CODEWITHSUNDEEP
bash
santhosh
santhosh

Reputation: 1

Script error, not getting the right output

Below is my script, I am not getting the right output, I am typing alice I am getting bob as output, but when i am typing bob I should get alice as output, but i am getting bob as output. Kindly let me know what's the error in my script

#!/bin/bash
echo "Enter your name"
read a
if [ $a==alice ];
then
echo "bob"
elif [ $a==bob ];
then
echo "alice"
else
echo "STDERR"
fi

Upvotes: 0

Views: 50

Answers (3)

Juan Diego Godoy Robles
Juan Diego Godoy Robles

Reputation: 14955

Wrong syntax, should be:

[[ $a == alice ]]

Check: http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/comparison-ops.html

Upvotes: 2

David C. Rankin
David C. Rankin

Reputation: 84561

Spaces are required surrounding your == expression. When using the [ test operator or using the keyword test, you will want to use the = for posix compliance and portability:

[ "$a" = alice ]  # remember to quote your variable when comparing strings

While == is permissive with [ or test, you will lose portability. Alternatively, if you are using [[ operator, then == is correct:

[[ "$a" == alice ]] # quoting is not required, but is good practice.

Upvotes: 0

paxdiablo
paxdiablo

Reputation: 881463

You should put spaces around your == operator, so that it's a three-argument form of [.

Without the spaces, it's using the one-argument form which gives true if the string length is non-zero (as it is with the string bob==alice).

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions