bash script using grep in a for loop

Question

I'm trying to grep for missing values in an unzipped powerpoint doc. I'm using this line in my script:

for s in *.xml; do grep -L ppaction://media "$SLIDE_PATH/${s}" | grep -o -E '[0-9]+'; done

the script kicks an error:

grep /genetics/ppt/slides/: No such file or directory
grep: *.xml: No such file or directory

yet that line works fine when run from the terminal. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong here?

I'm guessing $SLIDE_PATH is set in your terminal but not in whatever shell you are using in your script — spartygw
– spartygw, Commented May 14, 2021 at 15:06
I get a similar error if I remove $SLIDE_PATH and hard code the path- /genetics/ppt/slides/*.xml: No such file or directory — richsb
– richsb, Commented May 14, 2021 at 15:23

Paul Hodges · Accepted Answer · 2021-05-14 19:19:08Z

1

Start by checking what you have.

echo *.xml # should list your files

If this outputs *.xml you're in the wrong place.
Try it this way:

for s in "$SLIDE_PATH"/*.xml
do grep -L ppaction://media "$s" | grep -o -E '[0-9]+'
done

Does that work any better?

answered May 14, 2021 at 19:19

Paul Hodges

16k1 gold badge24 silver badges43 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Answer 1