Assignment #2 Bash Scripting

Mini Assignment #2 COMP 206

Bash Scripting

Lab C and Mini 1 will provide some background help for this mini assignment.
QUESTION 1: A Project Setup Script
Software developers use scripting to support good software engineering practices. For
this question we will explore a standard way that software developers organize their
home directory when writing software.
Write a script called: mkproj ARGUMENT OWNER
Example: ./mkproj Ass2 jvybihal
Where:
• The script’s name is mkproj
• ARGUMENT is the name of the software project the developer wants to initialize.
• OWNER is the username of the person whom the project belongs to.
Use vi to create the script.
The script must do the following in the order presented:
1. Make sure the script is running in Bash
2. If the user did not provide the correct number of arguments, then display the
following error message and then terminate the script: “Error: Wrong number of
arguments. Please type ./mkproj ARGUMENT OWNER. The argument is the
name of the project. The OWNER is the user name the project belongs to.”
3. If the directory “Projects” does not exist, then the script creates that directory. If
the directory already exists then nothing is done.
4. Change the working directory to Projects
5. If the directory ARGUMENT (i.e. the project name) already exists within the
directory Projects, then terminate the script with the following error and change
directory to the parent directory (where we came from): “Error: The project name
has already been used. Please select another project name and try again.”
6. Create the directory ARGUMENT (i.e. the project name).
7. Change the current directory to the directory ARGUMENT (i.e. the project name)
8. Create the subdirectories: archive, backup, docs, assets, database, source. Then
use the ls command to display them as verification to the user.
9. Create a readme.txt file in the docs directory with the following default
information: “Created by:” and then insert the OWNER name. Display the file as
verification to the user.

This script automates the creation of projects (each with its own directory name) within a
directory called Projects. You can use this script for future assignments in this course as
well as other courses.
BONUS: (for no extra points) you may want the script to divide projects by course
number or some other designator (we saw this in mini1 where Projects and then
COMP206 was created before creating the directories). This is not required in this
assignment, but if you want to add it, then change the command-line arguments to:
 mkproj ARGUMENT SUB OWNER
Where SUB is the subdirectory (like COMP206) where all the directories will be created
under Projects. Therefore: Projects/SUB/ARGUMENT/ all the directories for the
project. Make sure to tell your TA that you have done this.
QUESTION 2: A Backup Script
Write a script called: backup SWITCH FILES DEST MESSAGE
Example: ./backup -D ~/source/*.c ~/backup Initial backup example
Where:
• SWITCH is optional: -D for delete original files. If not present the files to be
backed-up are not deleted.
• FILES is the path, using wild cards, of the files to be backed-up.
• DEST is the path to the backup directory.
• MESSAGE is a multiword description about the backup. It will be added to a log
file.
Use vi to create the script.
The script must do the following in the order presented:
1. Make sure the script is running under Bash.
2. Verify that the script has the correct number of arguments. If it does not the script
must terminate with the following error message: “You have the incorrect number
of arguments. The correct syntax is: ./backup SWITCH FILES DEST MESSAGE.
Please try again.”
3. Verify that the DEST directory exists. If it does exist, then do nothing. If it does
not exist, then create the directory.
4. Using the TAR command, backup all the FILES to DEST. Call the backup file
name: “backupDATE.tar”. Where DATE is today’s date (not time).
5. CHMOD the tar file as RW for only the owner.
6. Append to a logfile called “backups.log” the MESSAGE preceded by todays date
and time. This logfile is within the backup directory. The format of this log
message is: DATE TIME MESSAGE. It is all on one line. Each time the backup
script is called a new log is appended to this file.

You must use mimi.cs.mcgill.ca to create the solutions to this assignment. You cannot
use your Mac command-line, Windows command-line, nor a Linux distro installed
locally on your laptop. You can ssh or putty from your laptop to mimi, or you can go
to the third floor of Trottier and use any of those labs, to complete this assignment.
WHAT TO HAND IN
Everything must be submitted to My Courses before the due date. Remember that you
can hand in your assignment up to two days late but there will be a penalty of 5% each
day. After that, your assignment will not be accepted. Please hand in the following:
• The bash script file: mkproj
• The bash script file: backup
• The above two files do not have a file extension.
• Make sure to add comments to your script
• Add you name and student ID number as a comment.
HOW IT WILL BE GRADED
THE TESTING SCRIPT
The TA will run a testing script when evaluating your assignment. This test script is
included in the assignment. You can use this testing script as you write your solution to
verify that your program runs correctly. The script file is called mini2tester.sh.
POINTS AWARDED
The assignment is worth a total of 20 points.
o 10 points for Question 1
• 2 point – following script instructions
• 1 point – sha-bang
• 2 point – testing number of arguments
• 1 point – creating directories
• 2 point – testing project directory
• 2 point – create the readme.txt file
o 10 points for Question 2
• 2 points – following script instructions
• 2 points – testing for variable number of arguments
• 2 points – the TAR command
• 2 points - CHMOD command
• 2 points - Writing the log file

GRADING RULES
The following rules are followed by the TA when grading assignments:
• A program must run in order to get a grade (even if it does not run well). If it
does not run (does not compile) it will receive a zero. (Make sure to run your
programs from mimi.cs.mcgill.ca).
• The TA will grade using the mimi.cs.mcgill.ca server.
• All questions are graded proportionally. This means that if 40% of the question is
correct, you will receive 40% of the grade.