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761783bf 1This is bashref.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.7 from
56299fa5 2/Users/chet/src/bash/src/doc/bashref.texi.
e8ce775d 3
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4 This text is a brief description of the features that are present in
5the Bash shell (version 3.0, 27 July 2004).
d3a24ed2 6
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7 This is Edition 3.0, last updated 27 July 2004, of `The GNU Bash
8Reference Manual', for `Bash', Version 3.0.
d3a24ed2 9
9f422431 10 Copyright (C) 1988-2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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11
12 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
13manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
14preserved on all copies.
15
16 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
17 document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
18 Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software
19 Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts
20 being "A GNU Manual," and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a)
21 below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
22 "GNU Free Documentation License."
23
24 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You have freedom to copy and
25 modify this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by
26 the Free Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development."
761783bf 27
d3a24ed2 28INFO-DIR-SECTION Basics
e8ce775d 29START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
cce855bc 30* Bash: (bash). The GNU Bourne-Again SHell.
e8ce775d 31END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
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33\1f
34File: bashref.info, Node: Top, Next: Introduction, Prev: (dir), Up: (dir)
35
36Bash Features
37*************
38
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39This text is a brief description of the features that are present in
40the Bash shell (version 3.0, 27 July 2004)..
ccc6cda3 41
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42 This is Edition 3.0, last updated 27 July 2004, of `The GNU Bash
43Reference Manual', for `Bash', Version 3.0.
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44
45 Bash contains features that appear in other popular shells, and some
46features that only appear in Bash. Some of the shells that Bash has
47borrowed concepts from are the Bourne Shell (`sh'), the Korn Shell
48(`ksh'), and the C-shell (`csh' and its successor, `tcsh'). The
49following menu breaks the features up into categories based upon which
50one of these other shells inspired the feature.
51
52 This manual is meant as a brief introduction to features found in
53Bash. The Bash manual page should be used as the definitive reference
54on shell behavior.
55
56* Menu:
57
58* Introduction:: An introduction to the shell.
59
60* Definitions:: Some definitions used in the rest of this
61 manual.
62
63* Basic Shell Features:: The shell "building blocks".
64
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65* Shell Builtin Commands:: Commands that are a part of the shell.
66
67* Shell Variables:: Variables used or set by Bash.
ccc6cda3 68
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69* Bash Features:: Features found only in Bash.
70
71* Job Control:: A chapter describing what job control is
72 and how Bash allows you to use it.
73
74* Using History Interactively:: Chapter dealing with history expansion
75 rules.
76
77* Command Line Editing:: Chapter describing the command line
78 editing features.
79
80* Installing Bash:: How to build and install Bash on your system.
81
82* Reporting Bugs:: How to report bugs in Bash.
83
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84* Major Differences From The Bourne Shell:: A terse list of the differences
85 between Bash and historical
86 versions of /bin/sh.
87
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88* Copying This Manual:: Copying this manual.
89
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90* Builtin Index:: Index of Bash builtin commands.
91
92* Reserved Word Index:: Index of Bash reserved words.
93
94* Variable Index:: Quick reference helps you find the
95 variable you want.
96
97* Function Index:: Index of bindable Readline functions.
98
99* Concept Index:: General index for concepts described in
100 this manual.
101
102\1f
103File: bashref.info, Node: Introduction, Next: Definitions, Prev: Top, Up: Top
104
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1051 Introduction
106**************
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107
108* Menu:
109
110* What is Bash?:: A short description of Bash.
111
112* What is a shell?:: A brief introduction to shells.
113
114\1f
115File: bashref.info, Node: What is Bash?, Next: What is a shell?, Up: Introduction
116
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1171.1 What is Bash?
118=================
ccc6cda3 119
761783bf 120Bash is the shell, or command language interpreter, for the GNU
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121operating system. The name is an acronym for the `Bourne-Again SHell',
122a pun on Stephen Bourne, the author of the direct ancestor of the
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123current Unix shell `sh', which appeared in the Seventh Edition Bell
124Labs Research version of Unix.
ccc6cda3 125
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126 Bash is largely compatible with `sh' and incorporates useful
127features from the Korn shell `ksh' and the C shell `csh'. It is
128intended to be a conformant implementation of the IEEE POSIX Shell and
129Tools specification (IEEE Working Group 1003.2). It offers functional
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130improvements over `sh' for both interactive and programming use.
131
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132 While the GNU operating system provides other shells, including a
133version of `csh', Bash is the default shell. Like other GNU software,
134Bash is quite portable. It currently runs on nearly every version of
135Unix and a few other operating systems - independently-supported ports
d3a24ed2 136exist for MS-DOS, OS/2, and Windows platforms.
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137
138\1f
139File: bashref.info, Node: What is a shell?, Prev: What is Bash?, Up: Introduction
140
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1411.2 What is a shell?
142====================
ccc6cda3 143
761783bf 144At its base, a shell is simply a macro processor that executes
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145commands. The term macro processor means functionality where text and
146symbols are expanded to create larger expressions.
147
148 A Unix shell is both a command interpreter and a programming
149language. As a command interpreter, the shell provides the user
150interface to the rich set of GNU utilities. The programming language
151features allow these utilitites to be combined. Files containing
cce855bc 152commands can be created, and become commands themselves. These new
bb70624e 153commands have the same status as system commands in directories such as
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154`/bin', allowing users or groups to establish custom environments to
155automate their common tasks.
156
157 Shells may be used interactively or non-interactively. In
158interactive mode, they accept input typed from the keyboard. When
159executing non-interactively, shells execute commands read from a file.
ccc6cda3 160
bb70624e 161 A shell allows execution of GNU commands, both synchronously and
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162asynchronously. The shell waits for synchronous commands to complete
163before accepting more input; asynchronous commands continue to execute
164in parallel with the shell while it reads and executes additional
165commands. The "redirection" constructs permit fine-grained control of
bb70624e 166the input and output of those commands. Moreover, the shell allows
d3a24ed2 167control over the contents of commands' environments.
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168
169 Shells also provide a small set of built-in commands ("builtins")
170implementing functionality impossible or inconvenient to obtain via
171separate utilities. For example, `cd', `break', `continue', and
172`exec') cannot be implemented outside of the shell because they
173directly manipulate the shell itself. The `history', `getopts',
174`kill', or `pwd' builtins, among others, could be implemented in
175separate utilities, but they are more convenient to use as builtin
176commands. All of the shell builtins are described in subsequent
177sections.
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178
179 While executing commands is essential, most of the power (and
180complexity) of shells is due to their embedded programming languages.
181Like any high-level language, the shell provides variables, flow
182control constructs, quoting, and functions.
183
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184 Shells offer features geared specifically for interactive use rather
185than to augment the programming language. These interactive features
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186include job control, command line editing, command history and aliases.
187Each of these features is described in this manual.
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188
189\1f
190File: bashref.info, Node: Definitions, Next: Basic Shell Features, Prev: Introduction, Up: Top
191
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1922 Definitions
193*************
ccc6cda3 194
761783bf 195These definitions are used throughout the remainder of this manual.
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196
197`POSIX'
198 A family of open system standards based on Unix. Bash is
199 concerned with POSIX 1003.2, the Shell and Tools Standard.
200
201`blank'
202 A space or tab character.
203
204`builtin'
205 A command that is implemented internally by the shell itself,
206 rather than by an executable program somewhere in the file system.
207
208`control operator'
209 A `word' that performs a control function. It is a `newline' or
210 one of the following: `||', `&&', `&', `;', `;;', `|', `(', or `)'.
211
212`exit status'
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213 The value returned by a command to its caller. The value is
214 restricted to eight bits, so the maximum value is 255.
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215
216`field'
217 A unit of text that is the result of one of the shell expansions.
218 After expansion, when executing a command, the resulting fields
219 are used as the command name and arguments.
220
221`filename'
222 A string of characters used to identify a file.
223
224`job'
225 A set of processes comprising a pipeline, and any processes
226 descended from it, that are all in the same process group.
227
228`job control'
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229 A mechanism by which users can selectively stop (suspend) and
230 restart (resume) execution of processes.
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231
232`metacharacter'
233 A character that, when unquoted, separates words. A metacharacter
234 is a `blank' or one of the following characters: `|', `&', `;',
235 `(', `)', `<', or `>'.
236
237`name'
238 A `word' consisting solely of letters, numbers, and underscores,
239 and beginning with a letter or underscore. `Name's are used as
240 shell variable and function names. Also referred to as an
241 `identifier'.
242
243`operator'
244 A `control operator' or a `redirection operator'. *Note
245 Redirections::, for a list of redirection operators.
246
247`process group'
248 A collection of related processes each having the same process
249 group ID.
250
251`process group ID'
252 A unique identifer that represents a `process group' during its
253 lifetime.
254
255`reserved word'
256 A `word' that has a special meaning to the shell. Most reserved
257 words introduce shell flow control constructs, such as `for' and
258 `while'.
259
260`return status'
261 A synonym for `exit status'.
262
263`signal'
bb70624e 264 A mechanism by which a process may be notified by the kernel of an
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265 event occurring in the system.
266
267`special builtin'
268 A shell builtin command that has been classified as special by the
bb70624e 269 POSIX 1003.2 standard.
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270
271`token'
272 A sequence of characters considered a single unit by the shell.
273 It is either a `word' or an `operator'.
274
275`word'
276 A `token' that is not an `operator'.
277
278\1f
bb70624e 279File: bashref.info, Node: Basic Shell Features, Next: Shell Builtin Commands, Prev: Definitions, Up: Top
ccc6cda3 280
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2813 Basic Shell Features
282**********************
ccc6cda3 283
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284Bash is an acronym for `Bourne-Again SHell'. The Bourne shell is the
285traditional Unix shell originally written by Stephen Bourne. All of
286the Bourne shell builtin commands are available in Bash, The rules for
287evaluation and quoting are taken from the POSIX specification for the
288`standard' Unix shell.
ccc6cda3 289
cce855bc 290 This chapter briefly summarizes the shell's `building blocks':
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291commands, control structures, shell functions, shell parameters, shell
292expansions, redirections, which are a way to direct input and output
293from and to named files, and how the shell executes commands.
294
295* Menu:
296
297* Shell Syntax:: What your input means to the shell.
cce855bc 298* Shell Commands:: The types of commands you can use.
ccc6cda3 299* Shell Functions:: Grouping commands by name.
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300* Shell Parameters:: How the shell stores values.
301* Shell Expansions:: How Bash expands parameters and the various
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302 expansions available.
303* Redirections:: A way to control where input and output go.
304* Executing Commands:: What happens when you run a command.
305* Shell Scripts:: Executing files of shell commands.
306
307\1f
cce855bc 308File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Syntax, Next: Shell Commands, Up: Basic Shell Features
ccc6cda3 309
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3103.1 Shell Syntax
311================
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312
313* Menu:
314
315* Shell Operation:: The basic operation of the shell.
316
317* Quoting:: How to remove the special meaning from characters.
318
319* Comments:: How to specify comments.
320
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321 When the shell reads input, it proceeds through a sequence of
322operations. If the input indicates the beginning of a comment, the
323shell ignores the comment symbol (`#'), and the rest of that line.
324
325 Otherwise, roughly speaking, the shell reads its input and divides
326the input into words and operators, employing the quoting rules to
327select which meanings to assign various words and characters.
328
329 The shell then parses these tokens into commands and other
330constructs, removes the special meaning of certain words or characters,
331expands others, redirects input and output as needed, executes the
332specified command, waits for the command's exit status, and makes that
333exit status available for further inspection or processing.
334
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335\1f
336File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Operation, Next: Quoting, Up: Shell Syntax
337
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3383.1.1 Shell Operation
339---------------------
ccc6cda3 340
761783bf 341The following is a brief description of the shell's operation when it
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342reads and executes a command. Basically, the shell does the following:
343
28ef6c31 344 1. Reads its input from a file (*note Shell Scripts::), from a string
ccc6cda3 345 supplied as an argument to the `-c' invocation option (*note
28ef6c31 346 Invoking Bash::), or from the user's terminal.
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347
348 2. Breaks the input into words and operators, obeying the quoting
cce855bc 349 rules described in *Note Quoting::. These tokens are separated by
ccc6cda3 350 `metacharacters'. Alias expansion is performed by this step
28ef6c31 351 (*note Aliases::).
ccc6cda3 352
cce855bc 353 3. Parses the tokens into simple and compound commands (*note Shell
28ef6c31 354 Commands::).
ccc6cda3 355
28ef6c31 356 4. Performs the various shell expansions (*note Shell Expansions::),
ccc6cda3 357 breaking the expanded tokens into lists of filenames (*note
28ef6c31 358 Filename Expansion::) and commands and arguments.
ccc6cda3 359
28ef6c31 360 5. Performs any necessary redirections (*note Redirections::) and
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361 removes the redirection operators and their operands from the
362 argument list.
363
28ef6c31 364 6. Executes the command (*note Executing Commands::).
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365
366 7. Optionally waits for the command to complete and collects its exit
28ef6c31 367 status (*note Exit Status::).
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368
369
370\1f
371File: bashref.info, Node: Quoting, Next: Comments, Prev: Shell Operation, Up: Shell Syntax
372
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3733.1.2 Quoting
374-------------
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375
376* Menu:
377
378* Escape Character:: How to remove the special meaning from a single
379 character.
380* Single Quotes:: How to inhibit all interpretation of a sequence
381 of characters.
382* Double Quotes:: How to suppress most of the interpretation of a
383 sequence of characters.
384* ANSI-C Quoting:: How to expand ANSI-C sequences in quoted strings.
385
386* Locale Translation:: How to translate strings into different languages.
387
388 Quoting is used to remove the special meaning of certain characters
389or words to the shell. Quoting can be used to disable special
390treatment for special characters, to prevent reserved words from being
391recognized as such, and to prevent parameter expansion.
392
28ef6c31 393 Each of the shell metacharacters (*note Definitions::) has special
cce855bc 394meaning to the shell and must be quoted if it is to represent itself.
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395When the command history expansion facilities are being used, the
396HISTORY EXPANSION character, usually `!', must be quoted to prevent
28ef6c31 397history expansion. *Note Bash History Facilities::, for more details
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398concerning history expansion.
399
400 There are three quoting mechanisms: the ESCAPE CHARACTER, single
401quotes, and double quotes.
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402
403\1f
404File: bashref.info, Node: Escape Character, Next: Single Quotes, Up: Quoting
405
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4063.1.2.1 Escape Character
407........................
ccc6cda3 408
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409A non-quoted backslash `\' is the Bash escape character. It preserves
410the literal value of the next character that follows, with the
411exception of `newline'. If a `\newline' pair appears, and the
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412backslash itself is not quoted, the `\newline' is treated as a line
413continuation (that is, it is removed from the input stream and
414effectively ignored).
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415
416\1f
417File: bashref.info, Node: Single Quotes, Next: Double Quotes, Prev: Escape Character, Up: Quoting
418
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4193.1.2.2 Single Quotes
420.....................
ccc6cda3 421
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422Enclosing characters in single quotes (`'') preserves the literal value
423of each character within the quotes. A single quote may not occur
bb70624e 424between single quotes, even when preceded by a backslash.
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425
426\1f
427File: bashref.info, Node: Double Quotes, Next: ANSI-C Quoting, Prev: Single Quotes, Up: Quoting
428
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4293.1.2.3 Double Quotes
430.....................
ccc6cda3 431
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432Enclosing characters in double quotes (`"') preserves the literal value
433of all characters within the quotes, with the exception of `$', ``',
434and `\'. The characters `$' and ``' retain their special meaning
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435within double quotes (*note Shell Expansions::). The backslash retains
436its special meaning only when followed by one of the following
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437characters: `$', ``', `"', `\', or `newline'. Within double quotes,
438backslashes that are followed by one of these characters are removed.
439Backslashes preceding characters without a special meaning are left
440unmodified. A double quote may be quoted within double quotes by
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441preceding it with a backslash. When command history is being used, the
442double quote may not be used to quote the history expansion character.
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443
444 The special parameters `*' and `@' have special meaning when in
28ef6c31 445double quotes (*note Shell Parameter Expansion::).
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446
447\1f
448File: bashref.info, Node: ANSI-C Quoting, Next: Locale Translation, Prev: Double Quotes, Up: Quoting
449
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4503.1.2.4 ANSI-C Quoting
451......................
ccc6cda3 452
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453Words of the form `$'STRING'' are treated specially. The word expands
454to STRING, with backslash-escaped characters replaced as specified by
455the ANSI C standard. Backslash escape sequences, if present, are
456decoded as follows:
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457
458`\a'
459 alert (bell)
460
461`\b'
462 backspace
463
464`\e'
465 an escape character (not ANSI C)
466
467`\f'
468 form feed
469
470`\n'
471 newline
472
473`\r'
474 carriage return
475
476`\t'
477 horizontal tab
478
479`\v'
480 vertical tab
481
482`\\'
483 backslash
484
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485`\''
486 single quote
487
ccc6cda3 488`\NNN'
f73dda09 489 the eight-bit character whose value is the octal value NNN (one to
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490 three digits)
491
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492`\xHH'
493 the eight-bit character whose value is the hexadecimal value HH
494 (one or two hex digits)
ccc6cda3 495
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496`\cX'
497 a control-X character
498
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499The expanded result is single-quoted, as if the dollar sign had not
500been present.
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501
502\1f
503File: bashref.info, Node: Locale Translation, Prev: ANSI-C Quoting, Up: Quoting
504
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5053.1.2.5 Locale-Specific Translation
506...................................
ccc6cda3 507
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508A double-quoted string preceded by a dollar sign (`$') will cause the
509string to be translated according to the current locale. If the
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510current locale is `C' or `POSIX', the dollar sign is ignored. If the
511string is translated and replaced, the replacement is double-quoted.
512
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513 Some systems use the message catalog selected by the `LC_MESSAGES'
514shell variable. Others create the name of the message catalog from the
515value of the `TEXTDOMAIN' shell variable, possibly adding a suffix of
516`.mo'. If you use the `TEXTDOMAIN' variable, you may need to set the
517`TEXTDOMAINDIR' variable to the location of the message catalog files.
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518Still others use both variables in this fashion:
519`TEXTDOMAINDIR'/`LC_MESSAGES'/LC_MESSAGES/`TEXTDOMAIN'.mo.
28ef6c31 520
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521\1f
522File: bashref.info, Node: Comments, Prev: Quoting, Up: Shell Syntax
523
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5243.1.3 Comments
525--------------
ccc6cda3 526
761783bf 527In a non-interactive shell, or an interactive shell in which the
ccc6cda3 528`interactive_comments' option to the `shopt' builtin is enabled (*note
28ef6c31 529Bash Builtins::), a word beginning with `#' causes that word and all
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530remaining characters on that line to be ignored. An interactive shell
531without the `interactive_comments' option enabled does not allow
532comments. The `interactive_comments' option is on by default in
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533interactive shells. *Note Interactive Shells::, for a description of
534what makes a shell interactive.
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535
536\1f
537File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Commands, Next: Shell Functions, Prev: Shell Syntax, Up: Basic Shell Features
538
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5393.2 Shell Commands
540==================
cce855bc 541
761783bf 542A simple shell command such as `echo a b c' consists of the command
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543itself followed by arguments, separated by spaces.
544
545 More complex shell commands are composed of simple commands arranged
546together in a variety of ways: in a pipeline in which the output of one
547command becomes the input of a second, in a loop or conditional
548construct, or in some other grouping.
549
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550* Menu:
551
552* Simple Commands:: The most common type of command.
553* Pipelines:: Connecting the input and output of several
554 commands.
555* Lists:: How to execute commands sequentially.
d3a24ed2 556* Compound Commands:: Shell commands for control flow.
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557
558\1f
cce855bc 559File: bashref.info, Node: Simple Commands, Next: Pipelines, Up: Shell Commands
ccc6cda3 560
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5613.2.1 Simple Commands
562---------------------
ccc6cda3 563
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564A simple command is the kind of command encountered most often. It's
565just a sequence of words separated by `blank's, terminated by one of
566the shell's control operators (*note Definitions::). The first word
28ef6c31 567generally specifies a command to be executed, with the rest of the
bb70624e 568words being that command's arguments.
ccc6cda3 569
28ef6c31 570 The return status (*note Exit Status::) of a simple command is its
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571exit status as provided by the POSIX 1003.1 `waitpid' function, or
572128+N if the command was terminated by signal N.
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573
574\1f
cce855bc 575File: bashref.info, Node: Pipelines, Next: Lists, Prev: Simple Commands, Up: Shell Commands
ccc6cda3 576
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5773.2.2 Pipelines
578---------------
ccc6cda3 579
761783bf 580A `pipeline' is a sequence of simple commands separated by `|'.
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581
582 The format for a pipeline is
583 [`time' [`-p']] [`!'] COMMAND1 [`|' COMMAND2 ...]
584
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585The output of each command in the pipeline is connected via a pipe to
586the input of the next command. That is, each command reads the
587previous command's output.
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588
589 The reserved word `time' causes timing statistics to be printed for
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590the pipeline once it finishes. The statistics currently consist of
591elapsed (wall-clock) time and user and system time consumed by the
592command's execution. The `-p' option changes the output format to that
593specified by POSIX. The `TIMEFORMAT' variable may be set to a format
594string that specifies how the timing information should be displayed.
595*Note Bash Variables::, for a description of the available formats.
596The use of `time' as a reserved word permits the timing of shell
597builtins, shell functions, and pipelines. An external `time' command
598cannot time these easily.
599
28ef6c31 600 If the pipeline is not executed asynchronously (*note Lists::), the
cce855bc 601shell waits for all commands in the pipeline to complete.
ccc6cda3 602
cce855bc 603 Each command in a pipeline is executed in its own subshell (*note
28ef6c31 604Command Execution Environment::). The exit status of a pipeline is the
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605exit status of the last command in the pipeline, unless the `pipefail'
606option is enabled (*note The Set Builtin::). If `pipefail' is enabled,
607the pipeline's return status is the value of the last (rightmost)
608command to exit with a non-zero status, or zero if all commands exit
609successfully. If the reserved word `!' precedes the pipeline, the exit
610status is the logical negation of the exit status as described above.
611The shell waits for all commands in the pipeline to terminate before
612returning a value.
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613
614\1f
d3a24ed2 615File: bashref.info, Node: Lists, Next: Compound Commands, Prev: Pipelines, Up: Shell Commands
ccc6cda3 616
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6173.2.3 Lists of Commands
618-----------------------
ccc6cda3 619
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620A `list' is a sequence of one or more pipelines separated by one of the
621operators `;', `&', `&&', or `||', and optionally terminated by one of
622`;', `&', or a `newline'.
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623
624 Of these list operators, `&&' and `||' have equal precedence,
625followed by `;' and `&', which have equal precedence.
626
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627 A sequence of one or more newlines may appear in a `list' to delimit
628commands, equivalent to a semicolon.
629
ccc6cda3 630 If a command is terminated by the control operator `&', the shell
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631executes the command asynchronously in a subshell. This is known as
632executing the command in the BACKGROUND. The shell does not wait for
bb70624e 633the command to finish, and the return status is 0 (true). When job
28ef6c31 634control is not active (*note Job Control::), the standard input for
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635asynchronous commands, in the absence of any explicit redirections, is
636redirected from `/dev/null'.
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637
638 Commands separated by a `;' are executed sequentially; the shell
639waits for each command to terminate in turn. The return status is the
640exit status of the last command executed.
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641
642 The control operators `&&' and `||' denote AND lists and OR lists,
643respectively. An AND list has the form
bb70624e 644 COMMAND1 && COMMAND2
ccc6cda3 645
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646COMMAND2 is executed if, and only if, COMMAND1 returns an exit status
647of zero.
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648
649 An OR list has the form
bb70624e 650 COMMAND1 || COMMAND2
ccc6cda3 651
bb70624e 652COMMAND2 is executed if, and only if, COMMAND1 returns a non-zero exit
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653status.
654
655 The return status of AND and OR lists is the exit status of the last
656command executed in the list.
657
658\1f
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659File: bashref.info, Node: Compound Commands, Prev: Lists, Up: Shell Commands
660
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6613.2.4 Compound Commands
662-----------------------
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663
664* Menu:
665
666* Looping Constructs:: Shell commands for iterative action.
667* Conditional Constructs:: Shell commands for conditional execution.
668* Command Grouping:: Ways to group commands.
669
670 Compound commands are the shell programming constructs. Each
671construct begins with a reserved word or control operator and is
672terminated by a corresponding reserved word or operator. Any
673redirections (*note Redirections::) associated with a compound command
674apply to all commands within that compound command unless explicitly
675overridden.
676
677 Bash provides looping constructs, conditional commands, and
678mechanisms to group commands and execute them as a unit.
679
680\1f
681File: bashref.info, Node: Looping Constructs, Next: Conditional Constructs, Up: Compound Commands
ccc6cda3 682
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6833.2.4.1 Looping Constructs
684..........................
ccc6cda3 685
761783bf 686Bash supports the following looping constructs.
ccc6cda3 687
bb70624e 688 Note that wherever a `;' appears in the description of a command's
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689syntax, it may be replaced with one or more newlines.
690
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691`until'
692 The syntax of the `until' command is:
693 until TEST-COMMANDS; do CONSEQUENT-COMMANDS; done
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694 Execute CONSEQUENT-COMMANDS as long as TEST-COMMANDS has an exit
695 status which is not zero. The return status is the exit status of
696 the last command executed in CONSEQUENT-COMMANDS, or zero if none
697 was executed.
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698
699`while'
700 The syntax of the `while' command is:
701 while TEST-COMMANDS; do CONSEQUENT-COMMANDS; done
702
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703 Execute CONSEQUENT-COMMANDS as long as TEST-COMMANDS has an exit
704 status of zero. The return status is the exit status of the last
705 command executed in CONSEQUENT-COMMANDS, or zero if none was
706 executed.
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707
708`for'
709 The syntax of the `for' command is:
710
711 for NAME [in WORDS ...]; do COMMANDS; done
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712 Expand WORDS, and execute COMMANDS once for each member in the
713 resultant list, with NAME bound to the current member. If `in
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714 WORDS' is not present, the `for' command executes the COMMANDS
715 once for each positional parameter that is set, as if `in "$@"'
28ef6c31 716 had been specified (*note Special Parameters::). The return
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717 status is the exit status of the last command that executes. If
718 there are no items in the expansion of WORDS, no commands are
719 executed, and the return status is zero.
720
721 An alternate form of the `for' command is also supported:
722
723 for (( EXPR1 ; EXPR2 ; EXPR3 )) ; do COMMANDS ; done
724 First, the arithmetic expression EXPR1 is evaluated according to
28ef6c31 725 the rules described below (*note Shell Arithmetic::). The
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726 arithmetic expression EXPR2 is then evaluated repeatedly until it
727 evaluates to zero. Each time EXPR2 evaluates to a non-zero value,
728 COMMANDS are executed and the arithmetic expression EXPR3 is
729 evaluated. If any expression is omitted, it behaves as if it
730 evaluates to 1. The return value is the exit status of the last
731 command in LIST that is executed, or false if any of the
732 expressions is invalid.
ccc6cda3 733
761783bf 734
28ef6c31 735 The `break' and `continue' builtins (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::)
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736may be used to control loop execution.
737
738\1f
d3a24ed2 739File: bashref.info, Node: Conditional Constructs, Next: Command Grouping, Prev: Looping Constructs, Up: Compound Commands
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7413.2.4.2 Conditional Constructs
742..............................
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743
744`if'
745 The syntax of the `if' command is:
746
747 if TEST-COMMANDS; then
748 CONSEQUENT-COMMANDS;
749 [elif MORE-TEST-COMMANDS; then
750 MORE-CONSEQUENTS;]
751 [else ALTERNATE-CONSEQUENTS;]
752 fi
753
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754 The TEST-COMMANDS list is executed, and if its return status is
755 zero, the CONSEQUENT-COMMANDS list is executed. If TEST-COMMANDS
756 returns a non-zero status, each `elif' list is executed in turn,
757 and if its exit status is zero, the corresponding MORE-CONSEQUENTS
758 is executed and the command completes. If `else
759 ALTERNATE-CONSEQUENTS' is present, and the final command in the
760 final `if' or `elif' clause has a non-zero exit status, then
761 ALTERNATE-CONSEQUENTS is executed. The return status is the exit
762 status of the last command executed, or zero if no condition
763 tested true.
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764
765`case'
766 The syntax of the `case' command is:
767
cce855bc 768 `case WORD in [ [(] PATTERN [| PATTERN]...) COMMAND-LIST ;;]... esac'
ccc6cda3 769
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770 `case' will selectively execute the COMMAND-LIST corresponding to
771 the first PATTERN that matches WORD. The `|' is used to separate
772 multiple patterns, and the `)' operator terminates a pattern list.
773 A list of patterns and an associated command-list is known as a
774 CLAUSE. Each clause must be terminated with `;;'. The WORD
775 undergoes tilde expansion, parameter expansion, command
776 substitution, arithmetic expansion, and quote removal before
777 matching is attempted. Each PATTERN undergoes tilde expansion,
778 parameter expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic
779 expansion.
780
781 There may be an arbitrary number of `case' clauses, each terminated
782 by a `;;'. The first pattern that matches determines the
783 command-list that is executed.
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784
785 Here is an example using `case' in a script that could be used to
786 describe one interesting feature of an animal:
787
788 echo -n "Enter the name of an animal: "
789 read ANIMAL
790 echo -n "The $ANIMAL has "
791 case $ANIMAL in
792 horse | dog | cat) echo -n "four";;
793 man | kangaroo ) echo -n "two";;
794 *) echo -n "an unknown number of";;
795 esac
796 echo " legs."
797
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798 The return status is zero if no PATTERN is matched. Otherwise, the
799 return status is the exit status of the COMMAND-LIST executed.
800
801`select'
802 The `select' construct allows the easy generation of menus. It
803 has almost the same syntax as the `for' command:
804
805 select NAME [in WORDS ...]; do COMMANDS; done
806
807 The list of words following `in' is expanded, generating a list of
808 items. The set of expanded words is printed on the standard error
809 output stream, each preceded by a number. If the `in WORDS' is
810 omitted, the positional parameters are printed, as if `in "$@"'
811 had been specifed. The `PS3' prompt is then displayed and a line
812 is read from the standard input. If the line consists of a number
813 corresponding to one of the displayed words, then the value of
814 NAME is set to that word. If the line is empty, the words and
815 prompt are displayed again. If `EOF' is read, the `select'
816 command completes. Any other value read causes NAME to be set to
817 null. The line read is saved in the variable `REPLY'.
818
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819 The COMMANDS are executed after each selection until a `break'
820 command is executed, at which point the `select' command completes.
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821
822 Here is an example that allows the user to pick a filename from the
823 current directory, and displays the name and index of the file
824 selected.
825
826 select fname in *;
827 do
828 echo you picked $fname \($REPLY\)
829 break;
830 done
831
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832`((...))'
833 (( EXPRESSION ))
834
cce855bc 835 The arithmetic EXPRESSION is evaluated according to the rules
28ef6c31 836 described below (*note Shell Arithmetic::). If the value of the
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837 expression is non-zero, the return status is 0; otherwise the
838 return status is 1. This is exactly equivalent to
ccc6cda3 839 let "EXPRESSION"
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840 *Note Bash Builtins::, for a full description of the `let' builtin.
841
842`[[...]]'
843 [[ EXPRESSION ]]
844
845 Return a status of 0 or 1 depending on the evaluation of the
846 conditional expression EXPRESSION. Expressions are composed of
847 the primaries described below in *Note Bash Conditional
848 Expressions::. Word splitting and filename expansion are not
849 performed on the words between the `[[' and `]]'; tilde expansion,
850 parameter and variable expansion, arithmetic expansion, command
851 substitution, process substitution, and quote removal are
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852 performed. Conditional operators such as `-f' must be unquoted to
853 be recognized as primaries.
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854
855 When the `==' and `!=' operators are used, the string to the right
856 of the operator is considered a pattern and matched according to
857 the rules described below in *Note Pattern Matching::. The return
858 value is 0 if the string matches or does not match the pattern,
859 respectively, and 1 otherwise. Any part of the pattern may be
860 quoted to force it to be matched as a string.
861
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862 An additional binary operator, `=~', is available, with the same
863 precedence as `==' and `!='. When it is used, the string to the
864 right of the operator is considered an extended regular expression
865 and matched accordingly (as in regex3)). The return value is 0 if
866 the string matches the pattern, and 1 otherwise. If the regular
867 expression is syntactically incorrect, the conditional
868 expression's return value is 2. If the shell option `nocaseglob'
869 (see the description of `shopt' in *Note Bash Builtins::) is
870 enabled, the match is performed without regard to the case of
871 alphabetic characters. Substrings matched by parenthesized
872 subexpressions within the regular expression are saved in the
873 array variable `BASH_REMATCH'. The element of `BASH_REMATCH' with
874 index 0 is the portion of the string matching the entire regular
875 expression. The element of `BASH_REMATCH' with index N is the
876 portion of the string matching the Nth parenthesized subexpression.
877
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878 Expressions may be combined using the following operators, listed
879 in decreasing order of precedence:
880
881 `( EXPRESSION )'
882 Returns the value of EXPRESSION. This may be used to
883 override the normal precedence of operators.
884
885 `! EXPRESSION'
886 True if EXPRESSION is false.
887
888 `EXPRESSION1 && EXPRESSION2'
889 True if both EXPRESSION1 and EXPRESSION2 are true.
890
891 `EXPRESSION1 || EXPRESSION2'
892 True if either EXPRESSION1 or EXPRESSION2 is true.
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893 The `&&' and `||' operators do not evaluate EXPRESSION2 if the
894 value of EXPRESSION1 is sufficient to determine the return value
895 of the entire conditional expression.
ccc6cda3 896
761783bf 897
ccc6cda3 898\1f
d3a24ed2 899File: bashref.info, Node: Command Grouping, Prev: Conditional Constructs, Up: Compound Commands
ccc6cda3 900
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9013.2.4.3 Grouping Commands
902.........................
ccc6cda3 903
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904Bash provides two ways to group a list of commands to be executed as a
905unit. When commands are grouped, redirections may be applied to the
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906entire command list. For example, the output of all the commands in
907the list may be redirected to a single stream.
