Re: handling of ints/longs

[Chet Ramey]

> p3.ecf% cat stamp1 stamp2
> 20020710142335
> 20020710142344
> p3.ecf% cat stamptest
> #!/bin/sh
> let first=`/bin/cat ./stamp1`
> let second=`/bin/cat ./stamp2`
> 
> echo stamp1 is $first
> echo stamp2 is $second
> 
> if [ $first > $second ]; then
>         echo $first is greater than $second
> fi
> if [ $first < $second ]; then
>         echo $first is less than $second
> fi

This really never did what you expected it to.  After running this
script, I'd expect you to have an empty file named `20020710142344'
($second) in the current directory. 

The `>' and `<' are redirections, not test/[ operators.  Use -gt or -lt
or use [[...]] instead of [...].

Chet

-- 
``The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.'' - Chaucer
( ``Discere est Dolere'' -- chet )

Chet Ramey, CWRU    chet@po.CWRU.Edu    http://cnswww.cns.cwru.edu/~chet/