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Re: Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working?

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On Fri, Aug 17, 2018 at 12:34:38PM +0100, Clive Standbridge wrote:

[...]

> > $ false
> > $ test $? && echo ok || echo error $?
> 
> The second $? in that line is different from the first; it's the exit
> status of "test". That can be demonstrated, with a corrected test
> command, by

No, because when the $? is expanded, the test hasn't run yet. This $?
*is* the (stringified) exit status of false, as can be seen in this
sequence:

  tomas@trotzki:~$ false
  tomas@trotzki:~$ test $? -eq 1 && echo "False"
  False
  tomas@trotzki:~$ true
  tomas@trotzki:~$ test $? -eq 1 && echo "False"
  tomas@trotzki:~$ 

> $ grep stuff /no/such/file
> grep: /no/such/file: No such file or directory
> $ echo $?
> 2

(as, BTW., *this* $? is not (yet) echo's exit status)

> $ grep stuff /no/such/file
> grep: /no/such/file: No such file or directory
> $ test $? -eq 0 && echo ok || echo error $?
> error 1

This one (eval goes left-to-right) should be the "test $? -eq 0"'s exit
status (it's not 0, so the && branch isn't taken).

> As was mentioned in an earlier reply, you can get round that by saving
> the exit status in a variable, e.g.

If you find yourself stashing too much in variables, you're holding
it wrong (sometimes you must, though).

> $ grep stuff /no/such/file
> grep: /no/such/file: No such file or directory
> $ RET=$?
> $ test $RET -eq 0 && echo ok || echo error $RET
> error 2

This is better spelt as

  grep stuff /no/such/file && echo ok || echo error $?

(or, se Greg's post downthread):

  if grep stuff /no/such/file ; then
    echo ok
  else
    echo error $?
  fi

Unless you need that exit status later in your script. Then,
stashing it in a variable may make sense.

Cheers
- -- tomás
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Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Zenaan Harkness <zenaan@freedbms.net> - 2018-08-17 10:50 +0200
  Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Zenaan Harkness <zenaan@freedbms.net> - 2018-08-17 11:00 +0200
  Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Nicolas George <george@nsup.org> - 2018-08-17 11:00 +0200
    Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Zenaan Harkness <zenaan@freedbms.net> - 2018-08-17 11:30 +0200
    Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Zenaan Harkness <zenaan@freedbms.net> - 2018-08-17 11:40 +0200
      Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Nicolas George <george@nsup.org> - 2018-08-17 11:40 +0200
      Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-08-17 12:20 +0200
      Re: Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Clive Standbridge <list-user@tgstandbridges.plus.com> - 2018-08-17 14:10 +0200
        Re: Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-08-17 15:40 +0200
      Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2018-08-17 14:30 +0200
        Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-08-17 15:50 +0200
          Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2018-08-17 16:20 +0200
            Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-08-17 16:40 +0200
              Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Zenaan Harkness <zenaan@freedbms.net> - 2018-08-18 01:10 +0200
        Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Zenaan Harkness <zenaan@freedbms.net> - 2018-08-18 01:30 +0200
  Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-08-17 11:30 +0200
    Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Zenaan Harkness <zenaan@freedbms.net> - 2018-08-17 11:40 +0200
      Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-08-17 11:50 +0200
        Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? tomas@tuxteam.de - 2018-08-17 12:00 +0200
      Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? Stefan Krusche <linux@stefan-krusche.de> - 2018-08-23 15:00 +0200
        Re: Bash true/false builtings undocumented? "false" not working? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-08-23 16:30 +0200

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