Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!caip!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!ihnp4!aicchi!ignatz
From: ignatz@aicchi.UUCP (Ihnat)
Newsgroups: net.unix,net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: question-- Bourne (and C) SHELL
Message-ID: <791@aicchi.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 22-Aug-86 03:48:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: aicchi.791
Posted: Fri Aug 22 03:48:07 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Aug-86 11:07:34 EDT
References: <1751@ittatc.ATC.ITT.UUCP> <7028@utzoo.UUCP> <150@humming.UUCP> <6228@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: ignatz@aicchi.UUCP (Ihnat)
Organization: Analysts International Corp; Chicago Branch
Lines: 24
Summary: NOT of a retcode in Bourne shell
Xref: mnetor net.unix:5268 net.unix-wizards:7664

There may be more elegant ways--it's sometimes tough to be elegant at 2:50
AM--but certainly, for filename FILE

	ls FILE >/dev/null 2>/dev/null

	if [ ! $? ]
	then
		<whatever negated thingies you want>
	fi;

works.  (As we all know, $? is the return code from the last executed command.)
However, if just testing existence, how about

	if [ -f FILE ]
	then
		<etc>
	fi;

Look at test(1); it's got a lot of nifty cases you can test...
-- 
	Dave Ihnat
	Analysts International Corporation
	(312) 882-4673
	ihnp4!aicchi!ignatz || ihnp4!homebru!ignatz