/bin/sh starts with check in script

[Matthew Seaman]

On 2016/02/10 12:58, Sergei G wrote:
> I came up with this solution to check if variable $line starts with a
> hash.  Basically I am checking if line is a comment in the configuration
> file.
> 
> #!/bin/sh
> if expr "${line}" : '#.*' > /dev/null; then
>   echo Ignoring comment line
> fi
> 
> I had to redirect to /dev/null, because expr prints a number to STDOUT. 
> Is there a better way to do this kind of string matching check in
> /bin/sh (not bash)?

When you say 'in /bin/sh' I take it you mean without calling any
external programs?  Otherwise the natural way would be to use grep(1).

Try:

#!/bin/sh

case ${line} in
   "#*")
	echo Ignoring comment line
	;;
   *)
	... do whatever ...
        ;;
esac

	Cheers,

	Matthew


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