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(17) Conditional Tests (contd.)

$variable -eq number

True if $variable, interpreted as a number, is equal to number.

$variable -ne number

True if $variable, interpreted as a number, is not equal to number.
Similarly, -lt = less than, -le = less than or equal, -gt = greater than, -ge = greater than or equal

$variable = pattern

True if $variable matches pattern. If pattern contains no wildcards, then this is just an exact text match. The same wildcards as used for filename matching are used.

file1 -nt file2

True if file1 is newer than file2.
Similarly -ot = older than

file1 -ef file2

true if file1 is effectively the same as file2, after following symlinks and hard links.

conditional -a conditional, conditional -o conditional

AND and OR syntax for test and [

conditional && conditional, conditional || conditional

AND and OR syntax for [[ ... ]]

Examples:

if [[  -x /usr/local/bin/lserve && \
       -w /var/logs/lserve.log ]]; then
   /usr/local/bin/lserve >> /var/logs/lserve.log &
fi

pwent=`grep '^richard:' /etc/passwd`
if [ -z "$pwent" ]; then
   echo richard not found
fi