A script that renames a folder to an integer after some other steps...

[Agent-X]

I'm not too sure how to explain what I'm trying to do. I'll eventually open up some sed and awk books, but at the moment, I don't know how to do what I want.

prestart: mount /dev/something1

1. Rename */foldername/ to an integer stored in a file.
2. Pull integer from file.
3. If integer in file = 0, which is the default for just beginning, then rename folder to */1/
4. Store proof of integer change in file. Integer in file turns into 1.
5. Transfer files from */1/ to external medium
6. Delete */1/
7. umount /dev/something1

new start:

1. mount /dev/something1
2. Rename */foldername/ to an integer stored in the previously mentioned file
3. Since stored integer = 1, rename folder to */2/
4. Store proof of integer change in file. Integer in file turns into 2.
5. Transfer files from */2/ to external medium
6. Delete */2/
7. umount /dev/something1

You've got the idea, I guess.

*/foldername/ is never a number. It uses letters.

[tpl]

why not just copy the files over--what's the
point of renaming a directory that is soon rm'ed?

[Agent-X]

Speed. If you do the process over 30 times, you start to get annoyed.

I decided to not waste my time looking for the answer.
I'll just create 30+ batch scripts that replace each other.
It's faster since I'll only need to change 2 variables in each script.