[SOLVED] How to add the info from read into a list?

[keshk]

Hi, I'm trying to read the user's input and store them in a list using a while loop. I came up with the following code but it just adds a new input each time and deleting the previous input instead of storing them all. Also I'm using -1 to quit the program but current setup will insert the -1 into the list too which I want to avoid.

I'm new to linux. any guidance is appreciated. Tnks in advance.

#!/bin/bash
userInput=-99999
while [ $userInput -ne -1 ]
do
echo "Enter any number. Enter -1 to quit"
read userInput
myArray=($userInput)
echo $myArray
done

[kakariko81280]

Hi there,

This bash array tutorial suggests your assignment should read something like:

myArray=($myArray $userInput)

So this will append the userInput rather than replacing the array. You'll also need to wrap the assignment in an if condition to avoid appending the final -1 value, or trim the last value after the loop completes.

Let us know how you get on.

[keshk]

Hi, tried out the method you mentioned. It lets me store up to 2 inputs only. Meaning, if I enter 10 and then a 1, the 10 stays. If I go on to enter a 3rd input example 2, I get 50 & 2. The 1 is deleted.

[alf55]

Hi there,

This bash array tutorial suggests your assignment should read something like:

myArray=($myArray $userInput)

So this will append the userInput rather than replacing the array. You'll also need to wrap the assignment in an if condition to avoid appending the final -1 value, or trim the last value after the loop completes.

Let us know how you get on.

The problem is that $myArray only references the first item in the array. You need to reference the whole array:

myArray=(${myArray[@]}  $userInput)

Or more simply use the "append to array" via:

myArray+=($userInput)

Also the loop could be so much simpler as:

myArray=()
while read -p "Enter any number (ctrl-d to quit): " userInput; do
     myArray+=($userInput)
done
echo 
echo ${myArray[@]}

echo "Enter any number. Enter -1 to quit"
read userInput

[keshk]

Hi, re adjusted the codes as follows:

#!/bin/bash
userInput=-99999
while [ $userInput -ne -1 ]
do
echo "Enter any number. Enter -1 to quit"
read userInput
myArray+=(${myArray[@]} $userInput)
echo $myArray
done

But the print out is still as follows:

Enter any number. Enter -1 to quit
4
1
Enter any number. Enter -1 to quit
5
1
Enter any number. Enter -1 to quit
6
1
Enter any number. Enter -1 to quit
-1
1

Am attempting to get a print out like follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6

Thanks for help.

[atreyu]

Here's one way to do it. While in an eternal loop, count the total elements in the array so far, then use that number as the index number of the input number given. That will auto-increment the array for you. I've added a bit to check that the input is a number, too. Give it a whirl.

#!/bin/bash
declare -a myArray
while :; do
  while [ -z "$userInput" ]; do
    echo -n "Enter any number. Enter -1 to quit: "
    read userInput
    if [ -n "$userInput" ]; then
      [ "$userInput" == '-1' ] && stop=1 && break
      echo $userInput|grep -q ^[0-9]*$
      if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
        echo "\`$userInput' is not a number"
        unset userInput
      fi
    fi
  done
  [ -n "$stop" ] && break
  cnt=${#myArray[*]}
  myArray[$cnt]=$userInput
  unset userInput
done
echo ${myArray[*]}

[keshk]

That's pretty advanced for me..

declare, why u use ;; after while, break, &&, unset all new to me..

[atreyu]

That's pretty advanced for me..

it was at one time for me, too, but i've found they are really simple concepts to learn and are great things to know and use when Bash scripting.

declare, why u use ;; after while, break, &&, unset all new to me..

i'll try to explain what these are doing:

declare -a NAME
Used to signify that a given variable is an array. it helps you when you are looking at your script to know what is a regular variable and what is supposed to be an array. it is not strictly necessary, but declare is useful to do things like declare that a variable must be an integer (-i) or read-only (-r).

while :;
The : here is just short-hand for "true", so you could also do while true; do but the colon is quicker to type! Also, while :; basically means "run an eternal loop" (it will be broken out of by logical within the loop).

break
Simply means to break out of a for or while loop. Consider these examples:

# break out of for loop
for i in `seq 1 9`; do echo $i;sleep 1;[ $i -eq 5 ] && break;done

# break out of while loop
declare -i i=1;while :; do [ $i -eq 5 ] && break;echo $i;sleep 1;let i+=1;done

in both of those examples, you can remove the [ $i -eq 5 ] && break; portion of the code to see that the loops now run without breaking out.

&&
This is a way of saying "and" to run another command after evaluating a first command, but only if the first command returns true. Related to it is the || function, which can be considered "or". Consider this example:

i=1;[ $i -gt 2 ] && echo "$i is greater than 2" || echo "$i is less than or equal to 2"

change the first part to i=2 and see what happens.

unset
If you are in a for or while loop, and you want to reuse a variable, it is wise to empty it first, so that you don't mistakenly re-use the value from a previous iteration of the loop. The unset built-in command simply erases the value from the variable.

Also, check out the Bash man page, you read up on all the shell built-in functions there:

man bash

[keshk]

Thanks for explaining. I re adjusted the codes based on the examples so far. One thing still missing, I'm unable to exclude the -1 from my array. Meaning, for example I want the print out to be 1 2 3 4. But instead I'm getting 1 2 3 4 -1 cos I enter -1 to end the loop. I believe I gotta do something like if array[-1] == -1, delete -1. Can't figure out exact code to match. Tnks for help.

#!/bin/sh
option=0
myArray=()
while [ $option -ne -1 ]
do
echo "Enter number to add to array. Enter -1 to quit: "
read option
myArray+=($option)
done
echo ${myArray[*]}

[atreyu]

use the handy && operator that you now know about. instead of this line:

myArray+=($option)

try this line:

[ "$option" != '-1' ] && myArray+=($option)