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I've got some files like this:
database1-backup-01-01-2011.sql
database2-backup-01-01-2011.sql
...etc. I want to rename them to add AM, like this:
database1-backup-01-01-2011-AM.sql
database2-backup-01-01-2011-AM.sql
What's the most concise way to do that from the bash shell?
Another option:
for i in *.sql ; do
mv -v $i ${i%.sql}-AM.sql
done
This loops through all the .sql files and renames them to end in -AM.sql instead.
PROTIP: Use $(command) instead of `command` in your scripts (and command-lines), it makes quoting and escaping less of a nightmare.
Try this little script:
#!/bin/sh
FILES=`ls *.sql`
for FILE in ${FILES}
{
BASE=`basename ${FILE} .sql`
mv ${FILE} ${BASE}-AM.sql
}
I just typed that from memory so if it doesn't work 100% don't blame me (i.e., back up your data first ;) )
How it works:
Collect all files into a variable (you could put this inside the for instead but I like to keep things easy to read):
FILES=`ls *.sql`
Loop through each file:
for FILE in ${FILES} { ... }
Get the filename without .sql:
BASE=`basename ${FILE} .sql`
Rename the file, adding -AM.sql to the base name:
mv ${FILE} ${BASE}-AM.sql
FILES=`ls *.sql` and replace ${FILES} by *.sql, shell expansion will take care of finding the files.
Mar 2, 2011 at 14:48
ls command. Keep it simple. By the way, I think the { are bashish, it's better to replace them by do and done: for ...; do ...; done
Mar 2, 2011 at 14:53
FILES=`ls *.sql` <-- there. Shell expansion is built-in, no need for this extra ls.
Mar 2, 2011 at 14:56
ls.. is just one source of files that the script could handle; it would be trivial to change it to use, say, a predefined list of files, or command line arguements, by just editing this variable. No need to change the structure of the for if you want to put the script to another use. Isn't that the point of this site? To give answers that are of interest to the genral populace? If that means making your scripts a little more wordy and a little more understandable then I don't see a problem with ls.. as it implicitly shows what is being worked on.
Using the Perl script version of rename:
rename 's/\.sql$/-AM$&/' *.sql
Using the util-linux-ng version of rename (but only if ".sql" only appears at the end of the filename):
rename .sql -AM.sql *.sql
Using mmv:
mmv '*.sql' '#1-AM.sql'
Since a Perl script has been suggested, here's a Ruby script to do the same:
`ls *.sql`.split("\n").each do |filename|
new_filename = filename.split('.').join('-AM.')
`mv #{filename} #{new_filename}`
end
I suggest to use qmv from renameutils
The qmv program will open list of filenames of choosen directory in your default text editor and allows you to edit them. When you save this edited file list, it applies new names to actual files.
