User Input Bash Script

[Scallywag]

I could use some help!

I've written a bash script that allows a user to input a directory location to find out the size of the directory. However, if the user inputs a directory and finds its size then inputs another directory then wants to quit, the script asks the user numerous times if he wants to quit!! The script won't exit until the number of times the user looks at a directory is reached! What gives?

Here's the script:

# size - find the size of any directory
clear
echo "This utility allows you to find the size of a directory."
echo -e "\e[1;33m NOTE: the default location is /home/jim/\033[0m"
echo "------------------------------------------------------"
echo -ne "Enter a location and press [ENTER]: "
read file
if  [ "$file" != "" ]; then
	clear	
	echo
	echo -ne "The size of this directory is: "
	du -sh $file;
while true; do
    echo
    read -p "Do you want to enter another location? (y/n) " yn
    case $yn in
        [Yy]* ) clear; size;;
        [Nn]* ) exit;;
        * ) echo "Please answer yes or no.";;
    esac
done
elif  [ "$file" == "" ]; then
  clear
  while true; do
    echo "You didn't enter a location."
    read -p "Would you like to quit? (y/n) " yn
    echo
    case $yn in
        [Yy]* ) exit;;
        [Nn]* ) clear; size;;
        * ) echo "Please answer yes or no.";;
    esac
done
fi
exit 0

Any help would be appreciated...

[nmset]

THIS="$0"

...
...

#CHANGE 
[Yy]* ) clear; size;;
#BY
[Yy]* ) clear; $THIS; exit 0;;

Your script name size conflicts with /usr/bin/size. And the script must exit from the running instance if the script calls itself recursively.

Also, that's your choice, but I would not have asked for new user input in the script succeeds after tne first request. And if the user does not input a dir, I would simply exit. The developper is not the user's nanny.

[Cabhan]

So to be a bit more specific:

When you call "size" in your if statement that nmset pointed out, you are actually launching a new version of your script. So if you check the size of three directories, there are now three copies of your script running. The first request to exit exits the third one, then the second, then the first. If you have your script output the variable $$ (the PID) at some point, you will see the different instances of the script.

The simplest way around this would be to turn your program into a loop, not a recursion. You could abstract your checking code out into a function, and call that function for each requested directory, then exit the whole script once.

[nmset]

Cabhan is quite right, a function and a loop are more elegant and effective to use than recursion.

[Scallywag]

Thanks. i appreciate the help. I'm going to recode it with a loop...