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UNIX TUTORIALS - Unix - Basic Operators

Unix - Basic Operators

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Arithmetic Operators:

OperatorDescriptionExample
+Addition - Adds values on either side of the operator `expr $a + $b` will give 30
-Subtraction - Subtracts right hand operand from left hand operand `expr $a - $b` will give -10
*Multiplication - Multiplies values on either side of the operator`expr $a \* $b` will give 200
/Division - Divides left hand operand by right hand operand`expr $b / $a` will give 2
%Modulus - Divides left hand operand by right hand operand and returns remainder `expr $b % $a` will give 0
=Assignment - Assign right operand in left operand a=$b would assign value of b into a
==Equality - Compares two numbers, if both are same then returns true. [ $a == $b ] would return false.
!=Not Equality - Compares two numbers, if both are different then returns true. [ $a != $b ] would return true.

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Relational Operators:

OperatorDescriptionExample
-eq Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not, if yes then condition becomes true. [ $a -eq $b ] is not true.
-ne Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not, if values are not equal then condition becomes true.[ $a -ne $b ] is true.
-gt Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. [ $a -gt $b ] is not true.
-lt Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. [ $a -lt $b ] is true.
-ge Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or equal to the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. [ $a -ge $b ] is not true.
-le Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal to the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. [ $a -le $b ] is true.

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Boolean Operators:

OperatorDescriptionExample
! This is logical negation. This inverts a true condition into false and vice versa. [ ! false ] is true.
-oThis is logical OR. If one of the operands is true then condition would be true.[ $a -lt 20 -o $b -gt 100 ] is true.
-aThis is logical AND. If both the operands are true then condition would be true otherwise it would be false.[ $a -lt 20 -a $b -gt 100 ] is false.

String Operators:

OperatorDescriptionExample
= Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not, if yes then condition becomes true. [ $a = $b ] is not true.
!= Checks if the value of two operands are equal or not, if values are not equal then condition becomes true.[ $a != $b ] is true.
-z Checks if the given string operand size is zero. If it is zero length then it returns true. [ -z $a ] is not true.
-n Checks if the given string operand size is non-zero. If it is non-zero length then it returns true. [ -z $a ] is not false.
str Check if str is not the empty string. If it is empty then it returns false. [ $a ] is not false.

File Test Operators:

OperatorDescriptionExample
-b file Checks if file is a block special file if yes then condition becomes true. [ -b $file ] is false.
-c file Checks if file is a character special file if yes then condition becomes true. [ -b $file ] is false.
-d file Check if file is a directory if yes then condition becomes true. [ -d $file ] is not true.
-f file Check if file is an ordinary file as opposed to a directory or special file if yes then condition becomes true. [ -f $file ] is true.
-g file Checks if file has its set group ID (SGID) bit set if yes then condition becomes true. [ -g $file ] is false.
-k file Checks if file has its sticky bit set if yes then condition becomes true. [ -k $file ] is false.
-p file Checks if file is a named pipe if yes then condition becomes true. [ -p $file ] is false.
-t file Checks if file descriptor is open and associated with a terminal if yes then condition becomes true. [ -t $file ] is false.
-u file Checks if file has its set user id (SUID) bit set if yes then condition becomes true. [ -u $file ] is false.
-r file Checks if file is readable if yes then condition becomes true. [ -r $file ] is true.
-w file Check if file is writable if yes then condition becomes true. [ -w $file ] is true.
-x file Check if file is execute if yes then condition becomes true. [ -x $file ] is true.
-s file Check if file has size greater than 0 if yes then condition becomes true. [ -s $file ] is true.
-e file Check if file exists. Is true even if file is a directory but exists. [ -e $file ] is true.

#!/bin/sh

val=`expr 2 + 2`
echo "Total value : $val"

Total value : 4