Turn off file expansion for command line arguments

[cptk]

I supply a script with cmd line args ...
e.g. somescript -a *.msg

When I echo the cmd line arguments in the script:
echo "$@" or with echo "$*"
(I want "-a *.msg")

Using a "set -f" within the script has no effect on the cmd line arguments.

However, if I use a "set -f" at the command prompt BEFORE I execute the script, file expansion doesn't occur.

How do I prevent file expansion from within the script on cmd line arguments?

I'm on solaris using ksh shell ...

 

[p5wizard]

You either set -f on the invoking shell (your login shell) or you hide the wildcard characters from it.

set -f
yourscript -a *.msg
set +f

or

yourscript -a "*.msg"
yourscript -a '*.msg'
yourscript -a \*.msg

Another possibility is to use a wildcard character that the shell leaves alone e.g. yourscript -a %.msg

Then within the script, translate (see man tr) that % into a *.



HTH,

p5wizard

 

[cptk]

p5 -

Yes, I understand either case (set -f on the invoking shell or hide the wildcard characters at input), but you & I know we can't expect an end-user to do either of these two task.

How about some kind of an option right after the "#! /bin/ksh" at the top of the script. I tried, to no avail:

#! /bin/ksh -f
or
#! /bin/ksh -o noglob

(In fact I can't get any options to work after the she-bang ... any thoughts?)

 

[p5wizard]

No, settings for the shell that interprets the script cannot keep the parent shell from expanding wildcards BEFORE the script is launched...

You may try using an alias to turn -f on automatically, but I don't see how you'd turn -f off again after you run your script:

alias yourscript='set -f;/path/to/yourscript'

a user invokes:

yourscript -a *.msg

the shell alias-expands this to

set -f; /path/to/yourscript -a *.msg

and the strings are provided unchanged as parameters to yourscript...


HTH,

p5wizard