ClearCase command won't run in script

Question

I am trying to automate ClearCase check-ins via a ksh script. There is a strange issue where the following command will not run while it's part of the automation script, but runs fine if I paste it into the command line.

Snippet of script:

for dir in `cat $DIRS`
do
    RUNCMD="cleartool find <<vob_directory>>/$dir -type f -exec 'cleartool co -nc \$CLEARCASE_PN'"
    print $RUNCMD
    $RUNCMD
done
exit 1

produces the following command

cleartool find <<vob_directory>> -type f -exec 'cleartool co -nc $CLEARCASE_PN'

Here's the error

cleartool: Error: Extra arguments: "co"
Usage: find { pname ... [-depth | -nrecurse | -directory]
        | [pname ...] -all [-visible | -nvisible]
        | -avobs [-visible | -nvisible]
        }
        [-name 'pattern']
        [-cview]
        [-user login-name]
        [-group group-name]
        [-type {f|d|l}...]
        [-follow]
        [-kind object-kind]
        [-nxname]
        [-element query]
        [-branch query]
        [-version query]
        {-print | -exec command-invocation | -ok command-invocation} ...

What am I doing wrong here?

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

In ksh though (my first tests were in bash), the eval solution you recommend is more usual (bash eval is a bit different).

You can see it in this clearcase multisite script.
If you need to store the result in a variable for processing, you can follow this question:

for dir in `cat $DIRS`
do
    RUNCMD="cleartool find <<vob_directory>>/$dir -type f -exec 'cleartool co -nc \$CLEARCASE_PN'"
    print $RUNCMD
    eval "res=\$( $RUNCMD )"
    print $res
done
exit 1

Original answer:

You might want to add some quotes in order to prevent the shell to expand your command too soon, as in this example:

RUNCMD="cleartool find <<vob_directory>>/$dir -type f -exec "'cleartool co -nc \$CLEARCASE_PN'""

or even chaging the single quote by a double quote (as in this thread)

RUNCMD="cleartool find <<vob_directory>>/$dir -type f -exec "cleartool co -nc \"\$CLEARCASE_PN\""

(note the '\"' around \$CLEARCASE_PN in order to take into account path names with space in them)

I think you're onto something about the command being expanded (or *not* expanded) correctly. I tried several "styles" of quotes arrangements, but ultimately none really worked. Appreciate you lending a set of eyes on this. — user1766760, Apr 17 '13 at 21:53
thanks for the links - I'm marking your reply as answer since it'll be more useful. And I don't know about the differences between `ksh` and `bash` myself. — user1766760, Apr 19 '13 at 23:19

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 17 '13 at 21:55

1

I can't speak to why this works, but a co-worker tipped me off about eval. Turns out this works.

for dir in `cat $DIRS`
do
    RUNCMD="cleartool find <<vob_directory>>/$dir -type f -exec 'cleartool co -nc \$CLEARCASE_PN'"
    print $RUNCMD
    eval $RUNCMD
done
exit 1

answered Apr 17 '13 at 21:55

user1766760

631
2
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26

Excellent. +1. I have referenced it in my question, with an additional reference to other ksh eval questions. – VonC Apr 18 '13 at 05:29

ClearCase command won't run in script

2 Answers2