test(1F)
NAME
test - condition evaluation command
SYNOPSIS
test expression
expression
DESCRIPTION
test 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 second 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 opera-
tors:
! Unary negation operator.
-a Binary and operator.
-o Binary or operator (-a has higher precedence than -o).
`(expression)`
Parentheses for grouping. Notice also that parentheses
are meaningful to the shell and, therefore, must be
quoted.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
____________________________________________________________
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Availability | SUNWcsu |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
SEE ALSO
find(1), sh(1), attributes(5)
NOTES
If you test a file you own (the -r , -w , or -x tests), but
the permission 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 per-
mission. 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 opera-
tors, only the first argument is examined; the others are
ignored, unless a -a or a -o is the second argument.
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