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From: jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: foreach: No match
Message-ID: <1991Apr17.094618.3466@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 17 Apr 91 09:46:18 GMT
References: <9104161842.AA13587@tea-jwm.jhuapl.edu>
Sender: news@athena.mit.edu (News system)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 47

In article <9104161842.AA13587@tea-jwm.jhuapl.edu>, jwm@SUN4.JHUAPL.EDU (James W. Meritt) writes:
|> 	The irritating thing is that when there isn't anything in the
|> directory, I get the subject error message on the console.  I don't
|> WANT an error message.  How do I stop this?

From csh(1):

     nonomatch      If set, it is not an error for a filename
                    expansion to not match any existing files;
                    rather the primitive pattern is returned.  It
                    is still an error for the primitive pattern
                    to be malformed, i.e.  `echo [' still gives
                    an error.

For example:

	% mkdir empty
	% cd empty
	% set files = *
	set: No match.
	% set nonomatch
	% set files = *
	% echo $files
	*
	%

You use this in your script like this:

	set nonomatch
	set files = *
	unset nonomatch
	if ("$files" == "*") then
		# Whatever you would do if there are no files to process, like
		# perhaps exiting
	else
		foreach file ($files)
			# the body of your foreach
		end
	endif

I think the idea is clear.

-- 
Jonathan Kamens			              USnail:
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