.sh check for numeric content

[Karl Vogel]

>> On Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:24:39 +0800, 
>> Aiza <aiza21 at comclark.com> said:

A> Receiving a variable from the command line that is suppose to contain
A> numeric values.  How do I code a test to verify the content is numeric?

   The script below will work with the Bourne or Korn shell.
   Results for "0 1 12 1234 .12 1.234 12.3 1a a1":

     0 is numeric
     1 is numeric
     12 is numeric
     1234 is numeric
     .12 is numeric
     1.234 is numeric
     12.3 is numeric
     1a is NOT numeric
     a1 is NOT numeric

-- 
Karl Vogel                      I don't speak for the USAF or my company

I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt
as the greatest of dangers to be feared.  To preserve our independence, we
must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.    --Thomas Jefferson

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
#!/bin/sh
# Test an argument to see if it's numeric.  Handles decimals, but
# a minus sign in the regex will throw an error: "expr: illegal option".

PATH=/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin
export PATH

case "$#" in
    0)  echo need an argument. ; exit 1 ;;
    *)  ;;
esac

for arg
do
    if expr "$arg" : "[0-9]*[\.0-9]*$" > /dev/null
    then
        echo "$arg is numeric"
    else
        echo "$arg is NOT numeric"
    fi
done

exit 0