Read file and compare it to a string

[mc68060]

I want to compare the contents of a file against a string in an AmigaDOS script. Let's say I want to check if the file ram:test contains the string "Hello World". I've tried to do it like this but it doesn't work:

echo >ram:test "Hello World"
set foo <ram:test
if $foo eq "Hello World"
  echo "Yep!"
else
  echo "Nope!"
endif

This prints "Nope!" although I'd expect it to print "Yep!" but I don't understand why it doesn't work...

[deimos]

Carriage return from the echo? Can you add an echo $foo to confirm?

[Dan]

Try echo $foo to see what it contains ?!


(edit while i was testing it on winuae, someone answered XD)

[mc68060]

WTF... $foo contains "<ram:test" so redirection doesn't seem to work at all Is there any other way?

[Dan]

what if you save the file as, well use this:

echo >ram:test set foo Hello World

then you do

execute ram:test
echo $foo

it works if you do it in the cli, i'm not sure if it works in/as the batch file.

[thomas]

Originally Posted by mc68060

WTF... $foo contains "<ram:test" so redirection doesn't seem to work at all Is there any other way?

Proper redirection in AmigaDOS always was in the beginning of the command line, just after the command name.

So

set <ram:test foo

should work.

Only since Kick 2.0 redirection is allowed anywhere in the command line, but only if the command does not have a /f argument which takes everything until the end of the line.

[mc68060]

what if you save the file as, well use this:

echo >ram:test set foo Hello World

then you do

execute ram:test
echo $foo

it works if you do it in the cli, not sure if it works in as the batch file.

But that doesn't solve the problem. I somehow need to read the contents of the file ram:test into a variable so that I compare it against the string.

[mc68060]

Originally Posted by thomas

Proper redirection in AmigaDOS always was in the beginning of the command line, just after the command name.

So

set <ram:test foo

should work.

Only since Kick 2.0 redirection is allowed anywhere in the command line, but only if the command does not have a /f argument which takes everything until the end of the line.

Still doesn't work. Here is the test script:

echo >ram:test "Hello World"
set <ram:test foo
echo $foo
if $foo eq "Hello World"
  echo "OK!"
else
  echo "Nope!"
endif

echo $foo prints "$foo" now...

[Dan]

I see, i assumed you are writing this text file, like in your first example, from the batch file.

[mc68060]

Originally Posted by Dan

I see, i assumed you are writing this text file, like in your first example, from the batch file.

No, that's just for testing purposes.

[Dan]

this textfile, which you want to check, does it contain only 1 line of text ?


how about this ? https://wiki.amigaos.net/wiki/AmigaO...ference#SEARCH

[thomas]

Originally Posted by mc68060

Still doesn't work. Here is the test script:

You forgot one important thing: set reads the value from the command line, it does not read from the input stream. Therefore redirecting the input stream does not affect it.

There is a trick, though:

set >nil: <ram:test foo ?

The ? makes the command print its template and wait for input. This way you can read from the redirected input stream.

[mc68060]

Cool, that's a nifty trick! You are my hero @thomas!

So here is the final script (I also had to add quotes around "$foo" to make it work):

echo >ram:test "Hello World"
set >nil: <ram:test foo ?
if "$foo" eq "Hello World"
  echo "OK!"
else
  echo "Nope!"
endif

This works perfectly! Thanks a lot!

[jotd]

AFAIR you can also use PIPE: to avoid creating a file.

But once you tried modern scripting languages, Amiga csh is just frustrating.

[daxb]

I would say if you are not forced to use AmigaDOS then don't use it.

[Hewitson]

Would be nice to have a modern version of zsh for Amiga. The latest version on Aminet is from 1996.

[carls]

You could also use backticks:

echo noline "Hello World" > ram:test
set foo=`type ram:test`