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1

How do I make the following function work correctly

# Install git on demand
function git()
{
    if ! type git &> /dev/null; then sudo $APT install git; fi
    git $*;
}

by making git $* call /usr/bin/git instead of the function git()?

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2 Answers 2

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Like this:

# Install git on demand
function git()
{
    if ! type -f git &> /dev/null; then sudo $APT install git; fi
    command git "$@";
}

The command built-in suppresses function lookup. I've also changed your $* to "$@" because that'll properly handle arguments that aren't one word (e.g., file names with spaces).

Further, I added the -f argument to type, because otherwise it'll notice the function.

You may want to consider what to do in case of error (e.g., when apt-get install fails).

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Thorough answer! –  Nordlöw Apr 3 '14 at 22:15
up vote 1 down vote

Or perhaps a more generic function being able to run any command. In this case the '-f' can be replaced with '-t'. The collision with the function will not occur.

function runcmd()
{
  if ! type -t $1 >/dev/null; then
    pkg=$(apt-file search -x "bin.*$1\$" | cut -d: -f1)
    sudo apt-get install $pkg
  fi
  eval "$@"
}

Of course 'apt-get install' errors must be handled.

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Good one. La Suède Deux Points ;) Thanks mate. –  Nordlöw Apr 4 '14 at 16:19

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