help with linux restore script

[Insignia]

ok what i need to do is

restore <filename> - This script should move the file called <filename> back to its original directory without requiring any further user input.
If a file of that name already exists at the restore location, the script prompts the user to select an appropriate alternative action.

heres what i have so far

#!/bin/sh
if [ "$1" == "-n" ]
then
  cd /root/michael/trash
  restore`grep "$2" /root/michael/store`
  filename=`basename "$restore"`
  echo "Where would you like to save the file?"
  read location
  location1=`readlink -f "$location"`
  mv -i $filename "location1"/filename
else
  cd /root/michael/trash
  restore=`grep "$2" /root/michael/store`
  filename=`basename "$restore"`
  mv -i $filename "location1" $location
fi

so when i do restorn -n it ask me where i want to restore the file to, which works fine

and if i do restore without -n it should restore the file to the original place but when i do for example
restore test1.txt i get the error

mv: missing destination file operand after `'

any idea what i need to fix it

[Cyanotical]

the problem is in this line:

mv -i $filename "location1" $location

it might be that it's trying to read location1 from your input which should only come up under condition -n

i think you need to redefine location1 under the else conditions

Synthaxx would be better at this than me

[Moonsorow]

The problem is that your variables are not being created.

Also why are you writing this in SH when you can write it in BASH or K-Shell with a lot easier attributes and variables.

Also I'm not the best at SH but in BASH you don't need a ` in before GREP.

I think what your trying to do is this (in psudeo)

If 1 is entered, then save a file in a location that you specify, else restore / go to another location.

Where I have a problem with your code is :

echo "Where would you like to save the file?"
read location

If your variable is not defined how is it going to read the location. The only place your define a location is cd /root/michael/trash which is not entered correctly. It should be this (again in BASH): alias proj="cd /home/tree/projects/java"

To a script that is considered definable and can be used in a "location" variable.

[Insignia]

The problem is that your variables are not being created.

Also why are you writing this in SH when you can write it in BASH or K-Shell with a lot easier attributes and variables.

Also I'm not the best at SH but in BASH you don't need a ` in before GREP.

I think what your trying to do is this (in psudeo)

If 1 is entered, then save a file in a location that you specify, else restore / go to another location.

Where I have a problem with your code is :


If your variable is not defined how is it going to read the location. The only place your define a location is cd /root/michael/trash which is not entered correctly. It should be this (again in BASH): alias proj="cd /home/tree/projects/java"

To a script that is considered definable and can be used in a "location" variable.

im only started learning how to script, and your post kinda confuses me,

how would i fix it using SH?

[Synthaxx]

I generally don't deal with scripting outside of Batch (and even that's a little hazy after all these years) and i've never dealt with Linux. Luckily, it looks very similar to batch, so i'll give it a shot, but you'll potentially need to correct folder locations and check the syntax.

This is what i assume is the problem. As others said, you've not created the variable "location1". Typically in 'system scripting' language, variables are assigned like this;

variablename=variable_data

To use the variable, something like this;

echo "$variablename"

For example, if you wanted to set a location variable called 'location1' to '/root/michael/store' (this is just an assumption), you'd have this;

location1=/root/michael/store

and to echo that to screen;

echo "$location1"

To use a variable in any way, it's literally adding a dollar sign ($) before the name of the variable you wish to use.

This is a basic definition and is fairly universal. Programming isn't much different, but i won't go into that here as it's not the subject.

I'd guess the second part (after 'else' is where the problem lies). Step by step, you're;
1 - Setting the directory
2 - Calling the restore command with '$2'
3 - Setting the filename variable to `basename "$restore"`
4 - Attepting to move/mv the file specified in step 3 from "location1" to $location, telling it to prompt before overwrite

To me, there's one main problem; "$location". You've not specified in the script what that is and you're trying to move files there. Usage of mv according to research shows something like this;

mv [flags] Source Destination

Traditionally, you might enclose source and destination in speech marks ("Source" "Destination") unless it's a variable to form something like this;

mv -i $filename $location

From that last line of the script, it's like it's looking for the directory "location1" inside $filename.

I'm not sure if this will fix it (and i'm not responsible if it messes anything up or simply doesn't work, use at your own risk);

if [ "$1" == "-n" ]
then
  cd /root/michael/trash
  restore`grep "$2" /root/michael/store`
  filename=`basename "$restore"`
  echo "Where would you like to save the file?"
  read location
  location1=`readlink -f "$location"`
  mv -i $filename "location1"/filename
else
  location=`/insert/your/location/here`
  cd /root/michael/trash
  restore=`grep "$2" /root/michael/store`
  filename=`basename "$restore"`
  mv -i $filename "location1" $location
fi

You might also want to look at that last mv line in the original script you posted. Is there not meant to be a slash somewhere in there? I'm not sure whether you want to move from $filename/"location1" to $location, or from $filename to "location1"/$location. That alone would probably cause the script to bug out, but combined with the variable(s) you were missing, i'd hazard it's simply not knowing what you're intending to actually move.

Again, it's all guesswork, but i believe that's the issue.

[Insignia]

sadly i tried what you suggested even put a / in with $filename/"location1" to $location, or from $filename to "location1"/$location. but still came back with an mv error