Shell scripting in macOS – Part 5: Loops

This article is a continuation of the previous article. We will be taking the previous script and using it to build on the concepts we will learning in this article.

Loops

Often times we will come across a situation where we want to perform a task repeatedly with different pieces of data.

For example, here is a snippet of our shell script:

if [[ -d $TOOLS_FOLDER ]]; then
	echo "$(date) Not creating $TOOLS_FOLDER as it already exists." >> $PATH_TO_LOG
else
	echo "$(date) Creating $TOOLS_FOLDER" >> $PATH_TO_LOG
	mkdir $TOOLS_FOLDER
fi

if [[ -d $REPORTS_FOLDER ]]; then
	echo "$(date) Not creating $REPORTS_FOLDER as it already exists." >> $PATH_TO_LOG
else
	echo "$(date) Creating $REPORTS_FOLDER" >> $PATH_TO_LOG
	mkdir $REPORTS_FOLDER
fi

if [[ -d $HELP_FOLDER ]]; then
	echo "$(date) Not creating $HELP_FOLDER as it already exists." >> $PATH_TO_LOG
else
	echo "$(date) Creating $HELP_FOLDER" >> $PATH_TO_LOG
	mkdir $HELP_FOLDER
fi

You can see that we are performing the same task repeatedly. Only the name of the folder is changing. This is the kind of situation that we will commonly encounter. Loops can help us make the script a little more efficient.

Handling loops

We are going to look at 2 solutions for handling loops:

For loop
While loop

For loops

A for loop works on a collection of data. It steps through the collection in the sequence in which it is present and picks one item from it at a time. The loop then performs the tasks specified in it using the item collected. Once finished it proceeds to pick up the next item. This is done till all the items in the collection are used.

Here is an example of a simple for loop. It contains 4 pieces of data in its collection: “Applications”, “Documents”, “Downloads”, & “Library”.

#!/bin/bash

for folder in Applications Documents Downloads Library
do	
	echo "The folder is $folder"
done

The output would be:

The folder is Applications
The folder is Documents
The folder is Downloads
The folder is Library

The collection could be data coming from somewhere else; such as the output of a command.

#!/bin/bash

for details in $(ls)
do
	echo "-> $details"
done

The output would be:

-> Desktop
-> Documents
-> Downloads
-> Library
-> Movies
-> Music
-> Pictures
-> Public

While loops

A while loop also performs tasks repeatedly. However it does this till a certain condition is satisfied. So we could use the test operations we learnt in an earlier article to achieve the check.

#!/bin/bash

while [[ ! -f /Users/Shared/exit.txt ]]; do
	echo "File not found"
done

echo "Found"

The script is checking to see if the file at the given path exists. If the file doesn’t exist then it prints out a message and performs the check again.

This will be done till the file is found.

NOTE: If you are testing the above code then you will need to create the file manually. You can do that by executing the following command in terminal:

touch /Users/Shared/exit.txt

Example

Let us go ahead and update our script.

First we will remove the variables that store the names for the hidden files.
Next we will remove the code for creating the folders. This will be replaced by a single block of code inside a for loop. Just remove the code for the reports folder and the help folder. We will use the code for the tools folder inside the for loop.
Right below the line where we echo out the statement that we are creating the folder, add the code for the for loop. Move the remaining folder creation logic inside it and rename the variable.

for item in $TOOLS_FOLDER $REPORTS_FOLDER $HELP_FOLDER; do
	if [[ -d $item ]]; then
		echo "$(date) Not creating $item as it already exists." >> $PATH_TO_LOG
	else
		echo "$(date) Creating $item" >> $PATH_TO_LOG
		mkdir $item
	fi

done

Next, remove the code to create the hidden file. As before, only remove the code for creating the hidden file for the reports and help folders.
Copy the remaining lines of code into the for loop. Place it right after the fi statement.

for item in $TOOLS_FOLDER $REPORTS_FOLDER $HELP_FOLDER; do
	if [[ -d $item ]]; then
		echo "$(date) Not creating $item as it already exists." >> $PATH_TO_LOG
	else
		echo "$(date) Creating $item" >> $PATH_TO_LOG
		mkdir $item
	fi
	
