script

Linux shell script for loop FAQ: Can you share an example of a Linux shell script for loop, for instance, to do something for every file in the current directory?

Here's a shell script that you'll find on all the Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X computers I've worked on. The general process of this script is "for every file in the current directory do XYZ".

When I create a web-based user interface I tend to be a fanatic about making sure that the first input field on a form gets input focus when the form is first displayed. It always drives me crazy when I go to a web form that requires text input, but the developer of the page hasn't taken the time to put the default focus in the first field of the form.

So ... after looking around at some HTML/JSF/Struts/JSP code I've written over the last few years, the following JSF example shows the most concise way I know of setting default input focus on an HTML form field:

Some times when you take a file from a DOS/Windows system and move it to a Linux or Unix system you'll have problems with the dreaded ^M character. This happened recently when I moved an Ant script from a Windows system to my Mac OS X system. When I tried to run the shell script under the Mac Terminal I got this error message:

: bad interpreter: No such file or directory

I couldn't figure out what the message meant at first, but finally it hit me: the dreaded ^M problem. Sure enough, I opened the file in the vim editor, like this:

AppleScript Unix Terminal FAQ: How can I run an AppleScript script from the Mac Unix terminal (Unix command line)?

A cool thing about Mac OS X is that you can run AppleScript programs from the Unix shell. (Well, I guess it's cool if you're a Unix user, and I am.)

Running an AppleScript program from the Unix shell turns out to be surprising easy. For instance, if my current working directory has a script named OpenUrls.scpt in it, I can run that script from the command line like this:

I was going to write a little tutorial on how to use the Jar Bundler Ant task for Mac OS X, but I don't have the time to do that right now.

So, I'll just share my Mac OS X Java Ant build script, which includes the JarBundler task. You should be able to use this Ant build script to build a Java application so it appears to the user to be a native Mac OS X application, even though it's really a Java application under the covers.