Syntax error: word unexpected (expecting "in")

Question

i'm writing a script but get the error : Syntax error: word unexpected (expecting "in") I don't really see where the error could be

#!/bin/bash
for dir in "$@"

do

mv "$dir"/* /tmp

done

if [ $# -lt 1 ] ; then

echo "ERROR: no argument"

exit 1  # pas 0

else

   case $#

   -d) mv -R $dir/* /tmp        
       ;;

-x) find -executable -type f | xargs mv -t "$dir"/* /tmp

;;

esac

fi

Is your script really double-spaced like that? All those blank lines aren't particularly helpful. Consistent indentation would be. — Keith Thompson, Aug 27 '14 at 18:16
You might want to read about the `getopts` command in the `bash` man page. — chepner, Aug 27 '14 at 18:32

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 27 '14 at 18:12

4

As the error says, "in" is missing. Per the case syntax,

case word in [ [(] pattern [| pattern]…) command-list ;;]… esac

but there is no "in" after the word ($#) in the code - add it.

answered Aug 27 '14 at 18:12

user2864740

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3

Not to mention that `$#` is never going to match either `-d` or `-x`. – Etan Reisner Aug 27 '14 at 18:21
1

And the syntax checking and what not should probably be done first, before the destructive `mv` commands start rearranging things... – twalberg Aug 27 '14 at 19:39

Syntax error: word unexpected (expecting "in")

1 Answers1