syntax error: `$' unexpected

Shell Programming and Scripting
1

Hi all,
Am very new to Unix and am currently Involved in Migrating some Shell Scripts from AIX 4 to Solaris 10.

While using teh for loop am getting the below error:

$ echo $SHELL
/usr/bin/ksh
$ for file in $(ls *SEBE*)
syntax error: `$' unexpected

while the same works without issue on AIX.

Please Help!!!

2

well, try to switch to bash/sh, on my test Solaris 9 system, that construct works well; and don`t forget, that you`ll need to expand your script to something like this:

for file in $(ls -la) ; do echo $file; done
3

Tried Switching, but does not work

$ echo $SHELL
/usr/bin/ksh
$ SHELL=/bin/sh
$ echo $SHELL
/bin/sh
$ for file in $(ls -la)
syntax error: `$' unexpected
$

Read a Post that kron shell does not support $(COMMAND) and must use `COMMAND`
tried that way and it works.
But i was expecting that if i am Adding the line

#!/bin/ksh
as the first line in my Script, it should work.
So My Script
#!/bin/ksh
  
set -a
  
for file in $(ls *SEBE*)
do
  tfile=$(basename $file)
  echo "File name is $tfile"
done
set +a

must ideally work, But does not and i have to change it to:

#!/bin/ksh     # Set Korn Shell Environment

for file in `ls *SEBE*`
do
  #
  # Get the file name to process.
  #
  tfile=`basename "$file"`
  echo $tfile
done

Experts Does teh above make any Sense?

4

If it works, it works. Solaris tends to have very old nonposix shells for compatibility reasons, though I'd previously believed at least ksh was relatively modern...

5

First of all I'd like to say, that AFAIK simply setting the SHELL variable does not actually change the current shell.

[myuser@myhost /]$ echo $0
bash
[myuser@myhost /]$ echo $SHELL
/usr/local/bin/ksh93
[myuser@myhost /]$ SHELL=/bin/sh
[myuser@myhost /]$ echo $SHELL
/bin/sh
[myuser@myhost /]$ echo $0
bash
[myuser@myhost /]$ /bin/sh
$ echo $0
/bin/sh
$

Second: AFAIK it's not a good idea to use ls in that manner, why not simply try following:

for file in *SEBE*

Third: IMHO that basename part it completely unnecessary in this case.