Introduction to Variables and Parameters

Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide: An in-depth exploration of the art of shell scripting
Prev |  | Next

# Chapter 4. Introduction to Variables and Parameters

Variables are how programming and scripting languages represent data. A variable is nothing more than a label, a name assigned to a location or set of locations in computer memory holding an item of data.

Variables appear in arithmetic operations and manipulation of quantities, and in string parsing.

# 4.1. Variable Substitution

The name of a variable is a placeholder for its value, the data it holds. Referencing (retrieving) its value is called variable substitution.

$

  Let us carefully distinguish between the name of a variable and its value. If `variable1` is the name of a variable, then `$variable1` is a reference to its value, the data item it contains. [1]

       bash$ variable1=23

       bash$ echo variable1
       variable1

       bash$ echo $variable1
       23

  The only times a variable appears "naked" -- without the $ prefix -- is when declared or assigned, when unset, when exported, in an arithmetic expression within double parentheses (( ... )), or in the special case of a variable representing a signal (see Example 32-5). Assignment may be with an = (as in `var1=27`), in a read statement, and at the head of a loop (`for var2 in 1 2 3`).

  Enclosing a referenced value in double quotes (" ... ") does not interfere with variable substitution. This is called partial quoting, sometimes referred to as "weak quoting." Using single quotes (' ... ') causes the variable name to be used literally, and no substitution will take place. This is full quoting, sometimes referred to as 'strong quoting.' See Chapter 5 for a detailed discussion.

  Note that `$variable` is actually a simplified form of `${variable}`. In contexts where the `$variable` syntax causes an error, the longer form may work (see Section 10.2, below).

  Example 4-1. Variable assignment and substitution

         1 #!/bin/bash
         2 # ex9.sh
         3
         4 # Variables: assignment and substitution
         5
         6 a=375
         7 hello=$a
         8 #   ^ ^
         9
        10 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------
        11 # No space permitted on either side of = sign when initializing variables.
        12 # What happens if there is a space?
        13
        14 #  "VARIABLE =value"
        15 #           ^
        16 #% Script tries to run "VARIABLE" command with one argument, "=value".
        17
        18 #  "VARIABLE= value"
        19 #            ^
        20 #% Script tries to run "value" command with
        21 #+ the environmental variable "VARIABLE" set to "".
        22 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------
        23
        24
        25 echo hello    # hello
        26 # Not a variable reference, just the string "hello" ...
        27
        28 echo $hello   # 375
        29 #    ^          This *is* a variable reference.
        30 echo ${hello} # 375
        31 #               Likewise a variable reference, as above.
        32
        33 # Quoting . . .
        34 echo "$hello"    # 375
        35 echo "${hello}"  # 375
        36
        37 echo
        38
        39 hello="A B  C   D"
        40 echo $hello   # A B C D
        41 echo "$hello" # A B  C   D
        42 # As we see, echo $hello   and   echo "$hello"   give different results.
        43 # =======================================
        44 # Quoting a variable preserves whitespace.
        45 # =======================================
        46
        47 echo
        48
        49 echo '$hello'  # $hello
        50 #    ^      ^
        51 #  Variable referencing disabled (escaped) by single quotes,
        52 #+ which causes the "$" to be interpreted literally.
        53
        54 # Notice the effect of different types of quoting.
        55
        56
        57 hello=    # Setting it to a null value.
        58 echo "\$hello (null value) = $hello"      # $hello (null value) =
        59 #  Note that setting a variable to a null value is not the same as
        60 #+ unsetting it, although the end result is the same (see below).
        61
        62 # --------------------------------------------------------------
        63
        64 #  It is permissible to set multiple variables on the same line,
        65 #+ if separated by white space.
        66 #  Caution, this may reduce legibility, and may not be portable.
        67
        68 var1=21  var2=22  var3=$V3
        69 echo
        70 echo "var1=$var1   var2=$var2   var3=$var3"
        71
        72 # May cause problems with legacy versions of "sh" . . .
        73
        74 # --------------------------------------------------------------
        75
        76 echo; echo
        77
        78 numbers="one two three"
        79 #           ^   ^
        80 other_numbers="1 2 3"
        81 #               ^ ^
        82 #  If there is whitespace embedded within a variable,
        83 #+ then quotes are necessary.
        84 #  other_numbers=1 2 3                  # Gives an error message.
        85 echo "numbers = $numbers"
        86 echo "other_numbers = $other_numbers"   # other_numbers = 1 2 3
        87 #  Escaping the whitespace also works.
        88 mixed_bag=2\ ---\ Whatever
        89 #           ^    ^ Space after escape (\).
        90
        91 echo "$mixed_bag"         # 2 --- Whatever
        92
        93 echo; echo
        94
        95 echo "uninitialized_variable = $uninitialized_variable"
        96 # Uninitialized variable has null value (no value at all!).
        97 uninitialized_variable=   #  Declaring, but not initializing it --
        98                           #+ same as setting it to a null value, as above.
        99 echo "uninitialized_variable = $uninitialized_variable"
       100                           # It still has a null value.
       101
       102 uninitialized_variable=23       # Set it.
       103 unset uninitialized_variable    # Unset it.
       104 echo "uninitialized_variable = $uninitialized_variable"
       105                                 # uninitialized_variable =
       106                                 # It still has a null value.
       107 echo
       108
       109 exit 0

  | An uninitialized variable has a "null" value -- no assigned value at all (not zero!).
         1 if [ -z "$unassigned" ]
         2 then
         3   echo "\$unassigned is NULL."
         4 fi     # $unassigned is NULL.
  Using a variable before assigning a value to it may cause problems. It is nevertheless possible to perform arithmetic operations on an uninitialized variable.
         1 echo "$uninitialized"                                # (blank line)
         2 let "uninitialized += 5"                             # Add 5 to it.
         3 echo "$uninitialized"                                # 5
         4
         5 #  Conclusion:
         6 #  An uninitialized variable has no value,
         7 #+ however it evaluates as 0 in an arithmetic operation.
  See also Example 15-23.

### Notes

[1] | Technically, the name of a variable is called an lvalue, meaning that it appears on the left side of an assignment statment, as in `VARIABLE=23`. A variable's value is an rvalue, meaning that it appears on the right side of an assignment statement, as in `VAR2=$VARIABLE`. A variable's name is, in fact, a reference, a pointer to the memory location(s) where the actual data associated with that variable is kept.

Prev | Home | Next
Special Characters | Up | Variable Assignment