Unix Validation Checking Number of Files

Question

I am writing a shell script, and need to include some validation. My validation is checking the backup folder exists, with the correct number of files present inside it.

For example, if the backup ran successfully then there would be 23 files in the backup folder, and we can continue. I am having some problems with my script - can anyone see any my script does not work?

if [ 'ls -1 | wc -l' == 23 ]
then
    echo -e "\n Matching! \n"
else
    echo -e "\n Something has gone wrong!\n" 
fi

Can I modify this to return the number of lines as an exit number? — Dustin Cook, Oct 10 '13 at 08:31

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:21

2

In your condition, you are using single quotes (') where you actually meant to use backticks. You can use the $(..) which is preferred over backticks:

if [ $(ls -1 | wc -l) == 23 ]

See also:

What's the difference between $(command) and backticks

edited May 23 '17 at 12:21

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answered Oct 10 '13 at 08:31

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Thank you for the extra link too - much appreciated! – Dustin Cook Oct 10 '13 at 08:40

Unix Validation Checking Number of Files

1 Answers1