using grep to check file content in hidden directory

Question

I have the following function in a shell script meant to handle some basic grep checks for a server setting in ~/.m2/settings.xml:

SETTINGS_FILE="~/.m2/settings.xml"
SETTINGS_SERVER_ID="<id>ossrh</id>"
check_settings () {
    echo grep "$1" "$SETTINGS_FILE"
    if grep -q  "$1" "$SETTINGS_FILE"; then
        echo "Server is set up...\n"; else
        echo "DEPLOY FAILED:\n\t$1 not found in ${SETTINGS_FILE}!
        fail "Fail :(";
    fi
    return 0
}
check_settings $SETTINGS_SERVER_ID

Unfortunately, this results in the following message:

grep <id>ossrh</id> ~/.m2/settings.xml
grep: ~/.m2/settings.xml: No such file or directory
DEPLOY FAILED:
    <id>ossrh</id> not found in ~/.m2/settings.xml!
Fail :(

Meanwhile, just using grep "<id>ossrh</id>" ~/.m2/settings.xml in the bash returns <id>ossrh</id>, which is expected.

I'm wondering if this is an issue of visibility- whether grep can see things in hidden directories (unlikely, considering this question) or whether it is an issue with the argument I'm passing grep (likely, considering how new I am to shell scripting)

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 20 '14 at 02:49

4

The ~/ prefix is not expanded to your home directory when the variable value is in quotes. Change the first line to:

SETTINGS_FILE=~/.m2/settings.xml

The clue to this is that the error message includes the ~ prefix. If the prefix had been expanded, the error message would have contained the absolute pathname to your directory.

edited Jun 20 '14 at 02:49

mklement0

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answered Jun 20 '14 at 00:17

Barmar

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score 4 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

4

Barmar's answer is right, but you can also write it like this:

SETTINGS_FILE=~/'.m2/settings.xml'

This way you can include special characters and other stuff that should be quoted. Feel free to change single quotes to double quotes if you need to use a variable. (And I always prefer single quotes when there is no variable inside)

However, because you can also use $HOME instead of ~, I would write it like this:

SETTINGS_FILE="$HOME/.m2/settings.xml"

edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

Community

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answered Jun 20 '14 at 03:17

Aleks-Daniel Jakimenko-A.

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@BroSlow but it is not going to work this way. Try it. – Aleks-Daniel Jakimenko-A. Jun 20 '14 at 05:08
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Interesting, didn't know the tilde only expanded when linked with a `/` or surrounded by whitespace. Learned something new, thanks/+1 – Reinstate Monica Please Jun 20 '14 at 05:16

using grep to check file content in hidden directory

2 Answers2