Created SC2170 (markdown)

koalaman
2015-10-14 10:37:21 -07:00
parent b04cf64b9d
commit 76115d51a6

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SC2170.md Normal file

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## Numerical -eq does not dereference in [..]. Expand or use string operator.
### Problematic code:
```sh
read -r n
if [ n -lt 0 ]
then
echo "bad input"
fi
```
### Correct code:
```sh
read -r n
if [ "$n" -lt 0 ]
then
echo "bad input"
fi
```
### Rationale:
You are comparing a string value with a numerical operator, such as `-eq`, `-ne`, `-lt` or `-gt`.
In `[[ .. ]]`, this would automatically dereference the string, looking to see if there are variables by that name.
In `[ .. ]`, which you are using, the string is just treated as an invalid number.
If you want to compare numbers, expand yourself (e.g. use `$var` instead of `var`). If you are trying to compare strings and not numbers, use `=`, `!=` `\<` or `\>` instead.
### Exceptions:
None.