.\"	$NetBSD: test.1,v 1.33 2017/10/18 18:11:54 wiz Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 1991, 1993
.\"	The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.
.\"
.\" This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by
.\" the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
.\"
.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
.\" are met:
.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
.\"    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
.\" 3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
.\"    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
.\"    without specific prior written permission.
.\"
.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
.\" ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
.\"
.\"     @(#)test.1	8.1 (Berkeley) 5/31/93
.\"
.Dd October 17, 2017
.Dt TEST 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm test ,
.Nm \&[
.Nd condition evaluation utility
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm
.Ar expression
.Nm \&[
.Ar expression Cm \&]
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm
utility evaluates
.Ar expression
and, if it evaluates
to true, returns a zero (true) exit status; otherwise
it returns 1 (false).
If
.Ar expression
is not given,
.Nm
also
returns 1 (false).
.Pp
All operators and flags are separate arguments to the
.Nm
utility.
.Pp
The following primaries are used to construct
.Ar expression :
.Bl -tag -width Ar
.It Fl b Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is a block special
file.
.It Fl c Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is a character
special file.
.It Fl d Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is a directory.
.It Fl e Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists (regardless of type).
.It Fl f Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is a regular file.
.It Fl g Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and its set group ID flag
is set.
.It Fl h Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is a symbolic link.
.It Fl k Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and its sticky bit is set.
.It Fl n Ar string
True if the length of
.Ar string
is nonzero.
.It Fl p Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is a named pipe (FIFO).
.It Fl r Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is readable.
.It Fl s Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and has a size greater
than zero.
.It Fl t Ar file_descriptor
True if the file whose file descriptor number
is
.Ar file_descriptor
is open and is associated with a terminal.
.It Fl u Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and its set user ID flag
is set.
.It Fl w Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is writable.
True
indicates only that the write flag is on.
The file is not writable on a read-only file
system even if this test indicates true.
.It Fl x Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is executable.
True
indicates only that the execute flag is on.
If
.Ar file
is a directory, true indicates that
.Ar file
can be searched.
.It Fl z Ar string
True if the length of
.Ar string
is zero.
.It Fl L Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is a symbolic link.
This operator is retained for compatibility with previous versions of
this program.
Do not rely on its existence; use
.Fl h
instead.
.It Fl O Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and its owner matches the effective user id of this process.
.It Fl G Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and its group matches the effective group id of this process.
.It Fl S Ar file
True if
.Ar file
exists and is a socket.
.It Ar file1 Fl nt Ar file2
True if
.Ar file1
exists and is newer than
.Ar file2 .
.It Ar file1 Fl ot Ar file2
True if
.Ar file1
exists and is older than
.Ar file2 .
.It Ar file1 Fl ef Ar file2
True if
.Ar file1
and
.Ar file2
exist and refer to the same file.
.It Ar string
True if
.Ar string
is not the null
string.
.It Ar \&s\&1 Cm \&= Ar \&s\&2
True if the strings
.Ar \&s\&1
and
.Ar \&s\&2
are identical.
.It Ar \&s\&1 Cm \&!= Ar \&s\&2
True if the strings
.Ar \&s\&1
and
.Ar \&s\&2
are not identical.
.It Ar \&s\&1 Cm \&< Ar \&s\&2
True if string
.Ar \&s\&1
comes before
.Ar \&s\&2
based on the ASCII value of their characters.
.It Ar \&s\&1 Cm \&> Ar \&s\&2
True if string
.Ar \&s\&1
comes after
.Ar \&s\&2
based on the ASCII value of their characters.
.It Ar \&n\&1 Fl \&eq Ar \&n\&2
True if the integers
.Ar \&n\&1
and
.Ar \&n\&2
are algebraically
equal.
.It Ar \&n\&1 Fl \&ne Ar \&n\&2
True if the integers
.Ar \&n\&1
and
.Ar \&n\&2
are not
algebraically equal.
.It Ar \&n\&1 Fl \&gt Ar \&n\&2
True if the integer
.Ar \&n\&1
is algebraically
greater than the integer
.Ar \&n\&2 .
.It Ar \&n\&1 Fl \&ge Ar \&n\&2
True if the integer
.Ar \&n\&1
is algebraically
greater than or equal to the integer
.Ar \&n\&2 .
.It Ar \&n\&1 Fl \&lt Ar \&n\&2
True if the integer
.Ar \&n\&1
is algebraically less
than the integer
.Ar \&n\&2 .
.It Ar \&n\&1 Fl \&le Ar \&n\&2
True if the integer
.Ar \&n\&1
is algebraically less
than or equal to the integer
.Ar \&n\&2 .
.El
.Pp
These primaries can be combined with the following operators:
.Bl -tag -width Ar
.It Cm \&! Ar expression
True if
.Ar expression
is false.
.It Ar expression1 Fl a Ar expression2
True if both
.Ar expression1
and
.Ar expression2
are true.
.It Ar expression1 Fl o Ar expression2
True if either
.Ar expression1
or
.Ar expression2
is true.
.It Cm \&( Ar expression Cm \&)
True if
.Ar expression
is true.
.El
.Pp
The
.Fl a
operator has higher precedence than the
.Fl o
operator.
.Pp
Note that all file tests with the exception of
.Fl h
and
.Fl L
follow symbolic links and thus evaluate the test for the file pointed at.
.Sh EXIT STATUS
The
.Nm
utility exits with one of the following values:
.Bl -tag -width Ds
.It 0
.Ar expression
evaluated to true.
.It 1
.Ar expression
evaluated to false or was missing.
.It >1
An error occurred.
.El
.Sh STANDARDS
The
.Nm
utility implements a superset of the
.St -p1003.2
specification.
.Sh HISTORY
A
.Nm
utility appeared in
.At v7 .
.Sh CAVEATS
The
.Nm
grammar is inherently ambiguous.
In order to assure a degree of consistency, the cases described in
.St -p1003.2
section 4.62.4,
are evaluated consistently according to the rules specified in the
standards document.
All other cases are subject to the ambiguity in the command semantics.
.Pp
This means that
.Nm
should not be used with more than 4 operands
(where the terminating
.Cm \&]
in the case of the
.Nm \&[
command does not count as an operand,)
and that the obsolete
.Fl a
and
.Fl o
options should not be used.
Instead invoke
.Nm
multiple times connected by the
.Dq &&
and
.Dq ||
operators from
.Xr sh 1 .
When those operators are not used, there is no need
for the parentheses as grouping symbols, so those should also be
avoided.
Using
.Xr sh 1 Ns 's
.Cm \&!
command instead of the equivalent operator from
.Nm
can also protect the script from future test enhancements.
.Pp
Most expressions with 3 or less operands will evaluate as expected,
though be aware that with 3 operands,
if the second is a known binary operator,
that is always evaluated,
regardless of what the other operands might suggest had been intended.
If, and only if, the middle operand is not a defined binary operator
is the first operand examined to see if it is
.Cm \&!
in which case the remaining operands are evaluated as a two operand test,
and the result inverted.
The only other defined three operand case is the meaningless
degenerate case where parentheses (1st and 3rd operands)
surround a one operand expression.
.Pp
With 4 operands there are just two defined cases, the first
where the first operand is
.Cm \&!
in which case the result of the three operand test on the
remaining operands is inverted,
and the second is similar to the 3 operand case,
the degenerate case of parentheses surrounding an (in this case)
2 operand test expression.