What do empty curly brackets mean in bash?












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I understand all of this but lose it when i get to the 7th line starting with find.
i don't understand the -exec cp {}. I understand that this is executing the copy command but I don't understand what the brackets{} are doing, especially if they are empty?



This entire snippet is from a book im reading.



# This script prompts to backup files and location
# The files will search on $HOME dir and will only backup files to same $HOME dir.
read -p "Which file types would you like to backup? >>: " file_suffix
read -p "Which directory would you like to backup to? >>: " dir_name
# creates a directory if it does not currently exist
test -d $HOME/$dir_name || mkdir -m 700 $HOME/$dir_name
# search criteria ie .sh . The -path, -prune and -o options are to exclude the back directory from the backup.
find $HOME -path $HOME/$dir_name -prune -o -name "*$file_suffix" -exec cp {} $HOME/$dir_name/ ;
exit 0








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    0















    I understand all of this but lose it when i get to the 7th line starting with find.
    i don't understand the -exec cp {}. I understand that this is executing the copy command but I don't understand what the brackets{} are doing, especially if they are empty?



    This entire snippet is from a book im reading.



    # This script prompts to backup files and location
    # The files will search on $HOME dir and will only backup files to same $HOME dir.
    read -p "Which file types would you like to backup? >>: " file_suffix
    read -p "Which directory would you like to backup to? >>: " dir_name
    # creates a directory if it does not currently exist
    test -d $HOME/$dir_name || mkdir -m 700 $HOME/$dir_name
    # search criteria ie .sh . The -path, -prune and -o options are to exclude the back directory from the backup.
    find $HOME -path $HOME/$dir_name -prune -o -name "*$file_suffix" -exec cp {} $HOME/$dir_name/ ;
    exit 0








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    Marshall Livingston is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.























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      I understand all of this but lose it when i get to the 7th line starting with find.
      i don't understand the -exec cp {}. I understand that this is executing the copy command but I don't understand what the brackets{} are doing, especially if they are empty?



      This entire snippet is from a book im reading.



      # This script prompts to backup files and location
      # The files will search on $HOME dir and will only backup files to same $HOME dir.
      read -p "Which file types would you like to backup? >>: " file_suffix
      read -p "Which directory would you like to backup to? >>: " dir_name
      # creates a directory if it does not currently exist
      test -d $HOME/$dir_name || mkdir -m 700 $HOME/$dir_name
      # search criteria ie .sh . The -path, -prune and -o options are to exclude the back directory from the backup.
      find $HOME -path $HOME/$dir_name -prune -o -name "*$file_suffix" -exec cp {} $HOME/$dir_name/ ;
      exit 0








      share







      New contributor




      Marshall Livingston is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.












      I understand all of this but lose it when i get to the 7th line starting with find.
      i don't understand the -exec cp {}. I understand that this is executing the copy command but I don't understand what the brackets{} are doing, especially if they are empty?



      This entire snippet is from a book im reading.



      # This script prompts to backup files and location
      # The files will search on $HOME dir and will only backup files to same $HOME dir.
      read -p "Which file types would you like to backup? >>: " file_suffix
      read -p "Which directory would you like to backup to? >>: " dir_name
      # creates a directory if it does not currently exist
      test -d $HOME/$dir_name || mkdir -m 700 $HOME/$dir_name
      # search criteria ie .sh . The -path, -prune and -o options are to exclude the back directory from the backup.
      find $HOME -path $HOME/$dir_name -prune -o -name "*$file_suffix" -exec cp {} $HOME/$dir_name/ ;
      exit 0






      bash





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      share







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      Marshall Livingston is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.








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      asked 2 mins ago









      Marshall LivingstonMarshall Livingston

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      New contributor




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      New contributor





      Marshall Livingston is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






      Marshall Livingston is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






















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