Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!nsc!amdahl!krs
From: krs@uts.amdahl.com (Kris Stephens [Hail Eris!])
Newsgroups: comp.unix.shell
Subject: Re: for loops
Keywords: sh: for i to $FILES
Message-ID: <5bQ701Uo530=00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>
Date: 5 Apr 91 17:36:16 GMT
References: <3693@ux.acs.umn.edu> <2816@maestro.htsa.aha.nl>
Reply-To: krs@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com (Kris Stephens [Hail Eris!])
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 32

In article <2816@maestro.htsa.aha.nl> miquels@maestro.htsa.aha.nl (Miquel van Smoorenburg) writes:
>In article <3693@ux.acs.umn.edu> edh@ux.acs.umn.edu (Merlinus Ambrosius) writes:
>>In sh, I'd like to do something like a BASIC for loop.  Say I have $FILES
>>set to some number, and I'd like to go through a loop $FILES times.  Can
>>this be done in sh?
>
>POSIX states that sh(1) should be able to evaluate expressions, 
>so you can do something like
>while [ $FILES != 0 ]
>do
>	echo -n '* '
>	FILES=$[$FILES - 1]
>done
>
>But I haven't seen a sh anywhere that is already capable of doing this
>(not even the one I am writing myself for Minix... yet.).
>Maybe somebody knows if a new ksh can do this?

#### ksh fragment ####
while [ $FILES -gt 0 ]
do
        echo "$FILES"
        ((FILES -= 1))  # or ((FILES = $FILES - 1))
done
#### ksh fragment ####

...Kris
-- 
Kristopher Stephens, | (408-746-6047) | krs@uts.amdahl.com | KC6DFS
Amdahl Corporation   |                |                    |
     [The opinions expressed above are mine, solely, and do not    ]
     [necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Amdahl Corp. ]