908
909`()'
910 ( LIST )
911
912 Placing a list of commands between parentheses causes a subshell
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913 environment to be created (*note Command Execution Environment::),
914 and each of the commands in LIST to be executed in that subshell.
915 Since the LIST is executed in a subshell, variable assignments do
916 not remain in effect after the subshell completes.
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917
918`{}'
919 { LIST; }
920
921 Placing a list of commands between curly braces causes the list to
922 be executed in the current shell context. No subshell is created.
cce855bc 923 The semicolon (or newline) following LIST is required.
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924
925 In addition to the creation of a subshell, there is a subtle
926difference between these two constructs due to historical reasons. The
927braces are `reserved words', so they must be separated from the LIST by
928`blank's. The parentheses are `operators', and are recognized as
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929separate tokens by the shell even if they are not separated from the
930LIST by whitespace.
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931
932 The exit status of both of these constructs is the exit status of
933LIST.
934
935\1f
cce855bc 936File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Functions, Next: Shell Parameters, Prev: Shell Commands, Up: Basic Shell Features
ccc6cda3 937
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9383.3 Shell Functions
939===================
ccc6cda3 940
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941Shell functions are a way to group commands for later execution using a
942single name for the group. They are executed just like a "regular"
943command. When the name of a shell function is used as a simple command
944name, the list of commands associated with that function name is
945executed. Shell functions are executed in the current shell context;
946no new process is created to interpret them.
ccc6cda3 947
761783bf 948 Functions are declared using this syntax:
d3a24ed2 949 [ `function' ] NAME () COMPOUND-COMMAND [ REDIRECTIONS ]
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950
951 This defines a shell function named NAME. The reserved word
cce855bc 952`function' is optional. If the `function' reserved word is supplied,
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953the parentheses are optional. The BODY of the function is the compound
954command COMPOUND-COMMAND (*note Compound Commands::). That command is
955usually a LIST enclosed between { and }, but may be any compound
956command listed above. COMPOUND-COMMAND is executed whenever NAME is
957specified as the name of a command. Any redirections (*note
958Redirections::) associated with the shell function are performed when
959the function is executed.
960
961 The exit status of a function definition is zero unless a syntax
962error occurs or a readonly function with the same name already exists.
963When executed, the exit status of a function is the exit status of the
964last command executed in the body.
965
966 Note that for historical reasons, in the most common usage the curly
967braces that surround the body of the function must be separated from
968the body by `blank's or newlines. This is because the braces are
969reserved words and are only recognized as such when they are separated
970by whitespace. Also, when using the braces, the LIST must be
971terminated by a semicolon, a `&', or a newline.
bb70624e 972
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973 When a function is executed, the arguments to the function become
974the positional parameters during its execution (*note Positional
28ef6c31 975Parameters::). The special parameter `#' that expands to the number of
de8913bd 976positional parameters is updated to reflect the change. Special
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977parameter `0' is unchanged. The first element of the `FUNCNAME'
978variable is set to the name of the function while the function is
979executing. All other aspects of the shell execution environment are
980identical between a function and its caller with the exception that the
981`DEBUG' trap below) is not inherited unless the function has been given
982the `trace' attribute using the `declare' builtin or the `-o functrace'
983option has been enabled with the `set' builtin, (in which case all
984functions inherit the `DEBUG' trap). *Note Bourne Shell Builtins::,
985for the description of the `trap' builtin.
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986
987 If the builtin command `return' is executed in a function, the
988function completes and execution resumes with the next command after
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989the function call. Any command associated with the `RETURN' trap is
990executed before execution resumes. When a function completes, the
991values of the positional parameters and the special parameter `#' are
992restored to the values they had prior to the function's execution. If
993a numeric argument is given to `return', that is the function's return
994status; otherwise the function's return status is the exit status of
995the last command executed before the `return'.
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996
997 Variables local to the function may be declared with the `local'
998builtin. These variables are visible only to the function and the
999commands it invokes.
1000
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1001 Function names and definitions may be listed with the `-f' option to
1002the `declare' or `typeset' builtin commands (*note Bash Builtins::).
1003The `-F' option to `declare' or `typeset' will list the function names
1004only (and optionally the source file and line number, if the `extdebug'
1005shell option is enabled). Functions may be exported so that subshells
1006automatically have them defined with the `-f' option to the `export'
1007builtin (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::). Note that shell functions and
1008variables with the same name may result in multiple identically-named
1009entries in the environment passed to the shell's children. Care should
1010be taken in cases where this may cause a problem.
1011
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1012 Functions may be recursive. No limit is placed on the number of
1013recursive calls.
1014
1015\1f
1016File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Parameters, Next: Shell Expansions, Prev: Shell Functions, Up: Basic Shell Features
1017
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10183.4 Shell Parameters
1019====================
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1020
1021* Menu:
1022
1023* Positional Parameters:: The shell's command-line arguments.
d3a24ed2 1024* Special Parameters:: Parameters denoted by special characters.
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1025
1026 A PARAMETER is an entity that stores values. It can be a `name', a
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1027number, or one of the special characters listed below. A VARIABLE is a
1028parameter denoted by a `name'. A variable has a VALUE and zero or more
1029ATTRIBUTES. Attributes are assigned using the `declare' builtin command
1030(see the description of the `declare' builtin in *Note Bash Builtins::).
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1031
1032 A parameter is set if it has been assigned a value. The null string
1033is a valid value. Once a variable is set, it may be unset only by using
1034the `unset' builtin command.
1035
1036 A variable may be assigned to by a statement of the form
1037 NAME=[VALUE]
761783bf 1038 If VALUE is not given, the variable is assigned the null string. All
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1039VALUEs undergo tilde expansion, parameter and variable expansion,
1040command substitution, arithmetic expansion, and quote removal (detailed
f73dda09 1041below). If the variable has its `integer' attribute set, then VALUE is
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1042evaluated as an arithmetic expression even if the `$((...))' expansion
1043is not used (*note Arithmetic Expansion::). Word splitting is not
1044performed, with the exception of `"$@"' as explained below. Filename
1045expansion is not performed. Assignment statements may also appear as
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1046arguments to the `alias', `declare', `typeset', `export', `readonly',
1047and `local' builtin commands.
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1048
1049\1f
1050File: bashref.info, Node: Positional Parameters, Next: Special Parameters, Up: Shell Parameters
1051
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10523.4.1 Positional Parameters
1053---------------------------
ccc6cda3 1054
761783bf 1055A POSITIONAL PARAMETER is a parameter denoted by one or more digits,
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1056other than the single digit `0'. Positional parameters are assigned
1057from the shell's arguments when it is invoked, and may be reassigned
cce855bc 1058using the `set' builtin command. Positional parameter `N' may be
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1059referenced as `${N}', or as `$N' when `N' consists of a single digit.
1060Positional parameters may not be assigned to with assignment statements.
1061The `set' and `shift' builtins are used to set and unset them (*note
28ef6c31
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1062Shell Builtin Commands::). The positional parameters are temporarily
1063replaced when a shell function is executed (*note Shell Functions::).
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1064
1065 When a positional parameter consisting of more than a single digit
1066is expanded, it must be enclosed in braces.
1067
1068\1f
1069File: bashref.info, Node: Special Parameters, Prev: Positional Parameters, Up: Shell Parameters
1070
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10713.4.2 Special Parameters
1072------------------------
ccc6cda3 1073
761783bf 1074The shell treats several parameters specially. These parameters may
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1075only be referenced; assignment to them is not allowed.
1076
1077`*'
1078 Expands to the positional parameters, starting from one. When the
1079 expansion occurs within double quotes, it expands to a single word
1080 with the value of each parameter separated by the first character
1081 of the `IFS' special variable. That is, `"$*"' is equivalent to
1082 `"$1C$2C..."', where C is the first character of the value of the
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1083 `IFS' variable. If `IFS' is unset, the parameters are separated
1084 by spaces. If `IFS' is null, the parameters are joined without
1085 intervening separators.
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1086
1087`@'
1088 Expands to the positional parameters, starting from one. When the
cce855bc 1089 expansion occurs within double quotes, each parameter expands to a
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1090 separate word. That is, `"$@"' is equivalent to `"$1" "$2" ...'.
1091 When there are no positional parameters, `"$@"' and `$@' expand to
1092 nothing (i.e., they are removed).
1093
1094`#'
1095 Expands to the number of positional parameters in decimal.
1096
1097`?'
1098 Expands to the exit status of the most recently executed foreground
1099 pipeline.
1100
1101`-'
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1102 (A hyphen.) Expands to the current option flags as specified upon
1103 invocation, by the `set' builtin command, or those set by the
1104 shell itself (such as the `-i' option).
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1105
1106`$'
1107 Expands to the process ID of the shell. In a `()' subshell, it
cce855bc 1108 expands to the process ID of the invoking shell, not the subshell.
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1109
1110`!'
1111 Expands to the process ID of the most recently executed background
1112 (asynchronous) command.
1113
1114`0'
1115 Expands to the name of the shell or shell script. This is set at
cce855bc 1116 shell initialization. If Bash is invoked with a file of commands
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1117 (*note Shell Scripts::), `$0' is set to the name of that file. If
1118 Bash is started with the `-c' option (*note Invoking Bash::), then
1119 `$0' is set to the first argument after the string to be executed,
1120 if one is present. Otherwise, it is set to the filename used to
1121 invoke Bash, as given by argument zero.
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1122
1123`_'
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1124 (An underscore.) At shell startup, set to the absolute filename
1125 of the shell or shell script being executed as passed in the
1126 argument list. Subsequently, expands to the last argument to the
1127 previous command, after expansion. Also set to the full pathname
1128 of each command executed and placed in the environment exported to
1129 that command. When checking mail, this parameter holds the name
1130 of the mail file.
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1131
1132\1f
1133File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Expansions, Next: Redirections, Prev: Shell Parameters, Up: Basic Shell Features
1134
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11353.5 Shell Expansions
1136====================
ccc6cda3 1137
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1138Expansion is performed on the command line after it has been split into
1139`token's. There are seven kinds of expansion performed:
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1140 * brace expansion
1141
1142 * tilde expansion
1143
1144 * parameter and variable expansion
1145
1146 * command substitution
1147
1148 * arithmetic expansion
1149
1150 * word splitting
1151
1152 * filename expansion
1153
1154* Menu:
1155
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1156* Brace Expansion:: Expansion of expressions within braces.
1157* Tilde Expansion:: Expansion of the ~ character.
ccc6cda3
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1158* Shell Parameter Expansion:: How Bash expands variables to their values.
1159* Command Substitution:: Using the output of a command as an argument.
cce855bc 1160* Arithmetic Expansion:: How to use arithmetic in shell expansions.
ccc6cda3
JA
1161* Process Substitution:: A way to write and read to and from a
1162 command.
1163* Word Splitting:: How the results of expansion are split into separate
1164 arguments.
1165* Filename Expansion:: A shorthand for specifying filenames matching patterns.
1166* Quote Removal:: How and when quote characters are removed from
1167 words.
1168
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JA
1169 The order of expansions is: brace expansion, tilde expansion,
1170parameter, variable, and arithmetic expansion and command substitution
1171(done in a left-to-right fashion), word splitting, and filename
1172expansion.
1173
1174 On systems that can support it, there is an additional expansion
1175available: PROCESS SUBSTITUTION. This is performed at the same time as
cce855bc 1176parameter, variable, and arithmetic expansion and command substitution.
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1177
1178 Only brace expansion, word splitting, and filename expansion can
1179change the number of words of the expansion; other expansions expand a
1180single word to a single word. The only exceptions to this are the
28ef6c31
JA
1181expansions of `"$@"' (*note Special Parameters::) and `"${NAME[@]}"'
1182(*note Arrays::).
ccc6cda3 1183
28ef6c31 1184 After all expansions, `quote removal' (*note Quote Removal::) is
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1185performed.
1186
1187\1f
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1188File: bashref.info, Node: Brace Expansion, Next: Tilde Expansion, Up: Shell Expansions
1189
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CR
11903.5.1 Brace Expansion
1191---------------------
cce855bc 1192
761783bf 1193Brace expansion is a mechanism by which arbitrary strings may be
cce855bc 1194generated. This mechanism is similar to FILENAME EXPANSION (*note
28ef6c31 1195Filename Expansion::), but the file names generated need not exist.
cce855bc 1196Patterns to be brace expanded take the form of an optional PREAMBLE,
d3a24ed2
CR
1197followed by either a series of comma-separated strings or a sequnce
1198expression between a pair of braces, followed by an optional POSTSCRIPT.
1199The preamble is prefixed to each string contained within the braces, and
1200the postscript is then appended to each resulting string, expanding left
1201to right.
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1202
1203 Brace expansions may be nested. The results of each expanded string
1204are not sorted; left to right order is preserved. For example,
1205 bash$ echo a{d,c,b}e
1206 ade ace abe
1207
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CR
1208 A sequence expression takes the form `{X..Y}', where X and Y are
1209either integers or single characters. When integers are supplied, the
1210expression expands to each number between X and Y, inclusive. When
1211characters are supplied, the expression expands to each character
1212lexicographically between X and Y, inclusive. Note that both X and Y
1213must be of the same type.
1214
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1215 Brace expansion is performed before any other expansions, and any
1216characters special to other expansions are preserved in the result. It
1217is strictly textual. Bash does not apply any syntactic interpretation
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JA
1218to the context of the expansion or the text between the braces. To
1219avoid conflicts with parameter expansion, the string `${' is not
1220considered eligible for brace expansion.
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1221
1222 A correctly-formed brace expansion must contain unquoted opening and
d3a24ed2
CR
1223closing braces, and at least one unquoted comma or a valid sequence
1224expression. Any incorrectly formed brace expansion is left unchanged.
1225
1226 A { or `,' may be quoted with a backslash to prevent its being
1227considered part of a brace expression. To avoid conflicts with
1228parameter expansion, the string `${' is not considered eligible for
1229brace expansion.
cce855bc
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1230
1231 This construct is typically used as shorthand when the common prefix
1232of the strings to be generated is longer than in the above example:
1233 mkdir /usr/local/src/bash/{old,new,dist,bugs}
1234 or
1235 chown root /usr/{ucb/{ex,edit},lib/{ex?.?*,how_ex}}
1236
1237\1f
1238File: bashref.info, Node: Tilde Expansion, Next: Shell Parameter Expansion, Prev: Brace Expansion, Up: Shell Expansions
1239
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12403.5.2 Tilde Expansion
1241---------------------
cce855bc 1242
761783bf 1243If a word begins with an unquoted tilde character (`~'), all of the
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JA
1244characters up to the first unquoted slash (or all characters, if there
1245is no unquoted slash) are considered a TILDE-PREFIX. If none of the
1246characters in the tilde-prefix are quoted, the characters in the
1247tilde-prefix following the tilde are treated as a possible LOGIN NAME.
1248If this login name is the null string, the tilde is replaced with the
1249value of the `HOME' shell variable. If `HOME' is unset, the home
1250directory of the user executing the shell is substituted instead.
1251Otherwise, the tilde-prefix is replaced with the home directory
1252associated with the specified login name.
1253
1254 If the tilde-prefix is `~+', the value of the shell variable `PWD'
1255replaces the tilde-prefix. If the tilde-prefix is `~-', the value of
1256the shell variable `OLDPWD', if it is set, is substituted.
1257
1258 If the characters following the tilde in the tilde-prefix consist of
1259a number N, optionally prefixed by a `+' or a `-', the tilde-prefix is
1260replaced with the corresponding element from the directory stack, as it
1261would be displayed by the `dirs' builtin invoked with the characters
1262following tilde in the tilde-prefix as an argument (*note The Directory
28ef6c31 1263Stack::). If the tilde-prefix, sans the tilde, consists of a number
cce855bc
JA
1264without a leading `+' or `-', `+' is assumed.
1265
1266 If the login name is invalid, or the tilde expansion fails, the word
1267is left unchanged.
1268
1269 Each variable assignment is checked for unquoted tilde-prefixes
1270immediately following a `:' or `='. In these cases, tilde expansion is
1271also performed. Consequently, one may use file names with tildes in
1272assignments to `PATH', `MAILPATH', and `CDPATH', and the shell assigns
1273the expanded value.
1274
1275 The following table shows how Bash treats unquoted tilde-prefixes:
1276
1277`~'
1278 The value of `$HOME'
1279
1280`~/foo'
1281 `$HOME/foo'
1282
1283`~fred/foo'
1284 The subdirectory `foo' of the home directory of the user `fred'
1285
1286`~+/foo'
1287 `$PWD/foo'
1288
1289`~-/foo'
1290 `${OLDPWD-'~-'}/foo'
1291
1292`~N'
1293 The string that would be displayed by `dirs +N'
1294
1295`~+N'
1296 The string that would be displayed by `dirs +N'
1297
1298`~-N'
1299 The string that would be displayed by `dirs -N'
1300
761783bf 1301
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1302\1f
1303File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Parameter Expansion, Next: Command Substitution, Prev: Tilde Expansion, Up: Shell Expansions
ccc6cda3 1304
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CR
13053.5.3 Shell Parameter Expansion
1306-------------------------------
ccc6cda3 1307
761783bf
CR
1308The `$' character introduces parameter expansion, command substitution,
1309or arithmetic expansion. The parameter name or symbol to be expanded
1310may be enclosed in braces, which are optional but serve to protect the
1311variable to be expanded from characters immediately following it which
1312could be interpreted as part of the name.
ccc6cda3 1313
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1314 When braces are used, the matching ending brace is the first `}' not
1315escaped by a backslash or within a quoted string, and not within an
1316embedded arithmetic expansion, command substitution, or parameter
1317expansion.
1318
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JA
1319 The basic form of parameter expansion is ${PARAMETER}. The value of
1320PARAMETER is substituted. The braces are required when PARAMETER is a
1321positional parameter with more than one digit, or when PARAMETER is
1322followed by a character that is not to be interpreted as part of its
1323name.
1324
1325 If the first character of PARAMETER is an exclamation point, a level
1326of variable indirection is introduced. Bash uses the value of the
1327variable formed from the rest of PARAMETER as the name of the variable;
d166f048
JA
1328this variable is then expanded and that value is used in the rest of
1329the substitution, rather than the value of PARAMETER itself. This is
d3a24ed2
CR
1330known as `indirect expansion'. The exceptions to this are the
1331expansions of ${!PREFIX*} and ${!NAME[@]} described below. The
1332exclamation point must immediately follow the left brace in order to
1333introduce indirection.
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1334
1335 In each of the cases below, WORD is subject to tilde expansion,
1336parameter expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic expansion.
bb70624e
JA
1337
1338 When not performing substring expansion, Bash tests for a parameter
ccc6cda3 1339that is unset or null; omitting the colon results in a test only for a
bb70624e
JA
1340parameter that is unset. Put another way, if the colon is included,
1341the operator tests for both existence and that the value is not null;
1342if the colon is omitted, the operator tests only for existence.
ccc6cda3
JA
1343
1344`${PARAMETER:-WORD}'
1345 If PARAMETER is unset or null, the expansion of WORD is
1346 substituted. Otherwise, the value of PARAMETER is substituted.
1347
1348`${PARAMETER:=WORD}'
1349 If PARAMETER is unset or null, the expansion of WORD is assigned
1350 to PARAMETER. The value of PARAMETER is then substituted.
de8913bd
CR
1351 Positional parameters and special parameters may not be assigned to
1352 in this way.
ccc6cda3
JA
1353
1354`${PARAMETER:?WORD}'
1355 If PARAMETER is null or unset, the expansion of WORD (or a message
1356 to that effect if WORD is not present) is written to the standard
1357 error and the shell, if it is not interactive, exits. Otherwise,
1358 the value of PARAMETER is substituted.
1359
1360`${PARAMETER:+WORD}'
1361 If PARAMETER is null or unset, nothing is substituted, otherwise
1362 the expansion of WORD is substituted.
1363
1364`${PARAMETER:OFFSET}'
1365`${PARAMETER:OFFSET:LENGTH}'
bb70624e 1366 Expands to up to LENGTH characters of PARAMETER starting at the
cce855bc 1367 character specified by OFFSET. If LENGTH is omitted, expands to
bb70624e 1368 the substring of PARAMETER starting at the character specified by
cce855bc 1369 OFFSET. LENGTH and OFFSET are arithmetic expressions (*note Shell
28ef6c31 1370 Arithmetic::). This is referred to as Substring Expansion.
ccc6cda3
JA
1371
1372 LENGTH must evaluate to a number greater than or equal to zero.
1373 If OFFSET evaluates to a number less than zero, the value is used
1374 as an offset from the end of the value of PARAMETER. If PARAMETER
1375 is `@', the result is LENGTH positional parameters beginning at
1376 OFFSET. If PARAMETER is an array name indexed by `@' or `*', the
1377 result is the LENGTH members of the array beginning with
cce855bc
JA
1378 `${PARAMETER[OFFSET]}'. Substring indexing is zero-based unless
1379 the positional parameters are used, in which case the indexing
1380 starts at 1.
ccc6cda3 1381
bb70624e 1382`${!PREFIX*}'
d3a24ed2 1383`${!PREFIX@}'
bb70624e
JA
1384 Expands to the names of variables whose names begin with PREFIX,
1385 separated by the first character of the `IFS' special variable.
1386
d3a24ed2
CR
1387`${!NAME[@]}'
1388`${!NAME[*]}'
1389 If NAME is an array variable, expands to the list of array indices
1390 (keys) assigned in NAME. If NAME is not an array, expands to 0 if
1391 NAME is set and null otherwise. When `@' is used and the
1392 expansion appears within double quotes, each key expands to a
1393 separate word.
1394
ccc6cda3 1395`${#PARAMETER}'
cce855bc
JA
1396 The length in characters of the expanded value of PARAMETER is
1397 substituted. If PARAMETER is `*' or `@', the value substituted is
1398 the number of positional parameters. If PARAMETER is an array
1399 name subscripted by `*' or `@', the value substituted is the
1400 number of elements in the array.
ccc6cda3
JA
1401
1402`${PARAMETER#WORD}'
1403`${PARAMETER##WORD}'
1404 The WORD is expanded to produce a pattern just as in filename
28ef6c31 1405 expansion (*note Filename Expansion::). If the pattern matches
cce855bc
JA
1406 the beginning of the expanded value of PARAMETER, then the result
1407 of the expansion is the expanded value of PARAMETER with the
1408 shortest matching pattern (the `#' case) or the longest matching
1409 pattern (the `##' case) deleted. If PARAMETER is `@' or `*', the
1410 pattern removal operation is applied to each positional parameter
1411 in turn, and the expansion is the resultant list. If PARAMETER is
1412 an array variable subscripted with `@' or `*', the pattern removal
1413 operation is applied to each member of the array in turn, and the
1414 expansion is the resultant list.
ccc6cda3
JA
1415
1416`${PARAMETER%WORD}'
1417`${PARAMETER%%WORD}'
1418 The WORD is expanded to produce a pattern just as in filename
cce855bc
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1419 expansion. If the pattern matches a trailing portion of the
1420 expanded value of PARAMETER, then the result of the expansion is
1421 the value of PARAMETER with the shortest matching pattern (the `%'
1422 case) or the longest matching pattern (the `%%' case) deleted. If
1423 PARAMETER is `@' or `*', the pattern removal operation is applied
1424 to each positional parameter in turn, and the expansion is the
1425 resultant list. If PARAMETER is an array variable subscripted
1426 with `@' or `*', the pattern removal operation is applied to each
1427 member of the array in turn, and the expansion is the resultant
1428 list.
ccc6cda3
JA
1429
1430`${PARAMETER/PATTERN/STRING}'
1431`${PARAMETER//PATTERN/STRING}'
1432 The PATTERN is expanded to produce a pattern just as in filename
1433 expansion. PARAMETER is expanded and the longest match of PATTERN
1434 against its value is replaced with STRING. In the first form,
1435 only the first match is replaced. The second form causes all
1436 matches of PATTERN to be replaced with STRING. If PATTERN begins
b72432fd
JA
1437 with `#', it must match at the beginning of the expanded value of
1438 PARAMETER. If PATTERN begins with `%', it must match at the end
1439 of the expanded value of PARAMETER. If STRING is null, matches of
1440 PATTERN are deleted and the `/' following PATTERN may be omitted.
1441 If PARAMETER is `@' or `*', the substitution operation is applied
1442 to each positional parameter in turn, and the expansion is the
1443 resultant list. If PARAMETER is an array variable subscripted
1444 with `@' or `*', the substitution operation is applied to each
1445 member of the array in turn, and the expansion is the resultant
1446 list.
ccc6cda3 1447
761783bf 1448
ccc6cda3 1449\1f
cce855bc 1450File: bashref.info, Node: Command Substitution, Next: Arithmetic Expansion, Prev: Shell Parameter Expansion, Up: Shell Expansions
ccc6cda3 1451
761783bf
CR
14523.5.4 Command Substitution
1453--------------------------
ccc6cda3 1454
761783bf 1455Command substitution allows the output of a command to replace the
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JA
1456command itself. Command substitution occurs when a command is enclosed
1457as follows:
ccc6cda3 1458 $(COMMAND)
761783bf 1459 or
ccc6cda3
JA
1460 `COMMAND`
1461
1462Bash performs the expansion by executing COMMAND and replacing the
1463command substitution with the standard output of the command, with any
cce855bc
JA
1464trailing newlines deleted. Embedded newlines are not deleted, but they
1465may be removed during word splitting. The command substitution `$(cat
1466FILE)' can be replaced by the equivalent but faster `$(< FILE)'.
ccc6cda3
JA
1467
1468 When the old-style backquote form of substitution is used, backslash
1469retains its literal meaning except when followed by `$', ``', or `\'.
cce855bc
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1470The first backquote not preceded by a backslash terminates the command
1471substitution. When using the `$(COMMAND)' form, all characters between
1472the parentheses make up the command; none are treated specially.
ccc6cda3 1473
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1474 Command substitutions may be nested. To nest when using the
1475backquoted form, escape the inner backquotes with backslashes.
ccc6cda3
JA
1476
1477 If the substitution appears within double quotes, word splitting and
1478filename expansion are not performed on the results.
1479
1480\1f
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JA
1481File: bashref.info, Node: Arithmetic Expansion, Next: Process Substitution, Prev: Command Substitution, Up: Shell Expansions
1482
761783bf
CR
14833.5.5 Arithmetic Expansion
1484--------------------------
cce855bc 1485
761783bf
CR
1486Arithmetic expansion allows the evaluation of an arithmetic expression
1487and the substitution of the result. The format for arithmetic
1488expansion is:
cce855bc
JA
1489
1490 $(( EXPRESSION ))
1491
1492 The expression is treated as if it were within double quotes, but a
1493double quote inside the parentheses is not treated specially. All
1494tokens in the expression undergo parameter expansion, command
d3a24ed2 1495substitution, and quote removal. Arithmetic expansions may be nested.
cce855bc
JA
1496
1497 The evaluation is performed according to the rules listed below
28ef6c31 1498(*note Shell Arithmetic::). If the expression is invalid, Bash prints
cce855bc
JA
1499a message indicating failure to the standard error and no substitution
1500occurs.
1501
1502\1f
1503File: bashref.info, Node: Process Substitution, Next: Word Splitting, Prev: Arithmetic Expansion, Up: Shell Expansions
ccc6cda3 1504
761783bf
CR
15053.5.6 Process Substitution
1506--------------------------
ccc6cda3 1507
761783bf
CR
1508Process substitution is supported on systems that support named pipes
1509(FIFOs) or the `/dev/fd' method of naming open files. It takes the
1510form of
ccc6cda3 1511 <(LIST)
761783bf 1512 or
ccc6cda3 1513 >(LIST)
761783bf
CR
1514 The process LIST is run with its input or output connected to a FIFO
1515or some file in `/dev/fd'. The name of this file is passed as an
1516argument to the current command as the result of the expansion. If the
ccc6cda3
JA
1517`>(LIST)' form is used, writing to the file will provide input for
1518LIST. If the `<(LIST)' form is used, the file passed as an argument
bb70624e
JA
1519should be read to obtain the output of LIST. Note that no space may
1520appear between the `<' or `>' and the left parenthesis, otherwise the
1521construct would be interpreted as a redirection.
ccc6cda3 1522
cce855bc
JA
1523 When available, process substitution is performed simultaneously with
1524parameter and variable expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic
1525expansion.
ccc6cda3
JA
1526
1527\1f
1528File: bashref.info, Node: Word Splitting, Next: Filename Expansion, Prev: Process Substitution, Up: Shell Expansions
1529
761783bf
CR
15303.5.7 Word Splitting
1531--------------------
ccc6cda3 1532
761783bf 1533The shell scans the results of parameter expansion, command
ccc6cda3
JA
1534substitution, and arithmetic expansion that did not occur within double
1535quotes for word splitting.
1536
1537 The shell treats each character of `$IFS' as a delimiter, and splits
1538the results of the other expansions into words on these characters. If
1539`IFS' is unset, or its value is exactly `<space><tab><newline>', the
1540default, then any sequence of `IFS' characters serves to delimit words.
1541If `IFS' has a value other than the default, then sequences of the
1542whitespace characters `space' and `tab' are ignored at the beginning
1543and end of the word, as long as the whitespace character is in the
1544value of `IFS' (an `IFS' whitespace character). Any character in `IFS'
1545that is not `IFS' whitespace, along with any adjacent `IFS' whitespace
1546characters, delimits a field. A sequence of `IFS' whitespace
1547characters is also treated as a delimiter. If the value of `IFS' is
1548null, no word splitting occurs.
1549
1550 Explicit null arguments (`""' or `''') are retained. Unquoted
bb70624e 1551implicit null arguments, resulting from the expansion of parameters
ccc6cda3
JA
1552that have no values, are removed. If a parameter with no value is
1553expanded within double quotes, a null argument results and is retained.
1554
1555 Note that if no expansion occurs, no splitting is performed.
1556
1557\1f
1558File: bashref.info, Node: Filename Expansion, Next: Quote Removal, Prev: Word Splitting, Up: Shell Expansions
1559
761783bf
CR
15603.5.8 Filename Expansion
1561------------------------
ccc6cda3 1562
cce855bc
JA
1563* Menu:
1564
1565* Pattern Matching:: How the shell matches patterns.
1566
ccc6cda3 1567 After word splitting, unless the `-f' option has been set (*note The
28ef6c31 1568Set Builtin::), Bash scans each word for the characters `*', `?', and
bb70624e
JA
1569`['. If one of these characters appears, then the word is regarded as
1570a PATTERN, and replaced with an alphabetically sorted list of file
ccc6cda3 1571names matching the pattern. If no matching file names are found, and
cce855bc
JA
1572the shell option `nullglob' is disabled, the word is left unchanged.
1573If the `nullglob' option is set, and no matches are found, the word is
5e13499c
CR
1574removed. If the `failglob' shell option is set, and no matches are
1575found, an error message is printed and the command is not executed. If
1576the shell option `nocaseglob' is enabled, the match is performed
1577without regard to the case of alphabetic characters.
cce855bc 1578
28ef6c31
JA
1579 When a pattern is used for filename generation, the character `.' at
1580the start of a filename or immediately following a slash must be
cce855bc
JA
1581matched explicitly, unless the shell option `dotglob' is set. When
1582matching a file name, the slash character must always be matched
1583explicitly. In other cases, the `.' character is not treated specially.
1584
1585 See the description of `shopt' in *Note Bash Builtins::, for a
5e13499c
CR
1586description of the `nocaseglob', `nullglob', `failglob', and `dotglob'
1587options.
ccc6cda3
JA
1588
1589 The `GLOBIGNORE' shell variable may be used to restrict the set of
cce855bc 1590filenames matching a pattern. If `GLOBIGNORE' is set, each matching
ccc6cda3 1591filename that also matches one of the patterns in `GLOBIGNORE' is
28ef6c31 1592removed from the list of matches. The filenames `.' and `..' are
d3a24ed2
CR
1593always ignored when `GLOBIGNORE' is set and not null. However, setting
1594`GLOBIGNORE' to a non-null value has the effect of enabling the
1595`dotglob' shell option, so all other filenames beginning with a `.'
1596will match. To get the old behavior of ignoring filenames beginning
1597with a `.', make `.*' one of the patterns in `GLOBIGNORE'. The
1598`dotglob' option is disabled when `GLOBIGNORE' is unset.
ccc6cda3 1599
cce855bc
JA
1600\1f
1601File: bashref.info, Node: Pattern Matching, Up: Filename Expansion
1602
761783bf
CR
16033.5.8.1 Pattern Matching
1604........................
cce855bc 1605
761783bf
CR
1606Any character that appears in a pattern, other than the special pattern
1607characters described below, matches itself. The NUL character may not
1608occur in a pattern. A backslash escapes the following character; the
1609escaping backslash is discarded when matching. The special pattern
1610characters must be quoted if they are to be matched literally.
cce855bc 1611
ccc6cda3
JA
1612 The special pattern characters have the following meanings:
1613`*'
1614 Matches any string, including the null string.
1615
1616`?'
1617 Matches any single character.
1618
1619`[...]'
1620 Matches any one of the enclosed characters. A pair of characters
28ef6c31
JA
1621 separated by a hyphen denotes a RANGE EXPRESSION; any character
1622 that sorts between those two characters, inclusive, using the
1623 current locale's collating sequence and character set, is matched.
1624 If the first character following the `[' is a `!' or a `^' then
1625 any character not enclosed is matched. A `-' may be matched by
1626 including it as the first or last character in the set. A `]' may
1627 be matched by including it as the first character in the set. The
1628 sorting order of characters in range expressions is determined by
1629 the current locale and the value of the `LC_COLLATE' shell
1630 variable, if set.
1631
1632 For example, in the default C locale, `[a-dx-z]' is equivalent to
1633 `[abcdxyz]'. Many locales sort characters in dictionary order,
1634 and in these locales `[a-dx-z]' is typically not equivalent to
1635 `[abcdxyz]'; it might be equivalent to `[aBbCcDdxXyYz]', for
1636 example. To obtain the traditional interpretation of ranges in
1637 bracket expressions, you can force the use of the C locale by
1638 setting the `LC_COLLATE' or `LC_ALL' environment variable to the
1639 value `C'.
ccc6cda3 1640
cce855bc
JA
1641 Within `[' and `]', CHARACTER CLASSES can be specified using the
1642 syntax `[:'CLASS`:]', where CLASS is one of the following classes
bb70624e 1643 defined in the POSIX 1003.2 standard:
cce855bc 1644 alnum alpha ascii blank cntrl digit graph lower
7117c2d2 1645 print punct space upper word xdigit
cce855bc 1646 A character class matches any character belonging to that class.
