OK, ok, I'm calmer now.

It appears that I am using tcsh and have chosen a scripting language 
for which there is no ready reference. I'll google a bit before I try 
changing to bash. I suspect that when I make the change everything will 
blow up and I will wish I had switched to Perl several months ago. Oh 
well.

Course I still don't know how to write an 'if' statement, but may be 
able  to get beyond random combinations of if, then, then;, end-if, 
endif, fi, -if etc. etc. ad insanitatum.

Thanks for the help. It is much appreciated.

cdt


Quoting Wesley Alan Wright <[log in to unmask]>:

> On Jun 28, 2006, at 11:30 AM, Curt Duncan Taylor wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Shouldn't someone be able to say - "OK, because you don't specify  
>> otherwise in your script, you are using this scripting language  
>> version x.xxxx and you can get up-to-date documentation at this web  
>> site?"
>>
>
> OK, how bout this: make this the first line in the script
>
> 	#!/bin/bash
>
> And then you know it will use bash.
>
> (who-what-how launches your script? there might be some clue there  
> what shell it is using)
>
> Documentation
>
> 	http://www.google.com/search?q=shell+scripting+bash
>
>
>> AllIwanando is write a working "if" statement.
>>
>> Sorry, if this sounds a little rantish.
>
> Sorry, this is a University, an Institution of Higher Learning. You  
> must learn something (more than you asked for) from this experience.
>