Help defining a Variable. Error message: Expecting integer

[jompa]

Hello!

I'm making a backup script for a school assignent, includes a part where I have to check if it's the last saturday in each month or not.
I've got the checking and everything already done, but I can't get the varible that's supposed to find the last saturday of each month to work.

LASTSAT=$(cal|awk '{if(NF==7){SAT=$7}};END{print SAT}')

This is what I'm trying to put into the variable LASTSAT, but when I run the script I get the error message on that line telling me "integer expression expected"
When I put it in the terminal it works, and does what I'm looking for just fine (returning the last saturday as a number)

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance
Jompa.

[mizzle]

Try putting everything to the right of the = sign in ""

[jompa]

It didn't do the trick :/
Maybe I should include the code calling the variable, I didn't think that it might be that part that could be wrong

  if [ $DAY -eq $SATURDAY ]
    then
	if [ $DAY -eq $LASTSAT ]
	then
	    echo "Idag tar vi bort alla lördags backuper som är minst $OLDLAST dagar gamla..."
	    find . -name '$FILEL' -mtime +$OLDLAST -delete	
	else
	    echo "Idag tar vi bort alla lördags backuper som är minst $OLDSAT dagar gamla..."
	    find . -name '$FILES' -mtime +$OLDSAT -delete	
	fi                                                   
    fi

[mizzle]

Yes, the problem was in that second part.

When you're running the first part LASTSAT=..., it's writing the variable as a string.

So, just make these changes:

if [ "$DAY" = "$SATURDAY" ]
then
if [ "$DAY" = "$LASTSAT" ]

Bash is funny about variables and variable types (because they are un-typed)

[jompa]

Ahh I see.
Thanks for your help! It's really appriciated.

So as soon as you have a varible which haven't got the very definition of it printed in black and white you have to use = instead of -eq?

[mizzle]

-eq is only for integers. Since you used awk to select a certain value from an output that was already a string, bash decided it was a string.
I'm not a master at explaining bash scripting. check out the test man page
man test

That will tell you lots of different ways to compare things in bash.