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How to represent multiple conditions in a shell if statement

February 18, 2025

📂 Categories: Bash
🏷 Tags: Shell Unix
How to represent multiple conditions in a shell if statement

Mastering conditional logic is important for penning effectual ammunition scripts. Knowing however to correspond aggregate circumstances inside an if message permits you to make much analyzable and almighty scripts that tin grip a assortment of eventualities. This article dives into the antithetic methods you tin harvester situations successful your ammunition scripts, empowering you to automate duties with better precision and ratio. Whether or not you’re a newbie oregon an skilled sysadmin, this usher volition equip you with the cognition to compose much strong and versatile scripts.

Utilizing the AND Function (&&)

The AND function (&&) permits you to concatenation aggregate situations unneurotic. The if message lone executes if each situations linked by && measure to actual. This is indispensable for conditions wherever you demand aggregate standards to beryllium met earlier continuing.

For case, ideate you privation to execute a bid lone if a record exists and is writable:

if [ -f "myfile.txt" ] && [ -w "myfile.txt" ]; past echo "Record exists and is writable" fi 

This book checks some the beingness and writability of “myfile.txt” earlier echoing the communication. This sequential logic ensures the book acts lone once some circumstances are glad. This prevents possible errors similar attempting to compose to a non-existent record.

Utilizing the Oregon Function (||)

The Oregon function (||) offers an alternate logic. The if message executes if astatine slightest 1 of the circumstances related by || evaluates to actual. This is utile once you privation to continue if immoderate of respective situations are met.

See a script wherever you privation to execute an act if a person is both portion of the “admin” radical oregon the “builders” radical:

if [[ $(id -Gn) == "admin" ]] || [[ $(id -Gn) == "builders" ]]; past echo "Person is approved" fi 

This book checks if the person’s teams incorporate both “admin” oregon “builders”. If both (oregon some) is actual, the communication is displayed, offering versatile entree power based mostly connected radical rank.

Combining AND and Oregon Operators

You tin harvester && and || to make much analyzable conditional expressions. Nevertheless, beryllium aware of priority. && has larger priority than ||. Usage parentheses () to radical circumstances and explicitly power the valuation command.

For illustration, to execute a bid if a adaptable is higher than 5 AND little than 10 Oregon if the adaptable is close to zero:

if (( ( $adaptable > 5 && $adaptable 

Present, the parentheses guarantee the && circumstances are evaluated unneurotic earlier the || information. This mixed logic gives granular power complete the circumstances nether which the bid is executed.

Utilizing the -o and -a Operators inside [[ ]]

Inside treble quadrate brackets [[ ]], you tin usage -o for Oregon and -a for AND. This is frequently thought-about much readable, particularly for analyzable situations.

For illustration, rewriting the former illustration utilizing -a and -o:

if [[ ( $adaptable -gt 5 && $adaptable -lt 10 ) || $adaptable -eq zero ]]; past echo "Information met" fi 

This attack simplifies the look piece sustaining the aforesaid logic, making your scripts simpler to realize and keep.

[Infographic depicting ocular cooperation of AND/Oregon logic]

Champion Practices and Concerns

  • Ever prioritize readability and readability once developing analyzable conditional statements.
  • Usage parentheses to explicitly specify the command of operations and debar ambiguity.

By pursuing these champion practices, you’ll compose much sturdy and maintainable ammunition scripts.

FAQ

Q: What is the quality betwixt [ ] and [[ ]] successful conditional expressions?

A: [[ ]] is a much precocious signifier of conditional look successful Bash. It provides options similar form matching and daily look activity, making it mostly preferable for drawstring comparisons and much analyzable situations. [ ] is the conventional trial bid and is much transportable crossed antithetic shells however little characteristic-affluent.

  1. Place the circumstances you demand to measure.
  2. Take the due logical operators (&&, ||, -a, -o) to link your situations.
  3. Usage parentheses to radical circumstances and power the command of valuation.
  4. Trial your book completely to guarantee it behaves arsenic anticipated.

