How do I write a bash script to compile multiple files containing spaces?

Question

This is the code I have:

#!/bin/bash
FILES=~/Desktop/cpp/$1/*
mkdir ~/Desktop/cpp/$1o 
for f in $FILES
do
    echo $(basename $f) >>  ~/Desktop/cpp/$1err.log
    g++ '"'$f'"' -std=c++11 -o '"'~/Desktop/cpp/$1o/$(basename "$f").out'"' 2>>  ~/Desktop/cpp/$1err.log
done

If I don't use '"' parts, then the script works fine for files without spaces. With them, it says:

usr/bin/ld: cannot open output file /dirname/-
x.out: No such file or directory

How do I add quotation marks around the file name so that spaces are supported?

glenn jackman · Accepted Answer · 2020-10-03 17:03:43Z

2

You need to quote the variables with double quotes, not '"' literal double quote strings, just plain "$f" double quotes. See Security implications of forgetting to quote a variable in bash/POSIX shells for all the gory details.

And I'd use more variables to reduce duplication.

Try this:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
cppdir="$HOME/Desktop/cpp/$1"
if [[ ! -d "$cppdir" ]]; then
    echo "No such directory" >&2
    exit 1
fi

outdir="${cppdir}o"
mkdir -p "$outdir"

errlog="${cppdir}err.log"

for f in "$cppdir"/*; do
    b=$(basename "$f")
    printf '%s\n' "$b" >> "$errlog"
    g++ "$f" -std=c++11 -o "$outdir/$b.out" 2>> "$errlog"
done

answered Oct 3, 2020 at 17:03

glenn jackman

88.5k16 gold badges124 silver badges179 bronze badges

Thanks. I tried using "s first, but it didn't work. Your code works though. I'm not sure why. I wrote: g++ "$f" -std=c++11 -o "~/Desktop/cpp/$1o/$(basename "$f").out" 2>> ~/Desktop/cpp/$1err.log

Kazi Siddiqui
– Kazi Siddiqui

2020-10-03 17:47:30 +00:00
Commented Oct 3, 2020 at 17:47
When you put the tilde inside quotes, it doesn't expand.

glenn jackman
– glenn jackman

2020-10-03 21:01:35 +00:00
Commented Oct 3, 2020 at 21:01

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FelixJN · Accepted Answer · 2020-10-03 17:09:13Z

0

A standard way is to use find and xargs with a NUL-character as delimiter:

outdir="$1"o
mkdir "$outdir"
errlog="$1"err.log
touch "$errlog"

find ~/Desktop/cpp/"$1"/ -type f -name '*.cpp' -print0 |
  xargs -0 -I source bash -c "echo source >> $errlog &&
    g++ source -std=c++11 -o source.out 2>> $errlog"

answered Oct 3, 2020 at 17:09

FelixJN

14.1k2 gold badges36 silver badges55 bronze badges

Thank you. I hadn't tried checking extensions yet.

Kazi Siddiqui
– Kazi Siddiqui

2020-10-03 17:50:48 +00:00
Commented Oct 3, 2020 at 17:50

Add a comment |

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