects both stdout and stderr tofilename
. So couldn't the command be simplified (at least to me it is more simple) asls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2" &>/dev/null && echo All there
?
– Elegance
8 hours ago
It could, but not portably -- plainsh
does not understand&>
; it would misinterpret that as "run me in the background and send stdout to the redirection". I spelled it out from habit and kept it there because of the "portable code" preference.
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
1
I got it finally. Thanks.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
Can you help me understand this command? I know what file descriptors are. I know1
is stdout,2
is stderr and I know what redirecting is. I don't understand the significance of/dev/null
, and I do not know how to parse the command.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
@Elegance I added a little explanation. For more in-depth answers regarding /dev/null, see unix.stackexchange.com/questions/163352/… and unix.stackexchange.com/questions/438130/…
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
Still trying to figure out how the syntax works. I read that&>filename
redirects both stdout and stderr tofilename
. So couldn't the command be simplified (at least to me it is more simple) asls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2" &>/dev/null && echo All there
?
– Elegance
8 hours ago
It could, but not portably -- plainsh
does not understand&>
; it would misinterpret that as "run me in the background and send stdout to the redirection". I spelled it out from habit and kept it there because of the "portable code" preference.
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
1
I got it finally. Thanks.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
Can you help me understand this command? I know what file descriptors are. I know
1
is stdout, 2
is stderr and I know what redirecting is. I don't understand the significance of /dev/null
, and I do not know how to parse the command.– Elegance
8 hours ago
Can you help me understand this command? I know what file descriptors are. I know
1
is stdout, 2
is stderr and I know what redirecting is. I don't understand the significance of /dev/null
, and I do not know how to parse the command.– Elegance
8 hours ago
@Elegance I added a little explanation. For more in-depth answers regarding /dev/null, see unix.stackexchange.com/questions/163352/… and unix.stackexchange.com/questions/438130/…
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
@Elegance I added a little explanation. For more in-depth answers regarding /dev/null, see unix.stackexchange.com/questions/163352/… and unix.stackexchange.com/questions/438130/…
– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
Still trying to figure out how the syntax works. I read that
&>filename
redirects both stdout and stderr to filename
. So couldn't the command be simplified (at least to me it is more simple) as ls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2" &>/dev/null && echo All there
?– Elegance
8 hours ago
Still trying to figure out how the syntax works. I read that
&>filename
redirects both stdout and stderr to filename
. So couldn't the command be simplified (at least to me it is more simple) as ls "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2" &>/dev/null && echo All there
?– Elegance
8 hours ago
It could, but not portably -- plain
sh
does not understand &>
; it would misinterpret that as "run me in the background and send stdout to the redirection". I spelled it out from habit and kept it there because of the "portable code" preference.– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
It could, but not portably -- plain
sh
does not understand &>
; it would misinterpret that as "run me in the background and send stdout to the redirection". I spelled it out from habit and kept it there because of the "portable code" preference.– Jeff Schaller
8 hours ago
1
1
I got it finally. Thanks.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
I got it finally. Thanks.
– Elegance
8 hours ago
|
show 3 more comments
I would loop:
result=True
for dir in
"$PWD/dir1"
"$PWD/dir2"
"$PWD/dir3"
do
if ! [ -d "$dir" ]; then
result=False
break
fi
done
echo "$result"
The break
causes the loop to short-circuit, just like your chain of &&
add a comment |
I would loop:
result=True
for dir in
"$PWD/dir1"
"$PWD/dir2"
"$PWD/dir3"
do
if ! [ -d "$dir" ]; then
result=False
break
fi
done
echo "$result"
The break
causes the loop to short-circuit, just like your chain of &&
add a comment |
I would loop:
result=True
for dir in
"$PWD/dir1"
"$PWD/dir2"
"$PWD/dir3"
do
if ! [ -d "$dir" ]; then
result=False
break
fi
done
echo "$result"
The break
causes the loop to short-circuit, just like your chain of &&
I would loop:
result=True
for dir in
"$PWD/dir1"
"$PWD/dir2"
"$PWD/dir3"
do
if ! [ -d "$dir" ]; then
result=False
break
fi
done
echo "$result"
The break
causes the loop to short-circuit, just like your chain of &&
answered 10 hours ago
glenn jackmanglenn jackman
52.1k572112
52.1k572112
add a comment |
add a comment |
A loop might be more elegant:
arr=("$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2")
for d in "${arr[@]}"; do
if [ -d "$d"]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
done
This is Bash. A more portable one is Sh. There you can use the positional array:
set -- "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2"
Then to loop over it use "$@"
.
