Writing variable's content to a variable file inside a variable-directory

Question

Let's say I write the following script:

#!/bin/sh
TEXT="hello"
DIR="test"
FILE="bla.txt"
echo $TEXT > $DIR/$FILE

When running it, I get the following error:

test.sh: line 5: test/bla.txt: No such file or directory

But if change the last line to:

echo $TEXT > $FILE

I don't get the error.

I know I can work around it and do:

FILE_TO_WRITE_TO=$DIR/$FILE
echo $TEXT > $FILE_TO_WRITE_TO

But I don't understand why does the error occur in the first place.

Never mind, I have no idea why it didn't work right before I asked the question.. — Doron Behar
– Doron Behar, Commented Jul 8, 2017 at 16:40

Nahuel Fouilleul · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-08 16:29:40Z

2

The following command gives No such file or directory error because test directory doesn't exist or Not a directory if it is not a directory.

echo "hello" > test/bla.txt

To create the directory if necessary, and error management.

mkdir -p "$DIR" || { echo "failed to mkdir $DIR"; exit 1;}
echo "$TEXT" > "$DIR/$FILE" || { echo "failed to open $DIR/$FILE for writting"; exit 1;}

answered Jul 8, 2017 at 16:29

Nahuel Fouilleul

19.5k2 gold badges36 silver badges37 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Answer 1