Re: [SoX-users] resampling several files

[Fmiser <fm...@gm...>]

> Fernando Ossandon wrote:

> Thanks Philip
> 
> I'm under Linux (Ubuntu)
> Your solution worked "almost" perfect at the beginning. I did
> follow your instructions and I also add a couple of lines to
> auto make the destination folder:

What I usually use is "mkdir -p", which makes the directory if
it's not there, including all parent directories as needed.
This avoids the need for the "if/than" section.

> My only problem was it only worked fine for
> "non_spaced_file_names". So I did try using "commas" this way:
> for i in ./"*.flac";\
> but I was only getting a huge concatenated? file.

Yup.  The trick with quotes is to figure out where you want stuff
"protected" 

> Then I did try instead change the above line, add the commas
> to the $i this way:
> 
> #!/bin/bash
> if [ ! -d converted/ ]; then
>  mkdir converted/
> fi
> for i in ./*.flac;\
>  do sox -S "$i" -r 44100 -b 16 "converted/$i";\
> done

Correct.  Bash knows that the spaces are part of the filename in
"for i in *.flac", but it - and SoX - presumes that any
whitespace (space, tab, newline) is a field separator.  So when
the bash hands of the list, one item at a time, we need to
insure the next process (SoX in this case) knows it is one item
in spite of the spaces.  So that's where the quotes belong.

Sorry I didn't include that.  I _vigorously_ avoid spaces and
other odd characters in filenames so I don't ever really deal
with it.  Good job on figuring it out!

Another point, since you have the shabang (#!/bin/bash), I'm
presuming you are using a script file, not just entering it at a
prompt.  If so, you don't need the ";\" at the end of the
lines.  That's only necessary for getting it all entered at the
prompt.

> I have to confess it: it was more "try and fail" than a very
> systematic approach to the solution.
> Still, I want to learn bash. Could you be so nice and
> recommend me a didactic online manual or book?

There are a lot!  Google will find many - but here are my
favorite.

<http://www.linuxfocus.org/English/September2001/article216.shtml>

<http://www.notesbit.com/index.php/scripts-unix/a-quick-guide-to-writing-scripts-using-the-bash-shell-linux/>

<http://tiswww.case.edu/php/chet/bash/bashref.html>

<http://tldp.org/LDP/Bash-Beginners-Guide/html/Bash-Beginners-Guide.html>

<http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/>

--    Philip