Need to create filename without trailing CR

[aenagy]

I have a bash script with the following:

LogFile=/tmp/`hostname`_show_config.`date +"%F_%H%M%S"`.log

Experimentation with "cat -v" indicates that "^M" is appended to the end of the filename. How do I get rid of the CR, or what is the correct way of creating this filename?

[hazel]

Are you sure this is really so? I just pasted your command into a console to create a filename and then touched this into /tmp. ls /tmp gave a normal listing with no newline after the new filename. And when I used filename completion, there was no newline either.

[eggi]

It may be that you wrote the script in one place and ftp'ed it to another. Sometimes when you ftp a script (and the server daemon defaults to binary), it'll munge up your code like that.

If that's the case, when you ftp, just be sure to type

ascii

before your "put" or "get" command.

Hope that helped

, Mike

[aenagy]

hazel: That's the funny thing, if I do this from the console it works. If I put this into a bash script I get the extra CR appended to the end.

eggi: This file was not FTP'd. I created it using vi on the same system that I am testing it on. I checked the contents with 'cat -v' and see that each line ends with a single CR (^M) as I expected.

[eggi]

Hmm...

That shoots down my one theory Have you checked the TERM variable in your environment? It may possibly be an stty settings, but I think more likely TERM. Try:

TERM=vt100;export TERM

and create a new file with vi and check that for ^M's.

Of course, you're TERM may already be set to vt100. If so, and that setting is the issue, there are other options.

In your reply to Hazel, did you mean that if you type the line on the console it works correctly? That would make sense, because the ^M carriage-return would cause any negative effects.

Hope I came close this time

Best wishes,

Mike

[drl]

Hi.

If you are using vim to edit the bash script file, it's possible that vim is propagating the CR (^M) at the end.

You can use the last-line command:

:set ff=unix

to cause the CRs to be eliminated at the next write. The page at Change end-of-line format for dos-mac-unix - Vim Tips Wiki - a Wikia wiki provides more information.

I tested this by creating a simple text file. I checked it with cat -v to ensure no CRs were in the file. I then re-edited the file, using the :set as above. The next cat -v showed the CRs at the ends of the lines. I copied that version of the file to a new file and used vi on it. The file-format was determined to be "dos". I assume that vim detected the CR and set the file format accordingly. Lines added to the file were appended with CRs automatically.

If you are not using vi/vim, let us know how you are editing the file ... cheers, drl

[aenagy]

Bingo.

The ':set ff=unix' & resave of the file did the trick and 'cat -v' shows no trailing CR at the end of each line.

Thanks.

[drl]

Hi.

Bingo.

The ':set ff=unix' & resave of the file did the trick and 'cat -v' shows no trailing CR at the end of each line.

Thanks.

You're welcome. I'm glad it worked for you -- it's a not-immediately-apparent feature of a smart tool -- some might say it's too smart.

Thank you for the follow-up -- that may help someone in a similar situation ... cheers, drl