For Linux system experts, bash scripts are like toolboxes. They are scripts that will speed up the process for each job and eliminate repetitive jobs. Scripts eliminate duplicating the process manually, but repetitive work continues within the script. Counters help us determine how many times the process will be repeated.
How to Use Counter in Bash?
Counters are used for repetitive operations (loops) in Bash. Counter operators:
+,-+=,-=++,--
We will talk about two methods used to count a number:
- Let
- Bash Arithmetic
We will demonstrate these methods in 3 different types of loops(for, while, until).
Arithmetic operations can be performed using double braces ((...)) and $((...)). In the let command, you can write " " with double quotes or without quotes.
Now let's examine the operators used with examples.
Using the + and - Counter Operators
Examples of the use of these operators are as follows:
for increment:
num=$((num+1))
((num=num+1))
let "num=num+1"for decrement:
num=$((num-1))
((num=num-1))
let "num=num-1"Example bash script for the for loop:
#!/bin/bash
for((num=0; num<5; num=num+1))
do
echo "num:"$num
doneHere, incrementing the counter was done with num=num+1. The script is written using let like this:
#!/bin/bash
for((num=0; num<5;))
do
echo "num:"$num
let num=num+1
done
Script output:
foc@fedora:/tmp$ ./counter.sh
num:0
num:1
num:2
num:3
num:4
In this way, the num value is increased by one. By writing - instead of + statement, the opposite is done.
Using the += and -= Counter Operators
Examples of the use of these operators are as follows:
for increment:
num=$((num+=1))
((num+=1))
let "num+=1"for decrement:
num=$((num-=1))
((num-=1))
let "num-=1"Bash example for the += and -= counter operators in a while loop:
#!/bin/bash
num=0
while(($num<6))
do
echo "num:" $num
((num+=1))
done
Script output:
foc@fedora:/tmp$ ./counter.sh
num: 0
num: 1
num: 2
num: 3
num: 4
num: 5
You can also write let num+=1 instead of ((num+=1)) value.
Using the ++ and -- Counter Operators
Examples of the use of these operators are as follows:
for increment:
num=$((num++))
((num++))
let "num++"for decrement:
num=$((num--))
((num--))
let "num--"In the Until loop, the counter is written like this:
#!/bin/bash
num=0
until [ $num -gt 7 ]
do
echo "num:"$num
((num++))
done
Instead of ((num++)) you can write let num++.
With this operator until loop output:
foc@fedora:/tmp$ ./counter.sh
num: 0
num: 1
num: 2
num: 3
num: 4
num: 5
num: 6
num: 7
Counter continued to increase by one.
Summary
We explained the use of counters in Bash. We gave examples with frequently used loops. The help menu of the Let command will help in this regard:
foc@fedora:~$ let --help
let: let arg [arg ...]
Evaluate arithmetic expressions.
Evaluate each ARG as an arithmetic expression. Evaluation is done in
fixed-width integers with no check for overflow, though division by 0
is trapped and flagged as an error. The following list of operators is
grouped into levels of equal-precedence operators. The levels are listed
in order of decreasing precedence.
id++, id-- variable post-increment, post-decrement
++id, --id variable pre-increment, pre-decrement
-, + unary minus, plus
!, ~ logical and bitwise negation
** exponentiation
*, /, % multiplication, division, remainder
+, - addition, subtraction
<<, >> left and right bitwise shifts
<=, >=, <, > comparison
==, != equality, inequality
& bitwise AND
^ bitwise XOR
| bitwise OR
&& logical AND
|| logical OR
expr ? expr : expr
conditional operator
=, *=, /=, %=,
+=, -=, <<=, >>=,
&=, ^=, |= assignment
...
What's Next
I'm leaving a few posts about the loops we talked about while reviewing the counters:
- Bash For Loop usage guide for absolute beginners
- Bash while loop usage with examples for beginners
- Bash until vs while loop: Basic difference explained!
References
stackoverflow.com - Adding Counter in shell script
