lock() { if [[ -f "$1" ]]; then echo "$1 is not a lock directory." exit 1 fi if mkdir "$1" &>/dev/null; then echo "lock $1 created" >&2 else echo "lock $1 found, waiting for unlock" >&2 while true; do sleep 2; if [[ ! -d "$1" ]]; then return fi done fi; } if [[ "$#" -eq "1" ]]; then lock $1 else echo "please supply one argument: the lock directory." exit 1 fi