gistfile1.sh

findbase() {
    search="$1"
    current="$2"
    base=`basename $current`
    case "$base" in
    "."|""|"/")
        return 1
        ;;
    "$search")
        echo $current
        return 0
        ;;
    *)
        findbase "$search" "`dirname $current`"
        ;;
    esac
}


cdup() {
    if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
        echo "cd up to an ancestor folder of the specified name"
        echo "usage: `basename $0` dir"
        return 1
    fi

    target="$1"
    directory=`pwd`

    result=`findbase $target $directory`

    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
        echo "Could not find ancestor folder [$target]."
        return 1
    fi

    echo $result
    cd $result
    return 0
}