bash shell script, searching for complex line in makefile (shell parameter expansion issue)

I have an annoying problem, I want a script to search through a makefile (using grep) for a particular annoying line. The problem is best illustrated concretely:

someMakefile (minimal Makefile):

#!/usr/bin/env bash echo bla bla OBJ_DIR='something' EXE_FILE='my_exe' cp $(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE) ../bin/. echo 'doing something else now' 

testScript.sh (test for the existence of the difficult line):

cat testScript.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash set -x foundNumLines = $(grep -in 'cp $(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE) ../bin/.' someMakefile) echo "foundNumLines = $foundNumLines" set +x 

From the commandline (this DOES work):

$ grep -in 'cp $(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE) ../bin/.' someMakefile 5:cp $(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE) ../bin/. 

From the script (this does NOT work and I cannot figure out how to make it work):

$ ./testScript.sh ++ grep -in 'cp $(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE) ../bin/.' someMakefile + foundNumLines = 5:cp '$(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE)' ../bin/. ./testScript.sh: line 4: foundNumLines: command not found + echo 'foundNumLines = ' foundNumLines = + set +x 

When "grep" works from the script, I wanted to use maybe "wc" or similar, to detect the presence of the line and then do something, based on this...

I just cannot make it work, tried many combinations of "'" \' etc - I hope you understand, what I'm trying to achieve, please help with ideas/suggestions, thanks!

1 Answer

To assign values to variables, you need var=value and not var = value. Spaces are significant in this context and that's why you get the command not found error from this line:

foundNumLines = $(grep -in 'cp $(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE) ../bin/.' someMakefile) 

That isn't a variable assignment, it is three commands: foundNumLines, =, and $(grep ... ). What you need is:

foundNumLines=$(grep -in 'cp $(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE) ../bin/.' someMakefile) 

I know you said it was a makefile, but I should point out that the $() construct has meaning in the shell as well. $(foo) will run the command foo and return its output. Therefore, this line:

cp $(OBJ_DIR)/$(EXE_FILE) ../bin/. 

Will first try to execute $OBJ_DIR and $EXE_FILE as commands and insert their output in the place of the variables. Since OBJ_DIR will presumably not be a command, this means that you will be executing

cp / ../bin/. 

Or, if EXE_FILE is in your path and executable:

cp /$outputOfExec_File ../bin/. 

(by the way, there's no need for . there, ../bin/ is the same as ../bin/.).

I thought I'd mention this since you have a bash shebang at the top of your makefile example, so I am assuming you are executing it as a shell script.