Empty file creation

• To create empty file use the following syntax:

>newfile.name

• > operator redirects output to a file. If no command given and if file doesn't exist it will create empty file. For example, create a shell script called tarbackup.sh:

#!/bin/bash
TAR=/bin/tar
 
# SCSI tape device
TAPE=/dev/st0
 
# Backup dir names
BDIRS="/www /home /etc /usr/local/mailboxes /phpjail /pythonjail /perlcgibin"
 
# Logfile name
ERRLOG=/tmp/tar.logfile.txt
 
# Remove old log file and create the empty log file
>$ERRLOG
 
# Okay lets make a backup
$TAR -cvf $TAPE $BDIRS 2>$ERRLOG

Notice you can also use touch command for empty file creation:

touch /tmp/newtextfile

Save and close the file. Run it as follows:

chmod +x tarbackup.sh
./tarbackup.sh