Using ls command result in a loop

Question

I want to use the result of ls command in a loop to check if for example the first line is a directory, second etc. For example I have this folder that contains one directory the script should display:

18_05_2018 is directory

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Answer 1

Create a file named is_file_or_directory.sh containing:

cd "$1" || echo "Please specify a path" && exit
for i in *; do
    if [[ -d $i ]]; then
        echo "$i is a directory"
    elif [[ -f $i ]]; then
        echo "$i is a file"
    else
        echo "$i is not valid"
        exit 1
    fi
done

Make that file executable with:

sudo chmod +x is_file_or_directory.sh

Run the script specifying as a parameter the path that you want to analyze:

./is_file_or_directory.sh /root/scripts/

Output:

jeeves ~/scripts/stack # ./is_file_or_dir.sh /root/scripts/
databe.py is a file
is_file_or_dir.sh is a file
mysql_flask.py is a file
test is a directory

Here's a more detailed explanation of what is happening under the hood. The variable $1 is, in Bash, the first parameter sent to the script. In our case it is the path where the script will perform its actions. Then we use the variable $i in the loop.

$i content will be every file / folder name in the path $1. With -d and -f we check if $i is a file or a folder.