7117c2d2
JA
1647 The `word' character class matches letters, digits, and the
1648 character `_'.
cce855bc
JA
1649
1650 Within `[' and `]', an EQUIVALENCE CLASS can be specified using
1651 the syntax `[='C`=]', which matches all characters with the same
1652 collation weight (as defined by the current locale) as the
1653 character C.
1654
28ef6c31 1655 Within `[' and `]', the syntax `[.'SYMBOL`.]' matches the
cce855bc
JA
1656 collating symbol SYMBOL.
1657
1658 If the `extglob' shell option is enabled using the `shopt' builtin,
1659several extended pattern matching operators are recognized. In the
1660following description, a PATTERN-LIST is a list of one or more patterns
1661separated by a `|'. Composite patterns may be formed using one or more
1662of the following sub-patterns:
1663
1664`?(PATTERN-LIST)'
1665 Matches zero or one occurrence of the given patterns.
1666
1667`*(PATTERN-LIST)'
1668 Matches zero or more occurrences of the given patterns.
1669
1670`+(PATTERN-LIST)'
1671 Matches one or more occurrences of the given patterns.
1672
1673`@(PATTERN-LIST)'
1674 Matches exactly one of the given patterns.
1675
1676`!(PATTERN-LIST)'
1677 Matches anything except one of the given patterns.
1678
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1679\1f
1680File: bashref.info, Node: Quote Removal, Prev: Filename Expansion, Up: Shell Expansions
1681
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CR
16823.5.9 Quote Removal
1683-------------------
ccc6cda3 1684
761783bf 1685After the preceding expansions, all unquoted occurrences of the
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1686characters `\', `'', and `"' that did not result from one of the above
1687expansions are removed.
1688
1689\1f
1690File: bashref.info, Node: Redirections, Next: Executing Commands, Prev: Shell Expansions, Up: Basic Shell Features
1691
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CR
16923.6 Redirections
1693================
ccc6cda3 1694
761783bf 1695Before a command is executed, its input and output may be REDIRECTED
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1696using a special notation interpreted by the shell. Redirection may
1697also be used to open and close files for the current shell execution
1698environment. The following redirection operators may precede or appear
1699anywhere within a simple command or may follow a command. Redirections
1700are processed in the order they appear, from left to right.
1701
1702 In the following descriptions, if the file descriptor number is
1703omitted, and the first character of the redirection operator is `<',
1704the redirection refers to the standard input (file descriptor 0). If
1705the first character of the redirection operator is `>', the redirection
1706refers to the standard output (file descriptor 1).
1707
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1708 The word following the redirection operator in the following
1709descriptions, unless otherwise noted, is subjected to brace expansion,
1710tilde expansion, parameter expansion, command substitution, arithmetic
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JA
1711expansion, quote removal, filename expansion, and word splitting. If
1712it expands to more than one word, Bash reports an error.
ccc6cda3
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1713
1714 Note that the order of redirections is significant. For example,
1715the command
1716 ls > DIRLIST 2>&1
761783bf 1717 directs both standard output (file descriptor 1) and standard error
bb70624e 1718(file descriptor 2) to the file DIRLIST, while the command
ccc6cda3 1719 ls 2>&1 > DIRLIST
761783bf
CR
1720 directs only the standard output to file DIRLIST, because the
1721standard error was duplicated as standard output before the standard
1722output was redirected to DIRLIST.
ccc6cda3 1723
bb70624e
JA
1724 Bash handles several filenames specially when they are used in
1725redirections, as described in the following table:
1726
1727`/dev/fd/FD'
1728 If FD is a valid integer, file descriptor FD is duplicated.
1729
1730`/dev/stdin'
1731 File descriptor 0 is duplicated.
1732
1733`/dev/stdout'
1734 File descriptor 1 is duplicated.
1735
1736`/dev/stderr'
1737 File descriptor 2 is duplicated.
1738
1739`/dev/tcp/HOST/PORT'
1740 If HOST is a valid hostname or Internet address, and PORT is an
f73dda09
JA
1741 integer port number or service name, Bash attempts to open a TCP
1742 connection to the corresponding socket.
bb70624e
JA
1743
1744`/dev/udp/HOST/PORT'
1745 If HOST is a valid hostname or Internet address, and PORT is an
f73dda09
JA
1746 integer port number or service name, Bash attempts to open a UDP
1747 connection to the corresponding socket.
bb70624e 1748
761783bf 1749
cce855bc
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1750 A failure to open or create a file causes the redirection to fail.
1751
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CR
17523.6.1 Redirecting Input
1753-----------------------
ccc6cda3 1754
761783bf 1755Redirection of input causes the file whose name results from the
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JA
1756expansion of WORD to be opened for reading on file descriptor `n', or
1757the standard input (file descriptor 0) if `n' is not specified.
1758
1759 The general format for redirecting input is:
7117c2d2 1760 [N]<WORD
ccc6cda3 1761
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CR
17623.6.2 Redirecting Output
1763------------------------
ccc6cda3 1764
761783bf 1765Redirection of output causes the file whose name results from the
7117c2d2
JA
1766expansion of WORD to be opened for writing on file descriptor N, or the
1767standard output (file descriptor 1) if N is not specified. If the file
1768does not exist it is created; if it does exist it is truncated to zero
1769size.
ccc6cda3
JA
1770
1771 The general format for redirecting output is:
7117c2d2 1772 [N]>[|]WORD
ccc6cda3 1773
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1774 If the redirection operator is `>', and the `noclobber' option to
1775the `set' builtin has been enabled, the redirection will fail if the
bb70624e 1776file whose name results from the expansion of WORD exists and is a
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1777regular file. If the redirection operator is `>|', or the redirection
1778operator is `>' and the `noclobber' option is not enabled, the
1779redirection is attempted even if the file named by WORD exists.
ccc6cda3 1780
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CR
17813.6.3 Appending Redirected Output
1782---------------------------------
ccc6cda3 1783
761783bf 1784Redirection of output in this fashion causes the file whose name
ccc6cda3 1785results from the expansion of WORD to be opened for appending on file
7117c2d2
JA
1786descriptor N, or the standard output (file descriptor 1) if N is not
1787specified. If the file does not exist it is created.
ccc6cda3
JA
1788
1789 The general format for appending output is:
7117c2d2 1790 [N]>>WORD
ccc6cda3 1791
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CR
17923.6.4 Redirecting Standard Output and Standard Error
1793----------------------------------------------------
ccc6cda3 1794
761783bf 1795Bash allows both the standard output (file descriptor 1) and the
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JA
1796standard error output (file descriptor 2) to be redirected to the file
1797whose name is the expansion of WORD with this construct.
1798
1799 There are two formats for redirecting standard output and standard
1800error:
1801 &>WORD
761783bf 1802 and
ccc6cda3 1803 >&WORD
761783bf 1804 Of the two forms, the first is preferred. This is semantically
ccc6cda3
JA
1805equivalent to
1806 >WORD 2>&1
1807
761783bf
CR
18083.6.5 Here Documents
1809--------------------
ccc6cda3 1810
761783bf 1811This type of redirection instructs the shell to read input from the
ccc6cda3
JA
1812current source until a line containing only WORD (with no trailing
1813blanks) is seen. All of the lines read up to that point are then used
1814as the standard input for a command.
1815
7117c2d2 1816 The format of here-documents is:
ccc6cda3
JA
1817 <<[-]WORD
1818 HERE-DOCUMENT
1819 DELIMITER
1820
bb70624e
JA
1821 No parameter expansion, command substitution, arithmetic expansion,
1822or filename expansion is performed on WORD. If any characters in WORD
ccc6cda3 1823are quoted, the DELIMITER is the result of quote removal on WORD, and
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1824the lines in the here-document are not expanded. If WORD is unquoted,
1825all lines of the here-document are subjected to parameter expansion,
1826command substitution, and arithmetic expansion. In the latter case,
bb70624e
JA
1827the character sequence `\newline' is ignored, and `\' must be used to
1828quote the characters `\', `$', and ``'.
ccc6cda3
JA
1829
1830 If the redirection operator is `<<-', then all leading tab
1831characters are stripped from input lines and the line containing
1832DELIMITER. This allows here-documents within shell scripts to be
1833indented in a natural fashion.
1834
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CR
18353.6.6 Here Strings
1836------------------
7117c2d2 1837
761783bf 1838A variant of here documents, the format is:
7117c2d2
JA
1839 <<< WORD
1840
1841 The WORD is expanded and supplied to the command on its standard
1842input.
1843
761783bf
CR
18443.6.7 Duplicating File Descriptors
1845----------------------------------
ccc6cda3 1846
761783bf 1847The redirection operator
7117c2d2 1848 [N]<&WORD
761783bf
CR
1849 is used to duplicate input file descriptors. If WORD expands to one
1850or more digits, the file descriptor denoted by N is made to be a copy
1851of that file descriptor. If the digits in WORD do not specify a file
cce855bc 1852descriptor open for input, a redirection error occurs. If WORD
7117c2d2
JA
1853evaluates to `-', file descriptor N is closed. If N is not specified,
1854the standard input (file descriptor 0) is used.
ccc6cda3
JA
1855
1856 The operator
7117c2d2 1857 [N]>&WORD
761783bf 1858 is used similarly to duplicate output file descriptors. If N is not
cce855bc
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1859specified, the standard output (file descriptor 1) is used. If the
1860digits in WORD do not specify a file descriptor open for output, a
7117c2d2
JA
1861redirection error occurs. As a special case, if N is omitted, and WORD
1862does not expand to one or more digits, the standard output and standard
1863error are redirected as described previously.
1864
761783bf
CR
18653.6.8 Moving File Descriptors
1866-----------------------------
7117c2d2 1867
761783bf 1868The redirection operator
7117c2d2 1869 [N]<&DIGIT-
761783bf
CR
1870 moves the file descriptor DIGIT to file descriptor N, or the
1871standard input (file descriptor 0) if N is not specified. DIGIT is
1872closed after being duplicated to N.
7117c2d2
JA
1873
1874 Similarly, the redirection operator
1875 [N]>&DIGIT-
761783bf
CR
1876 moves the file descriptor DIGIT to file descriptor N, or the
1877standard output (file descriptor 1) if N is not specified.
7117c2d2 1878
761783bf
CR
18793.6.9 Opening File Descriptors for Reading and Writing
1880------------------------------------------------------
ccc6cda3 1881
761783bf 1882The redirection operator
7117c2d2 1883 [N]<>WORD
761783bf 1884 causes the file whose name is the expansion of WORD to be opened for
7117c2d2
JA
1885both reading and writing on file descriptor N, or on file descriptor 0
1886if N is not specified. If the file does not exist, it is created.
ccc6cda3
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1887
1888\1f
1889File: bashref.info, Node: Executing Commands, Next: Shell Scripts, Prev: Redirections, Up: Basic Shell Features
1890
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CR
18913.7 Executing Commands
1892======================
ccc6cda3
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1893
1894* Menu:
1895
cce855bc
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1896* Simple Command Expansion:: How Bash expands simple commands before
1897 executing them.
1898
ccc6cda3
JA
1899* Command Search and Execution:: How Bash finds commands and runs them.
1900
cce855bc
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1901* Command Execution Environment:: The environment in which Bash
1902 executes commands that are not
1903 shell builtins.
1904
ccc6cda3
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1905* Environment:: The environment given to a command.
1906
1907* Exit Status:: The status returned by commands and how Bash
1908 interprets it.
1909
1910* Signals:: What happens when Bash or a command it runs
1911 receives a signal.
1912
1913\1f
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1914File: bashref.info, Node: Simple Command Expansion, Next: Command Search and Execution, Up: Executing Commands
1915
761783bf
CR
19163.7.1 Simple Command Expansion
1917------------------------------
cce855bc 1918
761783bf 1919When a simple command is executed, the shell performs the following
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JA
1920expansions, assignments, and redirections, from left to right.
1921
1922 1. The words that the parser has marked as variable assignments (those
1923 preceding the command name) and redirections are saved for later
1924 processing.
1925
1926 2. The words that are not variable assignments or redirections are
28ef6c31 1927 expanded (*note Shell Expansions::). If any words remain after
cce855bc
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1928 expansion, the first word is taken to be the name of the command
1929 and the remaining words are the arguments.
1930
1931 3. Redirections are performed as described above (*note
28ef6c31 1932 Redirections::).
cce855bc
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1933
1934 4. The text after the `=' in each variable assignment undergoes tilde
1935 expansion, parameter expansion, command substitution, arithmetic
1936 expansion, and quote removal before being assigned to the variable.
1937
1938 If no command name results, the variable assignments affect the
1939current shell environment. Otherwise, the variables are added to the
1940environment of the executed command and do not affect the current shell
1941environment. If any of the assignments attempts to assign a value to a
1942readonly variable, an error occurs, and the command exits with a
1943non-zero status.
1944
1945 If no command name results, redirections are performed, but do not
1946affect the current shell environment. A redirection error causes the
1947command to exit with a non-zero status.
1948
1949 If there is a command name left after expansion, execution proceeds
1950as described below. Otherwise, the command exits. If one of the
1951expansions contained a command substitution, the exit status of the
1952command is the exit status of the last command substitution performed.
1953If there were no command substitutions, the command exits with a status
1954of zero.
1955
1956\1f
1957File: bashref.info, Node: Command Search and Execution, Next: Command Execution Environment, Prev: Simple Command Expansion, Up: Executing Commands
ccc6cda3 1958
761783bf
CR
19593.7.2 Command Search and Execution
1960----------------------------------
ccc6cda3 1961
761783bf 1962After a command has been split into words, if it results in a simple
ccc6cda3
JA
1963command and an optional list of arguments, the following actions are
1964taken.
1965
1966 1. If the command name contains no slashes, the shell attempts to
1967 locate it. If there exists a shell function by that name, that
bb70624e 1968 function is invoked as described in *Note Shell Functions::.
ccc6cda3
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1969
1970 2. If the name does not match a function, the shell searches for it
1971 in the list of shell builtins. If a match is found, that builtin
1972 is invoked.
1973
1974 3. If the name is neither a shell function nor a builtin, and
1975 contains no slashes, Bash searches each element of `$PATH' for a
1976 directory containing an executable file by that name. Bash uses a
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1977 hash table to remember the full pathnames of executable files to
1978 avoid multiple `PATH' searches (see the description of `hash' in
1979 *Note Bourne Shell Builtins::). A full search of the directories
ccc6cda3
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1980 in `$PATH' is performed only if the command is not found in the
1981 hash table. If the search is unsuccessful, the shell prints an
cce855bc 1982 error message and returns an exit status of 127.
ccc6cda3
JA
1983
1984 4. If the search is successful, or if the command name contains one
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1985 or more slashes, the shell executes the named program in a
1986 separate execution environment. Argument 0 is set to the name
1987 given, and the remaining arguments to the command are set to the
1988 arguments supplied, if any.
ccc6cda3
JA
1989
1990 5. If this execution fails because the file is not in executable
cce855bc
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1991 format, and the file is not a directory, it is assumed to be a
1992 SHELL SCRIPT and the shell executes it as described in *Note Shell
1993 Scripts::.
1994
1995 6. If the command was not begun asynchronously, the shell waits for
1996 the command to complete and collects its exit status.
1997
1998
1999\1f
2000File: bashref.info, Node: Command Execution Environment, Next: Environment, Prev: Command Search and Execution, Up: Executing Commands
2001
761783bf
CR
20023.7.3 Command Execution Environment
2003-----------------------------------
cce855bc 2004
761783bf 2005The shell has an EXECUTION ENVIRONMENT, which consists of the following:
cce855bc
JA
2006
2007 * open files inherited by the shell at invocation, as modified by
2008 redirections supplied to the `exec' builtin
2009
2010 * the current working directory as set by `cd', `pushd', or `popd',
2011 or inherited by the shell at invocation
2012
2013 * the file creation mode mask as set by `umask' or inherited from
2014 the shell's parent
2015
2016 * current traps set by `trap'
2017
2018 * shell parameters that are set by variable assignment or with `set'
2019 or inherited from the shell's parent in the environment
2020
2021 * shell functions defined during execution or inherited from the
2022 shell's parent in the environment
2023
2024 * options enabled at invocation (either by default or with
2025 command-line arguments) or by `set'
2026
2027 * options enabled by `shopt'
2028
28ef6c31 2029 * shell aliases defined with `alias' (*note Aliases::)
cce855bc
JA
2030
2031 * various process IDs, including those of background jobs (*note
28ef6c31
JA
2032 Lists::), the value of `$$', and the value of `$PPID'
2033
cce855bc
JA
2034
2035 When a simple command other than a builtin or shell function is to
2036be executed, it is invoked in a separate execution environment that
2037consists of the following. Unless otherwise noted, the values are
2038inherited from the shell.
2039
2040 * the shell's open files, plus any modifications and additions
2041 specified by redirections to the command
2042
2043 * the current working directory
2044
2045 * the file creation mode mask
2046
d3a24ed2
CR
2047 * shell variables and functions marked for export, along with
2048 variables exported for the command, passed in the environment
2049 (*note Environment::)
cce855bc
JA
2050
2051 * traps caught by the shell are reset to the values inherited from
2052 the shell's parent, and traps ignored by the shell are ignored
2053
28ef6c31 2054
cce855bc
JA
2055 A command invoked in this separate environment cannot affect the
2056shell's execution environment.
2057
d3a24ed2
CR
2058 Command substitution, commands grouped with parentheses, and
2059asynchronous commands are invoked in a subshell environment that is a
2060duplicate of the shell environment, except that traps caught by the
2061shell are reset to the values that the shell inherited from its parent
2062at invocation. Builtin commands that are invoked as part of a pipeline
2063are also executed in a subshell environment. Changes made to the
2064subshell environment cannot affect the shell's execution environment.
ccc6cda3 2065
f73dda09
JA
2066 If a command is followed by a `&' and job control is not active, the
2067default standard input for the command is the empty file `/dev/null'.
2068Otherwise, the invoked command inherits the file descriptors of the
2069calling shell as modified by redirections.
2070
ccc6cda3 2071\1f
cce855bc 2072File: bashref.info, Node: Environment, Next: Exit Status, Prev: Command Execution Environment, Up: Executing Commands
ccc6cda3 2073
761783bf
CR
20743.7.4 Environment
2075-----------------
ccc6cda3 2076
761783bf 2077When a program is invoked it is given an array of strings called the
ccc6cda3
JA
2078ENVIRONMENT. This is a list of name-value pairs, of the form
2079`name=value'.
2080
bb70624e 2081 Bash provides several ways to manipulate the environment. On
ccc6cda3
JA
2082invocation, the shell scans its own environment and creates a parameter
2083for each name found, automatically marking it for EXPORT to child
2084processes. Executed commands inherit the environment. The `export'
2085and `declare -x' commands allow parameters and functions to be added to
2086and deleted from the environment. If the value of a parameter in the
2087environment is modified, the new value becomes part of the environment,
2088replacing the old. The environment inherited by any executed command
2089consists of the shell's initial environment, whose values may be
cce855bc
JA
2090modified in the shell, less any pairs removed by the `unset' and
2091`export -n' commands, plus any additions via the `export' and `declare
2092-x' commands.
ccc6cda3
JA
2093
2094 The environment for any simple command or function may be augmented
2095temporarily by prefixing it with parameter assignments, as described in
2096*Note Shell Parameters::. These assignment statements affect only the
2097environment seen by that command.
2098
28ef6c31 2099 If the `-k' option is set (*note The Set Builtin::), then all
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2100parameter assignments are placed in the environment for a command, not
2101just those that precede the command name.
2102
2103 When Bash invokes an external command, the variable `$_' is set to
2104the full path name of the command and passed to that command in its
2105environment.
2106
2107\1f
2108File: bashref.info, Node: Exit Status, Next: Signals, Prev: Environment, Up: Executing Commands
2109
761783bf
CR
21103.7.5 Exit Status
2111-----------------
ccc6cda3 2112
761783bf
CR
2113For the shell's purposes, a command which exits with a zero exit status
2114has succeeded. A non-zero exit status indicates failure. This
cce855bc
JA
2115seemingly counter-intuitive scheme is used so there is one well-defined
2116way to indicate success and a variety of ways to indicate various
2117failure modes. When a command terminates on a fatal signal whose
2118number is N, Bash uses the value 128+N as the exit status.
ccc6cda3
JA
2119
2120 If a command is not found, the child process created to execute it
2121returns a status of 127. If a command is found but is not executable,
2122the return status is 126.
2123
cce855bc
JA
2124 If a command fails because of an error during expansion or
2125redirection, the exit status is greater than zero.
2126
ccc6cda3 2127 The exit status is used by the Bash conditional commands (*note
28ef6c31
JA
2128Conditional Constructs::) and some of the list constructs (*note
2129Lists::).
ccc6cda3
JA
2130
2131 All of the Bash builtins return an exit status of zero if they
2132succeed and a non-zero status on failure, so they may be used by the
cce855bc
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2133conditional and list constructs. All builtins return an exit status of
21342 to indicate incorrect usage.
ccc6cda3
JA
2135
2136\1f
2137File: bashref.info, Node: Signals, Prev: Exit Status, Up: Executing Commands
2138
761783bf
CR
21393.7.6 Signals
2140-------------
ccc6cda3 2141
761783bf 2142When Bash is interactive, in the absence of any traps, it ignores
cce855bc
JA
2143`SIGTERM' (so that `kill 0' does not kill an interactive shell), and
2144`SIGINT' is caught and handled (so that the `wait' builtin is
2145interruptible). When Bash receives a `SIGINT', it breaks out of any
2146executing loops. In all cases, Bash ignores `SIGQUIT'. If job control
28ef6c31 2147is in effect (*note Job Control::), Bash ignores `SIGTTIN', `SIGTTOU',
cce855bc 2148and `SIGTSTP'.
ccc6cda3 2149
5e13499c
CR
2150 Non-builtin commands started by Bash have signal handlers set to the
2151values inherited by the shell from its parent. When job control is not
2152in effect, asynchronous commands ignore `SIGINT' and `SIGQUIT' in
2153addition to these inherited handlers. Commands run as a result of
2154command substitution ignore the keyboard-generated job control signals
2155`SIGTTIN', `SIGTTOU', and `SIGTSTP'.
ccc6cda3
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2156
2157 The shell exits by default upon receipt of a `SIGHUP'. Before
f73dda09
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2158exiting, an interactive shell resends the `SIGHUP' to all jobs, running
2159or stopped. Stopped jobs are sent `SIGCONT' to ensure that they receive
2160the `SIGHUP'. To prevent the shell from sending the `SIGHUP' signal to
2161a particular job, it should be removed from the jobs table with the
28ef6c31 2162`disown' builtin (*note Job Control Builtins::) or marked to not
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2163receive `SIGHUP' using `disown -h'.
2164
2165 If the `huponexit' shell option has been set with `shopt' (*note
28ef6c31
JA
2166Bash Builtins::), Bash sends a `SIGHUP' to all jobs when an interactive
2167login shell exits.
cce855bc 2168
5e13499c
CR
2169 If Bash is waiting for a command to complete and receives a signal
2170for which a trap has been set, the trap will not be executed until the
2171command completes. When Bash is waiting for an asynchronous command
2172via the `wait' builtin, the reception of a signal for which a trap has
2173been set will cause the `wait' builtin to return immediately with an
2174exit status greater than 128, immediately after which the trap is
2175executed.
ccc6cda3
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2176
2177\1f
2178File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Scripts, Prev: Executing Commands, Up: Basic Shell Features
2179
761783bf
CR
21803.8 Shell Scripts
2181=================
ccc6cda3 2182
761783bf
CR
2183A shell script is a text file containing shell commands. When such a
2184file is used as the first non-option argument when invoking Bash, and
28ef6c31 2185neither the `-c' nor `-s' option is supplied (*note Invoking Bash::),
ccc6cda3 2186Bash reads and executes commands from the file, then exits. This mode
f73dda09
JA
2187of operation creates a non-interactive shell. The shell first searches
2188for the file in the current directory, and looks in the directories in
2189`$PATH' if not found there.
2190
2191 When Bash runs a shell script, it sets the special parameter `0' to
2192the name of the file, rather than the name of the shell, and the
2193positional parameters are set to the remaining arguments, if any are
2194given. If no additional arguments are supplied, the positional
2195parameters are unset.
ccc6cda3
JA
2196
2197 A shell script may be made executable by using the `chmod' command
2198to turn on the execute bit. When Bash finds such a file while
2199searching the `$PATH' for a command, it spawns a subshell to execute
2200it. In other words, executing
2201 filename ARGUMENTS
761783bf 2202 is equivalent to executing
ccc6cda3
JA
2203 bash filename ARGUMENTS
2204
2205if `filename' is an executable shell script. This subshell
2206reinitializes itself, so that the effect is as if a new shell had been
cce855bc
JA
2207invoked to interpret the script, with the exception that the locations
2208of commands remembered by the parent (see the description of `hash' in
2209*Note Bourne Shell Builtins::) are retained by the child.
ccc6cda3 2210
bb70624e
JA
2211 Most versions of Unix make this a part of the operating system's
2212command execution mechanism. If the first line of a script begins with
2213the two characters `#!', the remainder of the line specifies an
2214interpreter for the program. Thus, you can specify Bash, `awk', Perl,
2215or some other interpreter and write the rest of the script file in that
2216language.
2217
2218 The arguments to the interpreter consist of a single optional
2219argument following the interpreter name on the first line of the script
2220file, followed by the name of the script file, followed by the rest of
2221the arguments. Bash will perform this action on operating systems that
2222do not handle it themselves. Note that some older versions of Unix
2223limit the interpreter name and argument to a maximum of 32 characters.
2224
2225 Bash scripts often begin with `#! /bin/bash' (assuming that Bash has
2226been installed in `/bin'), since this ensures that Bash will be used to
2227interpret the script, even if it is executed under another shell.
ccc6cda3
JA
2228
2229\1f
bb70624e 2230File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Builtin Commands, Next: Shell Variables, Prev: Basic Shell Features, Up: Top
ccc6cda3 2231
761783bf
CR
22324 Shell Builtin Commands
2233************************
ccc6cda3
JA
2234
2235* Menu:
2236
2237* Bourne Shell Builtins:: Builtin commands inherited from the Bourne
2238 Shell.
bb70624e
JA
2239* Bash Builtins:: Table of builtins specific to Bash.
2240* The Set Builtin:: This builtin is so overloaded it
2241 deserves its own section.
2242* Special Builtins:: Builtin commands classified specially by
2243 POSIX.2.
2244
2245 Builtin commands are contained within the shell itself. When the
2246name of a builtin command is used as the first word of a simple command
28ef6c31 2247(*note Simple Commands::), the shell executes the command directly,
bb70624e
JA
2248without invoking another program. Builtin commands are necessary to
2249implement functionality impossible or inconvenient to obtain with
2250separate utilities.
ccc6cda3 2251
bb70624e
JA
2252 This section briefly the builtins which Bash inherits from the
2253Bourne Shell, as well as the builtin commands which are unique to or
2254have been extended in Bash.
2255
2256 Several builtin commands are described in other chapters: builtin
2257commands which provide the Bash interface to the job control facilities
28ef6c31
JA
2258(*note Job Control Builtins::), the directory stack (*note Directory
2259Stack Builtins::), the command history (*note Bash History Builtins::),
2260and the programmable completion facilities (*note Programmable
2261Completion Builtins::).
bb70624e
JA
2262
2263 Many of the builtins have been extended by POSIX or Bash.
ccc6cda3 2264
c2258e1c
CR
2265 Unless otherwise noted, each builtin command documented as accepting
2266options preceded by `-' accepts `--' to signify the end of the options.
2267
ccc6cda3 2268\1f
bb70624e 2269File: bashref.info, Node: Bourne Shell Builtins, Next: Bash Builtins, Up: Shell Builtin Commands
ccc6cda3 2270
761783bf
CR
22714.1 Bourne Shell Builtins
2272=========================
ccc6cda3 2273
761783bf 2274The following shell builtin commands are inherited from the Bourne
ccc6cda3
JA
2275Shell. These commands are implemented as specified by the POSIX 1003.2
2276standard.
2277
bb70624e 2278`: (a colon)'
ccc6cda3
JA
2279 : [ARGUMENTS]
2280 Do nothing beyond expanding ARGUMENTS and performing redirections.
cce855bc 2281 The return status is zero.
ccc6cda3 2282
bb70624e 2283`. (a period)'
b72432fd 2284 . FILENAME [ARGUMENTS]
ccc6cda3 2285 Read and execute commands from the FILENAME argument in the
cce855bc 2286 current shell context. If FILENAME does not contain a slash, the
28ef6c31
JA
2287 `PATH' variable is used to find FILENAME. When Bash is not in
2288 POSIX mode, the current directory is searched if FILENAME is not
2289 found in `$PATH'. If any ARGUMENTS are supplied, they become the
2290 positional parameters when FILENAME is executed. Otherwise the
2291 positional parameters are unchanged. The return status is the
2292 exit status of the last command executed, or zero if no commands
2293 are executed. If FILENAME is not found, or cannot be read, the
2294 return status is non-zero. This builtin is equivalent to `source'.
ccc6cda3
JA
2295
2296`break'
2297 break [N]
2298 Exit from a `for', `while', `until', or `select' loop. If N is
cce855bc
JA
2299 supplied, the Nth enclosing loop is exited. N must be greater
2300 than or equal to 1. The return status is zero unless N is not
2301 greater than or equal to 1.
ccc6cda3
JA
2302
2303`cd'
7117c2d2 2304 cd [-L|-P] [DIRECTORY]
ccc6cda3
JA
2305 Change the current working directory to DIRECTORY. If DIRECTORY
2306 is not given, the value of the `HOME' shell variable is used. If
2307 the shell variable `CDPATH' exists, it is used as a search path.
d3a24ed2
CR
2308 If DIRECTORY begins with a slash, `CDPATH' is not used.
2309
2310 The `-P' option means to not follow symbolic links; symbolic links
2311 are followed by default or with the `-L' option. If DIRECTORY is
2312 `-', it is equivalent to `$OLDPWD'.
2313
2314 If a non-empty directory name from `CDPATH' is used, or if `-' is
2315 the first argument, and the directory change is successful, the
2316 absolute pathname of the new working directory is written to the
2317 standard output.
2318
2319 The return status is zero if the directory is successfully changed,
2320 non-zero otherwise.
ccc6cda3
JA
2321
2322`continue'
2323 continue [N]
2324 Resume the next iteration of an enclosing `for', `while', `until',
2325 or `select' loop. If N is supplied, the execution of the Nth
cce855bc
JA
2326 enclosing loop is resumed. N must be greater than or equal to 1.
2327 The return status is zero unless N is not greater than or equal to
2328 1.
ccc6cda3
JA
2329
2330`eval'
2331 eval [ARGUMENTS]
2332 The arguments are concatenated together into a single command,
cce855bc
JA
2333 which is then read and executed, and its exit status returned as
2334 the exit status of `eval'. If there are no arguments or only
2335 empty arguments, the return status is zero.
ccc6cda3
JA
2336
2337`exec'
cce855bc
JA
2338 exec [-cl] [-a NAME] [COMMAND [ARGUMENTS]]
2339 If COMMAND is supplied, it replaces the shell without creating a
2340 new process. If the `-l' option is supplied, the shell places a
bb70624e
JA
2341 dash at the beginning of the zeroth arg passed to COMMAND. This
2342 is what the `login' program does. The `-c' option causes COMMAND
2343 to be executed with an empty environment. If `-a' is supplied,
2344 the shell passes NAME as the zeroth argument to COMMAND. If no
cce855bc
JA
2345 COMMAND is specified, redirections may be used to affect the
2346 current shell environment. If there are no redirection errors, the
2347 return status is zero; otherwise the return status is non-zero.
ccc6cda3
JA
2348
2349`exit'
2350 exit [N]
bb70624e
JA
2351 Exit the shell, returning a status of N to the shell's parent. If
2352 N is omitted, the exit status is that of the last command executed.
cce855bc 2353 Any trap on `EXIT' is executed before the shell terminates.
ccc6cda3
JA
2354
2355`export'
2356 export [-fn] [-p] [NAME[=VALUE]]
2357 Mark each NAME to be passed to child processes in the environment.
2358 If the `-f' option is supplied, the NAMEs refer to shell
cce855bc
JA
2359 functions; otherwise the names refer to shell variables. The `-n'
2360 option means to no longer mark each NAME for export. If no NAMES
2361 are supplied, or if the `-p' option is given, a list of exported
2362 names is displayed. The `-p' option displays output in a form
d3a24ed2
CR
2363 that may be reused as input. If a variable name is followed by
2364 =VALUE, the value of the variable is set to VALUE.
2365
2366 The return status is zero unless an invalid option is supplied,
2367 one of the names is not a valid shell variable name, or `-f' is
2368 supplied with a name that is not a shell function.
ccc6cda3
JA
2369
2370`getopts'
2371 getopts OPTSTRING NAME [ARGS]
2372 `getopts' is used by shell scripts to parse positional parameters.
bb70624e
JA
2373 OPTSTRING contains the option characters to be recognized; if a
2374 character is followed by a colon, the option is expected to have an
2375 argument, which should be separated from it by white space. The
2376 colon (`:') and question mark (`?') may not be used as option
2377 characters. Each time it is invoked, `getopts' places the next
2378 option in the shell variable NAME, initializing NAME if it does
2379 not exist, and the index of the next argument to be processed into
2380 the variable `OPTIND'. `OPTIND' is initialized to 1 each time the
2381 shell or a shell script is invoked. When an option requires an
2382 argument, `getopts' places that argument into the variable
2383 `OPTARG'. The shell does not reset `OPTIND' automatically; it
2384 must be manually reset between multiple calls to `getopts' within
2385 the same shell invocation if a new set of parameters is to be used.
ccc6cda3 2386
cce855bc
JA
2387 When the end of options is encountered, `getopts' exits with a
2388 return value greater than zero. `OPTIND' is set to the index of
2389 the first non-option argument, and `name' is set to `?'.
