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>Unofficial Shell Scripting Stylesheet</TITLE
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>Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide: </TH
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><A
NAME="UNOFFICIALST"
></A
>35.1. Unofficial Shell Scripting Stylesheet</H1
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
>Comment your code. This makes it easier for others to
understand (and appreciate), and easier for you to maintain.
<TABLE
BORDER="0"
BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
WIDTH="90%"
><TR
><TD
><FONT
COLOR="#000000"
><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>PASS="$PASS${MATRIX:$(($RANDOM%${#MATRIX})):1}"
# It made perfect sense when you wrote it last year,
#+ but now it's a complete mystery.
# (From Antek Sawicki's "pw.sh" script.)</PRE
></FONT
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
>
</P
><P
>Add descriptive headers to your scripts and functions.
<TABLE
BORDER="0"
BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
WIDTH="90%"
><TR
><TD
><FONT
COLOR="#000000"
><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>#!/bin/bash
#************************************************#
# xyz.sh #
# written by Bozo Bozeman #
# July 05, 2001 #
# #
# Clean up project files. #
#************************************************#
E_BADDIR=85 # No such directory.
projectdir=/home/bozo/projects # Directory to clean up.
# --------------------------------------------------------- #
# cleanup_pfiles () #
# Removes all files in designated directory. #
# Parameter: $target_directory #
# Returns: 0 on success, $E_BADDIR if something went wrong. #
# --------------------------------------------------------- #
cleanup_pfiles ()
{
if [ ! -d "$1" ] # Test if target directory exists.
then
echo "$1 is not a directory."
return $E_BADDIR
fi
rm -f "$1"/*
return 0 # Success.
}
cleanup_pfiles $projectdir
exit $?</PRE
></FONT
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></LI
><LI
><P
>Avoid using <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"magic numbers,"</SPAN
>
<A
NAME="AEN20041"
HREF="#FTN.AEN20041"
><SPAN
CLASS="footnote"
>[1]</SPAN
></A
>
that is, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"hard-wired"</SPAN
> literal constants. Use
meaningful variable names instead. This makes the script
easier to understand and permits making changes and updates
without breaking the application.
<TABLE
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><FONT
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><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>if [ -f /var/log/messages ]
then
...
fi
# A year later, you decide to change the script to check /var/log/syslog.
# It is now necessary to manually change the script, instance by instance,
#+ and hope nothing breaks.
# A better way:
LOGFILE=/var/log/messages # Only line that needs to be changed.
if [ -f "$LOGFILE" ]
then
...
fi</PRE
></FONT
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>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Choose descriptive names for variables and functions.
<TABLE
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><TD
><FONT
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><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>fl=`ls -al $dirname` # Cryptic.
file_listing=`ls -al $dirname` # Better.
MAXVAL=10 # All caps used for a script constant.
while [ "$index" -le "$MAXVAL" ]
...
E_NOTFOUND=95 # Uppercase for an errorcode,
#+ and name prefixed with E_.
if [ ! -e "$filename" ]
then
echo "File $filename not found."
exit $E_NOTFOUND
fi
MAIL_DIRECTORY=/var/spool/mail/bozo # Uppercase for an environmental
export MAIL_DIRECTORY #+ variable.
GetAnswer () # Mixed case works well for a
{ #+ function name, especially
prompt=$1 #+ when it improves legibility.
echo -n $prompt
read answer
return $answer
}
GetAnswer "What is your favorite number? "
favorite_number=$?
echo $favorite_number
_uservariable=23 # Permissible, but not recommended.
# It's better for user-defined variables not to start with an underscore.
# Leave that for system variables.</PRE
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>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Use <A
HREF="exit-status.html#EXITCOMMANDREF"
>exit codes</A
>
in a systematic and meaningful way.
<TABLE
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><TD
><FONT
COLOR="#000000"
><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>E_WRONG_ARGS=95
...
...
exit $E_WRONG_ARGS</PRE
></FONT
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
>
See also <A
HREF="exitcodes.html"
>Appendix E</A
>.</P
><P
><EM
>Ender</EM
> suggests using the <A
HREF="exitcodes.html#SYSEXITSREF"
>exit codes
in <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/include/sysexits.h</TT
></A
> in shell
scripts, though these are primarily intended for C and C++
programming.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Use standardized parameter flags for script invocation.
<EM
>Ender</EM
> proposes the following set
of flags.</P
><P
> <TABLE
BORDER="0"
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><TR
><TD
><FONT
COLOR="#000000"
><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>-a All: Return all information (including hidden file info).
-b Brief: Short version, usually for other scripts.
-c Copy, concatenate, etc.
-d Daily: Use information from the whole day, and not merely
information for a specific instance/user.
-e Extended/Elaborate: (often does not include hidden file info).
-h Help: Verbose usage w/descs, aux info, discussion, help.
See also -V.
-l Log output of script.
-m Manual: Launch man-page for base command.
-n Numbers: Numerical data only.
-r Recursive: All files in a directory (and/or all sub-dirs).
-s Setup &#38; File Maintenance: Config files for this script.
-u Usage: List of invocation flags for the script.
-v Verbose: Human readable output, more or less formatted.
-V Version / License / Copy(right|left) / Contribs (email too).</PRE
></FONT
></TD
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>
</P
><P
>See also <A
HREF="standard-options.html"
>Section G.1</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Break complex scripts into simpler modules. Use functions
where appropriate. See <A
HREF="bashver2.html#CARDS"
>Example 37-4</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Don't use a complex construct where a simpler one will do.
<TABLE
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><FONT
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><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>COMMAND
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
...
# Redundant and non-intuitive.
if COMMAND
...
# More concise (if perhaps not quite as legible).</PRE
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</P
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>&nbsp;</TD
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><I
><P
><I
>... reading the UNIX source code to the Bourne shell (/bin/sh). I
was shocked at how much simple algorithms could be made cryptic, and
therefore useless, by a poor choice of code style. I asked myself,
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Could someone be proud of this code?"</SPAN
></I
></P
><P
><I
>--Landon Noll</I
></P
></I
></TD
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><H3
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>Notes</H3
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><A
NAME="FTN.AEN20041"
HREF="unofficialst.html#AEN20041"
><SPAN
CLASS="footnote"
>[1]</SPAN
></A
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
WIDTH="95%"
><P
>In this context, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"magic
numbers"</SPAN
> have an entirely different meaning than
the <A
HREF="sha-bang.html#MAGNUMREF"
>magic numbers</A
> used
to designate file types.</P
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