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Running bash shell in Maemo

Answer 1

+1 A:

The bash cp command can copy multiple sources to a single destination, if it's a directory.

Does the directory /home/user/.gpe exist?

Bear in mind that the leading dot in the name can make it hidden unless you use ls -a

I tried your commands in cygwin:

But I used .gpe instead of /home/user/.gpe

I did a touch calendar categories contacts todo to create the files.

It worked fine.

pavium 2010-01-04 06:08:15

The working directory at that time is SVNPATH="/media/mmc1/gpe/", so no point trying SVNPATH. /home/user/.gpe does exist, but it's a hidden file.

stanigator 2010-01-04 06:28:26

But for `cp` to work as you want, $WORKING has to be a directory. That is `cp file1 file2 file3 file4 directory`. If `.gpe` is a (hidden) file, it won't work.

pavium 2010-01-04 06:55:40

Is there any way to make this work though? I want to make it work. Is there an easy way of making .gpe not a hidden dir?

stanigator 2010-01-04 06:59:13

Remove the dot from the directory name (gpe), and it won't be hidden. And of course hidden files/directories are only hidden when you type `ls` *without* the `-a` option. Hidden files can be opened and written to like any other. It may take some fiddling to convince a file manager to display them, but they're nothing special. The dot is what's making it hidden.

pavium 2010-01-04 07:05:01

What if the .gpe directory is created and used by another external application, which is why I'm reluctant to rename it in the first place?

stanigator 2010-01-04 07:06:22

If that's possible, I suppose you don't want to rename it. Maybe create another directory called `gpe` and try it out. You can always check the contents of `.gpe` and the modification dates of the files in it, as you use other applications. That way you can get an idea if anything is likely to use it. Bear in mind what I said, though, *there's nothing special about a hidden file or directory* you can still create it, write to it, open it. If `.gpe` exists *but it's a file* your bash script won't work. It worked in Ubuntu *because you changed the directories*, probably to something visible.

pavium 2010-01-04 07:16:59

Just checked the application just accesses the .gpe copy regardless of the naming convention.

stanigator 2010-01-04 07:22:54

Answer 2

+1 A:

What actually happens when you run your script? It's helpful if you include details of error messages or behavior that differs from what's expected and in what way.

If $WORKING contains the name of a directory, hidden or not, then the cp should copy those four files into it. Then ls -l /home/user/.gpe should show them plus whatever else is in there, regardless of whether it's "hidden".

By the way, the initial dot in a file or directory name doesn't really "hide" the entry, it's just that ls and echo * and similar commands don't show them, while these do:

ls -la
ls -d .*
ls -d {.*,*}
echo .*
echo {.*,*}

Dennis Williamson 2010-01-04 08:25:19

Originally, I couldn't see any error messages from executing my script. I can incorporate your suggestions and give them a try. I'll let you know how well it works out once I made the changes.

stanigator 2010-01-04 09:20:11

Answer 3

+1 A:

If that's the entirety of your script, it's missing two. possible three, things:

A shebang line, such as #!/bin/sh at the start
Use of $SVNPATH. You probably want to cd $SVNPATH before the cp command. Your script should not assume the current working directory is correct.
Possibly execute permission on the script: chmod a+x script

camh 2010-01-04 08:45:08

Answer 4

+1 A:

Do you already have the /home/user/.gpe directory present? And also, try adding a -R parameter so that the directories are copied recursively.

bad zeppelin 2010-01-08 08:59:08

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Running bash shell in Maemo

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