2390
2391 `getopts' normally parses the positional parameters, but if more
2392 arguments are given in ARGS, `getopts' parses those instead.
2393
ccc6cda3
JA
2394 `getopts' can report errors in two ways. If the first character of
2395 OPTSTRING is a colon, SILENT error reporting is used. In normal
cce855bc 2396 operation diagnostic messages are printed when invalid options or
ccc6cda3 2397 missing option arguments are encountered. If the variable `OPTERR'
cce855bc 2398 is set to 0, no error messages will be displayed, even if the first
ccc6cda3
JA
2399 character of `optstring' is not a colon.
2400
cce855bc 2401 If an invalid option is seen, `getopts' places `?' into NAME and,
ccc6cda3
JA
2402 if not silent, prints an error message and unsets `OPTARG'. If
2403 `getopts' is silent, the option character found is placed in
2404 `OPTARG' and no diagnostic message is printed.
2405
2406 If a required argument is not found, and `getopts' is not silent,
2407 a question mark (`?') is placed in NAME, `OPTARG' is unset, and a
2408 diagnostic message is printed. If `getopts' is silent, then a
2409 colon (`:') is placed in NAME and `OPTARG' is set to the option
2410 character found.
2411
ccc6cda3 2412`hash'
7117c2d2 2413 hash [-'r] [-p FILENAME] [-dt] [NAME]
cce855bc
JA
2414 Remember the full pathnames of commands specified as NAME
2415 arguments, so they need not be searched for on subsequent
2416 invocations. The commands are found by searching through the
2417 directories listed in `$PATH'. The `-p' option inhibits the path
2418 search, and FILENAME is used as the location of NAME. The `-r'
7117c2d2
JA
2419 option causes the shell to forget all remembered locations. The
2420 `-d' option causes the shell to forget the remembered location of
2421 each NAME. If the `-t' option is supplied, the full pathname to
2422 which each NAME corresponds is printed. If multiple NAME
2423 arguments are supplied with `-t' the NAME is printed before the
2424 hashed full pathname. The `-l' option causes output to be
2425 displayed in a format that may be reused as input. If no
2426 arguments are given, or if only `-l' is supplied, information
2427 about remembered commands is printed. The return status is zero
2428 unless a NAME is not found or an invalid option is supplied.
ccc6cda3
JA
2429
2430`pwd'
2431 pwd [-LP]
bb70624e
JA
2432 Print the absolute pathname of the current working directory. If
2433 the `-P' option is supplied, the pathname printed will not contain
2434 symbolic links. If the `-L' option is supplied, the pathname
2435 printed may contain symbolic links. The return status is zero
2436 unless an error is encountered while determining the name of the
2437 current directory or an invalid option is supplied.
ccc6cda3
JA
2438
2439`readonly'
d3a24ed2 2440 readonly [-apf] [NAME[=VALUE]] ...
cce855bc
JA
2441 Mark each NAME as readonly. The values of these names may not be
2442 changed by subsequent assignment. If the `-f' option is supplied,
2443 each NAME refers to a shell function. The `-a' option means each
2444 NAME refers to an array variable. If no NAME arguments are given,
2445 or if the `-p' option is supplied, a list of all readonly names is
2446 printed. The `-p' option causes output to be displayed in a
d3a24ed2
CR
2447 format that may be reused as input. If a variable name is
2448 followed by =VALUE, the value of the variable is set to VALUE.
2449 The return status is zero unless an invalid option is supplied,
2450 one of the NAME arguments is not a valid shell variable or
2451 function name, or the `-f' option is supplied with a name that is
2452 not a shell function.
ccc6cda3
JA
2453
2454`return'
2455 return [N]
bb70624e
JA
2456 Cause a shell function to exit with the return value N. If N is
2457 not supplied, the return value is the exit status of the last
2458 command executed in the function. This may also be used to
2459 terminate execution of a script being executed with the `.' (or
2460 `source') builtin, returning either N or the exit status of the
cce855bc 2461 last command executed within the script as the exit status of the
d3a24ed2
CR
2462 script. Any command associated with the `RETURN' trap is executed
2463 before execution resumes after the function or script. The return
2464 status is non-zero if `return' is used outside a function and not
2465 during the execution of a script by `.' or `source'.
ccc6cda3
JA
2466
2467`shift'
2468 shift [N]
cce855bc
JA
2469 Shift the positional parameters to the left by N. The positional
2470 parameters from N+1 ... `$#' are renamed to `$1' ... `$#'-N+1.
2471 Parameters represented by the numbers `$#' to N+1 are unset. N
2472 must be a non-negative number less than or equal to `$#'. If N is
2473 zero or greater than `$#', the positional parameters are not
bb70624e
JA
2474 changed. If N is not supplied, it is assumed to be 1. The return
2475 status is zero unless N is greater than `$#' or less than zero,
2476 non-zero otherwise.
ccc6cda3
JA
2477
2478`test'
2479`['
cce855bc
JA
2480 Evaluate a conditional expression EXPR. Each operator and operand
2481 must be a separate argument. Expressions are composed of the
2482 primaries described below in *Note Bash Conditional Expressions::.
2483
bb70624e
JA
2484 When the `[' form is used, the last argument to the command must
2485 be a `]'.
2486
cce855bc
JA
2487 Expressions may be combined using the following operators, listed
2488 in decreasing order of precedence.
2489
2490 `! EXPR'
2491 True if EXPR is false.
2492
2493 `( EXPR )'
2494 Returns the value of EXPR. This may be used to override the
2495 normal precedence of operators.
2496
2497 `EXPR1 -a EXPR2'
2498 True if both EXPR1 and EXPR2 are true.
2499
2500 `EXPR1 -o EXPR2'
2501 True if either EXPR1 or EXPR2 is true.
2502
2503 The `test' and `[' builtins evaluate conditional expressions using
2504 a set of rules based on the number of arguments.
2505
2506 0 arguments
2507 The expression is false.
2508
2509 1 argument
2510 The expression is true if and only if the argument is not
2511 null.
2512
2513 2 arguments
2514 If the first argument is `!', the expression is true if and
2515 only if the second argument is null. If the first argument
2516 is one of the unary conditional operators (*note Bash
28ef6c31 2517 Conditional Expressions::), the expression is true if the
cce855bc
JA
2518 unary test is true. If the first argument is not a valid
2519 unary operator, the expression is false.
2520
2521 3 arguments
2522 If the second argument is one of the binary conditional
28ef6c31 2523 operators (*note Bash Conditional Expressions::), the result
cce855bc
JA
2524 of the expression is the result of the binary test using the
2525 first and third arguments as operands. If the first argument
2526 is `!', the value is the negation of the two-argument test
2527 using the second and third arguments. If the first argument
2528 is exactly `(' and the third argument is exactly `)', the
2529 result is the one-argument test of the second argument.
2530 Otherwise, the expression is false. The `-a' and `-o'
2531 operators are considered binary operators in this case.
2532
2533 4 arguments
2534 If the first argument is `!', the result is the negation of
2535 the three-argument expression composed of the remaining
2536 arguments. Otherwise, the expression is parsed and evaluated
2537 according to precedence using the rules listed above.
2538
2539 5 or more arguments
2540 The expression is parsed and evaluated according to precedence
2541 using the rules listed above.
ccc6cda3
JA
2542
2543`times'
2544 times
2545 Print out the user and system times used by the shell and its
cce855bc 2546 children. The return status is zero.
ccc6cda3
JA
2547
2548`trap'
d166f048 2549 trap [-lp] [ARG] [SIGSPEC ...]
ccc6cda3 2550 The commands in ARG are to be read and executed when the shell
9f422431
CR
2551 receives signal SIGSPEC. If ARG is absent (and there is a single
2552 SIGSPEC) or equal to `-', each specified signal's disposition is
2553 reset to the value it had when the shell was started. If ARG is
2554 the null string, then the signal specified by each SIGSPEC is
2555 ignored by the shell and commands it invokes. If ARG is not
2556 present and `-p' has been supplied, the shell displays the trap
2557 commands associated with each SIGSPEC. If no arguments are
2558 supplied, or only `-p' is given, `trap' prints the list of commands
2559 associated with each signal number in a form that may be reused as
2560 shell input. The `-l' option causes the shell to print a list of
2561 signal names and their corresponding numbers. Each SIGSPEC is
2562 either a signal name or a signal number. Signal names are case
2563 insensitive and the `SIG' prefix is optional. If a SIGSPEC is `0'
d3a24ed2
CR
2564 or `EXIT', ARG is executed when the shell exits. If a SIGSPEC is
2565 `DEBUG', the command ARG is executed before every simple command,
2566 `for' command, `case' command, `select' command, every arithmetic
2567 `for' command, and before the first command executes in a shell
2568 function. Refer to the description of the `extglob' option to the
2569 `shopt' builtin (*note Bash Builtins::) for details of its effect
2570 on the `DEBUG' trap. If a SIGSPEC is `ERR', the command ARG is
5e13499c
CR
2571 executed whenever a simple command has a non-zero exit status,
2572 subject to the following conditions. The `ERR' trap is not
2573 executed if the failed command is part of the command list
2574 immediately following an `until' or `while' keyword, part of the
2575 test in an `if' statement, part of a `&&' or `||' list, or if the
2576 command's return status is being inverted using `!'. These are
2577 the same conditions obeyed by the `errexit' option. If a SIGSPEC
2578 is `RETURN', the command ARG is executed each time a shell
2579 function or a script executed with the `.' or `source' builtins
2580 finishes executing.
d3a24ed2 2581
ccc6cda3
JA
2582 Signals ignored upon entry to the shell cannot be trapped or reset.
2583 Trapped signals are reset to their original values in a child
2584 process when it is created.
2585
cce855bc
JA
2586 The return status is zero unless a SIGSPEC does not specify a
2587 valid signal.
2588
ccc6cda3 2589`umask'
cce855bc 2590 umask [-p] [-S] [MODE]
ccc6cda3
JA
2591 Set the shell process's file creation mask to MODE. If MODE
2592 begins with a digit, it is interpreted as an octal number; if not,
2593 it is interpreted as a symbolic mode mask similar to that accepted
2594 by the `chmod' command. If MODE is omitted, the current value of
2595 the mask is printed. If the `-S' option is supplied without a
cce855bc
JA
2596 MODE argument, the mask is printed in a symbolic format. If the
2597 `-p' option is supplied, and MODE is omitted, the output is in a
2598 form that may be reused as input. The return status is zero if
2599 the mode is successfully changed or if no MODE argument is
2600 supplied, and non-zero otherwise.
ccc6cda3 2601
bb70624e
JA
2602 Note that when the mode is interpreted as an octal number, each
2603 number of the umask is subtracted from `7'. Thus, a umask of `022'
2604 results in permissions of `755'.
2605
ccc6cda3
JA
2606`unset'
2607 unset [-fv] [NAME]
2608 Each variable or function NAME is removed. If no options are
2609 supplied, or the `-v' option is given, each NAME refers to a shell
2610 variable. If the `-f' option is given, the NAMEs refer to shell
cce855bc
JA
2611 functions, and the function definition is removed. Readonly
2612 variables and functions may not be unset. The return status is
d3a24ed2 2613 zero unless a NAME is readonly.
ccc6cda3
JA
2614
2615\1f
bb70624e 2616File: bashref.info, Node: Bash Builtins, Next: The Set Builtin, Prev: Bourne Shell Builtins, Up: Shell Builtin Commands
ccc6cda3 2617
761783bf
CR
26184.2 Bash Builtin Commands
2619=========================
ccc6cda3 2620
761783bf 2621This section describes builtin commands which are unique to or have
bb70624e
JA
2622been extended in Bash. Some of these commands are specified in the
2623POSIX 1003.2 standard.
ccc6cda3 2624
bb70624e
JA
2625`alias'
2626 alias [`-p'] [NAME[=VALUE] ...]
ccc6cda3 2627
bb70624e
JA
2628 Without arguments or with the `-p' option, `alias' prints the list
2629 of aliases on the standard output in a form that allows them to be
2630 reused as input. If arguments are supplied, an alias is defined
2631 for each NAME whose VALUE is given. If no VALUE is given, the name
2632 and value of the alias is printed. Aliases are described in *Note
2633 Aliases::.
ccc6cda3 2634
bb70624e
JA
2635`bind'
2636 bind [-m KEYMAP] [-lpsvPSV]
2637 bind [-m KEYMAP] [-q FUNCTION] [-u FUNCTION] [-r KEYSEQ]
2638 bind [-m KEYMAP] -f FILENAME
2639 bind [-m KEYMAP] -x KEYSEQ:SHELL-COMMAND
2640 bind [-m KEYMAP] KEYSEQ:FUNCTION-NAME
7117c2d2 2641 bind READLINE-COMMAND
ccc6cda3 2642
28ef6c31 2643 Display current Readline (*note Command Line Editing::) key and
7117c2d2
JA
2644 function bindings, bind a key sequence to a Readline function or
2645 macro, or set a Readline variable. Each non-option argument is a
2646 command as it would appear in a a Readline initialization file
2647 (*note Readline Init File::), but each binding or command must be
2648 passed as a separate argument; e.g.,
bb70624e
JA
2649 `"\C-x\C-r":re-read-init-file'. Options, if supplied, have the
2650 following meanings:
ccc6cda3 2651
bb70624e
JA
2652 `-m KEYMAP'
2653 Use KEYMAP as the keymap to be affected by the subsequent
2654 bindings. Acceptable KEYMAP names are `emacs',
28ef6c31 2655 `emacs-standard', `emacs-meta', `emacs-ctlx', `vi', `vi-move',
bb70624e
JA
2656 `vi-command', and `vi-insert'. `vi' is equivalent to
2657 `vi-command'; `emacs' is equivalent to `emacs-standard'.
cce855bc 2658
bb70624e
JA
2659 `-l'
2660 List the names of all Readline functions.
cce855bc 2661
bb70624e
JA
2662 `-p'
2663 Display Readline function names and bindings in such a way
2664 that they can be used as input or in a Readline
2665 initialization file.
cce855bc 2666
bb70624e
JA
2667 `-P'
2668 List current Readline function names and bindings.
cce855bc 2669
bb70624e
JA
2670 `-v'
2671 Display Readline variable names and values in such a way that
2672 they can be used as input or in a Readline initialization
2673 file.
ccc6cda3 2674
bb70624e
JA
2675 `-V'
2676 List current Readline variable names and values.
ccc6cda3 2677
bb70624e
JA
2678 `-s'
2679 Display Readline key sequences bound to macros and the
2680 strings they output in such a way that they can be used as
2681 input or in a Readline initialization file.
ccc6cda3 2682
bb70624e
JA
2683 `-S'
2684 Display Readline key sequences bound to macros and the
2685 strings they output.
ccc6cda3 2686
bb70624e
JA
2687 `-f FILENAME'
2688 Read key bindings from FILENAME.
ccc6cda3 2689
bb70624e
JA
2690 `-q FUNCTION'
2691 Query about which keys invoke the named FUNCTION.
ccc6cda3 2692
bb70624e
JA
2693 `-u FUNCTION'
2694 Unbind all keys bound to the named FUNCTION.
ccc6cda3 2695
bb70624e
JA
2696 `-r KEYSEQ'
2697 Remove any current binding for KEYSEQ.
ccc6cda3 2698
bb70624e
JA
2699 `-x KEYSEQ:SHELL-COMMAND'
2700 Cause SHELL-COMMAND to be executed whenever KEYSEQ is entered.
ccc6cda3 2701
761783bf 2702
bb70624e
JA
2703 The return status is zero unless an invalid option is supplied or
2704 an error occurs.
ccc6cda3 2705
bb70624e
JA
2706`builtin'
2707 builtin [SHELL-BUILTIN [ARGS]]
2708 Run a shell builtin, passing it ARGS, and return its exit status.
2709 This is useful when defining a shell function with the same name
2710 as a shell builtin, retaining the functionality of the builtin
2711 within the function. The return status is non-zero if
2712 SHELL-BUILTIN is not a shell builtin command.
ccc6cda3 2713
d3a24ed2
CR
2714`caller'
2715 caller [EXPR]
2716 Returns the context of any active subroutine call (a shell
5e13499c 2717 function or a script executed with the `.' or `source' builtins).
d3a24ed2
CR
2718
2719 Without EXPR, `caller' displays the line number and source
2720 filename of the current subroutine call. If a non-negative
2721 integer is supplied as EXPR, `caller' displays the line number,
2722 subroutine name, and source file corresponding to that position in
2723 the current execution call stack. This extra information may be
2724 used, for example, to print a stack trace. The current frame is
2725 frame 0.
2726
2727 The return value is 0 unless the shell is not executing a
2728 subroutine call or EXPR does not correspond to a valid position in
2729 the call stack.
2730
bb70624e
JA
2731`command'
2732 command [-pVv] COMMAND [ARGUMENTS ...]
2733 Runs COMMAND with ARGUMENTS ignoring any shell function named
2734 COMMAND. Only shell builtin commands or commands found by
2735 searching the `PATH' are executed. If there is a shell function
2736 named `ls', running `command ls' within the function will execute
2737 the external command `ls' instead of calling the function
2738 recursively. The `-p' option means to use a default value for
28ef6c31 2739 `PATH' that is guaranteed to find all of the standard utilities.
bb70624e
JA
2740 The return status in this case is 127 if COMMAND cannot be found
2741 or an error occurred, and the exit status of COMMAND otherwise.
ccc6cda3 2742
bb70624e
JA
2743 If either the `-V' or `-v' option is supplied, a description of
2744 COMMAND is printed. The `-v' option causes a single word
2745 indicating the command or file name used to invoke COMMAND to be
2746 displayed; the `-V' option produces a more verbose description.
2747 In this case, the return status is zero if COMMAND is found, and
2748 non-zero if not.
ccc6cda3 2749
bb70624e 2750`declare'
d3a24ed2 2751 declare [-afFirtx] [-p] [NAME[=VALUE] ...]
ccc6cda3 2752
bb70624e
JA
2753 Declare variables and give them attributes. If no NAMEs are
2754 given, then display the values of variables instead.
ccc6cda3 2755
bb70624e
JA
2756 The `-p' option will display the attributes and values of each
2757 NAME. When `-p' is used, additional options are ignored. The
2758 `-F' option inhibits the display of function definitions; only the
d3a24ed2
CR
2759 function name and attributes are printed. If the `extdebug' shell
2760 option is enabled using `shopt' (*note Bash Builtins::), the
2761 source file name and line number where the function is defined are
2762 displayed as well. `-F' implies `-f'. The following options can
2763 be used to restrict output to variables with the specified
2764 attributes or to give variables attributes:
ccc6cda3 2765
bb70624e 2766 `-a'
28ef6c31 2767 Each NAME is an array variable (*note Arrays::).
ccc6cda3 2768
bb70624e
JA
2769 `-f'
2770 Use function names only.
ccc6cda3 2771
bb70624e
JA
2772 `-i'
2773 The variable is to be treated as an integer; arithmetic
28ef6c31 2774 evaluation (*note Shell Arithmetic::) is performed when the
bb70624e 2775 variable is assigned a value.
ccc6cda3 2776
bb70624e
JA
2777 `-r'
2778 Make NAMEs readonly. These names cannot then be assigned
2779 values by subsequent assignment statements or unset.
ccc6cda3 2780
7117c2d2
JA
2781 `-t'
2782 Give each NAME the `trace' attribute. Traced functions
2783 inherit the `DEBUG' trap from the calling shell. The trace
2784 attribute has no special meaning for variables.
2785
bb70624e
JA
2786 `-x'
2787 Mark each NAME for export to subsequent commands via the
2788 environment.
ccc6cda3 2789
bb70624e
JA
2790 Using `+' instead of `-' turns off the attribute instead. When
2791 used in a function, `declare' makes each NAME local, as with the
d3a24ed2
CR
2792 `local' command. If a variable name is followed by =VALUE, the
2793 value of the variable is set to VALUE.
ccc6cda3 2794
bb70624e
JA
2795 The return status is zero unless an invalid option is encountered,
2796 an attempt is made to define a function using `-f foo=bar', an
2797 attempt is made to assign a value to a readonly variable, an
2798 attempt is made to assign a value to an array variable without
28ef6c31 2799 using the compound assignment syntax (*note Arrays::), one of the
bb70624e
JA
2800 NAMES is not a valid shell variable name, an attempt is made to
2801 turn off readonly status for a readonly variable, an attempt is
2802 made to turn off array status for an array variable, or an attempt
2803 is made to display a non-existent function with `-f'.
ccc6cda3 2804
bb70624e
JA
2805`echo'
2806 echo [-neE] [ARG ...]
2807 Output the ARGs, separated by spaces, terminated with a newline.
2808 The return status is always 0. If `-n' is specified, the trailing
2809 newline is suppressed. If the `-e' option is given,
2810 interpretation of the following backslash-escaped characters is
2811 enabled. The `-E' option disables the interpretation of these
2812 escape characters, even on systems where they are interpreted by
2813 default. The `xpg_echo' shell option may be used to dynamically
2814 determine whether or not `echo' expands these escape characters by
2815 default. `echo' interprets the following escape sequences:
2816 `\a'
2817 alert (bell)
ccc6cda3 2818
bb70624e
JA
2819 `\b'
2820 backspace
ccc6cda3 2821
bb70624e
JA
2822 `\c'
2823 suppress trailing newline
ccc6cda3 2824
bb70624e
JA
2825 `\e'
2826 escape
ccc6cda3 2827
bb70624e
JA
2828 `\f'
2829 form feed
ccc6cda3 2830
bb70624e
JA
2831 `\n'
2832 new line
ccc6cda3 2833
bb70624e
JA
2834 `\r'
2835 carriage return
ccc6cda3 2836
bb70624e
JA
2837 `\t'
2838 horizontal tab
ccc6cda3 2839
bb70624e
JA
2840 `\v'
2841 vertical tab
ccc6cda3 2842
bb70624e
JA
2843 `\\'
2844 backslash
ccc6cda3 2845
7117c2d2
JA
2846 `\0NNN'
2847 the eight-bit character whose value is the octal value NNN
2848 (zero to three octal digits)
2849
bb70624e 2850 `\NNN'
f73dda09 2851 the eight-bit character whose value is the octal value NNN
7117c2d2 2852 (one to three octal digits)
ccc6cda3 2853
f73dda09
JA
2854 `\xHH'
2855 the eight-bit character whose value is the hexadecimal value
2856 HH (one or two hex digits)
2857
bb70624e
JA
2858`enable'
2859 enable [-n] [-p] [-f FILENAME] [-ads] [NAME ...]
2860 Enable and disable builtin shell commands. Disabling a builtin
2861 allows a disk command which has the same name as a shell builtin
2862 to be executed without specifying a full pathname, even though the
2863 shell normally searches for builtins before disk commands. If
2864 `-n' is used, the NAMEs become disabled. Otherwise NAMEs are
2865 enabled. For example, to use the `test' binary found via `$PATH'
2866 instead of the shell builtin version, type `enable -n test'.
ccc6cda3 2867
bb70624e
JA
2868 If the `-p' option is supplied, or no NAME arguments appear, a
2869 list of shell builtins is printed. With no other arguments, the
2870 list consists of all enabled shell builtins. The `-a' option
2871 means to list each builtin with an indication of whether or not it
2872 is enabled.
ccc6cda3 2873
bb70624e
JA
2874 The `-f' option means to load the new builtin command NAME from
2875 shared object FILENAME, on systems that support dynamic loading.
2876 The `-d' option will delete a builtin loaded with `-f'.
ccc6cda3 2877
bb70624e
JA
2878 If there are no options, a list of the shell builtins is displayed.
2879 The `-s' option restricts `enable' to the POSIX special builtins.
2880 If `-s' is used with `-f', the new builtin becomes a special
28ef6c31 2881 builtin (*note Special Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 2882
bb70624e
JA
2883 The return status is zero unless a NAME is not a shell builtin or
2884 there is an error loading a new builtin from a shared object.
ccc6cda3 2885
bb70624e
JA
2886`help'
2887 help [-s] [PATTERN]
2888 Display helpful information about builtin commands. If PATTERN is
2889 specified, `help' gives detailed help on all commands matching
2890 PATTERN, otherwise a list of the builtins is printed. The `-s'
2891 option restricts the information displayed to a short usage
2892 synopsis. The return status is zero unless no command matches
2893 PATTERN.
ccc6cda3 2894
bb70624e
JA
2895`let'
2896 let EXPRESSION [EXPRESSION]
2897 The `let' builtin allows arithmetic to be performed on shell
2898 variables. Each EXPRESSION is evaluated according to the rules
2899 given below in *Note Shell Arithmetic::. If the last EXPRESSION
2900 evaluates to 0, `let' returns 1; otherwise 0 is returned.
ccc6cda3 2901
bb70624e 2902`local'
d3a24ed2 2903 local [OPTION] NAME[=VALUE] ...
bb70624e
JA
2904 For each argument, a local variable named NAME is created, and
2905 assigned VALUE. The OPTION can be any of the options accepted by
2906 `declare'. `local' can only be used within a function; it makes
2907 the variable NAME have a visible scope restricted to that function
2908 and its children. The return status is zero unless `local' is
2909 used outside a function, an invalid NAME is supplied, or NAME is a
2910 readonly variable.
ccc6cda3 2911
bb70624e
JA
2912`logout'
2913 logout [N]
2914 Exit a login shell, returning a status of N to the shell's parent.
ccc6cda3 2915
bb70624e
JA
2916`printf'
2917 `printf' FORMAT [ARGUMENTS]
2918 Write the formatted ARGUMENTS to the standard output under the
2919 control of the FORMAT. The FORMAT is a character string which
2920 contains three types of objects: plain characters, which are
2921 simply copied to standard output, character escape sequences,
2922 which are converted and copied to the standard output, and format
2923 specifications, each of which causes printing of the next
2924 successive ARGUMENT. In addition to the standard `printf(1)'
2925 formats, `%b' causes `printf' to expand backslash escape sequences
5e13499c
CR
2926 in the corresponding ARGUMENT, (except that `\c' terminates
2927 output, backslashes in `\'', `\"', and `\?' are not removed, and
2928 octal escapes beginning with `\0' may contain up to four digits),
2929 and `%q' causes `printf' to output the corresponding ARGUMENT in a
2930 format that can be reused as shell input.
ccc6cda3 2931
bb70624e
JA
2932 The FORMAT is reused as necessary to consume all of the ARGUMENTS.
2933 If the FORMAT requires more ARGUMENTS than are supplied, the extra
2934 format specifications behave as if a zero value or null string, as
2935 appropriate, had been supplied. The return value is zero on
2936 success, non-zero on failure.
ccc6cda3 2937
bb70624e 2938`read'
7117c2d2
JA
2939 read [-ers] [-a ANAME] [-d DELIM] [-n NCHARS] [-p PROMPT] [-t TIMEOUT] [-u FD] [NAME ...]
2940 One line is read from the standard input, or from the file
2941 descriptor FD supplied as an argument to the `-u' option, and the
2942 first word is assigned to the first NAME, the second word to the
2943 second NAME, and so on, with leftover words and their intervening
2944 separators assigned to the last NAME. If there are fewer words
2945 read from the input stream than names, the remaining names are
2946 assigned empty values. The characters in the value of the `IFS'
2947 variable are used to split the line into words. The backslash
2948 character `\' may be used to remove any special meaning for the
2949 next character read and for line continuation. If no names are
2950 supplied, the line read is assigned to the variable `REPLY'. The
2951 return code is zero, unless end-of-file is encountered, `read'
2952 times out, or an invalid file descriptor is supplied as the
2953 argument to `-u'. Options, if supplied, have the following
2954 meanings:
ccc6cda3 2955
bb70624e
JA
2956 `-a ANAME'
2957 The words are assigned to sequential indices of the array
2958 variable ANAME, starting at 0. All elements are removed from
2959 ANAME before the assignment. Other NAME arguments are
2960 ignored.
ccc6cda3 2961
bb70624e
JA
2962 `-d DELIM'
2963 The first character of DELIM is used to terminate the input
2964 line, rather than newline.
ccc6cda3 2965
bb70624e 2966 `-e'
28ef6c31
JA
2967 Readline (*note Command Line Editing::) is used to obtain the
2968 line.
ccc6cda3 2969
bb70624e
JA
2970 `-n NCHARS'
2971 `read' returns after reading NCHARS characters rather than
2972 waiting for a complete line of input.
cce855bc 2973
bb70624e
JA
2974 `-p PROMPT'
2975 Display PROMPT, without a trailing newline, before attempting
2976 to read any input. The prompt is displayed only if input is
2977 coming from a terminal.
ccc6cda3 2978
bb70624e
JA
2979 `-r'
2980 If this option is given, backslash does not act as an escape
2981 character. The backslash is considered to be part of the
2982 line. In particular, a backslash-newline pair may not be
2983 used as a line continuation.
ccc6cda3 2984
bb70624e
JA
2985 `-s'
2986 Silent mode. If input is coming from a terminal, characters
2987 are not echoed.
cce855bc 2988
bb70624e
JA
2989 `-t TIMEOUT'
2990 Cause `read' to time out and return failure if a complete
2991 line of input is not read within TIMEOUT seconds. This
2992 option has no effect if `read' is not reading input from the
2993 terminal or a pipe.
cce855bc 2994
7117c2d2
JA
2995 `-u FD'
2996 Read input from file descriptor FD.
2997
761783bf 2998
bb70624e
JA
2999`shopt'
3000 shopt [-pqsu] [-o] [OPTNAME ...]
3001 Toggle the values of variables controlling optional shell behavior.
3002 With no options, or with the `-p' option, a list of all settable
3003 options is displayed, with an indication of whether or not each is
3004 set. The `-p' option causes output to be displayed in a form that
3005 may be reused as input. Other options have the following meanings:
cce855bc 3006
bb70624e
JA
3007 `-s'
3008 Enable (set) each OPTNAME.
ccc6cda3 3009
bb70624e
JA
3010 `-u'
3011 Disable (unset) each OPTNAME.
ccc6cda3 3012
bb70624e
JA
3013 `-q'
3014 Suppresses normal output; the return status indicates whether
3015 the OPTNAME is set or unset. If multiple OPTNAME arguments
3016 are given with `-q', the return status is zero if all
3017 OPTNAMES are enabled; non-zero otherwise.
ccc6cda3 3018
bb70624e
JA
3019 `-o'
3020 Restricts the values of OPTNAME to be those defined for the
28ef6c31 3021 `-o' option to the `set' builtin (*note The Set Builtin::).
ccc6cda3 3022
bb70624e
JA
3023 If either `-s' or `-u' is used with no OPTNAME arguments, the
3024 display is limited to those options which are set or unset,
3025 respectively.
ccc6cda3 3026
bb70624e
JA
3027 Unless otherwise noted, the `shopt' options are disabled (off) by
3028 default.
ccc6cda3 3029
bb70624e
JA
3030 The return status when listing options is zero if all OPTNAMES are
3031 enabled, non-zero otherwise. When setting or unsetting options,
3032 the return status is zero unless an OPTNAME is not a valid shell
3033 option.
ccc6cda3 3034
bb70624e
JA
3035 The list of `shopt' options is:
3036 `cdable_vars'
3037 If this is set, an argument to the `cd' builtin command that
3038 is not a directory is assumed to be the name of a variable
3039 whose value is the directory to change to.
ccc6cda3 3040
bb70624e
JA
3041 `cdspell'
3042 If set, minor errors in the spelling of a directory component
3043 in a `cd' command will be corrected. The errors checked for
3044 are transposed characters, a missing character, and a
3045 character too many. If a correction is found, the corrected
3046 path is printed, and the command proceeds. This option is
3047 only used by interactive shells.
ccc6cda3 3048
bb70624e
JA
3049 `checkhash'
3050 If this is set, Bash checks that a command found in the hash
3051 table exists before trying to execute it. If a hashed
3052 command no longer exists, a normal path search is performed.
ccc6cda3 3053
bb70624e
JA
3054 `checkwinsize'
3055 If set, Bash checks the window size after each command and,
3056 if necessary, updates the values of `LINES' and `COLUMNS'.
ccc6cda3 3057
bb70624e
JA
3058 `cmdhist'
3059 If set, Bash attempts to save all lines of a multiple-line
3060 command in the same history entry. This allows easy
3061 re-editing of multi-line commands.
cce855bc 3062
bb70624e
JA
3063 `dotglob'
3064 If set, Bash includes filenames beginning with a `.' in the
3065 results of filename expansion.
cce855bc 3066
bb70624e
JA
3067 `execfail'
3068 If this is set, a non-interactive shell will not exit if it
3069 cannot execute the file specified as an argument to the `exec'
3070 builtin command. An interactive shell does not exit if `exec'
3071 fails.
ccc6cda3 3072
bb70624e
JA
3073 `expand_aliases'
3074 If set, aliases are expanded as described below under Aliases,
3075 *Note Aliases::. This option is enabled by default for
3076 interactive shells.
ccc6cda3 3077
d3a24ed2
CR
3078 `extdebug'
3079 If set, behavior intended for use by debuggers is enabled:
3080
3081 1. The `-F' option to the `declare' builtin (*note Bash
3082 Builtins::) displays the source file name and line
3083 number corresponding to each function name supplied as
3084 an argument.
3085
3086 2. If the command run by the `DEBUG' trap returns a
3087 non-zero value, the next command is skipped and not
3088 executed.
3089
3090 3. If the command run by the `DEBUG' trap returns a value
3091 of 2, and the shell is executing in a subroutine (a
3092 shell function or a shell script executed by the `.' or
3093 `source' builtins), a call to `return' is simulated.
3094
bb70624e
JA
3095 `extglob'
3096 If set, the extended pattern matching features described above
28ef6c31 3097 (*note Pattern Matching::) are enabled.
ccc6cda3 3098
d3a24ed2
CR
3099 `extquote'
3100 If set, `$'STRING'' and `$"STRING"' quoting is performed
3101 within `${PARAMETER}' expansions enclosed in double quotes.
3102 This option is enabled by default.
3103
5e13499c
CR
3104 `failglob'
3105 If set, patterns which fail to match filenames during
3106 pathname expansion result in an expansion error.
