I have a simple function for looking up tracking numbers written in Bash that works. I've defined several variables for each pattern variation. I then use egrep to search the file and then output the match. What I'd like to do is know which pattern matched so I can identify it as part of the output.
function gettracking () {
local usps1='[0-9]{20}'
local usps2='[0-9]{4}[[:blank:]][0-9]{4}[[:blank:]]'
# there's several more, but not necessary for the question)
tracking=$(egrep "${usps1}|${usps2}" $1)
if [ -z "${tracking}-x" ]
then
echo "No tracking found"
else
echo "Tracking # ${tracking} sent to clipboard"
echo ${tracking} | pbcopy # (this is on macOS BTW)
fi
}
I would like to know which of the variables ($usps1 or $usps2, etc.) provided the match so that I can make my output say The USPS Tracking # is... or The FedEx Tracking # is...
Is there a way to identify which pattern made the match?
Use grep -o to just get the matched part of the file, then test it with each pattern.
match=$(grep -o "${usps1}|${usps2}" $1)
if [[ $match =~ $usps1 ]]
then echo "The USPS tracking number is $tracking"
elif [[ $match =~ $usps2 ]]
then echo "The FedEx tracking number is $tracking"
fi