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This might be an obvious error but I'm just not seeing it. I have a case statement which is supposed to enable passing arguments to a script (ex: script.sh --verbose --all).

For some reason, this specific function does not work correctly - it only works on whichever flag I pass first:

#Pass arguments to the script
flags()
{
    while test $# -gt 0
    do
        case "$1" in
        (-v|--verbose)
            shift
            export VERBOSE="1"
            shift;;
        (-vv|--extra-verbose)
            shift
            export VERBOSE="1"
            export EXTRA_VERBOSE="1"
            shift;;
        (-a|--all)
            shift
            export ALL="1"
            shift;;
        (-h|--help)
            usage;;
        (*) usage;;
        esac
    done
}
flags "$@"
echo "Verbose: $VERBOSE, Extra Verbose: $EXTRA_VERBOSE, All: $ALL"

So in this case, if I pass -v -a, the script will only set the $VERBOSE variable. If I pass -a -v, the script will only set the $ALL variable.

I have quite a few scripts using this structure which do not exhibit this.

I'd really appreciate it if you could help me figure out what is it I'm missing.

Thanks!

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6
  • 4
    Why do you shift twice? Commented Apr 27, 2022 at 11:47
  • The intention was to move past the next flag to the next argumet. Should I remove one of the shifts? Commented Apr 27, 2022 at 11:48
  • 1
    Each shift removes one value from the start of the list Commented Apr 27, 2022 at 12:00
  • 1
    @PGEL: if you pass -v -a, $1 is -v and $2 is -a. After a shift, $1 is -a. After the second shift, $# is 0. Commented Apr 27, 2022 at 12:27
  • 1
    You don't need to export every variable. Commented Apr 27, 2022 at 13:47

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

You have too many shift. It should be done just once, after you processed an argument, you shift to a next one.

#!/bin/sh
#Pass arguments to the script
flags()
{
    while test $# -gt 0
    do
        case "$1" in
        -v|--verbose)
            export VERBOSE="1"
            ;;
        -vv|--extra-verbose)
            export VERBOSE="1"
            export EXTRA_VERBOSE="1"
            ;;
        -a|--all)
            export ALL="1"
            ;;
        -h|--help)
            usage;;
        *) usage;;
        esac

        # and here we shift to the next argument 
        shift
    done
}
flags "$@"
echo "Verbose: $VERBOSE, Extra Verbose: $EXTRA_VERBOSE, All: $ALL"
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