Bash · Techniques

Ask many files at once

A function asks one question of one file. xargs -P 4 runs it on four files at a time.

refund.json, a file the script reads

{
  "decide": "Does the customer ask for a refund?",
  "true": "The customer asks for money back.",
  "false": "Anything else, such as a question or a complaint."
}

tickets/T-1.txt, a file the script reads

I was charged twice. Can you fix this?

tickets/T-2.txt, a file the script reads

I was charged twice this morning. What are my options?

tickets/T-3.txt, a file the script reads

I would like to return this and get my money back.

tickets/T-4.txt, a file the script reads

The jug arrived cracked. What happens now?

tickets/T-5.txt, a file the script reads

This is the second broken jug. I am done with this company.

Two tickets ask for money back: T-1 and T-3.

asks_for_refund() {
  thinkthen decide @refund.json \
    --quiet \
    --input "$1" &&
  echo "$1"
}
export -f asks_for_refund

ls tickets/*.txt |
xargs -P 4 -I {} bash -c 'asks_for_refund {}' |
sort

Output

tickets/T-1.txt
tickets/T-3.txt

exit 0

On GitHub: github.com/botassembly/thinkthen