	#6. Create the task completion file inside each folder.
	echo "$(date) Creating hidden file for $item folder." >> $PATH_TO_LOG
	cd $item
	#7. Generate the file names based on the folder names.
	touch ".$item-FolderCreated"
	cd ..
done

Your final script should look like this:

#!/bin/zsh

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#NAME: Folder creator
#AUTHOR: Arun Patwardhan
#CONTACT: arun@amaranthine.co.in
#DATE: 10th August 2021
#WEBSITE: https://github.com/AmaranthineTech/ShellScripts
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#LEGAL DISCLAIMER --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
#IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
#FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
#AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
#LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
#OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
#SOFTWARE.
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#LICENSE/TERMS AND CONDITIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------
#MIT License

#Copyright (c) Amaranthine 2021.

#Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
#of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
#in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
#to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
#copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
#furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

#The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
#copies or substantial portions of the Software.
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#ABOUT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# fileCreator.zsh
# 1.4
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#DESCRIPTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - THis script is intended for creating the custom folders that are required on all corporate computers.
# - Run this script on a new computer or a computer being reassigned to another employee.
# - This script can run on all computers.
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#USAGE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - To create folders with default names run the command: ./folderCreator.zsh
# - To define your own folder names: ./folderCreator.zsh <folder1> <folder2> <folder3>
# - Available options : Only the help option is available
# - Getting help : Use the -h or the -help options to get more information. Or you can use the man command to view the man page.
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#WARNING/CAUTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#******************************************************************************************************************
#******************************************************************************************************************
#******************************************************************************************************************
#******************************************************************************************************************
# This script doesn't perform any validation of the folder names being passed in by the user.
# If the script does not see the -h or the -help options then it will assume that the data being passed in is the name of the folder.
# The user of the script must ensure that the desired folder names are passed in.
#******************************************************************************************************************
#******************************************************************************************************************
#******************************************************************************************************************
#******************************************************************************************************************
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#INSTALLATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Instructions for placing the script in the correct place are listed here.
# Location: /Library/Scripts/
# Permissions: rwx r-x r-x
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#REQUIREMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Shell: /bin/zsh
# OS: macOS Big Sur 11.4 or later
# Dependencies: None
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#HELP/SUPPORT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# You can get help by running the following commands.
# ./folderCreator.zsh -h
# ./folderCreator.zsh -help
# OR
# man folderCreator.zsh
# You can also view the log file for the same at: ~/Library/Logs/folderCreator_log_v1-4.log
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#HISTORY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Version 1.0: Basic script which creates the folders
# Version 1.1: Gives user the ability to specify the folder names at run time.
# Version 1.2: Adds safety checks to the scripts
# Version 1.3: Includes documentation as well as ability to get help.
# Version 1.4: Includes optimisation using for loop
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# ------------------------------ SCRIPT STARTS HERE ----------------------------------------------
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#These are the default values used for the folder names incase the user doesn't provide any.
TOOLS_FOLDER="Tools"
REPORTS_FOLDER="Reports"
HELP_FOLDER="Help"

#Script version number
VERSION_NUMBER="1.4"

#Command name
COMMAND_NAME="folderCreator.zsh"

#1. Check to see if the user is asking for help. In which case we will have to provide information about the command.
if [[ $1 == "-h" ]] || [[ $1 == "-help" ]]; then
echo "ABOUT
-----
fileCreator_v1-4.zsh
Version $VERSION_NUMBER

NAME
----
$COMMAND_NAME — Folder creation utility SYNOPSIS
$COMMAND_NAME folder names [ verbs ]

DESCRIPTION
-----------
$COMMAND_NAME creates 3 folders in the home folder. In case the folder names are not provided then the command will create folders with default names 'Tools', 'Reports', \"Help\".

There is also the option of getting help via the help verb.
- This script is intended for creating the custom folders that are required on all corporate computers.
- Run this script on a new computer or a computer being reassigned to another employee.
- This script can run on all computers.

