Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!fitz
From: fitz@mml0.meche.rpi.edu (Brian Fitzgerald)
Subject: Re: How do I tell when a directory is empty in a script?
Message-ID: <=-#g4!g@rpi.edu>
Nntp-Posting-Host: mml0.meche.rpi.edu
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
References: <1991Mar30.040400.13893@ncsu.edu> <gt0fjt=@rpi.edu> <563@bria>
Date: 1 Apr 91 06:03:52 GMT
Lines: 34

>>Michael Harris writes:
>>>When I am running a shell script, how can I tell when a directory is empty?

I replied:
>>Try:
>>
>>	if [ ! "`ls -A $name`" ] ; then

Michael Stefanik writes:
>$ ls -A /tmp
>ls: illegal option -- A
>usage: ls -RadCxmnlogrtucpFbqisfLk [files]
>
>How about this instead?
>
>	if [ `ls $dir | wc -l` = 0 ] ; then
>
>I think that this would work rather consistently, regardless of the
>pecularities of /bin/ls.

%-(

[22] mml0 fitz /tmp% mkdir foo
[23] mml0 fitz /tmp% ls foo
[24] mml0 fitz /tmp% touch foo/.hidden
[25] mml0 fitz /tmp% ls foo
[26] mml0 fitz /tmp%

#-)

[30] mml0# cd /tmp
/tmp
[31] mml0# ls foo
.hidden