Validate BASH script before running it...

tjones1105 · December 23, 2009, 1:46pm

Hello,
Is there some way to validate a bash script before running it. I want to make sure all of the syntax and everything is good so that I dont get a false return code.

Thanks,
tom

cfajohnson · December 23, 2009, 1:57pm

bash -n /path/to/script

gaurav1086 · December 23, 2009, 2:44pm

Hello,
Another smart way is to set a debugger like

set -x

in your code at the beginning. and step through the exectution.
Regards

cfajohnson · December 25, 2009, 12:04pm

set -x does run the code; that's not what the OP asked for.

gaurav1086 · December 25, 2009, 12:14pm

Hello sir, cfajohnson
He said to validate, that could show where he could find it going wrong through stepping through the execution. That was merely another way to go through it.

Regards.
Merry Christmas

cfajohnson · December 25, 2009, 12:19pm

What he asked for was to "validate a bash script before running it". To do that, bash -n (or set -n) is needed; set -x prints what is being run.

gaurav1086 · December 25, 2009, 12:21pm

You win .

tjones1105 · December 27, 2009, 12:36am

thanks, I should have read the man page better :-p