VERBS
-----
[ −h −help] Both the options are used to invoke the help documentation.
[ −v −version] Both the options are used to get the version number of the folderCreator command.

REQUIREMENTS
------------
The following are the minimum requirements to get the script running.
Shell:\t\t zsh
OS:\t\t macOS Big Sur 11.4 or later
Dependencies:\t None

INSTALLATION
------------
$COMMAND_NAME can be installed anywhere you wish. However, there are certain locations that are recommended.
Location:\t /Library/Scripts/
Permissions: \t rwxr-xr-x

USAGE
-----
$COMMAND_NAME folder1 folder2 folder3
Will create folders with your own names.

$COMMAND_NAME -h OR $COMMAND_NAME -help
Will invoke the help utility.

$COMMAND_NAME -v OR $COMMAND_NAME -version
will print the version number in stdout.

WARNING/CAUTION
---------------
$COMMAND_NAME does not perform any validation of names. The only options that folderCreator accepts are -h and -help verbs or the -v and -version verbs. If the script does not see the -h , -help or the -v , -version options then it will assume that the data being passed in is the name of the folder. The user of the folderCreator command must ensure that the desired folder names are passed in.

EXAMPLES
--------
$COMMAND_NAME Resources Results Assistant
This will create 3 folders Resources , Results , Assistant , in the user’s home folder.

$COMMAND_NAME
This will create 3 folders with the default names

$COMMAND_NAME Apps
This will use the Apps name for the first folder but the default names for the last 2 folders.

DIAGNOSTICS
-----------
The script produces a log file called ~/Library/Logs/folderCreator_log_v1-x.log
This file is typically located in the user’s home folder log folder. The x represents the version number of $COMMAND_NAME
You can view the logs for each respective version.

EXIT STATUS
-----------
In most situations, $COMMAND_NAME exits 0 on success"
exit 0
fi

echo "$(date) Running script $0 to create folders."
echo ""

#2. Check to see if the version number is
if [[ $1 == "-version" ]] || [[ $1 == "-v" ]]; then
echo "Version: $VERSION_NUMBER"
exit 0
fi

#3. The following if statements check to see if the script is receiving any arguments. It then picks those arguments and assigns them to the respective variables for use in the script.
if [[ $1 != "" ]]; then
TOOLS_FOLDER=$1
fi

if [[ $2 != "" ]]; then
REPORTS_FOLDER=$2
fi

if [[ $3 != "" ]]; then
HELP_FOLDER=$3
fi

TODAY=$(date)
PATH_TO_LOG="$HOME/Library/Logs/folderCreator_log_v1-4.log"

echo "$(date) Starting" >> $PATH_TO_LOG

#4. Go to the home folder.
cd $HOME

#5. Check to see if each of the folders exists. If it exists then do not create it. Else create the folder.
echo "$(date) Creating folders: $TOOLS_FOLDER, $REPORTS_FOLDER, $HELP_FOLDER" >> $PATH_TO_LOG

for item in $TOOLS_FOLDER $REPORTS_FOLDER $HELP_FOLDER; do
if [[ -d $item ]]; then
echo "$(date) Not creating $item as it already exists." >> $PATH_TO_LOG
else
echo "$(date) Creating $item" >> $PATH_TO_LOG
mkdir $item
fi

#6. Create the task completion file inside each folder.
echo "$(date) Creating hidden file for $item folder." >> $PATH_TO_LOG
cd $item
#7. Generate the file names based on the folder names.
touch ".$item-FolderCreated"
cd ..
done

echo "$(date) Task completed. Have a nice day!"

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# ------------------------------ END OF SCRIPT --------------------------------------------------

Video

Download

You can download the completed script from here.

Arun Patwardhan's Blog

Computing Tech Blog

Shell scripting in macOS – Part 5: Loops

Loops

Handling loops

For loops

While loops

Example

Video

Download

2 thoughts on “Shell scripting in macOS – Part 5: Loops”

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Loops

Handling loops

For loops

While loops

Example

Video

Download

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2 thoughts on “Shell scripting in macOS – Part 5: Loops”

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