3107
d3a24ed2
CR
3108 `force_fignore'
3109 If set, the suffixes specified by the `FIGNORE' shell variable
3110 cause words to be ignored when performing word completion
3111 even if the ignored words are the only possible completions.
3112 *Note Bash Variables::, for a description of `FIGNORE'. This
3113 option is enabled by default.
3114
3115 `gnu_errfmt'
3116 If set, shell error messages are written in the standard GNU
3117 error message format.
3118
bb70624e
JA
3119 `histappend'
3120 If set, the history list is appended to the file named by the
3121 value of the `HISTFILE' variable when the shell exits, rather
3122 than overwriting the file.
ccc6cda3 3123
bb70624e
JA
3124 `histreedit'
3125 If set, and Readline is being used, a user is given the
3126 opportunity to re-edit a failed history substitution.
ccc6cda3 3127
bb70624e
JA
3128 `histverify'
3129 If set, and Readline is being used, the results of history
3130 substitution are not immediately passed to the shell parser.
3131 Instead, the resulting line is loaded into the Readline
3132 editing buffer, allowing further modification.
ccc6cda3 3133
bb70624e
JA
3134 `hostcomplete'
3135 If set, and Readline is being used, Bash will attempt to
3136 perform hostname completion when a word containing a `@' is
28ef6c31 3137 being completed (*note Commands For Completion::). This
bb70624e 3138 option is enabled by default.
ccc6cda3 3139
bb70624e
JA
3140 `huponexit'
3141 If set, Bash will send `SIGHUP' to all jobs when an
28ef6c31 3142 interactive login shell exits (*note Signals::).
ccc6cda3 3143
bb70624e
JA
3144 `interactive_comments'
3145 Allow a word beginning with `#' to cause that word and all
3146 remaining characters on that line to be ignored in an
3147 interactive shell. This option is enabled by default.
ccc6cda3 3148
bb70624e
JA
3149 `lithist'
3150 If enabled, and the `cmdhist' option is enabled, multi-line
3151 commands are saved to the history with embedded newlines
3152 rather than using semicolon separators where possible.
ccc6cda3 3153
f73dda09
JA
3154 `login_shell'
3155 The shell sets this option if it is started as a login shell
3156 (*note Invoking Bash::). The value may not be changed.
3157
bb70624e
JA
3158 `mailwarn'
3159 If set, and a file that Bash is checking for mail has been
3160 accessed since the last time it was checked, the message
3161 `"The mail in MAILFILE has been read"' is displayed.
ccc6cda3 3162
bb70624e
JA
3163 `no_empty_cmd_completion'
3164 If set, and Readline is being used, Bash will not attempt to
3165 search the `PATH' for possible completions when completion is
3166 attempted on an empty line.
ccc6cda3 3167
bb70624e
JA
3168 `nocaseglob'
3169 If set, Bash matches filenames in a case-insensitive fashion
3170 when performing filename expansion.
ccc6cda3 3171
bb70624e
JA
3172 `nullglob'
3173 If set, Bash allows filename patterns which match no files to
3174 expand to a null string, rather than themselves.
ccc6cda3 3175
bb70624e
JA
3176 `progcomp'
3177 If set, the programmable completion facilities (*note
28ef6c31 3178 Programmable Completion::) are enabled. This option is
bb70624e 3179 enabled by default.
ccc6cda3 3180
bb70624e 3181 `promptvars'
d3a24ed2
CR
3182 If set, prompt strings undergo parameter expansion, command
3183 substitution, arithmetic expansion, and quote removal after
3184 being expanded as described below (*note Printing a Prompt::).
bb70624e 3185 This option is enabled by default.
ccc6cda3 3186
bb70624e
JA
3187 `restricted_shell'
3188 The shell sets this option if it is started in restricted mode
28ef6c31
JA
3189 (*note The Restricted Shell::). The value may not be changed.
3190 This is not reset when the startup files are executed,
3191 allowing the startup files to discover whether or not a shell
3192 is restricted.
ccc6cda3 3193
bb70624e
JA
3194 `shift_verbose'
3195 If this is set, the `shift' builtin prints an error message
3196 when the shift count exceeds the number of positional
3197 parameters.
ccc6cda3 3198
bb70624e
JA
3199 `sourcepath'
3200 If set, the `source' builtin uses the value of `PATH' to find
3201 the directory containing the file supplied as an argument.
3202 This option is enabled by default.
ccc6cda3 3203
bb70624e
JA
3204 `xpg_echo'
3205 If set, the `echo' builtin expands backslash-escape sequences
3206 by default.
ccc6cda3 3207
761783bf 3208
bb70624e
JA
3209 The return status when listing options is zero if all OPTNAMES are
3210 enabled, non-zero otherwise. When setting or unsetting options,
3211 the return status is zero unless an OPTNAME is not a valid shell
3212 option.
ccc6cda3 3213
bb70624e
JA
3214`source'
3215 source FILENAME
28ef6c31 3216 A synonym for `.' (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 3217
bb70624e 3218`type'
7117c2d2 3219 type [-afptP] [NAME ...]
bb70624e
JA
3220 For each NAME, indicate how it would be interpreted if used as a
3221 command name.
cce855bc 3222
bb70624e
JA
3223 If the `-t' option is used, `type' prints a single word which is
3224 one of `alias', `function', `builtin', `file' or `keyword', if
3225 NAME is an alias, shell function, shell builtin, disk file, or
3226 shell reserved word, respectively. If the NAME is not found, then
3227 nothing is printed, and `type' returns a failure status.
ccc6cda3 3228
bb70624e
JA
3229 If the `-p' option is used, `type' either returns the name of the
3230 disk file that would be executed, or nothing if `-t' would not
3231 return `file'.
ccc6cda3 3232
7117c2d2
JA
3233 The `-P' option forces a path search for each NAME, even if `-t'
3234 would not return `file'.
3235
3236 If a command is hashed, `-p' and `-P' print the hashed value, not
3237 necessarily the file that appears first in `$PATH'.
3238
bb70624e
JA
3239 If the `-a' option is used, `type' returns all of the places that
3240 contain an executable named FILE. This includes aliases and
3241 functions, if and only if the `-p' option is not also used.
ccc6cda3 3242
7117c2d2
JA
3243 If the `-f' option is used, `type' does not attempt to find shell
3244 functions, as with the `command' builtin.
3245
bb70624e
JA
3246 The return status is zero if any of the NAMES are found, non-zero
3247 if none are found.
ccc6cda3 3248
bb70624e 3249`typeset'
d3a24ed2 3250 typeset [-afFrxi] [-p] [NAME[=VALUE] ...]
bb70624e
JA
3251 The `typeset' command is supplied for compatibility with the Korn
3252 shell; however, it has been deprecated in favor of the `declare'
3253 builtin command.
ccc6cda3 3254
bb70624e
JA
3255`ulimit'
3256 ulimit [-acdflmnpstuvSH] [LIMIT]
3257 `ulimit' provides control over the resources available to processes
3258 started by the shell, on systems that allow such control. If an
3259 option is given, it is interpreted as follows:
3260 `-S'
3261 Change and report the soft limit associated with a resource.
ccc6cda3 3262
bb70624e
JA
3263 `-H'
3264 Change and report the hard limit associated with a resource.
ccc6cda3 3265
bb70624e
JA
3266 `-a'
3267 All current limits are reported.
ccc6cda3 3268
bb70624e
JA
3269 `-c'
3270 The maximum size of core files created.
ccc6cda3 3271
bb70624e
JA
3272 `-d'
3273 The maximum size of a process's data segment.
ccc6cda3 3274
bb70624e
JA
3275 `-f'
3276 The maximum size of files created by the shell.
ccc6cda3 3277
bb70624e
JA
3278 `-l'
3279 The maximum size that may be locked into memory.
ccc6cda3 3280
bb70624e
JA
3281 `-m'
3282 The maximum resident set size.
ccc6cda3 3283
bb70624e
JA
3284 `-n'
3285 The maximum number of open file descriptors.
ccc6cda3 3286
bb70624e
JA
3287 `-p'
3288 The pipe buffer size.
ccc6cda3 3289
bb70624e
JA
3290 `-s'
3291 The maximum stack size.
ccc6cda3 3292
bb70624e
JA
3293 `-t'
3294 The maximum amount of cpu time in seconds.
ccc6cda3 3295
bb70624e
JA
3296 `-u'
3297 The maximum number of processes available to a single user.
cce855bc 3298
bb70624e
JA
3299 `-v'
3300 The maximum amount of virtual memory available to the process.
ccc6cda3 3301
761783bf 3302
f73dda09
JA
3303 If LIMIT is given, it is the new value of the specified resource;
3304 the special LIMIT values `hard', `soft', and `unlimited' stand for
3305 the current hard limit, the current soft limit, and no limit,
3306 respectively. Otherwise, the current value of the soft limit for
3307 the specified resource is printed, unless the `-H' option is
3308 supplied. When setting new limits, if neither `-H' nor `-S' is
3309 supplied, both the hard and soft limits are set. If no option is
3310 given, then `-f' is assumed. Values are in 1024-byte increments,
3311 except for `-t', which is in seconds, `-p', which is in units of
3312 512-byte blocks, and `-n' and `-u', which are unscaled values.
ccc6cda3 3313
f73dda09
JA
3314 The return status is zero unless an invalid option or argument is
3315 supplied, or an error occurs while setting a new limit.
ccc6cda3 3316
bb70624e
JA
3317`unalias'
3318 unalias [-a] [NAME ... ]
ccc6cda3 3319
bb70624e
JA
3320 Remove each NAME from the list of aliases. If `-a' is supplied,
3321 all aliases are removed. Aliases are described in *Note Aliases::.
ccc6cda3 3322
761783bf 3323
bb70624e
JA
3324\1f
3325File: bashref.info, Node: The Set Builtin, Next: Special Builtins, Prev: Bash Builtins, Up: Shell Builtin Commands
ccc6cda3 3326
761783bf
CR
33274.3 The Set Builtin
3328===================
ccc6cda3 3329
761783bf 3330This builtin is so complicated that it deserves its own section.
ccc6cda3 3331
bb70624e
JA
3332`set'
3333 set [--abefhkmnptuvxBCHP] [-o OPTION] [ARGUMENT ...]
ccc6cda3 3334
bb70624e
JA
3335 If no options or arguments are supplied, `set' displays the names
3336 and values of all shell variables and functions, sorted according
3337 to the current locale, in a format that may be reused as input.
ccc6cda3 3338
bb70624e
JA
3339 When options are supplied, they set or unset shell attributes.
3340 Options, if specified, have the following meanings:
ccc6cda3 3341
bb70624e 3342 `-a'
28ef6c31
JA
3343 Mark variables and function which are modified or created for
3344 export to the environment of subsequent commands.
ccc6cda3 3345
bb70624e
JA
3346 `-b'
3347 Cause the status of terminated background jobs to be reported
3348 immediately, rather than before printing the next primary
3349 prompt.
ccc6cda3 3350
bb70624e
JA
3351 `-e'
3352 Exit immediately if a simple command (*note Simple
28ef6c31 3353 Commands::) exits with a non-zero status, unless the command
d3a24ed2
CR
3354 that fails is part of the command list immediately following
3355 a `while' or `until' keyword, part of the test in an `if'
3356 statement, part of a `&&' or `||' list, or if the command's
3357 return status is being inverted using `!'. A trap on `ERR',
3358 if set, is executed before the shell exits.
ccc6cda3 3359
bb70624e
JA
3360 `-f'
3361 Disable file name generation (globbing).
ccc6cda3 3362
bb70624e
JA
3363 `-h'
3364 Locate and remember (hash) commands as they are looked up for
3365 execution. This option is enabled by default.
ccc6cda3 3366
bb70624e
JA
3367 `-k'
3368 All arguments in the form of assignment statements are placed
3369 in the environment for a command, not just those that precede
3370 the command name.
ccc6cda3 3371
bb70624e 3372 `-m'
28ef6c31 3373 Job control is enabled (*note Job Control::).
b72432fd 3374
bb70624e
JA
3375 `-n'
3376 Read commands but do not execute them; this may be used to
3377 check a script for syntax errors. This option is ignored by
3378 interactive shells.
ccc6cda3 3379
bb70624e
JA
3380 `-o OPTION-NAME'
3381 Set the option corresponding to OPTION-NAME:
ccc6cda3 3382
bb70624e
JA
3383 `allexport'
3384 Same as `-a'.
ccc6cda3 3385
bb70624e
JA
3386 `braceexpand'
3387 Same as `-B'.
ccc6cda3 3388
bb70624e
JA
3389 `emacs'
3390 Use an `emacs'-style line editing interface (*note
28ef6c31 3391 Command Line Editing::).
ccc6cda3 3392
bb70624e
JA
3393 `errexit'
3394 Same as `-e'.
d166f048 3395
d3a24ed2
CR
3396 `errtrace'
3397 Same as `-E'.
3398
3399 `functrace'
3400 Same as `-T'.
3401
bb70624e
JA
3402 `hashall'
3403 Same as `-h'.
d166f048 3404
bb70624e
JA
3405 `histexpand'
3406 Same as `-H'.
ccc6cda3 3407
bb70624e
JA
3408 `history'
3409 Enable command history, as described in *Note Bash
3410 History Facilities::. This option is on by default in
3411 interactive shells.
ccc6cda3 3412
bb70624e
JA
3413 `ignoreeof'
3414 An interactive shell will not exit upon reading EOF.
ccc6cda3 3415
bb70624e
JA
3416 `keyword'
3417 Same as `-k'.
ccc6cda3 3418
bb70624e
JA
3419 `monitor'
3420 Same as `-m'.
ccc6cda3 3421
bb70624e
JA
3422 `noclobber'
3423 Same as `-C'.
ccc6cda3 3424
bb70624e
JA
3425 `noexec'
3426 Same as `-n'.
ccc6cda3 3427
bb70624e
JA
3428 `noglob'
3429 Same as `-f'.
ccc6cda3 3430
f73dda09
JA
3431 `nolog'
3432 Currently ignored.
3433
bb70624e
JA
3434 `notify'
3435 Same as `-b'.
ccc6cda3 3436
bb70624e
JA
3437 `nounset'
3438 Same as `-u'.
ccc6cda3 3439
bb70624e
JA
3440 `onecmd'
3441 Same as `-t'.
ccc6cda3 3442
bb70624e
JA
3443 `physical'
3444 Same as `-P'.
ccc6cda3 3445
5e13499c
CR
3446 `pipefail'
3447 If set, the return value of a pipeline is the value of
3448 the last (rightmost) command to exit with a non-zero
3449 status, or zero if all commands in the pipeline exit
3450 successfully. This option is disabled by default.
3451
bb70624e
JA
3452 `posix'
3453 Change the behavior of Bash where the default operation
3454 differs from the POSIX 1003.2 standard to match the
28ef6c31
JA
3455 standard (*note Bash POSIX Mode::). This is intended to
3456 make Bash behave as a strict superset of that standard.
ccc6cda3 3457
bb70624e
JA
3458 `privileged'
3459 Same as `-p'.
ccc6cda3 3460
bb70624e
JA
3461 `verbose'
3462 Same as `-v'.
cce855bc 3463
bb70624e
JA
3464 `vi'
3465 Use a `vi'-style line editing interface.
ccc6cda3 3466
bb70624e
JA
3467 `xtrace'
3468 Same as `-x'.
cce855bc 3469
bb70624e
JA
3470 `-p'
3471 Turn on privileged mode. In this mode, the `$BASH_ENV' and
3472 `$ENV' files are not processed, shell functions are not
3473 inherited from the environment, and the `SHELLOPTS' variable,
3474 if it appears in the environment, is ignored. If the shell
3475 is started with the effective user (group) id not equal to the
3476 real user (group) id, and the `-p' option is not supplied,
3477 these actions are taken and the effective user id is set to
3478 the real user id. If the `-p' option is supplied at startup,
3479 the effective user id is not reset. Turning this option off
3480 causes the effective user and group ids to be set to the real
3481 user and group ids.
ccc6cda3 3482
bb70624e
JA
3483 `-t'
3484 Exit after reading and executing one command.
ccc6cda3 3485
bb70624e
JA
3486 `-u'
3487 Treat unset variables as an error when performing parameter
3488 expansion. An error message will be written to the standard
3489 error, and a non-interactive shell will exit.
ccc6cda3 3490
bb70624e
JA
3491 `-v'
3492 Print shell input lines as they are read.
ccc6cda3 3493
bb70624e 3494 `-x'
d3a24ed2
CR
3495 Print a trace of simple commands, \fBfor\fP commands,
3496 \fBcase\fP commands, \fBselect\fP commands, and arithmetic
3497 \fBfor\fP commands and their arguments or associated word
3498 lists after they are expanded and before they are executed.
3499 The value of the `PS4' variable is expanded and the resultant
3500 value is printed before the command and its expanded
3501 arguments.
ccc6cda3 3502
bb70624e
JA
3503 `-B'
3504 The shell will perform brace expansion (*note Brace
28ef6c31 3505 Expansion::). This option is on by default.
ccc6cda3 3506
bb70624e
JA
3507 `-C'
3508 Prevent output redirection using `>', `>&', and `<>' from
3509 overwriting existing files.
ccc6cda3 3510
d3a24ed2
CR
3511 `-E'
3512 If set, any trap on `ERR' is inherited by shell functions,
3513 command substitutions, and commands executed in a subshell
3514 environment. The `ERR' trap is normally not inherited in
3515 such cases.
3516
bb70624e
JA
3517 `-H'
3518 Enable `!' style history substitution (*note History
28ef6c31
JA
3519 Interaction::). This option is on by default for interactive
3520 shells.
ccc6cda3 3521
bb70624e
JA
3522 `-P'
3523 If set, do not follow symbolic links when performing commands
3524 such as `cd' which change the current directory. The
3525 physical directory is used instead. By default, Bash follows
3526 the logical chain of directories when performing commands
3527 which change the current directory.
ccc6cda3 3528
bb70624e
JA
3529 For example, if `/usr/sys' is a symbolic link to
3530 `/usr/local/sys' then:
3531 $ cd /usr/sys; echo $PWD
3532 /usr/sys
3533 $ cd ..; pwd
3534 /usr
ccc6cda3 3535
bb70624e
JA
3536 If `set -P' is on, then:
3537 $ cd /usr/sys; echo $PWD
3538 /usr/local/sys
3539 $ cd ..; pwd
3540 /usr/local
ccc6cda3 3541
d3a24ed2
CR
3542 `-T'
3543 If set, any trap on `DEBUG' is inherited by shell functions,
3544 command substitutions, and commands executed in a subshell
3545 environment. The `DEBUG' trap is normally not inherited in
3546 such cases.
3547
bb70624e
JA
3548 `--'
3549 If no arguments follow this option, then the positional
3550 parameters are unset. Otherwise, the positional parameters
3551 are set to the ARGUMENTS, even if some of them begin with a
3552 `-'.
ccc6cda3 3553
bb70624e
JA
3554 `-'
3555 Signal the end of options, cause all remaining ARGUMENTS to
3556 be assigned to the positional parameters. The `-x' and `-v'
3557 options are turned off. If there are no arguments, the
3558 positional parameters remain unchanged.
ccc6cda3 3559
bb70624e
JA
3560 Using `+' rather than `-' causes these options to be turned off.
3561 The options can also be used upon invocation of the shell. The
3562 current set of options may be found in `$-'.
cce855bc 3563
bb70624e
JA
3564 The remaining N ARGUMENTS are positional parameters and are
3565 assigned, in order, to `$1', `$2', ... `$N'. The special
3566 parameter `#' is set to N.
ccc6cda3 3567
bb70624e
JA
3568 The return status is always zero unless an invalid option is
3569 supplied.
ccc6cda3 3570
bb70624e
JA
3571\1f
3572File: bashref.info, Node: Special Builtins, Prev: The Set Builtin, Up: Shell Builtin Commands
ccc6cda3 3573
761783bf
CR
35744.4 Special Builtins
3575====================
ccc6cda3 3576
761783bf 3577For historical reasons, the POSIX 1003.2 standard has classified
28ef6c31 3578several builtin commands as _special_. When Bash is executing in POSIX
bb70624e
JA
3579mode, the special builtins differ from other builtin commands in three
3580respects:
ccc6cda3 3581
bb70624e
JA
3582 1. Special builtins are found before shell functions during command
3583 lookup.
ccc6cda3 3584
bb70624e
JA
3585 2. If a special builtin returns an error status, a non-interactive
3586 shell exits.
ccc6cda3 3587
bb70624e
JA
3588 3. Assignment statements preceding the command stay in effect in the
3589 shell environment after the command completes.
ccc6cda3 3590
bb70624e
JA
3591 When Bash is not executing in POSIX mode, these builtins behave no
3592differently than the rest of the Bash builtin commands. The Bash POSIX
3593mode is described in *Note Bash POSIX Mode::.
ccc6cda3 3594
bb70624e
JA
3595 These are the POSIX special builtins:
3596 break : . continue eval exec exit export readonly return set
3597 shift trap unset
ccc6cda3 3598
bb70624e
JA
3599\1f
3600File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Variables, Next: Bash Features, Prev: Shell Builtin Commands, Up: Top
cce855bc 3601
761783bf
CR
36025 Shell Variables
3603*****************
ccc6cda3 3604
bb70624e 3605* Menu:
ccc6cda3 3606
bb70624e
JA
3607* Bourne Shell Variables:: Variables which Bash uses in the same way
3608 as the Bourne Shell.
3609* Bash Variables:: List of variables that exist in Bash.
ccc6cda3 3610
bb70624e
JA
3611 This chapter describes the shell variables that Bash uses. Bash
3612automatically assigns default values to a number of variables.
cce855bc 3613
bb70624e
JA
3614\1f
3615File: bashref.info, Node: Bourne Shell Variables, Next: Bash Variables, Up: Shell Variables
ccc6cda3 3616
761783bf
CR
36175.1 Bourne Shell Variables
3618==========================
cce855bc 3619
761783bf
CR
3620Bash uses certain shell variables in the same way as the Bourne shell.
3621In some cases, Bash assigns a default value to the variable.
cce855bc 3622
bb70624e
JA
3623`CDPATH'
3624 A colon-separated list of directories used as a search path for
3625 the `cd' builtin command.
ccc6cda3 3626
bb70624e
JA
3627`HOME'
3628 The current user's home directory; the default for the `cd' builtin
3629 command. The value of this variable is also used by tilde
28ef6c31 3630 expansion (*note Tilde Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 3631
bb70624e
JA
3632`IFS'
3633 A list of characters that separate fields; used when the shell
3634 splits words as part of expansion.
ccc6cda3 3635
bb70624e
JA
3636`MAIL'
3637 If this parameter is set to a filename and the `MAILPATH' variable
3638 is not set, Bash informs the user of the arrival of mail in the
3639 specified file.
cce855bc 3640
bb70624e
JA
3641`MAILPATH'
3642 A colon-separated list of filenames which the shell periodically
3643 checks for new mail. Each list entry can specify the message that
3644 is printed when new mail arrives in the mail file by separating
3645 the file name from the message with a `?'. When used in the text
3646 of the message, `$_' expands to the name of the current mail file.
cce855bc 3647
bb70624e
JA
3648`OPTARG'
3649 The value of the last option argument processed by the `getopts'
3650 builtin.
ccc6cda3 3651
bb70624e
JA
3652`OPTIND'
3653 The index of the last option argument processed by the `getopts'
3654 builtin.
ccc6cda3 3655
bb70624e
JA
3656`PATH'
3657 A colon-separated list of directories in which the shell looks for
d3a24ed2
CR
3658 commands. A zero-length (null) directory name in the value of
3659 `PATH' indicates the current directory. A null directory name may
3660 appear as two adjacent colons, or as an initial or trailing colon.
ccc6cda3 3661
bb70624e
JA
3662`PS1'
3663 The primary prompt string. The default value is `\s-\v\$ '.
3664 *Note Printing a Prompt::, for the complete list of escape
3665 sequences that are expanded before `PS1' is displayed.
ccc6cda3 3666
bb70624e
JA
3667`PS2'
3668 The secondary prompt string. The default value is `> '.
ccc6cda3 3669
761783bf 3670
bb70624e
JA
3671\1f
3672File: bashref.info, Node: Bash Variables, Prev: Bourne Shell Variables, Up: Shell Variables
ccc6cda3 3673
761783bf
CR
36745.2 Bash Variables
3675==================
ccc6cda3 3676
761783bf 3677These variables are set or used by Bash, but other shells do not
bb70624e 3678normally treat them specially.
ccc6cda3 3679
bb70624e
JA
3680 A few variables used by Bash are described in different chapters:
3681variables for controlling the job control facilities (*note Job Control
28ef6c31 3682Variables::).
ccc6cda3 3683
bb70624e
JA
3684`BASH'
3685 The full pathname used to execute the current instance of Bash.
ccc6cda3 3686
d3a24ed2
CR
3687`BASH_ARGC'
3688 An array variable whose values are the number of parameters in each
3689 frame of the current bash execution call stack. The number of
3690 parameters to the current subroutine (shell function or script
3691 executed with `.' or `source') is at the top of the stack. When a
3692 subroutine is executed, the number of parameters passed is pushed
3693 onto `BASH_ARGC'.
3694
3695`BASH_ARGV'
3696 An array variable containing all of the parameters in the current
3697 bash execution call stack. The final parameter of the last
3698 subroutine call is at the top of the stack; the first parameter of
3699 the initial call is at the bottom. When a subroutine is executed,
3700 the parameters supplied are pushed onto `BASH_ARGV'.
3701
3702`BASH_COMMAND'
3703 The command currently being executed or about to be executed,
3704 unless the shell is executing a command as the result of a trap,
3705 in which case it is the command executing at the time of the trap.
3706
bb70624e
JA
3707`BASH_ENV'
3708 If this variable is set when Bash is invoked to execute a shell
3709 script, its value is expanded and used as the name of a startup
3710 file to read before executing the script. *Note Bash Startup
3711 Files::.
ccc6cda3 3712
d3a24ed2
CR
3713`BASH_EXECUTION_STRING'
3714 The command argument to the `-c' invocation option.
3715
3716`BASH_LINENO'
3717 An array variable whose members are the line numbers in source
3718 files corresponding to each member of FUNCNAME.
3719 `${BASH_LINENO[$i]}' is the line number in the source file where
3720 `${FUNCNAME[$i + 1]}' was called. The corresponding source file
3721 name is `${BASH_SOURCE[$i + 1]}'. Use `LINENO' to obtain the
3722 current line number.
3723
5e13499c
CR
3724`BASH_REMATCH'
3725 An array variable whose members are assigned by the `=~' binary
3726 operator to the `[[' conditional command (*note Conditional
3727 Constructs::). The element with index 0 is the portion of the
3728 string matching the entire regular expression. The element with
3729 index N is the portion of the string matching the Nth
3730 parenthesized subexpression. This variable is read-only.
3731
d3a24ed2
CR
3732`BASH_SOURCE'
3733 An array variable whose members are the source filenames
3734 corresponding to the elements in the `FUNCNAME' array variable.
3735
3736`BASH_SUBSHELL'
3737 Incremented by one each time a subshell or subshell environment is
3738 spawned. The initial value is 0.
ccc6cda3 3739
bb70624e 3740`BASH_VERSINFO'
28ef6c31 3741 A readonly array variable (*note Arrays::) whose members hold
bb70624e
JA
3742 version information for this instance of Bash. The values
3743 assigned to the array members are as follows:
ccc6cda3 3744
bb70624e
JA
3745 `BASH_VERSINFO[0]'
3746 The major version number (the RELEASE).
ccc6cda3 3747
bb70624e
JA
3748 `BASH_VERSINFO[1]'
3749 The minor version number (the VERSION).
ccc6cda3 3750
bb70624e
JA
3751 `BASH_VERSINFO[2]'
3752 The patch level.
ccc6cda3 3753
bb70624e
JA
3754 `BASH_VERSINFO[3]'
3755 The build version.
ccc6cda3 3756
bb70624e
JA
3757 `BASH_VERSINFO[4]'
3758 The release status (e.g., BETA1).
ccc6cda3 3759
bb70624e
JA
3760 `BASH_VERSINFO[5]'
3761 The value of `MACHTYPE'.
ccc6cda3 3762
761783bf 3763
d3a24ed2
CR
3764`BASH_VERSION'
3765 The version number of the current instance of Bash.
3766
f73dda09
JA
3767`COLUMNS'
3768 Used by the `select' builtin command to determine the terminal
3769 width when printing selection lists. Automatically set upon
3770 receipt of a `SIGWINCH'.
bb70624e
JA
3771
3772`COMP_CWORD'
3773 An index into `${COMP_WORDS}' of the word containing the current
3774 cursor position. This variable is available only in shell
3775 functions invoked by the programmable completion facilities (*note
28ef6c31 3776 Programmable Completion::).
bb70624e
JA
3777
3778`COMP_LINE'
3779 The current command line. This variable is available only in
3780 shell functions and external commands invoked by the programmable
28ef6c31 3781 completion facilities (*note Programmable Completion::).
bb70624e
JA
3782
3783`COMP_POINT'
3784 The index of the current cursor position relative to the beginning
3785 of the current command. If the current cursor position is at the
3786 end of the current command, the value of this variable is equal to
3787 `${#COMP_LINE}'. This variable is available only in shell
3788 functions and external commands invoked by the programmable
28ef6c31 3789 completion facilities (*note Programmable Completion::).
bb70624e 3790
d3a24ed2
CR
3791`COMP_WORDBREAKS'
3792 The set of characters that the Readline library treats as word
3793 separators when performing word completion. If `COMP_WORDBREAKS'
3794 is unset, it loses its special properties, even if it is
3795 subsequently reset.
3796
f73dda09
JA
3797`COMP_WORDS'
3798 An array variable consisting of the individual words in the
3799 current command line. This variable is available only in shell
3800 functions invoked by the programmable completion facilities (*note
3801 Programmable Completion::).
3802
bb70624e
JA
3803`COMPREPLY'
3804 An array variable from which Bash reads the possible completions
3805 generated by a shell function invoked by the programmable
28ef6c31 3806 completion facility (*note Programmable Completion::).
ccc6cda3 3807
bb70624e
JA
3808`DIRSTACK'
3809 An array variable containing the current contents of the directory
3810 stack. Directories appear in the stack in the order they are
3811 displayed by the `dirs' builtin. Assigning to members of this
3812 array variable may be used to modify directories already in the
3813 stack, but the `pushd' and `popd' builtins must be used to add and
3814 remove directories. Assignment to this variable will not change
3815 the current directory. If `DIRSTACK' is unset, it loses its
3816 special properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
cce855bc 3817
d3a24ed2
CR
3818`EMACS'
3819 If Bash finds this variable in the environment when the shell
3820 starts with value `t', it assumes that the shell is running in an
3821 emacs shell buffer and disables line editing.
3822
bb70624e
JA
3823`EUID'
3824 The numeric effective user id of the current user. This variable
3825 is readonly.
cce855bc 3826
bb70624e
JA
3827`FCEDIT'
3828 The editor used as a default by the `-e' option to the `fc'
3829 builtin command.
ccc6cda3 3830
bb70624e
JA
3831`FIGNORE'
3832 A colon-separated list of suffixes to ignore when performing
3833 filename completion. A file name whose suffix matches one of the
3834 entries in `FIGNORE' is excluded from the list of matched file
3835 names. A sample value is `.o:~'
ccc6cda3 3836
f73dda09 3837`FUNCNAME'
d3a24ed2
CR
3838 An array variable containing the names of all shell functions
3839 currently in the execution call stack. The element with index 0
3840 is the name of any currently-executing shell function. The
3841 bottom-most element is "main". This variable exists only when a
3842 shell function is executing. Assignments to `FUNCNAME' have no
3843 effect and return an error status. If `FUNCNAME' is unset, it
3844 loses its special properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
f73dda09 3845
bb70624e
JA
3846`GLOBIGNORE'
3847 A colon-separated list of patterns defining the set of filenames to
3848 be ignored by filename expansion. If a filename matched by a
3849 filename expansion pattern also matches one of the patterns in
3850 `GLOBIGNORE', it is removed from the list of matches.
ccc6cda3 3851
bb70624e
JA
3852`GROUPS'
3853 An array variable containing the list of groups of which the
3854 current user is a member. Assignments to `GROUPS' have no effect
28ef6c31 3855 and return an error status. If `GROUPS' is unset, it loses its
bb70624e 3856 special properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
ccc6cda3 3857
bb70624e
JA
3858`histchars'
3859 Up to three characters which control history expansion, quick
28ef6c31
JA
3860 substitution, and tokenization (*note History Interaction::). The
3861 first character is the HISTORY EXPANSION character, that is, the
3862 character which signifies the start of a history expansion,
bb70624e
JA
3863 normally `!'. The second character is the character which
3864 signifies `quick substitution' when seen as the first character on
3865 a line, normally `^'. The optional third character is the
3866 character which indicates that the remainder of the line is a
3867 comment when found as the first character of a word, usually `#'.
3868 The history comment character causes history substitution to be
3869 skipped for the remaining words on the line. It does not
3870 necessarily cause the shell parser to treat the rest of the line
3871 as a comment.
cce855bc 3872
bb70624e
JA
3873`HISTCMD'
3874 The history number, or index in the history list, of the current
3875 command. If `HISTCMD' is unset, it loses its special properties,
3876 even if it is subsequently reset.
ccc6cda3 3877
bb70624e 3878`HISTCONTROL'
d3a24ed2
CR
3879 A colon-separated list of values controlling how commands are
3880 saved on the history list. If the list of values includes
3881 `ignorespace', lines which begin with a space character are not
3882 saved in the history list. A value of `ignoredups' causes lines
3883 which match the previous history entry to not be saved. A value
3884 of `ignoreboth' is shorthand for `ignorespace' and `ignoredups'.
3885 A value of `erasedups' causes all previous lines matching the
3886 current line to be removed from the history list before that line
3887 is saved. Any value not in the above list is ignored. If
3888 `HISTCONTROL' is unset, or does not include a valid value, all
3889 lines read by the shell parser are saved on the history list,
3890 subject to the value of `HISTIGNORE'. The second and subsequent
3891 lines of a multi-line compound command are not tested, and are
3892 added to the history regardless of the value of `HISTCONTROL'.
ccc6cda3 3893
f73dda09
JA
3894`HISTFILE'
3895 The name of the file to which the command history is saved. The
3896 default value is `~/.bash_history'.
