case in bash: “line 4: syntax error near unexpected token `)'”

Question

case in bash:

line 4: syntax error near unexpected token `)\'

I\'m trying to use the command case in Bash (on my R

Answer 1

You are missing ;; at the end of each pattern:

#!/bin/bash
case "$1" in
        help)
            echo "You asked for help. Sorry, I'm busy."
            ;;
        *)
            echo "You didn't say anything. Try 'help' as the first argument."
            ;;
esac

Think of it as a break statement in a programming language. They are compulsory on case.