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Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am I missing?

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On Sun 03 Mar 2019 at 13:10:39 (-0500), deb wrote:
> 
> On 3/3/19 2:43 AM, Thomas Schmitt wrote:
> > Hi,
> > 
> > if spaces are involved, then quotation marks hould be put around the
> > argument of "echo".
> > 
> > Using the leading blank from David Wright's post:
> > 
> >    $ fname=" long file with spaces.mp4"
> >    $ x=`echo $fname | rev | cut -d. -f2 | rev`
> >    $ test "$x".mp4 = "$fname" && echo IS EQUAL
> >    $
> > 
> > I.e. "$x".mp4 and "$fname" are not equal.
> > That's because the leading blank got lost in the "echo" run:
> > 
> >    $ echo "'$x'"
> >    'long file with spaces'
> > 
> > Now with quotation marks around $fname to preserve the leading blank:
> > 
> >    $ x=`echo "$fname" | rev | cut -d. -f2 | rev`
> >    $ test "$x".mp4 = "$fname" && echo IS EQUAL
> >    IS EQUAL
> > 
> > A similar effect would happen with double blanks inside the name:
> > 
> >    $ fname="long file with  double  spaces.mp4"
> >    $ x=`echo $fname | rev | cut -d. -f2 | rev`
> >    $ echo "'$x'"
> >    'long file with double spaces'
> >    $ x=`echo "$fname" | rev | cut -d. -f2 | rev`
> >    $ echo "'$x'"
> >    'long file with  double  spaces'
> 
> Good thought Thomas!
> 
> This also worked:
> 
>   $ fname=`echo "$fname" | rev | cut -d. -f2
> 
> Now, the actual file did not have a leading (or trailing) space ---
> which I focused on.
> 
> But IT DID have 2 adjoining spaces Within the filename.

Are you using a proportional font, by any chance, for working
on these scripts. Not a good idea.

The reason I picked on a leading space in my example was that the
eye is much more sensitive to embedded space than at the margins.
Sometimes I "lose" a file by renaming it, pasting the new name in
mc, which will preserve any accidental leading and trailing whitespace.

> Enclosing $fname in "", worked perfectly.
> 
> That simple thing, that I thought I was missing, I would not have
> guessed at. Two adjoining spaces. :-)

Had the original string been pasted into the OP, like your error
message at the end, it would have been obvious to those of us using
fixed-width fonts. (BTW, asterisks are fine in the *text*, but
are no help elsewhere in the post, like in your "$fname".mp4**)

Cheers,
David.

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Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am I  missing? deb <deb@rangingthoughts.org> - 2019-03-03 02:00 +0100
  Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am  I missing? Roberto C. Sánchez <roberto@debian.org> - 2019-03-03 02:10 +0100
    re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am I  missing? deb <deb@rangingthoughts.org> - 2019-03-03 03:50 +0100
      re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am  I missing? "der.hans" <deb-user@LuftHans.com> - 2019-03-03 04:40 +0100
        [SOLVED] Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple.  What am I missing? deb <deb@rangingthoughts.org> - 2019-03-03 16:10 +0100
      Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am  I missing? David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2019-03-03 06:10 +0100
        Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am I missing? "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2019-03-03 08:50 +0100
          Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am  I missing? David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2019-03-03 16:40 +0100
            Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am I missing? "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2019-03-03 18:50 +0100
            Greg: Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple.  What am I missing? deb <deb@rangingthoughts.org> - 2019-03-04 14:40 +0100
            Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am  I missing? Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2019-03-04 14:40 +0100
          [SOLVED II] (Thomas) Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must  be simple. What am I missing? deb <deb@rangingthoughts.org> - 2019-03-03 19:20 +0100
            Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am I missing? "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2019-03-03 22:50 +0100
            Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple. What am  I missing? David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2019-03-04 09:40 +0100
              David - Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be simple.  What am I missing? deb <deb@rangingthoughts.org> - 2019-03-04 15:10 +0100
                Re: David - Re: Bash file to variable string problem -- must be  simple. What am I missing? Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2019-03-04 15:40 +0100

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