3897
3898`HISTFILESIZE'
3899 The maximum number of lines contained in the history file. When
3900 this variable is assigned a value, the history file is truncated,
3901 if necessary, to contain no more than that number of lines. The
3902 history file is also truncated to this size after writing it when
3903 an interactive shell exits. The default value is 500.
3904
bb70624e
JA
3905`HISTIGNORE'
3906 A colon-separated list of patterns used to decide which command
3907 lines should be saved on the history list. Each pattern is
3908 anchored at the beginning of the line and must match the complete
3909 line (no implicit `*' is appended). Each pattern is tested
3910 against the line after the checks specified by `HISTCONTROL' are
3911 applied. In addition to the normal shell pattern matching
3912 characters, `&' matches the previous history line. `&' may be
3913 escaped using a backslash; the backslash is removed before
3914 attempting a match. The second and subsequent lines of a
3915 multi-line compound command are not tested, and are added to the
3916 history regardless of the value of `HISTIGNORE'.
cce855bc 3917
bb70624e
JA
3918 `HISTIGNORE' subsumes the function of `HISTCONTROL'. A pattern of
3919 `&' is identical to `ignoredups', and a pattern of `[ ]*' is
3920 identical to `ignorespace'. Combining these two patterns,
3921 separating them with a colon, provides the functionality of
3922 `ignoreboth'.
ccc6cda3 3923
bb70624e
JA
3924`HISTSIZE'
3925 The maximum number of commands to remember on the history list.
3926 The default value is 500.
b72432fd 3927
d3a24ed2
CR
3928`HISTTIMEFORMAT'
3929 If this variable is set and not null, its value is used as a
3930 format string for STRFTIME to print the time stamp associated with
3931 each history entry displayed by the `history' builtin. If this
3932 variable is set, time stamps are written to the history file so
3933 they may be preserved across shell sessions.
3934
bb70624e
JA
3935`HOSTFILE'
3936 Contains the name of a file in the same format as `/etc/hosts' that
3937 should be read when the shell needs to complete a hostname. The
3938 list of possible hostname completions may be changed while the
3939 shell is running; the next time hostname completion is attempted
3940 after the value is changed, Bash adds the contents of the new file
3941 to the existing list. If `HOSTFILE' is set, but has no value,
3942 Bash attempts to read `/etc/hosts' to obtain the list of possible
3943 hostname completions. When `HOSTFILE' is unset, the hostname list
3944 is cleared.
cce855bc 3945
bb70624e
JA
3946`HOSTNAME'
3947 The name of the current host.
cce855bc 3948
bb70624e
JA
3949`HOSTTYPE'
3950 A string describing the machine Bash is running on.
ccc6cda3 3951
bb70624e
JA
3952`IGNOREEOF'
3953 Controls the action of the shell on receipt of an `EOF' character
3954 as the sole input. If set, the value denotes the number of
3955 consecutive `EOF' characters that can be read as the first
3956 character on an input line before the shell will exit. If the
3957 variable exists but does not have a numeric value (or has no
3958 value) then the default is 10. If the variable does not exist,
3959 then `EOF' signifies the end of input to the shell. This is only
3960 in effect for interactive shells.
ccc6cda3 3961
bb70624e
JA
3962`INPUTRC'
3963 The name of the Readline initialization file, overriding the
3964 default of `~/.inputrc'.
ccc6cda3 3965
bb70624e
JA
3966`LANG'
3967 Used to determine the locale category for any category not
3968 specifically selected with a variable starting with `LC_'.
ccc6cda3 3969
bb70624e
JA
3970`LC_ALL'
3971 This variable overrides the value of `LANG' and any other `LC_'
3972 variable specifying a locale category.
cce855bc 3973
bb70624e
JA
3974`LC_COLLATE'
3975 This variable determines the collation order used when sorting the
3976 results of filename expansion, and determines the behavior of
3977 range expressions, equivalence classes, and collating sequences
3978 within filename expansion and pattern matching (*note Filename
28ef6c31 3979 Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 3980
bb70624e
JA
3981`LC_CTYPE'
3982 This variable determines the interpretation of characters and the
3983 behavior of character classes within filename expansion and pattern
28ef6c31 3984 matching (*note Filename Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 3985
bb70624e
JA
3986`LC_MESSAGES'
3987 This variable determines the locale used to translate double-quoted
28ef6c31 3988 strings preceded by a `$' (*note Locale Translation::).
ccc6cda3 3989
bb70624e
JA
3990`LC_NUMERIC'
3991 This variable determines the locale category used for number
3992 formatting.
ccc6cda3 3993
f73dda09
JA
3994`LINENO'
3995 The line number in the script or shell function currently
3996 executing.
3997
28ef6c31
JA
3998`LINES'
3999 Used by the `select' builtin command to determine the column length
4000 for printing selection lists. Automatically set upon receipt of a
4001 `SIGWINCH'.
4002
bb70624e
JA
4003`MACHTYPE'
4004 A string that fully describes the system type on which Bash is
4005 executing, in the standard GNU CPU-COMPANY-SYSTEM format.
ccc6cda3 4006
bb70624e
JA
4007`MAILCHECK'
4008 How often (in seconds) that the shell should check for mail in the
28ef6c31
JA
4009 files specified in the `MAILPATH' or `MAIL' variables. The
4010 default is 60 seconds. When it is time to check for mail, the
4011 shell does so before displaying the primary prompt. If this
4012 variable is unset, or set to a value that is not a number greater
4013 than or equal to zero, the shell disables mail checking.
ccc6cda3 4014
bb70624e
JA
4015`OLDPWD'
4016 The previous working directory as set by the `cd' builtin.
ccc6cda3 4017
bb70624e
JA
4018`OPTERR'
4019 If set to the value 1, Bash displays error messages generated by
4020 the `getopts' builtin command.
ccc6cda3 4021
bb70624e
JA
4022`OSTYPE'
4023 A string describing the operating system Bash is running on.
ccc6cda3 4024
bb70624e 4025`PIPESTATUS'
28ef6c31 4026 An array variable (*note Arrays::) containing a list of exit
bb70624e
JA
4027 status values from the processes in the most-recently-executed
4028 foreground pipeline (which may contain only a single command).
ccc6cda3 4029
f73dda09
JA
4030`POSIXLY_CORRECT'
4031 If this variable is in the environment when `bash' starts, the
4032 shell enters POSIX mode (*note Bash POSIX Mode::) before reading
4033 the startup files, as if the `--posix' invocation option had been
4034 supplied. If it is set while the shell is running, `bash' enables
4035 POSIX mode, as if the command
4036 `set -o posix'
f73dda09
JA
4037 had been executed.
4038
bb70624e
JA
4039`PPID'
4040 The process ID of the shell's parent process. This variable is
4041 readonly.
ccc6cda3 4042
bb70624e
JA
4043`PROMPT_COMMAND'
4044 If set, the value is interpreted as a command to execute before
4045 the printing of each primary prompt (`$PS1').
ccc6cda3 4046
bb70624e
JA
4047`PS3'
4048 The value of this variable is used as the prompt for the `select'
4049 command. If this variable is not set, the `select' command
4050 prompts with `#? '
ccc6cda3 4051
bb70624e
JA
4052`PS4'
4053 The value is the prompt printed before the command line is echoed
28ef6c31 4054 when the `-x' option is set (*note The Set Builtin::). The first
bb70624e
JA
4055 character of `PS4' is replicated multiple times, as necessary, to
4056 indicate multiple levels of indirection. The default is `+ '.
ccc6cda3 4057
bb70624e
JA
4058`PWD'
4059 The current working directory as set by the `cd' builtin.
ccc6cda3 4060
bb70624e
JA
4061`RANDOM'
4062 Each time this parameter is referenced, a random integer between 0
4063 and 32767 is generated. Assigning a value to this variable seeds
4064 the random number generator.
cce855bc 4065
bb70624e
JA
4066`REPLY'
4067 The default variable for the `read' builtin.
ccc6cda3 4068
bb70624e
JA
4069`SECONDS'
4070 This variable expands to the number of seconds since the shell was
4071 started. Assignment to this variable resets the count to the
4072 value assigned, and the expanded value becomes the value assigned
4073 plus the number of seconds since the assignment.
ccc6cda3 4074
9f422431
CR
4075`SHELL'
4076 The full pathname to the shell is kept in this environment
4077 variable. If it is not set when the shell starts, Bash assigns to
4078 it the full pathname of the current user's login shell.
4079
bb70624e
JA
4080`SHELLOPTS'
4081 A colon-separated list of enabled shell options. Each word in the
4082 list is a valid argument for the `-o' option to the `set' builtin
28ef6c31 4083 command (*note The Set Builtin::). The options appearing in
bb70624e
JA
4084 `SHELLOPTS' are those reported as `on' by `set -o'. If this
4085 variable is in the environment when Bash starts up, each shell
4086 option in the list will be enabled before reading any startup
4087 files. This variable is readonly.
ccc6cda3 4088
bb70624e
JA
4089`SHLVL'
4090 Incremented by one each time a new instance of Bash is started.
4091 This is intended to be a count of how deeply your Bash shells are
4092 nested.
cce855bc 4093
bb70624e
JA
4094`TIMEFORMAT'
4095 The value of this parameter is used as a format string specifying
4096 how the timing information for pipelines prefixed with the `time'
4097 reserved word should be displayed. The `%' character introduces an
4098 escape sequence that is expanded to a time value or other
4099 information. The escape sequences and their meanings are as
4100 follows; the braces denote optional portions.
cce855bc 4101
bb70624e
JA
4102 `%%'
4103 A literal `%'.
ccc6cda3 4104
bb70624e
JA
4105 `%[P][l]R'
4106 The elapsed time in seconds.
ccc6cda3 4107
bb70624e
JA
4108 `%[P][l]U'
4109 The number of CPU seconds spent in user mode.
ccc6cda3 4110
bb70624e
JA
4111 `%[P][l]S'
4112 The number of CPU seconds spent in system mode.
ccc6cda3 4113
bb70624e
JA
4114 `%P'
4115 The CPU percentage, computed as (%U + %S) / %R.
ccc6cda3 4116
bb70624e
JA
4117 The optional P is a digit specifying the precision, the number of
4118 fractional digits after a decimal point. A value of 0 causes no
4119 decimal point or fraction to be output. At most three places
4120 after the decimal point may be specified; values of P greater than
4121 3 are changed to 3. If P is not specified, the value 3 is used.
ccc6cda3 4122
bb70624e
JA
4123 The optional `l' specifies a longer format, including minutes, of
4124 the form MMmSS.FFs. The value of P determines whether or not the
4125 fraction is included.
ccc6cda3 4126
bb70624e
JA
4127 If this variable is not set, Bash acts as if it had the value
4128 `$'\nreal\t%3lR\nuser\t%3lU\nsys\t%3lS''
4129 If the value is null, no timing information is displayed. A
4130 trailing newline is added when the format string is displayed.
ccc6cda3 4131
bb70624e 4132`TMOUT'
7117c2d2
JA
4133 If set to a value greater than zero, `TMOUT' is treated as the
4134 default timeout for the `read' builtin (*note Bash Builtins::).
4135 The `select' command (*note Conditional Constructs::) terminates
4136 if input does not arrive after `TMOUT' seconds when input is coming
4137 from a terminal.
4138
4139 In an interative shell, the value is interpreted as the number of
4140 seconds to wait for input after issuing the primary prompt when
4141 the shell is interactive. Bash terminates after that number of
4142 seconds if input does not arrive.
ccc6cda3 4143
bb70624e
JA
4144`UID'
4145 The numeric real user id of the current user. This variable is
4146 readonly.
ccc6cda3 4147
761783bf 4148
bb70624e
JA
4149\1f
4150File: bashref.info, Node: Bash Features, Next: Job Control, Prev: Shell Variables, Up: Top
ccc6cda3 4151
761783bf
CR
41526 Bash Features
4153***************
ccc6cda3 4154
761783bf 4155This section describes features unique to Bash.
ccc6cda3 4156
bb70624e 4157* Menu:
ccc6cda3 4158
bb70624e
JA
4159* Invoking Bash:: Command line options that you can give
4160 to Bash.
4161* Bash Startup Files:: When and how Bash executes scripts.
4162* Interactive Shells:: What an interactive shell is.
4163* Bash Conditional Expressions:: Primitives used in composing expressions for
4164 the `test' builtin.
4165* Shell Arithmetic:: Arithmetic on shell variables.
4166* Aliases:: Substituting one command for another.
4167* Arrays:: Array Variables.
4168* The Directory Stack:: History of visited directories.
4169* Printing a Prompt:: Controlling the PS1 string.
4170* The Restricted Shell:: A more controlled mode of shell execution.
4171* Bash POSIX Mode:: Making Bash behave more closely to what
4172 the POSIX standard specifies.
ccc6cda3 4173
bb70624e
JA
4174\1f
4175File: bashref.info, Node: Invoking Bash, Next: Bash Startup Files, Up: Bash Features
ccc6cda3 4176
761783bf
CR
41776.1 Invoking Bash
4178=================
ccc6cda3 4179
f73dda09
JA
4180 bash [long-opt] [-ir] [-abefhkmnptuvxdBCDHP] [-o OPTION] [-O SHOPT_OPTION] [ARGUMENT ...]
4181 bash [long-opt] [-abefhkmnptuvxdBCDHP] [-o OPTION] [-O SHOPT_OPTION] -c STRING [ARGUMENT ...]
4182 bash [long-opt] -s [-abefhkmnptuvxdBCDHP] [-o OPTION] [-O SHOPT_OPTION] [ARGUMENT ...]
ccc6cda3 4183
bb70624e 4184 In addition to the single-character shell command-line options
28ef6c31 4185(*note The Set Builtin::), there are several multi-character options
bb70624e 4186that you can use. These options must appear on the command line before
7117c2d2 4187the single-character options to be recognized.
ccc6cda3 4188
d3a24ed2
CR
4189`--debugger'
4190 Arrange for the debugger profile to be executed before the shell
4191 starts. Turns on extended debugging mode (see *Note Bash
4192 Builtins:: for a description of the `extdebug' option to the
4193 `shopt' builtin) and shell function tracing (see *Note The Set
4194 Builtin:: for a description of the `-o functrace' option).
4195
bb70624e
JA
4196`--dump-po-strings'
4197 A list of all double-quoted strings preceded by `$' is printed on
4198 the standard ouput in the GNU `gettext' PO (portable object) file
4199 format. Equivalent to `-D' except for the output format.
ccc6cda3 4200
bb70624e
JA
4201`--dump-strings'
4202 Equivalent to `-D'.
ccc6cda3 4203
bb70624e
JA
4204`--help'
4205 Display a usage message on standard output and exit sucessfully.
ccc6cda3 4206
28ef6c31
JA
4207`--init-file FILENAME'
4208`--rcfile FILENAME'
4209 Execute commands from FILENAME (instead of `~/.bashrc') in an
4210 interactive shell.
4211
bb70624e 4212`--login'
7117c2d2 4213 Equivalent to `-l'.
ccc6cda3 4214
bb70624e 4215`--noediting'
28ef6c31 4216 Do not use the GNU Readline library (*note Command Line Editing::)
bb70624e 4217 to read command lines when the shell is interactive.
ccc6cda3 4218
bb70624e
JA
4219`--noprofile'
4220 Don't load the system-wide startup file `/etc/profile' or any of
4221 the personal initialization files `~/.bash_profile',
4222 `~/.bash_login', or `~/.profile' when Bash is invoked as a login
4223 shell.
ccc6cda3 4224
bb70624e
JA
4225`--norc'
4226 Don't read the `~/.bashrc' initialization file in an interactive
4227 shell. This is on by default if the shell is invoked as `sh'.
ccc6cda3 4228
bb70624e
JA
4229`--posix'
4230 Change the behavior of Bash where the default operation differs
4231 from the POSIX 1003.2 standard to match the standard. This is
4232 intended to make Bash behave as a strict superset of that
4233 standard. *Note Bash POSIX Mode::, for a description of the Bash
4234 POSIX mode.
ccc6cda3 4235
bb70624e 4236`--restricted'
28ef6c31 4237 Make the shell a restricted shell (*note The Restricted Shell::).
ccc6cda3 4238
bb70624e
JA
4239`--verbose'
4240 Equivalent to `-v'. Print shell input lines as they're read.
ccc6cda3 4241
bb70624e
JA
4242`--version'
4243 Show version information for this instance of Bash on the standard
4244 output and exit successfully.
ccc6cda3 4245
761783bf 4246
bb70624e
JA
4247 There are several single-character options that may be supplied at
4248invocation which are not available with the `set' builtin.
ccc6cda3 4249
bb70624e
JA
4250`-c STRING'
4251 Read and execute commands from STRING after processing the
4252 options, then exit. Any remaining arguments are assigned to the
4253 positional parameters, starting with `$0'.
ccc6cda3 4254
bb70624e
JA
4255`-i'
4256 Force the shell to run interactively. Interactive shells are
4257 described in *Note Interactive Shells::.
ccc6cda3 4258
7117c2d2
JA
4259`-l'
4260 Make this shell act as if it had been directly invoked by login.
4261 When the shell is interactive, this is equivalent to starting a
4262 login shell with `exec -l bash'. When the shell is not
4263 interactive, the login shell startup files will be executed.
4264 `exec bash -l' or `exec bash --login' will replace the current
4265 shell with a Bash login shell. *Note Bash Startup Files::, for a
4266 description of the special behavior of a login shell.
4267
bb70624e 4268`-r'
28ef6c31 4269 Make the shell a restricted shell (*note The Restricted Shell::).
ccc6cda3 4270
bb70624e
JA
4271`-s'
4272 If this option is present, or if no arguments remain after option
4273 processing, then commands are read from the standard input. This
4274 option allows the positional parameters to be set when invoking an
4275 interactive shell.
ccc6cda3 4276
bb70624e
JA
4277`-D'
4278 A list of all double-quoted strings preceded by `$' is printed on
4279 the standard ouput. These are the strings that are subject to
4280 language translation when the current locale is not `C' or `POSIX'
28ef6c31 4281 (*note Locale Translation::). This implies the `-n' option; no
bb70624e 4282 commands will be executed.
ccc6cda3 4283
f73dda09
JA
4284`[-+]O [SHOPT_OPTION]'
4285 SHOPT_OPTION is one of the shell options accepted by the `shopt'
4286 builtin (*note Shell Builtin Commands::). If SHOPT_OPTION is
4287 present, `-O' sets the value of that option; `+O' unsets it. If
4288 SHOPT_OPTION is not supplied, the names and values of the shell
4289 options accepted by `shopt' are printed on the standard output.
4290 If the invocation option is `+O', the output is displayed in a
4291 format that may be reused as input.
4292
bb70624e
JA
4293`--'
4294 A `--' signals the end of options and disables further option
4295 processing. Any arguments after the `--' are treated as filenames
4296 and arguments.
ccc6cda3 4297
761783bf 4298
f73dda09
JA
4299 A _login_ shell is one whose first character of argument zero is
4300`-', or one invoked with the `--login' option.
4301
28ef6c31 4302 An _interactive_ shell is one started without non-option arguments,
bb70624e
JA
4303unless `-s' is specified, without specifying the `-c' option, and whose
4304input and output are both connected to terminals (as determined by
4305`isatty(3)'), or one started with the `-i' option. *Note Interactive
28ef6c31 4306Shells::, for more information.
ccc6cda3 4307
bb70624e
JA
4308 If arguments remain after option processing, and neither the `-c'
4309nor the `-s' option has been supplied, the first argument is assumed to
28ef6c31
JA
4310be the name of a file containing shell commands (*note Shell Scripts::).
4311When Bash is invoked in this fashion, `$0' is set to the name of the
4312file, and the positional parameters are set to the remaining arguments.
4313Bash reads and executes commands from this file, then exits. Bash's
4314exit status is the exit status of the last command executed in the
4315script. If no commands are executed, the exit status is 0.
ccc6cda3 4316
bb70624e
JA
4317\1f
4318File: bashref.info, Node: Bash Startup Files, Next: Interactive Shells, Prev: Invoking Bash, Up: Bash Features
ccc6cda3 4319
761783bf
CR
43206.2 Bash Startup Files
4321======================
ccc6cda3 4322
761783bf
CR
4323This section describs how Bash executes its startup files. If any of
4324the files exist but cannot be read, Bash reports an error. Tildes are
4325expanded in file names as described above under Tilde Expansion (*note
4326Tilde Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 4327
bb70624e 4328 Interactive shells are described in *Note Interactive Shells::.
ccc6cda3 4329
bb70624e
JA
4330Invoked as an interactive login shell, or with `--login'
4331........................................................
cce855bc 4332
761783bf 4333When Bash is invoked as an interactive login shell, or as a
bb70624e
JA
4334non-interactive shell with the `--login' option, it first reads and
4335executes commands from the file `/etc/profile', if that file exists.
4336After reading that file, it looks for `~/.bash_profile',
4337`~/.bash_login', and `~/.profile', in that order, and reads and
4338executes commands from the first one that exists and is readable. The
4339`--noprofile' option may be used when the shell is started to inhibit
4340this behavior.
ccc6cda3 4341
bb70624e
JA
4342 When a login shell exits, Bash reads and executes commands from the
4343file `~/.bash_logout', if it exists.
ccc6cda3 4344
bb70624e
JA
4345Invoked as an interactive non-login shell
4346.........................................
ccc6cda3 4347
761783bf 4348When an interactive shell that is not a login shell is started, Bash
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JA
4349reads and executes commands from `~/.bashrc', if that file exists.
4350This may be inhibited by using the `--norc' option. The `--rcfile
4351FILE' option will force Bash to read and execute commands from FILE
4352instead of `~/.bashrc'.
ccc6cda3 4353
bb70624e
JA
4354 So, typically, your `~/.bash_profile' contains the line
4355 `if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then . ~/.bashrc; fi'
761783bf 4356 after (or before) any login-specific initializations.
ccc6cda3 4357
bb70624e
JA
4358Invoked non-interactively
4359.........................
ccc6cda3 4360
761783bf 4361When Bash is started non-interactively, to run a shell script, for
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JA
4362example, it looks for the variable `BASH_ENV' in the environment,
4363expands its value if it appears there, and uses the expanded value as
4364the name of a file to read and execute. Bash behaves as if the
4365following command were executed:
4366 `if [ -n "$BASH_ENV" ]; then . "$BASH_ENV"; fi'
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CR
4367 but the value of the `PATH' variable is not used to search for the
4368file name.
ccc6cda3 4369
28ef6c31
JA
4370 As noted above, if a non-interactive shell is invoked with the
4371`--login' option, Bash attempts to read and execute commands from the
4372login shell startup files.
4373
bb70624e
JA
4374Invoked with name `sh'
4375......................
ccc6cda3 4376
761783bf 4377If Bash is invoked with the name `sh', it tries to mimic the startup
bb70624e
JA
4378behavior of historical versions of `sh' as closely as possible, while
4379conforming to the POSIX standard as well.
ccc6cda3 4380
bb70624e
JA
4381 When invoked as an interactive login shell, or as a non-interactive
4382shell with the `--login' option, it first attempts to read and execute
4383commands from `/etc/profile' and `~/.profile', in that order. The
4384`--noprofile' option may be used to inhibit this behavior. When
4385invoked as an interactive shell with the name `sh', Bash looks for the
4386variable `ENV', expands its value if it is defined, and uses the
4387expanded value as the name of a file to read and execute. Since a
4388shell invoked as `sh' does not attempt to read and execute commands
4389from any other startup files, the `--rcfile' option has no effect. A
4390non-interactive shell invoked with the name `sh' does not attempt to
4391read any other startup files.
ccc6cda3 4392
bb70624e
JA
4393 When invoked as `sh', Bash enters POSIX mode after the startup files
4394are read.
b72432fd 4395
bb70624e
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4396Invoked in POSIX mode
4397.....................
ccc6cda3 4398
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CR
4399When Bash is started in POSIX mode, as with the `--posix' command line
4400option, it follows the POSIX standard for startup files. In this mode,
4401interactive shells expand the `ENV' variable and commands are read and
4402executed from the file whose name is the expanded value. No other
4403startup files are read.
ccc6cda3 4404
bb70624e
JA
4405Invoked by remote shell daemon
4406..............................
ccc6cda3 4407
761783bf 4408Bash attempts to determine when it is being run by the remote shell
bb70624e
JA
4409daemon, usually `rshd'. If Bash determines it is being run by rshd, it
4410reads and executes commands from `~/.bashrc', if that file exists and
4411is readable. It will not do this if invoked as `sh'. The `--norc'
4412option may be used to inhibit this behavior, and the `--rcfile' option
4413may be used to force another file to be read, but `rshd' does not
4414generally invoke the shell with those options or allow them to be
4415specified.
ccc6cda3 4416
bb70624e
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4417Invoked with unequal effective and real UID/GIDs
4418................................................
4419
761783bf
CR
4420If Bash is started with the effective user (group) id not equal to the
4421real user (group) id, and the `-p' option is not supplied, no startup
4422files are read, shell functions are not inherited from the environment,
4423the `SHELLOPTS' variable, if it appears in the environment, is ignored,
4424and the effective user id is set to the real user id. If the `-p'
4425option is supplied at invocation, the startup behavior is the same, but
4426the effective user id is not reset.
bb70624e
JA
4427
4428\1f
4429File: bashref.info, Node: Interactive Shells, Next: Bash Conditional Expressions, Prev: Bash Startup Files, Up: Bash Features
4430
761783bf
CR
44316.3 Interactive Shells
4432======================
bb70624e
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4433
4434* Menu:
4435
4436* What is an Interactive Shell?:: What determines whether a shell is Interactive.
4437* Is this Shell Interactive?:: How to tell if a shell is interactive.
4438* Interactive Shell Behavior:: What changes in a interactive shell?
4439
4440\1f
4441File: bashref.info, Node: What is an Interactive Shell?, Next: Is this Shell Interactive?, Up: Interactive Shells
4442
761783bf
CR
44436.3.1 What is an Interactive Shell?
4444-----------------------------------
bb70624e 4445
761783bf 4446An interactive shell is one started without non-option arguments,
bb70624e 4447unless `-s' is specified, without specifiying the `-c' option, and
56299fa5
CR
4448whose input and error output are both connected to terminals (as
4449determined by `isatty(3)'), or one started with the `-i' option.
bb70624e
JA
4450
4451 An interactive shell generally reads from and writes to a user's
4452terminal.
4453
4454 The `-s' invocation option may be used to set the positional
4455parameters when an interactive shell is started.
4456
4457\1f
4458File: bashref.info, Node: Is this Shell Interactive?, Next: Interactive Shell Behavior, Prev: What is an Interactive Shell?, Up: Interactive Shells
4459
761783bf
CR
44606.3.2 Is this Shell Interactive?
4461--------------------------------
bb70624e 4462
761783bf 4463To determine within a startup script whether or not Bash is running
bb70624e
JA
4464interactively, test the value of the `-' special parameter. It
4465contains `i' when the shell is interactive. For example:
4466
4467 case "$-" in
4468 *i*) echo This shell is interactive ;;
4469 *) echo This shell is not interactive ;;
4470 esac
4471
28ef6c31
JA
4472 Alternatively, startup scripts may examine the variable `PS1'; it is
4473unset in non-interactive shells, and set in interactive shells. Thus:
bb70624e
JA
4474
4475 if [ -z "$PS1" ]; then
4476 echo This shell is not interactive
4477 else
4478 echo This shell is interactive
4479 fi
4480
4481\1f
4482File: bashref.info, Node: Interactive Shell Behavior, Prev: Is this Shell Interactive?, Up: Interactive Shells
4483
761783bf
CR
44846.3.3 Interactive Shell Behavior
4485--------------------------------
bb70624e 4486
761783bf 4487When the shell is running interactively, it changes its behavior in
bb70624e
JA
4488several ways.
4489
4490 1. Startup files are read and executed as described in *Note Bash
4491 Startup Files::.
4492
28ef6c31 4493 2. Job Control (*note Job Control::) is enabled by default. When job
bb70624e
JA
4494 control is in effect, Bash ignores the keyboard-generated job
4495 control signals `SIGTTIN', `SIGTTOU', and `SIGTSTP'.
4496
28ef6c31
JA
4497 3. Bash expands and displays `PS1' before reading the first line of a
4498 command, and expands and displays `PS2' before reading the second
4499 and subsequent lines of a multi-line command.
bb70624e
JA
4500
4501 4. Bash executes the value of the `PROMPT_COMMAND' variable as a
4502 command before printing the primary prompt, `$PS1' (*note Bash
28ef6c31 4503 Variables::).
bb70624e 4504
28ef6c31 4505 5. Readline (*note Command Line Editing::) is used to read commands
bb70624e
JA
4506 from the user's terminal.
4507
4508 6. Bash inspects the value of the `ignoreeof' option to `set -o'
4509 instead of exiting immediately when it receives an `EOF' on its
28ef6c31 4510 standard input when reading a command (*note The Set Builtin::).
bb70624e 4511
28ef6c31
JA
4512 7. Command history (*note Bash History Facilities::) and history
4513 expansion (*note History Interaction::) are enabled by default.
bb70624e
JA
4514 Bash will save the command history to the file named by `$HISTFILE'
4515 when an interactive shell exits.
4516
28ef6c31 4517 8. Alias expansion (*note Aliases::) is performed by default.
bb70624e
JA
4518
4519 9. In the absence of any traps, Bash ignores `SIGTERM' (*note
28ef6c31 4520 Signals::).
bb70624e
JA
4521
4522 10. In the absence of any traps, `SIGINT' is caught and handled
28ef6c31 4523 ((*note Signals::). `SIGINT' will interrupt some shell builtins.
bb70624e
JA
4524
4525 11. An interactive login shell sends a `SIGHUP' to all jobs on exit if
28ef6c31 4526 the `hupoxexit' shell option has been enabled (*note Signals::).
bb70624e
JA
4527
4528 12. The `-n' invocation option is ignored, and `set -n' has no effect
28ef6c31 4529 (*note The Set Builtin::).
bb70624e
JA
4530
4531 13. Bash will check for mail periodically, depending on the values of
4532 the `MAIL', `MAILPATH', and `MAILCHECK' shell variables (*note
28ef6c31 4533 Bash Variables::).
bb70624e
JA
4534
4535 14. Expansion errors due to references to unbound shell variables after
4536 `set -u' has been enabled will not cause the shell to exit (*note
28ef6c31 4537 The Set Builtin::).
bb70624e
JA
4538
4539 15. The shell will not exit on expansion errors caused by VAR being
4540 unset or null in `${VAR:?WORD}' expansions (*note Shell Parameter
28ef6c31 4541 Expansion::).
bb70624e
JA
4542
4543 16. Redirection errors encountered by shell builtins will not cause the
4544 shell to exit.
4545
4546 17. When running in POSIX mode, a special builtin returning an error
28ef6c31 4547 status will not cause the shell to exit (*note Bash POSIX Mode::).
bb70624e
JA
4548
4549 18. A failed `exec' will not cause the shell to exit (*note Bourne
28ef6c31 4550 Shell Builtins::).
bb70624e
JA
4551
4552 19. Parser syntax errors will not cause the shell to exit.
4553
4554 20. Simple spelling correction for directory arguments to the `cd'
4555 builtin is enabled by default (see the description of the `cdspell'
4556 option to the `shopt' builtin in *Note Bash Builtins::).
4557
4558 21. The shell will check the value of the `TMOUT' variable and exit if
4559 a command is not read within the specified number of seconds after
28ef6c31 4560 printing `$PS1' (*note Bash Variables::).
bb70624e
JA
4561
4562
4563\1f
4564File: bashref.info, Node: Bash Conditional Expressions, Next: Shell Arithmetic, Prev: Interactive Shells, Up: Bash Features
4565
761783bf
CR
45666.4 Bash Conditional Expressions
4567================================
bb70624e 4568
761783bf
CR
4569Conditional expressions are used by the `[[' compound command and the
4570`test' and `[' builtin commands.
bb70624e
JA
4571
4572 Expressions may be unary or binary. Unary expressions are often
4573used to examine the status of a file. There are string operators and
4574numeric comparison operators as well. If the FILE argument to one of
4575the primaries is of the form `/dev/fd/N', then file descriptor N is
4576checked. If the FILE argument to one of the primaries is one of
4577`/dev/stdin', `/dev/stdout', or `/dev/stderr', file descriptor 0, 1, or
45782, respectively, is checked.