add a comment |
A loop might be more elegant:
arr=("$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2")
for d in "${arr[@]}"; do
if [ -d "$d"]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
done
This is Bash. A more portable one is Sh. There you can use the positional array:
set -- "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2"
Then to loop over it use "$@"
.
add a comment |
A loop might be more elegant:
arr=("$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2")
for d in "${arr[@]}"; do
if [ -d "$d"]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
done
This is Bash. A more portable one is Sh. There you can use the positional array:
set -- "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2"
Then to loop over it use "$@"
.
A loop might be more elegant:
arr=("$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2")
for d in "${arr[@]}"; do
if [ -d "$d"]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
done
This is Bash. A more portable one is Sh. There you can use the positional array:
set -- "$PWD/dir1" "$PWD/dir2" "$PWD/dir2"
Then to loop over it use "$@"
.
edited 10 hours ago
answered 10 hours ago
TomaszTomasz
9,85652965
9,85652965
add a comment |
add a comment |
Why not just:
if [ -d "dir1" -a -d "dir2" -a -d "dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
This is essentially what the OP started with,But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this
– Jeff Schaller
6 hours ago
2
Also POSIX discourages the use of-a
: "-a
and-o
binary primaries (...) operators have been marked obsolescent": pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799
– Elegance
6 hours ago
@JeffSchaller It's more terse since it does it all in one call to test.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
@Elegance They're still supported on all the systems I use, and probably will be a hundred years from now.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Why not just:
if [ -d "dir1" -a -d "dir2" -a -d "dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
This is essentially what the OP started with,But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this
– Jeff Schaller
6 hours ago
2
Also POSIX discourages the use of-a
: "-a
and-o
binary primaries (...) operators have been marked obsolescent": pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799
– Elegance
6 hours ago
@JeffSchaller It's more terse since it does it all in one call to test.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
@Elegance They're still supported on all the systems I use, and probably will be a hundred years from now.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Why not just:
if [ -d "dir1" -a -d "dir2" -a -d "dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
Why not just:
if [ -d "dir1" -a -d "dir2" -a -d "dir3" ]; then
echo True
else
echo False
fi
answered 7 hours ago
David ConradDavid Conrad
1414
1414
This is essentially what the OP started with,But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this
– Jeff Schaller
6 hours ago
2
Also POSIX discourages the use of-a
: "-a
and-o
binary primaries (...) operators have been marked obsolescent": pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799
– Elegance
6 hours ago
@JeffSchaller It's more terse since it does it all in one call to test.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
@Elegance They're still supported on all the systems I use, and probably will be a hundred years from now.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
add a comment |
This is essentially what the OP started with,But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this
– Jeff Schaller
6 hours ago
2
Also POSIX discourages the use of-a
: "-a
and-o
binary primaries (...) operators have been marked obsolescent": pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799
– Elegance
6 hours ago
@JeffSchaller It's more terse since it does it all in one call to test.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
@Elegance They're still supported on all the systems I use, and probably will be a hundred years from now.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
This is essentially what the OP started with,
But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this
– Jeff Schaller
6 hours ago
This is essentially what the OP started with,
But I suspect there is a more elegant way of doing this
– Jeff Schaller
6 hours ago
2
2
Also POSIX discourages the use of
-a
: "-a
and -o
binary primaries (...) operators have been marked obsolescent": pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799– Elegance
6 hours ago
Also POSIX discourages the use of
-a
: "-a
and -o
binary primaries (...) operators have been marked obsolescent": pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799– Elegance
6 hours ago
@JeffSchaller It's more terse since it does it all in one call to test.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
@JeffSchaller It's more terse since it does it all in one call to test.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
@Elegance They're still supported on all the systems I use, and probably will be a hundred years from now.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
@Elegance They're still supported on all the systems I use, and probably will be a hundred years from now.
– David Conrad
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Elegance is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Elegance is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Elegance is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Elegance is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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