CODEWITHSUNDEEP
bashmacosdirectoryargumentsslash
Discofan
Discofan

Reputation: 37

Keeping forward slash in bash $argument for a directory name in MacOSX

In MacOSX it is possible to create a folder in Finder that contains a forward slash "/" in the name.

I am trying to bash script the same by doing something similar to 

args=("$@")
name=${args[0]}
street_corner=${args[1]}
my_folder="Hello ${name} - ${streetcorner}"
mk () {
  case "$1" in /*) :;; *) set -- "./$1";; esac
  mkdir -p "$1"
}
mk $my_folder

where street corner is a crossing in the format "street 1/street 2" and thus needs the slash to be kept in the directory name.

I read several articles like this one where they explain how to manipulate the string to escape or keep the forward when you set the string yourself. The problem I have is that the user passes the argument to be used in the script and therefore the string is already encapsulated when i run the command to the make a directory with $my_folder as argument.

How do I expand the value of street_corner without letting the forward slash create a subdirectory named "street 2" located inside the directory "street 1" but instead creating a single directory called "street 1/street 2"?

I have tried these fixes and failed

street_corner="${args[0]}"
my_folder='"Hello ${name} - ${streetcorner}"'
my_folder="'Hello ${name} - ${streetcorner}'"
my_folder="Hello ${name} - ${'streetcorner'}"
my_folder="Hello ${name} - ${$"streetcorner"}"
my_folder="Hello "${name}" - "${streetcorner}

And also tried to give the input for street_corner like

./my_script.sh "name" "street 1\/street 2"
./my_script.sh "name" 'street 1/street 2'
./my_script.sh "name" "'street 1/street 2'"

Upvotes: 1

Views: 2757

Answers (3)

chepner
chepner

Reputation: 531135

Path names involving / and : (for reasons to be discussed below) are a bit confusing under macOS. The short answer is:

  • You cannot use / in a file name.
  • For historical reasons, the Finder pretends that you can
  • Also for historical reasons, the Finder pretends that you cannot use :.

First, / is not a valid character in a POSIX path name; it is reserved as the path component separator. Command line tools that expect valid file names as arguments will reject those containing /.

The Finder appears to let you create a file or folder whose name contains a /, but it silently converts the / to a :. You can confirm this from the terminal. Create a folder named foo/bar in your home directory; it will appear as foo:bar if you run ls from the terminal.

Second, : was historically used as the path separator in classic Mac OS. The Finder still does not allow you to create a folder whose name contains a :, but command line tools (like mkdir) do. mkdir foo:bar will work, and further the name will appear as foo/bar in the Finder.

Upvotes: 5

Fred
Fred

Reputation: 6995

Your issue is not one of quoting.

The forward slash is the path separator in UNIX-type operating systems. It is pretty much the only character you cannot have in a file name (although it can be part of the path, where it allows the directory hierarchy to be expressed). You can have spaces, tabs, even newlines. But no forward slashes.

So the answer is, you cannot use street1/street2 as a filename without street1 being interpreted as anything other than a directory.

Upvotes: 1

Mike Wodarczyk
Mike Wodarczyk

Reputation: 1273

Inside the script, you need to double quote the right hand side of the lines:

name="${args[0]}"
street_corner="${args[1]}"

and the command:

mk "$my_folder"

Also there is a typo. Remove the underscore from street_corner.

Then call the script like this:

./my_script.sh "name" "street 1\/street 2"

or

./my_script.sh "name" 'street 1/street 2'

Upvotes: 0

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