Re: Help with script - doesn't work properly from cron

[Bernd Eggink]

Erik Olof Wahlstrom schrieb:
> Hello - I am having a problem with a backup script that I have put together -
> when I run it as root from the terminal, it works as expected (with one
> caveat); however, when cron runs it, the daily backup folder is created but
> no files are deposited into that folder...
>
> Here is the script:
>
> #!/bin/bash
> BACKUP_DIR="/media/disk/AUTOMATED_BACKUPS/DB_DAILY"
>
> CURRENT_DIR=$BACKUP_DIR/`date +%d`
>
> DATABASES="$(/usr/bin/mysql -uUsername -pPassword -Bse 'show databases')"
> echo 'Backing up databases: '$DATABASES
>
> if [ -e "$CURRENT_DIR" ]
> then
>         cd $CURRENT_DIR
>         /bin/rm *
> else
>         /bin/mkdir $CURRENT_DIR
>         cd $CURRENT_DIR
> fi
>
> for DB in $DATABASES
> do
>         /usr/bin/mysqldump -uroot -pHardAsMySql321 "$DB" | bzip2 >
> "$DB"_`date +%Y-%m-%d_%k.%M`".sql.bz2"
> done
>
> exit 0
>
> Can any skilled eyes see why this doesn't work when it is run from the roots
> crontab?

The reason may be that crontab commands are run with "/bin/sh -c 
command" (Bourne shell mode). Try changing the crontab entry to 
"/bin/bash command".

> Additionally, when I run the script as root in the terminal, I get the
> following output:
>
> Backing up databases: information_schema db1 db2 db3
> /bin/rm: cannot remove `*': No such file or directory
>
> Is there a better way to clear out last months files before making the
> current backups?

You could replace the whole if-then-else clause by

    mkdir -p $CURRENT_DIR
    cd $CURRENT_DIR
    rm -f *

provided the options are supported on your system.

Regards,
Bernd

--
Bernd Eggink
http://sudrala.de