if, elif, else statement issues in Bash

Question

I can't seem to work out what the issue with the following if statement is in regards to the elif and then. Keep in mind the printf is still under development I just haven't been able to test it yet in the statement so is more than likely wrong.

The error I'm getting is:

./timezone_string.sh: line 14: syntax error near unexpected token `then'
./timezone_string.sh: line 14: `then'

And the statement is like so.

if [ "$seconds" -eq 0 ];then
   $timezone_string="Z"
elif[ "$seconds" -gt 0 ]
then
   $timezone_string=`printf "%02d:%02d" $seconds/3600 ($seconds/60)%60`
else
   echo "Unknown parameter"
fi

Answer 1

There is a space missing between elif and [:

elif[ "$seconds" -gt 0 ]

should be

elif [ "$seconds" -gt 0 ]

All together, the syntax to follow is:

if [ conditions ]; then
   # Things
elif [ other_conditions ]; then
   # Other things
else
   # In case none of the above occurs
fi

---

As I see this question is getting a lot of views, it is important to indicate that the syntax to follow is:

if [ conditions ]
# ^ ^          ^

meaning that spaces are needed around the brackets. Otherwise, it won't work. This is because [ itself is a command.

The reason why you are not seeing something like elif[: command not found (or similar) is that after seeing if and then, the shell is looking for either elif, else, or fi. However it finds another then (after the mis-formatted elif[). Only after having parsed the statement it would be executed (and an error message like elif[: command not found would be output).

Answer 2

You have some syntax issues with your script. Here is a fixed version:

#!/bin/bash

if [ "$seconds" -eq 0 ]; then
   timezone_string="Z"
elif [ "$seconds" -gt 0 ]; then
   timezone_string=$(printf "%02d:%02d" $((seconds/3600)) $(((seconds / 60) % 60)))
else
   echo "Unknown parameter"
fi

Answer 3

[ is a command (or a builtin in some shells). It must be separated by whitespace from the preceding statement:

elif [

Answer 4

I would recommend you having a look at the basics of conditioning in bash.

The symbol "[" is a command and must have a whitespace prior to it. If you don't give whitespace after your elif, the system interprets elif[ as a a particular command which is definitely not what you'd want at this time.

Usage:

elif(A COMPULSORY WHITESPACE WITHOUT PARENTHESIS)[(A WHITE SPACE WITHOUT PARENTHESIS)conditions(A WHITESPACE WITHOUT PARENTHESIS)]

In short, edit your code segment to:

elif [ "$seconds" -gt 0 ]

You'd be fine with no compilation errors. Your final code segment should look like this:

#!/bin/sh    
if [ "$seconds" -eq 0 ];then
       $timezone_string="Z"
    elif [ "$seconds" -gt 0 ]
    then
       $timezone_string=`printf "%02d:%02d" $seconds/3600 ($seconds/60)%60`
    else
       echo "Unknown parameter"
    fi

Answer 5

Missing space between elif and [ rest your program is correct. you need to correct it an check it out. here is fixed program:

#!/bin/bash

if [ "$seconds" -eq 0 ]; then
   timezone_string="Z"
elif [ "$seconds" -gt 0 ]; then
   timezone_string=$(printf "%02d:%02d" $((seconds/3600)) $(((seconds / 60) % 60)))
else
   echo "Unknown parameter"
fi

useful link related to this bash if else statement