test(1F) FMLI Commands test(1F)NAMEtest - condition evaluation command
SYNOPSIStest expression
expression
DESCRIPTIONtest evaluates the expression expression and if its value is true, sets
a 0 (TRUE) exit status; otherwise, a non-zero (FALSE) exit status is
set; test also sets a non-zero exit status if there are no arguments.
When permissions are tested, the effective user ID of the process is
used.
All operators, flags, and brackets (brackets used as shown in the sec‐
ond SYNOPSIS line) must be separate arguments to test. Normally these
items are separated by spaces.
USAGE
Primitives
The following primitives are used to construct expression:
-r filename True if filename exists and is readable.
-w filename True if filename exists and is writable.
-x filename True if filename exists and is executable.
-f filename True if filename exists and is a regular file.
-d filename True if filename exists and is a directory.
-c filename True if filename exists and is a character special
file.
-b filename True if filename exists and is a block special file.
-p filename True if filename exists and is a named pipe (FIFO).
-u filename True if filename exists and its set-user-ID bit is
set.
-g filename True if filename exists and its set-group-ID bit is
set.
-k filename True if filename exists and its sticky bit is set.
-s filename True if filename exists and has a size greater than
0.
-t[fildes] True if the open file whose file descriptor number is
fildes (1 by default) is associated with a terminal
device.
-z s1 True if the length of string s1 is 0.
-n s1 True if the length of the string s1 is non-zero.
s1 = s2 True if strings s1 and s2 are identical.
s1 != s2 True if strings s1 and s2 are not identical.
s1 True if s1 is not the null string.
n1 −eq n2 True if the integers n1 and n2 are algebraically
equal. Any of the comparisons −ne, −gt, −ge, −lt, and
−le may be used in place of −eq.
Operators
These primaries may be combined with the following operators:
! Unary negation operator.
-a Binary and operator.
-o Binary or operator (-a has higher precedence than
-o).
`(expression)` Parentheses for grouping. Notice also that paren‐
theses are meaningful to the shell and, there‐
fore, must be quoted.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWcs │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOfind(1), sh(1), attributes(5)NOTES
If you test a file you own (the -r , -w , or -x tests), but the permis‐
sion tested does not have the owner bit set, a non-zero (false) exit
status will be returned even though the file may have the group or
other bit set for that permission. The correct exit status will be set
if you are super-user.
The = and != operators have a higher precedence than the -r through -n
operators, and = and != always expect arguments; therefore, = and !=
cannot be used with the -r through -n operators.
If more than one argument follows the -r through -n operators, only the
first argument is examined; the others are ignored, unless a -a or a -o
is the second argument.
SunOS 5.11 5 Jul 1990 test(1F)