4579
4580`-a FILE'
4581 True if FILE exists.
4582
4583`-b FILE'
4584 True if FILE exists and is a block special file.
4585
4586`-c FILE'
4587 True if FILE exists and is a character special file.
4588
4589`-d FILE'
4590 True if FILE exists and is a directory.
4591
4592`-e FILE'
4593 True if FILE exists.
4594
4595`-f FILE'
4596 True if FILE exists and is a regular file.
4597
4598`-g FILE'
4599 True if FILE exists and its set-group-id bit is set.
4600
4601`-h FILE'
4602 True if FILE exists and is a symbolic link.
4603
4604`-k FILE'
4605 True if FILE exists and its "sticky" bit is set.
4606
4607`-p FILE'
4608 True if FILE exists and is a named pipe (FIFO).
4609
4610`-r FILE'
4611 True if FILE exists and is readable.
4612
4613`-s FILE'
4614 True if FILE exists and has a size greater than zero.
4615
4616`-t FD'
4617 True if file descriptor FD is open and refers to a terminal.
ccc6cda3
JA
4618
4619`-u FILE'
4620 True if FILE exists and its set-user-id bit is set.
4621
4622`-w FILE'
4623 True if FILE exists and is writable.
4624
4625`-x FILE'
4626 True if FILE exists and is executable.
4627
4628`-O FILE'
4629 True if FILE exists and is owned by the effective user id.
4630
4631`-G FILE'
4632 True if FILE exists and is owned by the effective group id.
4633
cce855bc
JA
4634`-L FILE'
4635 True if FILE exists and is a symbolic link.
4636
4637`-S FILE'
4638 True if FILE exists and is a socket.
4639
4640`-N FILE'
4641 True if FILE exists and has been modified since it was last read.
4642
ccc6cda3 4643`FILE1 -nt FILE2'
7117c2d2
JA
4644 True if FILE1 is newer (according to modification date) than
4645 FILE2, or if FILE1 exists and FILE2 does not.
ccc6cda3
JA
4646
4647`FILE1 -ot FILE2'
7117c2d2
JA
4648 True if FILE1 is older than FILE2, or if FILE2 exists and FILE1
4649 does not.
ccc6cda3
JA
4650
4651`FILE1 -ef FILE2'
7117c2d2 4652 True if FILE1 and FILE2 refer to the same device and inode numbers.
ccc6cda3
JA
4653
4654`-o OPTNAME'
4655 True if shell option OPTNAME is enabled. The list of options
4656 appears in the description of the `-o' option to the `set' builtin
28ef6c31 4657 (*note The Set Builtin::).
ccc6cda3
JA
4658
4659`-z STRING'
4660 True if the length of STRING is zero.
4661
4662`-n STRING'
4663`STRING'
4664 True if the length of STRING is non-zero.
4665
cce855bc 4666`STRING1 == STRING2'
7117c2d2
JA
4667 True if the strings are equal. `=' may be used in place of `=='
4668 for strict POSIX compliance.
ccc6cda3
JA
4669
4670`STRING1 != STRING2'
4671 True if the strings are not equal.
4672
4673`STRING1 < STRING2'
cce855bc
JA
4674 True if STRING1 sorts before STRING2 lexicographically in the
4675 current locale.
ccc6cda3
JA
4676
4677`STRING1 > STRING2'
cce855bc
JA
4678 True if STRING1 sorts after STRING2 lexicographically in the
4679 current locale.
ccc6cda3
JA
4680
4681`ARG1 OP ARG2'
4682 `OP' is one of `-eq', `-ne', `-lt', `-le', `-gt', or `-ge'. These
4683 arithmetic binary operators return true if ARG1 is equal to, not
4684 equal to, less than, less than or equal to, greater than, or
4685 greater than or equal to ARG2, respectively. ARG1 and ARG2 may be
4686 positive or negative integers.
4687
761783bf 4688
ccc6cda3 4689\1f
bb70624e 4690File: bashref.info, Node: Shell Arithmetic, Next: Aliases, Prev: Bash Conditional Expressions, Up: Bash Features
ccc6cda3 4691
761783bf
CR
46926.5 Shell Arithmetic
4693====================
ccc6cda3 4694
761783bf
CR
4695The shell allows arithmetic expressions to be evaluated, as one of the
4696shell expansions or by the `let' and the `-i' option to the `declare'
4697builtins.
ccc6cda3 4698
7117c2d2
JA
4699 Evaluation is done in fixed-width integers with no check for
4700overflow, though division by 0 is trapped and flagged as an error. The
d3a24ed2
CR
4701operators and their precedence, associativity, and values are the same
4702as in the C language. The following list of operators is grouped into
4703levels of equal-precedence operators. The levels are listed in order
4704of decreasing precedence.
cce855bc 4705
bb70624e
JA
4706`ID++ ID--'
4707 variable post-increment and post-decrement
d166f048 4708
bb70624e
JA
4709`++ID --ID'
4710 variable pre-increment and pre-decrement
ccc6cda3 4711
bb70624e
JA
4712`- +'
4713 unary minus and plus
ccc6cda3 4714
bb70624e
JA
4715`! ~'
4716 logical and bitwise negation
ccc6cda3 4717
bb70624e
JA
4718`**'
4719 exponentiation
ccc6cda3 4720
bb70624e
JA
4721`* / %'
4722 multiplication, division, remainder
ccc6cda3 4723
bb70624e
JA
4724`+ -'
4725 addition, subtraction
ccc6cda3 4726
bb70624e
JA
4727`<< >>'
4728 left and right bitwise shifts
cce855bc 4729
bb70624e
JA
4730`<= >= < >'
4731 comparison
cce855bc 4732
bb70624e
JA
4733`== !='
4734 equality and inequality
cce855bc 4735
bb70624e
JA
4736`&'
4737 bitwise AND
cce855bc 4738
bb70624e
JA
4739`^'
4740 bitwise exclusive OR
cce855bc 4741
bb70624e
JA
4742`|'
4743 bitwise OR
cce855bc 4744
bb70624e
JA
4745`&&'
4746 logical AND
ccc6cda3 4747
bb70624e
JA
4748`||'
4749 logical OR
ccc6cda3 4750
bb70624e 4751`expr ? expr : expr'
d3a24ed2 4752 conditional operator
cce855bc 4753
bb70624e
JA
4754`= *= /= %= += -= <<= >>= &= ^= |='
4755 assignment
ccc6cda3 4756
bb70624e
JA
4757`expr1 , expr2'
4758 comma
ccc6cda3 4759
bb70624e
JA
4760 Shell variables are allowed as operands; parameter expansion is
4761performed before the expression is evaluated. Within an expression,
4762shell variables may also be referenced by name without using the
d3a24ed2
CR
4763parameter expansion syntax. A shell variable that is null or unset
4764evaluates to 0 when referenced by name without using the parameter
4765expansion syntax. The value of a variable is evaluated as an
4766arithmetic expression when it is referenced, or when a variable which
4767has been given the INTEGER attribute using `declare -i' is assigned a
4768value. A null value evaluates to 0. A shell variable need not have
4769its integer attribute turned on to be used in an expression.
ccc6cda3 4770
bb70624e
JA
4771 Constants with a leading 0 are interpreted as octal numbers. A
4772leading `0x' or `0X' denotes hexadecimal. Otherwise, numbers take the
4773form [BASE`#']N, where BASE is a decimal number between 2 and 64
4774representing the arithmetic base, and N is a number in that base. If
4775BASE`#' is omitted, then base 10 is used. The digits greater than 9
f73dda09
JA
4776are represented by the lowercase letters, the uppercase letters, `@',
4777and `_', in that order. If BASE is less than or equal to 36, lowercase
bb70624e
JA
4778and uppercase letters may be used interchangably to represent numbers
4779between 10 and 35.
ccc6cda3 4780
bb70624e
JA
4781 Operators are evaluated in order of precedence. Sub-expressions in
4782parentheses are evaluated first and may override the precedence rules
4783above.
ccc6cda3 4784
bb70624e
JA
4785\1f
4786File: bashref.info, Node: Aliases, Next: Arrays, Prev: Shell Arithmetic, Up: Bash Features
ccc6cda3 4787
761783bf
CR
47886.6 Aliases
4789===========
ccc6cda3 4790
761783bf
CR
4791ALIASES allow a string to be substituted for a word when it is used as
4792the first word of a simple command. The shell maintains a list of
bb70624e 4793aliases that may be set and unset with the `alias' and `unalias'
cce855bc
JA
4794builtin commands.
4795
4796 The first word of each simple command, if unquoted, is checked to see
4797if it has an alias. If so, that word is replaced by the text of the
de8913bd
CR
4798alias. The characters `/', `$', ``', `=' and any of the shell
4799metacharacters or quoting characters listed above may not appear in an
4800alias name. The replacement text may contain any valid shell input,
4801including shell metacharacters. The first word of the replacement text
4802is tested for aliases, but a word that is identical to an alias being
4803expanded is not expanded a second time. This means that one may alias
4804`ls' to `"ls -F"', for instance, and Bash does not try to recursively
4805expand the replacement text. If the last character of the alias value
4806is a space or tab character, then the next command word following the
4807alias is also checked for alias expansion.
cce855bc
JA
4808
4809 Aliases are created and listed with the `alias' command, and removed
4810with the `unalias' command.
4811
4812 There is no mechanism for using arguments in the replacement text,
4813as in `csh'. If arguments are needed, a shell function should be used
28ef6c31 4814(*note Shell Functions::).
cce855bc
JA
4815
4816 Aliases are not expanded when the shell is not interactive, unless
4817the `expand_aliases' shell option is set using `shopt' (*note Bash
28ef6c31 4818Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 4819
cce855bc
JA
4820 The rules concerning the definition and use of aliases are somewhat
4821confusing. Bash always reads at least one complete line of input
4822before executing any of the commands on that line. Aliases are
4823expanded when a command is read, not when it is executed. Therefore, an
4824alias definition appearing on the same line as another command does not
4825take effect until the next line of input is read. The commands
4826following the alias definition on that line are not affected by the new
4827alias. This behavior is also an issue when functions are executed.
4828Aliases are expanded when a function definition is read, not when the
4829function is executed, because a function definition is itself a
4830compound command. As a consequence, aliases defined in a function are
4831not available until after that function is executed. To be safe,
4832always put alias definitions on a separate line, and do not use `alias'
4833in compound commands.
ccc6cda3 4834
bb70624e 4835 For almost every purpose, shell functions are preferred over aliases.
ccc6cda3
JA
4836
4837\1f
cce855bc 4838File: bashref.info, Node: Arrays, Next: The Directory Stack, Prev: Aliases, Up: Bash Features
ccc6cda3 4839
761783bf
CR
48406.7 Arrays
4841==========
ccc6cda3 4842
761783bf 4843Bash provides one-dimensional array variables. Any variable may be
ccc6cda3
JA
4844used as an array; the `declare' builtin will explicitly declare an
4845array. There is no maximum limit on the size of an array, nor any
4846requirement that members be indexed or assigned contiguously. Arrays
4847are zero-based.
4848
4849 An array is created automatically if any variable is assigned to
4850using the syntax
4851 name[SUBSCRIPT]=VALUE
4852
4853The SUBSCRIPT is treated as an arithmetic expression that must evaluate
4854to a number greater than or equal to zero. To explicitly declare an
4855array, use
4856 declare -a NAME
761783bf 4857 The syntax
ccc6cda3 4858 declare -a NAME[SUBSCRIPT]
761783bf 4859 is also accepted; the SUBSCRIPT is ignored. Attributes may be
ccc6cda3
JA
4860specified for an array variable using the `declare' and `readonly'
4861builtins. Each attribute applies to all members of an array.
4862
4863 Arrays are assigned to using compound assignments of the form
4864 name=(value1 ... valueN)
761783bf 4865 where each VALUE is of the form `[[SUBSCRIPT]=]'STRING. If the
ccc6cda3
JA
4866optional subscript is supplied, that index is assigned to; otherwise
4867the index of the element assigned is the last index assigned to by the
4868statement plus one. Indexing starts at zero. This syntax is also
4869accepted by the `declare' builtin. Individual array elements may be
4870assigned to using the `name['SUBSCRIPT`]='VALUE syntax introduced above.
4871
4872 Any element of an array may be referenced using
4873`${name['SUBSCRIPT`]}'. The braces are required to avoid conflicts
4874with the shell's filename expansion operators. If the SUBSCRIPT is `@'
4875or `*', the word expands to all members of the array NAME. These
4876subscripts differ only when the word appears within double quotes. If
4877the word is double-quoted, `${name[*]}' expands to a single word with
4878the value of each array member separated by the first character of the
4879`IFS' variable, and `${name[@]}' expands each element of NAME to a
4880separate word. When there are no array members, `${name[@]}' expands
4881to nothing. This is analogous to the expansion of the special
4882parameters `@' and `*'. `${#name['SUBSCRIPT`]}' expands to the length
4883of `${name['SUBSCRIPT`]}'. If SUBSCRIPT is `@' or `*', the expansion
4884is the number of elements in the array. Referencing an array variable
4885without a subscript is equivalent to referencing element zero.
4886
4887 The `unset' builtin is used to destroy arrays. `unset'
bb70624e
JA
4888NAME[SUBSCRIPT] destroys the array element at index SUBSCRIPT. `unset'
4889NAME, where NAME is an array, removes the entire array. A subscript of
4890`*' or `@' also removes the entire array.
ccc6cda3
JA
4891
4892 The `declare', `local', and `readonly' builtins each accept a `-a'
4893option to specify an array. The `read' builtin accepts a `-a' option
4894to assign a list of words read from the standard input to an array, and
4895can read values from the standard input into individual array elements.
4896The `set' and `declare' builtins display array values in a way that
4897allows them to be reused as input.
4898
4899\1f
cce855bc
JA
4900File: bashref.info, Node: The Directory Stack, Next: Printing a Prompt, Prev: Arrays, Up: Bash Features
4901
761783bf
CR
49026.8 The Directory Stack
4903=======================
cce855bc 4904
bb70624e
JA
4905* Menu:
4906
4907* Directory Stack Builtins:: Bash builtin commands to manipulate
4908 the directory stack.
4909
4910 The directory stack is a list of recently-visited directories. The
cce855bc
JA
4911`pushd' builtin adds directories to the stack as it changes the current
4912directory, and the `popd' builtin removes specified directories from
4913the stack and changes the current directory to the directory removed.
4914The `dirs' builtin displays the contents of the directory stack.
4915
4916 The contents of the directory stack are also visible as the value of
4917the `DIRSTACK' shell variable.
4918
bb70624e
JA
4919\1f
4920File: bashref.info, Node: Directory Stack Builtins, Up: The Directory Stack
4921
761783bf
CR
49226.8.1 Directory Stack Builtins
4923------------------------------
bb70624e 4924
cce855bc 4925`dirs'
bb70624e 4926 dirs [+N | -N] [-clpv]
cce855bc
JA
4927 Display the list of currently remembered directories. Directories
4928 are added to the list with the `pushd' command; the `popd' command
4929 removes directories from the list.
4930 `+N'
4931 Displays the Nth directory (counting from the left of the
4932 list printed by `dirs' when invoked without options), starting
4933 with zero.
4934
4935 `-N'
4936 Displays the Nth directory (counting from the right of the
4937 list printed by `dirs' when invoked without options), starting
4938 with zero.
4939
4940 `-c'
4941 Clears the directory stack by deleting all of the elements.
4942
4943 `-l'
4944 Produces a longer listing; the default listing format uses a
4945 tilde to denote the home directory.
4946
4947 `-p'
4948 Causes `dirs' to print the directory stack with one entry per
4949 line.
4950
4951 `-v'
4952 Causes `dirs' to print the directory stack with one entry per
4953 line, prefixing each entry with its index in the stack.
4954
4955`popd'
4956 popd [+N | -N] [-n]
4957
4958 Remove the top entry from the directory stack, and `cd' to the new
4959 top directory. When no arguments are given, `popd' removes the
4960 top directory from the stack and performs a `cd' to the new top
4961 directory. The elements are numbered from 0 starting at the first
4962 directory listed with `dirs'; i.e., `popd' is equivalent to `popd
4963 +0'.
4964 `+N'
4965 Removes the Nth directory (counting from the left of the list
4966 printed by `dirs'), starting with zero.
4967
4968 `-N'
4969 Removes the Nth directory (counting from the right of the
4970 list printed by `dirs'), starting with zero.
4971
4972 `-n'
4973 Suppresses the normal change of directory when removing
4974 directories from the stack, so that only the stack is
4975 manipulated.
4976
4977`pushd'
4978 pushd [DIR | +N | -N] [-n]
4979
4980 Save the current directory on the top of the directory stack and
4981 then `cd' to DIR. With no arguments, `pushd' exchanges the top
4982 two directories.
4983
4984 `+N'
4985 Brings the Nth directory (counting from the left of the list
4986 printed by `dirs', starting with zero) to the top of the list
4987 by rotating the stack.
4988
4989 `-N'
4990 Brings the Nth directory (counting from the right of the list
4991 printed by `dirs', starting with zero) to the top of the list
4992 by rotating the stack.
4993
4994 `-n'
4995 Suppresses the normal change of directory when adding
4996 directories to the stack, so that only the stack is
4997 manipulated.
4998
4999 `DIR'
5000 Makes the current working directory be the top of the stack,
5001 and then executes the equivalent of ``cd' DIR'. `cd's to DIR.
5002
761783bf 5003
cce855bc
JA
5004\1f
5005File: bashref.info, Node: Printing a Prompt, Next: The Restricted Shell, Prev: The Directory Stack, Up: Bash Features
ccc6cda3 5006
761783bf
CR
50076.9 Controlling the Prompt
5008==========================
ccc6cda3 5009
761783bf
CR
5010The value of the variable `PROMPT_COMMAND' is examined just before Bash
5011prints each primary prompt. If `PROMPT_COMMAND' is set and has a
bb70624e
JA
5012non-null value, then the value is executed just as if it had been typed
5013on the command line.
ccc6cda3
JA
5014
5015 In addition, the following table describes the special characters
5016which can appear in the prompt variables:
5017
5018`\a'
cce855bc 5019 A bell character.
ccc6cda3
JA
5020
5021`\d'
cce855bc 5022 The date, in "Weekday Month Date" format (e.g., "Tue May 26").
ccc6cda3 5023
7117c2d2
JA
5024`\D{FORMAT}'
5025 The FORMAT is passed to `strftime'(3) and the result is inserted
5026 into the prompt string; an empty FORMAT results in a
5027 locale-specific time representation. The braces are required.
5028
ccc6cda3 5029`\e'
cce855bc 5030 An escape character.
ccc6cda3
JA
5031
5032`\h'
cce855bc 5033 The hostname, up to the first `.'.
ccc6cda3
JA
5034
5035`\H'
cce855bc 5036 The hostname.
ccc6cda3 5037
bb70624e
JA
5038`\j'
5039 The number of jobs currently managed by the shell.
5040
5041`\l'
5042 The basename of the shell's terminal device name.
5043
ccc6cda3 5044`\n'
cce855bc
JA
5045 A newline.
5046
5047`\r'
5048 A carriage return.
ccc6cda3
JA
5049
5050`\s'
cce855bc 5051 The name of the shell, the basename of `$0' (the portion following
ccc6cda3
JA
5052 the final slash).
5053
5054`\t'
cce855bc 5055 The time, in 24-hour HH:MM:SS format.
ccc6cda3
JA
5056
5057`\T'
cce855bc 5058 The time, in 12-hour HH:MM:SS format.
ccc6cda3
JA
5059
5060`\@'
cce855bc
JA
5061 The time, in 12-hour am/pm format.
5062
f73dda09
JA
5063`\A'
5064 The time, in 24-hour HH:MM format.
5065
cce855bc
JA
5066`\u'
5067 The username of the current user.
ccc6cda3
JA
5068
5069`\v'
cce855bc 5070 The version of Bash (e.g., 2.00)
ccc6cda3
JA
5071
5072`\V'
cce855bc 5073 The release of Bash, version + patchlevel (e.g., 2.00.0)
ccc6cda3
JA
5074
5075`\w'
12d937f9
CR
5076 The current working directory, with `$HOME' abbreviated with a
5077 tilde.
ccc6cda3
JA
5078
5079`\W'
12d937f9 5080 The basename of `$PWD', with `$HOME' abbreviated with a tilde.
ccc6cda3
JA
5081
5082`\!'
cce855bc 5083 The history number of this command.
ccc6cda3
JA
5084
5085`\#'
cce855bc 5086 The command number of this command.
ccc6cda3
JA
5087
5088`\$'
cce855bc 5089 If the effective uid is 0, `#', otherwise `$'.
ccc6cda3 5090
cce855bc
JA
5091`\NNN'
5092 The character whose ASCII code is the octal value NNN.
ccc6cda3
JA
5093
5094`\\'
cce855bc 5095 A backslash.
ccc6cda3
JA
5096
5097`\['
cce855bc 5098 Begin a sequence of non-printing characters. This could be used to
ccc6cda3
JA
5099 embed a terminal control sequence into the prompt.
5100
5101`\]'
cce855bc 5102 End a sequence of non-printing characters.
ccc6cda3 5103
bb70624e
JA
5104 The command number and the history number are usually different: the
5105history number of a command is its position in the history list, which
5106may include commands restored from the history file (*note Bash History
28ef6c31
JA
5107Facilities::), while the command number is the position in the sequence
5108of commands executed during the current shell session.
bb70624e
JA
5109
5110 After the string is decoded, it is expanded via parameter expansion,
5111command substitution, arithmetic expansion, and quote removal, subject
28ef6c31 5112to the value of the `promptvars' shell option (*note Bash Builtins::).
bb70624e 5113
ccc6cda3
JA
5114\1f
5115File: bashref.info, Node: The Restricted Shell, Next: Bash POSIX Mode, Prev: Printing a Prompt, Up: Bash Features
5116
761783bf
CR
51176.10 The Restricted Shell
5118=========================
ccc6cda3 5119
761783bf
CR
5120If Bash is started with the name `rbash', or the `--restricted' or `-r'
5121option is supplied at invocation, the shell becomes restricted. A
ccc6cda3
JA
5122restricted shell is used to set up an environment more controlled than
5123the standard shell. A restricted shell behaves identically to `bash'
7117c2d2
JA
5124with the exception that the following are disallowed or not performed:
5125
ccc6cda3
JA
5126 * Changing directories with the `cd' builtin.
5127
b72432fd
JA
5128 * Setting or unsetting the values of the `SHELL', `PATH', `ENV', or
5129 `BASH_ENV' variables.
ccc6cda3
JA
5130
5131 * Specifying command names containing slashes.
5132
5133 * Specifying a filename containing a slash as an argument to the `.'
5134 builtin command.
5135
bb70624e
JA
5136 * Specifying a filename containing a slash as an argument to the `-p'
5137 option to the `hash' builtin command.
5138
ccc6cda3
JA
5139 * Importing function definitions from the shell environment at
5140 startup.
5141
cce855bc
JA
5142 * Parsing the value of `SHELLOPTS' from the shell environment at
5143 startup.
5144
ccc6cda3
JA
5145 * Redirecting output using the `>', `>|', `<>', `>&', `&>', and `>>'
5146 redirection operators.
5147
5148 * Using the `exec' builtin to replace the shell with another command.
5149
5150 * Adding or deleting builtin commands with the `-f' and `-d' options
5151 to the `enable' builtin.
5152
7117c2d2
JA
5153 * Using the `enable' builtin command to enable disabled shell
5154 builtins.
5155
ccc6cda3
JA
5156 * Specifying the `-p' option to the `command' builtin.
5157
cce855bc 5158 * Turning off restricted mode with `set +r' or `set +o restricted'.
ccc6cda3 5159
7117c2d2
JA
5160 These restrictions are enforced after any startup files are read.
5161
5162 When a command that is found to be a shell script is executed (*note
5163Shell Scripts::), `rbash' turns off any restrictions in the shell
5164spawned to execute the script.
5165
ccc6cda3
JA
5166\1f
5167File: bashref.info, Node: Bash POSIX Mode, Prev: The Restricted Shell, Up: Bash Features
5168
761783bf
CR
51696.11 Bash POSIX Mode
5170====================
ccc6cda3 5171
761783bf
CR
5172Starting Bash with the `--posix' command-line option or executing `set
5173-o posix' while Bash is running will cause Bash to conform more closely
5174to the POSIX 1003.2 standard by changing the behavior to match that
5175specified by POSIX in areas where the Bash default differs.
ccc6cda3 5176
7117c2d2
JA
5177 When invoked as `sh', Bash enters POSIX mode after reading the
5178startup files.
5179
ccc6cda3
JA
5180 The following list is what's changed when `POSIX mode' is in effect:
5181
5182 1. When a command in the hash table no longer exists, Bash will
5183 re-search `$PATH' to find the new location. This is also
5184 available with `shopt -s checkhash'.
5185
28ef6c31
JA
5186 2. The message printed by the job control code and builtins when a job
5187 exits with a non-zero status is `Done(status)'.
ccc6cda3
JA
5188
5189 3. The message printed by the job control code and builtins when a job
28ef6c31
JA
5190 is stopped is `Stopped(SIGNAME)', where SIGNAME is, for example,
5191 `SIGTSTP'.
ccc6cda3
JA
5192
5193 4. Reserved words may not be aliased.
5194
bb70624e 5195 5. The POSIX 1003.2 `PS1' and `PS2' expansions of `!' to the history
ccc6cda3 5196 number and `!!' to `!' are enabled, and parameter expansion is
cce855bc
JA
5197 performed on the values of `PS1' and `PS2' regardless of the
5198 setting of the `promptvars' option.
ccc6cda3 5199
d3a24ed2 5200 6. The POSIX 1003.2 startup files are executed (`$ENV') rather than
bb70624e 5201 the normal Bash files.
ccc6cda3 5202
d3a24ed2 5203 7. Tilde expansion is only performed on assignments preceding a
ccc6cda3
JA
5204 command name, rather than on all assignment statements on the line.
5205
d3a24ed2 5206 8. The default history file is `~/.sh_history' (this is the default
ccc6cda3
JA
5207 value of `$HISTFILE').
5208
d3a24ed2
CR
5209 9. The output of `kill -l' prints all the signal names on a single
5210 line, separated by spaces, without the `SIG' prefix.
5211
5212 10. The `kill' builtin does not accept signal names with a `SIG'
5213 prefix.
ccc6cda3
JA
5214
5215 11. Non-interactive shells exit if FILENAME in `.' FILENAME is not
5216 found.
5217
cce855bc
JA
5218 12. Non-interactive shells exit if a syntax error in an arithmetic
5219 expansion results in an invalid expression.
5220
5221 13. Redirection operators do not perform filename expansion on the word
ccc6cda3
JA
5222 in the redirection unless the shell is interactive.
5223
bb70624e
JA
5224 14. Redirection operators do not perform word splitting on the word in
5225 the redirection.
5226
5227 15. Function names must be valid shell `name's. That is, they may not
ccc6cda3 5228 contain characters other than letters, digits, and underscores, and
cce855bc 5229 may not start with a digit. Declaring a function with an invalid
ccc6cda3
JA
5230 name causes a fatal syntax error in non-interactive shells.
5231
bb70624e
JA
5232 16. POSIX 1003.2 `special' builtins are found before shell functions
5233 during command lookup.
ccc6cda3 5234
bb70624e 5235 17. If a POSIX 1003.2 special builtin returns an error status, a
ccc6cda3
JA
5236 non-interactive shell exits. The fatal errors are those listed in
5237 the POSIX.2 standard, and include things like passing incorrect
5238 options, redirection errors, variable assignment errors for
5239 assignments preceding the command name, and so on.
5240
bb70624e 5241 18. If the `cd' builtin finds a directory to change to using
ccc6cda3
JA
5242 `$CDPATH', the value it assigns to the `PWD' variable does not
5243 contain any symbolic links, as if `cd -P' had been executed.
5244
28ef6c31 5245 19. If `CDPATH' is set, the `cd' builtin will not implicitly append
cce855bc
JA
5246 the current directory to it. This means that `cd' will fail if no
5247 valid directory name can be constructed from any of the entries in
5248 `$CDPATH', even if the a directory with the same name as the name
5249 given as an argument to `cd' exists in the current directory.
5250
bb70624e 5251 20. A non-interactive shell exits with an error status if a variable
ccc6cda3
JA
5252 assignment error occurs when no command name follows the assignment
5253 statements. A variable assignment error occurs, for example, when
cce855bc 5254 trying to assign a value to a readonly variable.
ccc6cda3 5255
bb70624e 5256 21. A non-interactive shell exits with an error status if the iteration
ccc6cda3 5257 variable in a `for' statement or the selection variable in a
cce855bc 5258 `select' statement is a readonly variable.
ccc6cda3 5259
bb70624e 5260 22. Process substitution is not available.
ccc6cda3 5261
bb70624e
JA
5262 23. Assignment statements preceding POSIX 1003.2 special builtins
5263 persist in the shell environment after the builtin completes.
ccc6cda3 5264
28ef6c31
JA
5265 24. Assignment statements preceding shell function calls persist in the
5266 shell environment after the function returns, as if a POSIX
5267 special builtin command had been executed.
5268
5269 25. The `export' and `readonly' builtin commands display their output
bb70624e 5270 in the format required by POSIX 1003.2.
d166f048 5271
28ef6c31
JA
5272 26. The `trap' builtin displays signal names without the leading `SIG'.
5273
d3a24ed2
CR
5274 27. The `trap' builtin doesn't check the first argument for a possible
5275 signal specification and revert the signal handling to the original
5276 disposition if it is. If users want to reset the handler for a
5277 given signal to the original disposition, they should use `-' as
5278 the first argument.
5279
5280 28. The `.' and `source' builtins do not search the current directory
28ef6c31
JA
5281 for the filename argument if it is not found by searching `PATH'.
5282
d3a24ed2 5283 29. Subshells spawned to execute command substitutions inherit the
28ef6c31
JA
5284 value of the `-e' option from the parent shell. When not in POSIX
5285 mode, Bash clears the `-e' option in such subshells.
5286
d3a24ed2 5287 30. Alias expansion is always enabled, even in non-interactive shells.
28ef6c31 5288
d3a24ed2
CR
5289 31. When the `alias' builtin displays alias definitions, it does not
5290 display them with a leading `alias ' unless the `-p' option is
5291 supplied.
5292
5293 32. When the `set' builtin is invoked without options, it does not
28ef6c31
JA
5294 display shell function names and definitions.
5295
d3a24ed2 5296 33. When the `set' builtin is invoked without options, it displays
f73dda09
JA
5297 variable values without quotes, unless they contain shell
5298 metacharacters, even if the result contains nonprinting characters.
ccc6cda3 5299
d3a24ed2 5300 34. When the `cd' builtin is invoked in LOGICAL mode, and the pathname
7117c2d2
JA
5301 constructed from `$PWD' and the directory name supplied as an
5302 argument does not refer to an existing directory, `cd' will fail
5303 instead of falling back to PHYSICAL mode.
5304
bb70624e 5305 There is other POSIX 1003.2 behavior that Bash does not implement.
ccc6cda3
JA
5306Specifically:
5307
5308 1. Assignment statements affect the execution environment of all
5309 builtins, not just special ones.
5310
28ef6c31
JA
5311 2. When a subshell is created to execute a shell script with execute
5312 permission, but without a leading `#!', Bash sets `$0' to the full
5313 pathname of the script as found by searching `$PATH', rather than
5314 the command as typed by the user.
5315
5316 3. When using `.' to source a shell script found in `$PATH', bash
5317 checks execute permission bits rather than read permission bits,
5318 just as if it were searching for a command.
5319
5320
ccc6cda3
JA
5321\1f
5322File: bashref.info, Node: Job Control, Next: Using History Interactively, Prev: Bash Features, Up: Top
5323
761783bf
CR
53247 Job Control
5325*************
ccc6cda3 5326
761783bf
CR
5327This chapter discusses what job control is, how it works, and how Bash
5328allows you to access its facilities.
ccc6cda3
JA
5329
5330* Menu:
5331
5332* Job Control Basics:: How job control works.
5333* Job Control Builtins:: Bash builtin commands used to interact
5334 with job control.
5335* Job Control Variables:: Variables Bash uses to customize job
5336 control.
5337
5338\1f
5339File: bashref.info, Node: Job Control Basics, Next: Job Control Builtins, Up: Job Control
5340
761783bf
CR
53417.1 Job Control Basics
5342======================
ccc6cda3 5343
761783bf 5344Job control refers to the ability to selectively stop (suspend) the
ccc6cda3
JA
5345execution of processes and continue (resume) their execution at a later
5346point. A user typically employs this facility via an interactive
5347interface supplied jointly by the system's terminal driver and Bash.
5348
5349 The shell associates a JOB with each pipeline. It keeps a table of
5350currently executing jobs, which may be listed with the `jobs' command.
cce855bc 5351When Bash starts a job asynchronously, it prints a line that looks like:
ccc6cda3 5352 [1] 25647
761783bf
CR
5353 indicating that this job is job number 1 and that the process ID of
5354the last process in the pipeline associated with this job is 25647.
5355All of the processes in a single pipeline are members of the same job.
5356Bash uses the JOB abstraction as the basis for job control.
ccc6cda3
JA
5357
5358 To facilitate the implementation of the user interface to job
bb70624e
JA
5359control, the operating system maintains the notion of a current terminal
5360process group ID. Members of this process group (processes whose
5361process group ID is equal to the current terminal process group ID)
5362receive keyboard-generated signals such as `SIGINT'. These processes
5363are said to be in the foreground. Background processes are those whose
5364process group ID differs from the terminal's; such processes are immune
5365to keyboard-generated signals. Only foreground processes are allowed
5366to read from or write to the terminal. Background processes which
5367attempt to read from (write to) the terminal are sent a `SIGTTIN'
5368(`SIGTTOU') signal by the terminal driver, which, unless caught,
5369suspends the process.
ccc6cda3
JA
5370
5371 If the operating system on which Bash is running supports job
cce855bc
JA
5372control, Bash contains facilities to use it. Typing the SUSPEND
5373character (typically `^Z', Control-Z) while a process is running causes
5374that process to be stopped and returns control to Bash. Typing the
5375DELAYED SUSPEND character (typically `^Y', Control-Y) causes the
5376process to be stopped when it attempts to read input from the terminal,
5377and control to be returned to Bash. The user then manipulates the
5378state of this job, using the `bg' command to continue it in the
5379background, the `fg' command to continue it in the foreground, or the
5380`kill' command to kill it. A `^Z' takes effect immediately, and has
5381the additional side effect of causing pending output and typeahead to
5382be discarded.
ccc6cda3
JA
5383
5384 There are a number of ways to refer to a job in the shell. The
bb70624e
JA
5385character `%' introduces a job name.
5386
5387 Job number `n' may be referred to as `%n'. The symbols `%%' and
5388`%+' refer to the shell's notion of the current job, which is the last
5389job stopped while it was in the foreground or started in the
5390background. The previous job may be referenced using `%-'. In output
5391pertaining to jobs (e.g., the output of the `jobs' command), the
5392current job is always flagged with a `+', and the previous job with a
5393`-'.
5394
5395 A job may also be referred to using a prefix of the name used to
5396start it, or using a substring that appears in its command line. For
5397example, `%ce' refers to a stopped `ce' job. Using `%?ce', on the other
5398hand, refers to any job containing the string `ce' in its command line.