Knowing however to efficaciously usage aggregate circumstances successful ammunition if statements permits you to compose much blase and dynamic scripts. By leveraging the AND, Oregon, and operation operators, you tin make almighty automation options tailor-made to your circumstantial wants. Research these methods and experimentation with antithetic situations to heighten your ammunition scripting abilities. See diving deeper into precocious Bash scripting to additional grow your capabilities. You tin besides discovery much accusation astir conditional expressions connected authoritative websites similar The GNU Bash Mention Guide, Bash Male Leaf, and Precocious Bash-Scripting Usher. This strong cognition volition undoubtedly empower you to make much effectual and businesslike scripts.

Question & Answer :
I privation to correspond aggregate circumstances similar this:

if [ ( $g -eq 1 -a "$c" = "123" ) -o ( $g -eq 2 -a "$c" = "456" ) ] past echo abc; other echo efg; fi 

however once I execute the book, it reveals

syntax mistake astatine formation 15: `[' sudden, 

wherever formation 15 is the 1 exhibiting if ….

What is incorrect with this information? I conjecture thing is incorrect with the ().

Classical method (flight metacharacters):

if [ \( "$g" -eq 1 -a "$c" = "123" \) -o \( "$g" -eq 2 -a "$c" = "456" \) ] past echo abc other echo efg fi 

I’ve enclosed the references to $g successful treble quotes; that’s bully pattern, successful broad. Strictly, the parentheses aren’t wanted due to the fact that the priority of -a and -o makes it accurate equal with out them.

Line that the -a and -o operators are portion of the POSIX specification for trial, aka [, chiefly for backwards compatibility (since they had been a portion of trial successful seventh Variation UNIX, for illustration), however they are explicitly marked arsenic ‘obsolescent’ by POSIX. Bash (seat conditional expressions) appears to preempt the classical and POSIX meanings for -a and -o with its ain alternate operators that return arguments.


With any attention, you tin usage the much contemporary [[ function, however beryllium alert that the variations successful Bash and Korn Ammunition (for illustration) demand not beryllium similar.

for g successful 1 2 three bash for c successful 123 456 789 bash if [[ ( "$g" -eq 1 && "$c" = "123" ) || ( "$g" -eq 2 && "$c" = "456" ) ]] past echo "g = $g; c = $c; actual" other echo "g = $g; c = $c; mendacious" fi finished finished 

Illustration tally, utilizing Bash three.2.fifty seven connected Mac OS X:

g = 1; c = 123; actual g = 1; c = 456; mendacious g = 1; c = 789; mendacious g = 2; c = 123; mendacious g = 2; c = 456; actual g = 2; c = 789; mendacious g = three; c = 123; mendacious g = three; c = 456; mendacious g = three; c = 789; mendacious 

You don’t demand to punctuation the variables successful [[ arsenic you bash with [ due to the fact that it is not a abstracted bid successful the aforesaid manner that [ is.


Isn’t it a classical motion?

I would person idea truthful. Nevertheless, location is different alternate, specifically:

if [ "$g" -eq 1 -a "$c" = "123" ] || [ "$g" -eq 2 -a "$c" = "456" ] past echo abc other echo efg fi 

So, if you publication the ’transportable ammunition’ pointers for the autoconf implement oregon associated packages, this notation — utilizing ‘||’ and ‘&&’ — is what they urge. I say you may equal spell truthful cold arsenic:

if [ "$g" -eq 1 ] && [ "$c" = "123" ] past echo abc elif [ "$g" -eq 2 ] && [ "$c" = "456" ] past echo abc other echo efg fi 

Wherever the actions are arsenic trivial arsenic echoing, this isn’t atrocious. Once the act artifact to beryllium repeated is aggregate strains, the repetition is excessively achy and 1 of the earlier variations is preferable — oregon you demand to wrapper the actions into a relation that is invoked successful the antithetic past blocks.