syntax error in expression; error token is

Asked Nov 09 '20 at 01:19

Active Nov 09 '20 at 01:19

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Have the following simple condition, but it fails

    now=$(date +"%T")
    echo $now # Just for debugging. Showing correct time
    if (( $"now" >= "11:50:00" && "$now" <= "11:55:00" ))
    then
        do_something
        break
    fi

However, I am getting this error Seems like the hour is cut?! Not 100% sure what the issue is. ./test.sh: line 17: ((: 12:13:04 >= 11:50:00 : syntax error in expression (error token is ":13:04 >= 11:50:00 ")

Cheers!

asked Nov 09 '20 at 01:19

Shneor

1

`(( ))` starts and ends a math context. Every value inside it needs to be numeric. – Charles Duffy Nov 09 '20 at 01:20
1

If you want string comparisons, use `[[ ]]` instead. – Charles Duffy Nov 09 '20 at 01:21
1

And you want `"$now"`, not `$"now"`. The latter is syntax for a translation table lookup. – Charles Duffy Nov 09 '20 at 01:24
thanx all. this was enlightening! – Shneor Nov 09 '20 at 01:35

syntax error in expression; error token is

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