Linux and Unix Shell Programming

6.2. Using ||

The general format of the || is:

command1 || command2 

The operation of the || is slightly different. If the command on the left of the || (command1) fails then execute the command on the right of the || (command2); or to put it another way, ‘If this command fails’ || ‘then execute this command’.

Here’s another simple example that illustrates the use of the ||:

						$ cp wopper.txt oops.txt || echo "if you are seeing this cp failed" 

cp: wopper.txt: No such file or directory 
if you are seeing this cp failed
					

The copy has failed so now the command on the right-hand side of the || is executed.

A more practical example is this. I want to extract the first and fifth fields from an accounts file and stick the output into a temp file. If ...