5399If the prefix or substring matches more than one job, Bash reports an
5400error.
ccc6cda3
JA
5401
5402 Simply naming a job can be used to bring it into the foreground:
5403`%1' is a synonym for `fg %1', bringing job 1 from the background into
5404the foreground. Similarly, `%1 &' resumes job 1 in the background,
5405equivalent to `bg %1'
5406
5407 The shell learns immediately whenever a job changes state.
5408Normally, Bash waits until it is about to print a prompt before
5409reporting changes in a job's status so as to not interrupt any other
f73dda09
JA
5410output. If the `-b' option to the `set' builtin is enabled, Bash
5411reports such changes immediately (*note The Set Builtin::). Any trap
5412on `SIGCHLD' is executed for each child process that exits.
ccc6cda3 5413
de8913bd 5414 If an attempt to exit Bash is made while jobs are stopped, the shell
cce855bc
JA
5415prints a message warning that there are stopped jobs. The `jobs'
5416command may then be used to inspect their status. If a second attempt
5417to exit is made without an intervening command, Bash does not print
5418another warning, and the stopped jobs are terminated.
ccc6cda3
JA
5419
5420\1f
5421File: bashref.info, Node: Job Control Builtins, Next: Job Control Variables, Prev: Job Control Basics, Up: Job Control
5422
761783bf
CR
54237.2 Job Control Builtins
5424========================
ccc6cda3
JA
5425
5426`bg'
5427 bg [JOBSPEC]
cce855bc
JA
5428 Resume the suspended job JOBSPEC in the background, as if it had
5429 been started with `&'. If JOBSPEC is not supplied, the current
5430 job is used. The return status is zero unless it is run when job
5431 control is not enabled, or, when run with job control enabled, if
5432 JOBSPEC was not found or JOBSPEC specifies a job that was started
5433 without job control.
ccc6cda3
JA
5434
5435`fg'
5436 fg [JOBSPEC]
cce855bc
JA
5437 Resume the job JOBSPEC in the foreground and make it the current
5438 job. If JOBSPEC is not supplied, the current job is used. The
5439 return status is that of the command placed into the foreground,
5440 or non-zero if run when job control is disabled or, when run with
5441 job control enabled, JOBSPEC does not specify a valid job or
5442 JOBSPEC specifies a job that was started without job control.
ccc6cda3
JA
5443
5444`jobs'
bb70624e 5445 jobs [-lnprs] [JOBSPEC]
cce855bc 5446 jobs -x COMMAND [ARGUMENTS]
ccc6cda3
JA
5447
5448 The first form lists the active jobs. The options have the
5449 following meanings:
5450
5451 `-l'
cce855bc 5452 List process IDs in addition to the normal information.
ccc6cda3
JA
5453
5454 `-n'
5455 Display information only about jobs that have changed status
cce855bc 5456 since the user was last notified of their status.
ccc6cda3
JA
5457
5458 `-p'
5459 List only the process ID of the job's process group leader.
5460
5461 `-r'
5462 Restrict output to running jobs.
5463
5464 `-s'
5465 Restrict output to stopped jobs.
5466
5467 If JOBSPEC is given, output is restricted to information about
5468 that job. If JOBSPEC is not supplied, the status of all jobs is
5469 listed.
5470
5471 If the `-x' option is supplied, `jobs' replaces any JOBSPEC found
5472 in COMMAND or ARGUMENTS with the corresponding process group ID,
5473 and executes COMMAND, passing it ARGUMENTs, returning its exit
5474 status.
5475
5476`kill'
cce855bc
JA
5477 kill [-s SIGSPEC] [-n SIGNUM] [-SIGSPEC] JOBSPEC or PID
5478 kill -l [EXIT_STATUS]
ccc6cda3 5479 Send a signal specified by SIGSPEC or SIGNUM to the process named
cce855bc 5480 by job specification JOBSPEC or process ID PID. SIGSPEC is either
9f422431
CR
5481 a case-insensitive signal name such as `SIGINT' (with or without
5482 the `SIG' prefix) or a signal number; SIGNUM is a signal number.
5483 If SIGSPEC and SIGNUM are not present, `SIGTERM' is used. The
5484 `-l' option lists the signal names. If any arguments are supplied
5485 when `-l' is given, the names of the signals corresponding to the
5486 arguments are listed, and the return status is zero. EXIT_STATUS
5487 is a number specifying a signal number or the exit status of a
5488 process terminated by a signal. The return status is zero if at
5489 least one signal was successfully sent, or non-zero if an error
5490 occurs or an invalid option is encountered.
ccc6cda3
JA
5491
5492`wait'
bb70624e 5493 wait [JOBSPEC or PID]
ccc6cda3 5494 Wait until the child process specified by process ID PID or job
cce855bc
JA
5495 specification JOBSPEC exits and return the exit status of the last
5496 command waited for. If a job spec is given, all processes in the
5497 job are waited for. If no arguments are given, all currently
5498 active child processes are waited for, and the return status is
5499 zero. If neither JOBSPEC nor PID specifies an active child process
5500 of the shell, the return status is 127.
ccc6cda3
JA
5501
5502`disown'
cce855bc 5503 disown [-ar] [-h] [JOBSPEC ...]
ccc6cda3
JA
5504 Without options, each JOBSPEC is removed from the table of active
5505 jobs. If the `-h' option is given, the job is not removed from
5506 the table, but is marked so that `SIGHUP' is not sent to the job
cce855bc
JA
5507 if the shell receives a `SIGHUP'. If JOBSPEC is not present, and
5508 neither the `-a' nor `-r' option is supplied, the current job is
5509 used. If no JOBSPEC is supplied, the `-a' option means to remove
5510 or mark all jobs; the `-r' option without a JOBSPEC argument
5511 restricts operation to running jobs.
ccc6cda3
JA
5512
5513`suspend'
5514 suspend [-f]
5515 Suspend the execution of this shell until it receives a `SIGCONT'
5516 signal. The `-f' option means to suspend even if the shell is a
5517 login shell.
5518
761783bf 5519
ccc6cda3
JA
5520 When job control is not active, the `kill' and `wait' builtins do
5521not accept JOBSPEC arguments. They must be supplied process IDs.
5522
5523\1f
5524File: bashref.info, Node: Job Control Variables, Prev: Job Control Builtins, Up: Job Control
5525
761783bf
CR
55267.3 Job Control Variables
5527=========================
ccc6cda3
JA
5528
5529`auto_resume'
5530 This variable controls how the shell interacts with the user and
5531 job control. If this variable exists then single word simple
cce855bc
JA
5532 commands without redirections are treated as candidates for
5533 resumption of an existing job. There is no ambiguity allowed; if
5534 there is more than one job beginning with the string typed, then
5535 the most recently accessed job will be selected. The name of a
5536 stopped job, in this context, is the command line used to start
5537 it. If this variable is set to the value `exact', the string
5538 supplied must match the name of a stopped job exactly; if set to
ccc6cda3
JA
5539 `substring', the string supplied needs to match a substring of the
5540 name of a stopped job. The `substring' value provides
5541 functionality analogous to the `%?' job ID (*note Job Control
28ef6c31
JA
5542 Basics::). If set to any other value, the supplied string must be
5543 a prefix of a stopped job's name; this provides functionality
ccc6cda3
JA
5544 analogous to the `%' job ID.
5545
761783bf 5546
ccc6cda3 5547\1f
bb70624e 5548File: bashref.info, Node: Command Line Editing, Next: Installing Bash, Prev: Using History Interactively, Up: Top
ccc6cda3 5549
761783bf
CR
55508 Command Line Editing
5551**********************
ccc6cda3 5552
761783bf 5553This chapter describes the basic features of the GNU command line
bb70624e
JA
5554editing interface. Command line editing is provided by the Readline
5555library, which is used by several different programs, including Bash.
ccc6cda3
JA
5556
5557* Menu:
5558
bb70624e
JA
5559* Introduction and Notation:: Notation used in this text.
5560* Readline Interaction:: The minimum set of commands for editing a line.
5561* Readline Init File:: Customizing Readline from a user's view.
5562* Bindable Readline Commands:: A description of most of the Readline commands
5563 available for binding
5564* Readline vi Mode:: A short description of how to make Readline
5565 behave like the vi editor.
5566
5567* Programmable Completion:: How to specify the possible completions for
5568 a specific command.
5569* Programmable Completion Builtins:: Builtin commands to specify how to
5570 complete arguments for a particular command.
ccc6cda3
JA
5571
5572\1f
bb70624e 5573File: bashref.info, Node: Introduction and Notation, Next: Readline Interaction, Up: Command Line Editing
ccc6cda3 5574
761783bf
CR
55758.1 Introduction to Line Editing
5576================================
ccc6cda3 5577
761783bf 5578The following paragraphs describe the notation used to represent
bb70624e 5579keystrokes.
ccc6cda3 5580
28ef6c31 5581 The text `C-k' is read as `Control-K' and describes the character
bb70624e 5582produced when the <k> key is pressed while the Control key is depressed.
ccc6cda3 5583
28ef6c31 5584 The text `M-k' is read as `Meta-K' and describes the character
bb70624e
JA
5585produced when the Meta key (if you have one) is depressed, and the <k>
5586key is pressed. The Meta key is labeled <ALT> on many keyboards. On
5587keyboards with two keys labeled <ALT> (usually to either side of the
5588space bar), the <ALT> on the left side is generally set to work as a
5589Meta key. The <ALT> key on the right may also be configured to work as
5590a Meta key or may be configured as some other modifier, such as a
5591Compose key for typing accented characters.
5592
5593 If you do not have a Meta or <ALT> key, or another key working as a
5594Meta key, the identical keystroke can be generated by typing <ESC>
28ef6c31
JA
5595_first_, and then typing <k>. Either process is known as "metafying"
5596the <k> key.
bb70624e 5597
28ef6c31
JA
5598 The text `M-C-k' is read as `Meta-Control-k' and describes the
5599character produced by "metafying" `C-k'.
bb70624e
JA
5600
5601 In addition, several keys have their own names. Specifically,
5602<DEL>, <ESC>, <LFD>, <SPC>, <RET>, and <TAB> all stand for themselves
28ef6c31
JA
5603when seen in this text, or in an init file (*note Readline Init File::).
5604If your keyboard lacks a <LFD> key, typing <C-j> will produce the
5605desired character. The <RET> key may be labeled <Return> or <Enter> on
5606some keyboards.
ccc6cda3
JA
5607
5608\1f
bb70624e 5609File: bashref.info, Node: Readline Interaction, Next: Readline Init File, Prev: Introduction and Notation, Up: Command Line Editing
cce855bc 5610
761783bf
CR
56118.2 Readline Interaction
5612========================
cce855bc 5613
761783bf 5614Often during an interactive session you type in a long line of text,
bb70624e
JA
5615only to notice that the first word on the line is misspelled. The
5616Readline library gives you a set of commands for manipulating the text
5617as you type it in, allowing you to just fix your typo, and not forcing
5618you to retype the majority of the line. Using these editing commands,
5619you move the cursor to the place that needs correction, and delete or
5620insert the text of the corrections. Then, when you are satisfied with
28ef6c31
JA
5621the line, you simply press <RET>. You do not have to be at the end of
5622the line to press <RET>; the entire line is accepted regardless of the
5623location of the cursor within the line.
cce855bc 5624
bb70624e 5625* Menu:
cce855bc 5626
bb70624e
JA
5627* Readline Bare Essentials:: The least you need to know about Readline.
5628* Readline Movement Commands:: Moving about the input line.
5629* Readline Killing Commands:: How to delete text, and how to get it back!
5630* Readline Arguments:: Giving numeric arguments to commands.
5631* Searching:: Searching through previous lines.
cce855bc 5632
bb70624e
JA
5633\1f
5634File: bashref.info, Node: Readline Bare Essentials, Next: Readline Movement Commands, Up: Readline Interaction
cce855bc 5635
761783bf
CR
56368.2.1 Readline Bare Essentials
5637------------------------------
cce855bc 5638
761783bf
CR
5639In order to enter characters into the line, simply type them. The typed
5640character appears where the cursor was, and then the cursor moves one
5641space to the right. If you mistype a character, you can use your erase
5642character to back up and delete the mistyped character.
cce855bc 5643
bb70624e
JA
5644 Sometimes you may mistype a character, and not notice the error
5645until you have typed several other characters. In that case, you can
28ef6c31
JA
5646type `C-b' to move the cursor to the left, and then correct your
5647mistake. Afterwards, you can move the cursor to the right with `C-f'.
cce855bc 5648
bb70624e
JA
5649 When you add text in the middle of a line, you will notice that
5650characters to the right of the cursor are `pushed over' to make room
5651for the text that you have inserted. Likewise, when you delete text
5652behind the cursor, characters to the right of the cursor are `pulled
5653back' to fill in the blank space created by the removal of the text. A
5654list of the bare essentials for editing the text of an input line
5655follows.
cce855bc 5656
28ef6c31 5657`C-b'
bb70624e 5658 Move back one character.
cce855bc 5659
28ef6c31 5660`C-f'
bb70624e 5661 Move forward one character.
cce855bc 5662
bb70624e
JA
5663<DEL> or <Backspace>
5664 Delete the character to the left of the cursor.
cce855bc 5665
28ef6c31 5666`C-d'
bb70624e 5667 Delete the character underneath the cursor.
cce855bc 5668
bb70624e
JA
5669Printing characters
5670 Insert the character into the line at the cursor.
cce855bc 5671
28ef6c31 5672`C-_' or `C-x C-u'
bb70624e
JA
5673 Undo the last editing command. You can undo all the way back to an
5674 empty line.
cce855bc 5675
bb70624e
JA
5676(Depending on your configuration, the <Backspace> key be set to delete
5677the character to the left of the cursor and the <DEL> key set to delete
28ef6c31 5678the character underneath the cursor, like `C-d', rather than the
bb70624e 5679character to the left of the cursor.)
cce855bc
JA
5680
5681\1f
bb70624e 5682File: bashref.info, Node: Readline Movement Commands, Next: Readline Killing Commands, Prev: Readline Bare Essentials, Up: Readline Interaction
ccc6cda3 5683
761783bf
CR
56848.2.2 Readline Movement Commands
5685--------------------------------
ccc6cda3 5686
761783bf 5687The above table describes the most basic keystrokes that you need in
bb70624e 5688order to do editing of the input line. For your convenience, many
28ef6c31 5689other commands have been added in addition to `C-b', `C-f', `C-d', and
bb70624e 5690<DEL>. Here are some commands for moving more rapidly about the line.
ccc6cda3 5691
28ef6c31 5692`C-a'
bb70624e 5693 Move to the start of the line.
ccc6cda3 5694
28ef6c31 5695`C-e'
bb70624e 5696 Move to the end of the line.
ccc6cda3 5697
28ef6c31 5698`M-f'
bb70624e
JA
5699 Move forward a word, where a word is composed of letters and
5700 digits.
ccc6cda3 5701
28ef6c31 5702`M-b'
bb70624e 5703 Move backward a word.
ccc6cda3 5704
28ef6c31 5705`C-l'
bb70624e 5706 Clear the screen, reprinting the current line at the top.
ccc6cda3 5707
28ef6c31 5708 Notice how `C-f' moves forward a character, while `M-f' moves
bb70624e
JA
5709forward a word. It is a loose convention that control keystrokes
5710operate on characters while meta keystrokes operate on words.
ccc6cda3
JA
5711
5712\1f
bb70624e 5713File: bashref.info, Node: Readline Killing Commands, Next: Readline Arguments, Prev: Readline Movement Commands, Up: Readline Interaction
ccc6cda3 5714
761783bf
CR
57158.2.3 Readline Killing Commands
5716-------------------------------
ccc6cda3 5717
761783bf
CR
5718"Killing" text means to delete the text from the line, but to save it
5719away for later use, usually by "yanking" (re-inserting) it back into
bb70624e
JA
5720the line. (`Cut' and `paste' are more recent jargon for `kill' and
5721`yank'.)
ccc6cda3 5722
bb70624e
JA
5723 If the description for a command says that it `kills' text, then you
5724can be sure that you can get the text back in a different (or the same)
5725place later.
ccc6cda3 5726
bb70624e
JA
5727 When you use a kill command, the text is saved in a "kill-ring".
5728Any number of consecutive kills save all of the killed text together, so
5729that when you yank it back, you get it all. The kill ring is not line
5730specific; the text that you killed on a previously typed line is
761783bf 5731available to be yanked back later, when you are typing another line.
ccc6cda3 5732
bb70624e 5733 Here is the list of commands for killing text.
ccc6cda3 5734
28ef6c31 5735`C-k'
bb70624e
JA
5736 Kill the text from the current cursor position to the end of the
5737 line.
ccc6cda3 5738
28ef6c31 5739`M-d'
bb70624e
JA
5740 Kill from the cursor to the end of the current word, or, if between
5741 words, to the end of the next word. Word boundaries are the same
28ef6c31 5742 as those used by `M-f'.
ccc6cda3 5743
28ef6c31 5744`M-<DEL>'
f73dda09 5745 Kill from the cursor the start of the current word, or, if between
bb70624e 5746 words, to the start of the previous word. Word boundaries are the
28ef6c31 5747 same as those used by `M-b'.
ccc6cda3 5748
28ef6c31 5749`C-w'
ccc6cda3 5750 Kill from the cursor to the previous whitespace. This is
28ef6c31 5751 different than `M-<DEL>' because the word boundaries differ.
ccc6cda3 5752
761783bf 5753
cce855bc
JA
5754 Here is how to "yank" the text back into the line. Yanking means to
5755copy the most-recently-killed text from the kill buffer.
ccc6cda3 5756
28ef6c31 5757`C-y'
ccc6cda3
JA
5758 Yank the most recently killed text back into the buffer at the
5759 cursor.
5760
28ef6c31 5761`M-y'
ccc6cda3 5762 Rotate the kill-ring, and yank the new top. You can only do this
28ef6c31 5763 if the prior command is `C-y' or `M-y'.
ccc6cda3
JA
5764
5765\1f
5766File: bashref.info, Node: Readline Arguments, Next: Searching, Prev: Readline Killing Commands, Up: Readline Interaction
5767
761783bf
CR
57688.2.4 Readline Arguments
5769------------------------
ccc6cda3 5770
761783bf 5771You can pass numeric arguments to Readline commands. Sometimes the
ccc6cda3
JA
5772argument acts as a repeat count, other times it is the sign of the
5773argument that is significant. If you pass a negative argument to a
5774command which normally acts in a forward direction, that command will
5775act in a backward direction. For example, to kill text back to the
5776start of the line, you might type `M-- C-k'.
5777
5778 The general way to pass numeric arguments to a command is to type
cce855bc 5779meta digits before the command. If the first `digit' typed is a minus
bb70624e 5780sign (`-'), then the sign of the argument will be negative. Once you
cce855bc
JA
5781have typed one meta digit to get the argument started, you can type the
5782remainder of the digits, and then the command. For example, to give
28ef6c31
JA
5783the `C-d' command an argument of 10, you could type `M-1 0 C-d', which
5784will delete the next ten characters on the input line.
ccc6cda3
JA
5785
5786\1f
5787File: bashref.info, Node: Searching, Prev: Readline Arguments, Up: Readline Interaction
5788
761783bf
CR
57898.2.5 Searching for Commands in the History
5790-------------------------------------------
ccc6cda3 5791
761783bf 5792Readline provides commands for searching through the command history
28ef6c31
JA
5793(*note Bash History Facilities::) for lines containing a specified
5794string. There are two search modes: "incremental" and
5795"non-incremental".
ccc6cda3
JA
5796
5797 Incremental searches begin before the user has finished typing the
5798search string. As each character of the search string is typed,
cce855bc 5799Readline displays the next entry from the history matching the string
ccc6cda3 5800typed so far. An incremental search requires only as many characters
bb70624e 5801as needed to find the desired history entry. To search backward in the
28ef6c31 5802history for a particular string, type `C-r'. Typing `C-s' searches
bb70624e
JA
5803forward through the history. The characters present in the value of
5804the `isearch-terminators' variable are used to terminate an incremental
5805search. If that variable has not been assigned a value, the <ESC> and
28ef6c31 5806`C-J' characters will terminate an incremental search. `C-g' will
bb70624e
JA
5807abort an incremental search and restore the original line. When the
5808search is terminated, the history entry containing the search string
5809becomes the current line.
5810
28ef6c31
JA
5811 To find other matching entries in the history list, type `C-r' or
5812`C-s' as appropriate. This will search backward or forward in the
bb70624e
JA
5813history for the next entry matching the search string typed so far.
5814Any other key sequence bound to a Readline command will terminate the
5815search and execute that command. For instance, a <RET> will terminate
5816the search and accept the line, thereby executing the command from the
28ef6c31
JA
5817history list. A movement command will terminate the search, make the
5818last line found the current line, and begin editing.
ccc6cda3 5819
f73dda09
JA
5820 Readline remembers the last incremental search string. If two
5821`C-r's are typed without any intervening characters defining a new
5822search string, any remembered search string is used.
5823
ccc6cda3
JA
5824 Non-incremental searches read the entire search string before
5825starting to search for matching history lines. The search string may be
cce855bc 5826typed by the user or be part of the contents of the current line.
ccc6cda3
JA
5827
5828\1f
5829File: bashref.info, Node: Readline Init File, Next: Bindable Readline Commands, Prev: Readline Interaction, Up: Command Line Editing
5830
761783bf
CR
58318.3 Readline Init File
5832======================
ccc6cda3 5833
761783bf 5834Although the Readline library comes with a set of Emacs-like
cce855bc
JA
5835keybindings installed by default, it is possible to use a different set
5836of keybindings. Any user can customize programs that use Readline by
bb70624e
JA
5837putting commands in an "inputrc" file, conventionally in his home
5838directory. The name of this file is taken from the value of the shell
5839variable `INPUTRC'. If that variable is unset, the default is
5840`~/.inputrc'.
ccc6cda3
JA
5841
5842 When a program which uses the Readline library starts up, the init
5843file is read, and the key bindings are set.
5844
5845 In addition, the `C-x C-r' command re-reads this init file, thus
5846incorporating any changes that you might have made to it.
5847
5848* Menu:
5849
5850* Readline Init File Syntax:: Syntax for the commands in the inputrc file.
5851
5852* Conditional Init Constructs:: Conditional key bindings in the inputrc file.
5853
5854* Sample Init File:: An example inputrc file.
5855
5856\1f
5857File: bashref.info, Node: Readline Init File Syntax, Next: Conditional Init Constructs, Up: Readline Init File
5858
761783bf
CR
58598.3.1 Readline Init File Syntax
5860-------------------------------
ccc6cda3 5861
761783bf 5862There are only a few basic constructs allowed in the Readline init
ccc6cda3
JA
5863file. Blank lines are ignored. Lines beginning with a `#' are
5864comments. Lines beginning with a `$' indicate conditional constructs
28ef6c31 5865(*note Conditional Init Constructs::). Other lines denote variable
ccc6cda3
JA
5866settings and key bindings.
5867
5868Variable Settings
cce855bc
JA
5869 You can modify the run-time behavior of Readline by altering the
5870 values of variables in Readline using the `set' command within the
28ef6c31
JA
5871 init file. The syntax is simple:
5872
5873 set VARIABLE VALUE
5874
5875 Here, for example, is how to change from the default Emacs-like
5876 key binding to use `vi' line editing commands:
ccc6cda3
JA
5877
5878 set editing-mode vi
5879
28ef6c31
JA
5880 Variable names and values, where appropriate, are recognized
5881 without regard to case.
5882
bb70624e
JA
5883 The `bind -V' command lists the current Readline variable names
5884 and values. *Note Bash Builtins::.
5885
cce855bc
JA
5886 A great deal of run-time behavior is changeable with the following
5887 variables.
ccc6cda3
JA
5888
5889 `bell-style'
5890 Controls what happens when Readline wants to ring the
5891 terminal bell. If set to `none', Readline never rings the
5892 bell. If set to `visible', Readline uses a visible bell if
5893 one is available. If set to `audible' (the default),
5894 Readline attempts to ring the terminal's bell.
5895
5896 `comment-begin'
5897 The string to insert at the beginning of the line when the
5898 `insert-comment' command is executed. The default value is
5899 `"#"'.
5900
cce855bc
JA
5901 `completion-ignore-case'
5902 If set to `on', Readline performs filename matching and
5903 completion in a case-insensitive fashion. The default value
5904 is `off'.
5905
ccc6cda3
JA
5906 `completion-query-items'
5907 The number of possible completions that determines when the
d3a24ed2
CR
5908 user is asked whether the list of possibilities should be
5909 displayed. If the number of possible completions is greater
5910 than this value, Readline will ask the user whether or not he
5911 wishes to view them; otherwise, they are simply listed. This
5912 variable must be set to an integer value greater than or
5913 equal to 0. The default limit is `100'.
ccc6cda3
JA
5914
5915 `convert-meta'
5916 If set to `on', Readline will convert characters with the
cce855bc 5917 eighth bit set to an ASCII key sequence by stripping the
bb70624e 5918 eighth bit and prefixing an <ESC> character, converting them
cce855bc 5919 to a meta-prefixed key sequence. The default value is `on'.
ccc6cda3
JA
5920
5921 `disable-completion'
cce855bc 5922 If set to `On', Readline will inhibit word completion.
ccc6cda3
JA
5923 Completion characters will be inserted into the line as if
5924 they had been mapped to `self-insert'. The default is `off'.
5925
5926 `editing-mode'
cce855bc
JA
5927 The `editing-mode' variable controls which default set of key
5928 bindings is used. By default, Readline starts up in Emacs
5929 editing mode, where the keystrokes are most similar to Emacs.
5930 This variable can be set to either `emacs' or `vi'.
ccc6cda3
JA
5931
5932 `enable-keypad'
cce855bc 5933 When set to `on', Readline will try to enable the application
ccc6cda3
JA
5934 keypad when it is called. Some systems need this to enable
5935 the arrow keys. The default is `off'.
5936
5937 `expand-tilde'
5938 If set to `on', tilde expansion is performed when Readline
5939 attempts word completion. The default is `off'.
5940
f73dda09 5941 If set to `on', the history code attempts to place point at
d3a24ed2 5942 the same location on each history line retrieved with
f73dda09
JA
5943 `previous-history' or `next-history'.
5944
ccc6cda3
JA
5945 `horizontal-scroll-mode'
5946 This variable can be set to either `on' or `off'. Setting it
cce855bc 5947 to `on' means that the text of the lines being edited will
ccc6cda3
JA
5948 scroll horizontally on a single screen line when they are
5949 longer than the width of the screen, instead of wrapping onto
5950 a new screen line. By default, this variable is set to `off'.
5951
b72432fd
JA
5952 `input-meta'
5953 If set to `on', Readline will enable eight-bit input (it will
28ef6c31 5954 not clear the eighth bit in the characters it reads),
b72432fd
JA
5955 regardless of what the terminal claims it can support. The
5956 default value is `off'. The name `meta-flag' is a synonym
5957 for this variable.
5958
5959 `isearch-terminators'
5960 The string of characters that should terminate an incremental
5961 search without subsequently executing the character as a
28ef6c31
JA
5962 command (*note Searching::). If this variable has not been
5963 given a value, the characters <ESC> and `C-J' will terminate
b72432fd
JA
5964 an incremental search.
5965
ccc6cda3
JA
5966 `keymap'
5967 Sets Readline's idea of the current keymap for key binding
5968 commands. Acceptable `keymap' names are `emacs',
28ef6c31 5969 `emacs-standard', `emacs-meta', `emacs-ctlx', `vi', `vi-move',
ccc6cda3
JA
5970 `vi-command', and `vi-insert'. `vi' is equivalent to
5971 `vi-command'; `emacs' is equivalent to `emacs-standard'. The
5972 default value is `emacs'. The value of the `editing-mode'
5973 variable also affects the default keymap.
5974
5975 `mark-directories'
5976 If set to `on', completed directory names have a slash
5977 appended. The default is `on'.
5978
5979 `mark-modified-lines'
cce855bc
JA
5980 This variable, when set to `on', causes Readline to display an
5981 asterisk (`*') at the start of history lines which have been
5982 modified. This variable is `off' by default.
ccc6cda3 5983
7117c2d2
JA
5984 `mark-symlinked-directories'
5985 If set to `on', completed names which are symbolic links to
5986 directories have a slash appended (subject to the value of
5987 `mark-directories'). The default is `off'.
5988
f73dda09
JA
5989 `match-hidden-files'
5990 This variable, when set to `on', causes Readline to match
5991 files whose names begin with a `.' (hidden files) when
5992 performing filename completion, unless the leading `.' is
5993 supplied by the user in the filename to be completed. This
5994 variable is `on' by default.
5995
ccc6cda3
JA
5996 `output-meta'
5997 If set to `on', Readline will display characters with the
5998 eighth bit set directly rather than as a meta-prefixed escape
5999 sequence. The default is `off'.
6000
7117c2d2
JA
6001 `page-completions'
6002 If set to `on', Readline uses an internal `more'-like pager
6003 to display a screenful of possible completions at a time.
6004 This variable is `on' by default.
6005
cce855bc
JA
6006 `print-completions-horizontally'
6007 If set to `on', Readline will display completions with matches
6008 sorted horizontally in alphabetical order, rather than down
6009 the screen. The default is `off'.
6010
ccc6cda3
JA
6011 `show-all-if-ambiguous'
6012 This alters the default behavior of the completion functions.
6013 If set to `on', words which have more than one possible
6014 completion cause the matches to be listed immediately instead
6015 of ringing the bell. The default value is `off'.
6016
d3a24ed2
CR
6017 `show-all-if-unmodified'
6018 This alters the default behavior of the completion functions
6019 in a fashion similar to SHOW-ALL-IF-AMBIGUOUS. If set to
6020 `on', words which have more than one possible completion
6021 without any possible partial completion (the possible
6022 completions don't share a common prefix) cause the matches to
6023 be listed immediately instead of ringing the bell. The
6024 default value is `off'.
6025
ccc6cda3
JA
6026 `visible-stats'
6027 If set to `on', a character denoting a file's type is
6028 appended to the filename when listing possible completions.
6029 The default is `off'.
6030
761783bf 6031
ccc6cda3
JA
6032Key Bindings
6033 The syntax for controlling key bindings in the init file is
bb70624e 6034 simple. First you need to find the name of the command that you
cce855bc
JA
6035 want to change. The following sections contain tables of the
6036 command name, the default keybinding, if any, and a short
6037 description of what the command does.
ccc6cda3 6038
28ef6c31
JA
6039 Once you know the name of the command, simply place on a line in
6040 the init file the name of the key you wish to bind the command to,
6041 a colon, and then the name of the command. The name of the key
6042 can be expressed in different ways, depending on what you find most
6043 comfortable.
6044
6045 In addition to command names, readline allows keys to be bound to
6046 a string that is inserted when the key is pressed (a MACRO).
ccc6cda3 6047
bb70624e
JA
6048 The `bind -p' command displays Readline function names and
6049 bindings in a format that can put directly into an initialization
6050 file. *Note Bash Builtins::.
6051
ccc6cda3
JA
6052 KEYNAME: FUNCTION-NAME or MACRO
6053 KEYNAME is the name of a key spelled out in English. For
6054 example:
6055 Control-u: universal-argument
6056 Meta-Rubout: backward-kill-word
6057 Control-o: "> output"
6058
28ef6c31
JA
6059 In the above example, `C-u' is bound to the function
6060 `universal-argument', `M-DEL' is bound to the function
6061 `backward-kill-word', and `C-o' is bound to run the macro
ccc6cda3
JA
6062 expressed on the right hand side (that is, to insert the text
6063 `> output' into the line).
6064
28ef6c31
JA
6065 A number of symbolic character names are recognized while
6066 processing this key binding syntax: DEL, ESC, ESCAPE, LFD,
6067 NEWLINE, RET, RETURN, RUBOUT, SPACE, SPC, and TAB.
6068
ccc6cda3
JA
6069 "KEYSEQ": FUNCTION-NAME or MACRO
6070 KEYSEQ differs from KEYNAME above in that strings denoting an
6071 entire key sequence can be specified, by placing the key
6072 sequence in double quotes. Some GNU Emacs style key escapes
6073 can be used, as in the following example, but the special
6074 character names are not recognized.
6075
6076 "\C-u": universal-argument
6077 "\C-x\C-r": re-read-init-file
6078 "\e[11~": "Function Key 1"
6079
28ef6c31 6080 In the above example, `C-u' is again bound to the function
ccc6cda3 6081 `universal-argument' (just as it was in the first example),
28ef6c31
JA
6082 `C-x C-r' is bound to the function `re-read-init-file', and
6083 `<ESC> <[> <1> <1> <~>' is bound to insert the text `Function
6084 Key 1'.
cce855bc 6085
761783bf 6086
cce855bc
JA
6087 The following GNU Emacs style escape sequences are available when
6088 specifying key sequences:
6089
6090 `\C-'
6091 control prefix
6092
6093 `\M-'
6094 meta prefix
6095
6096 `\e'
6097 an escape character
6098
6099 `\\'
6100 backslash
6101
6102 `\"'
bb70624e 6103 <">, a double quotation mark
cce855bc
JA
6104
6105 `\''
bb70624e 6106 <'>, a single quote or apostrophe
cce855bc
JA
6107
6108 In addition to the GNU Emacs style escape sequences, a second set
6109 of backslash escapes is available:
ccc6cda3 6110
cce855bc
JA
6111 `\a'
6112 alert (bell)
6113
6114 `\b'
6115 backspace
6116
6117 `\d'
6118 delete
6119
6120 `\f'
6121 form feed
6122
6123 `\n'
6124 newline
ccc6cda3 6125
cce855bc
JA
6126 `\r'
6127 carriage return
ccc6cda3 6128
cce855bc
JA
6129 `\t'
6130 horizontal tab
ccc6cda3 6131
cce855bc
JA
6132 `\v'
6133 vertical tab
ccc6cda3 6134
cce855bc 6135 `\NNN'
f73dda09 6136 the eight-bit character whose value is the octal value NNN
cce855bc 6137 (one to three digits)
ccc6cda3 6138
f73dda09
JA
6139 `\xHH'
6140 the eight-bit character whose value is the hexadecimal value
6141 HH (one or two hex digits)
6142
cce855bc
JA
6143 When entering the text of a macro, single or double quotes must be
6144 used to indicate a macro definition. Unquoted text is assumed to
6145 be a function name. In the macro body, the backslash escapes
6146 described above are expanded. Backslash will quote any other
6147 character in the macro text, including `"' and `''. For example,
6148 the following binding will make `C-x \' insert a single `\' into
6149 the line:
6150 "\C-x\\": "\\"
ccc6cda3 6151
761783bf 6152
ccc6cda3
JA
6153\1f
6154File: bashref.info, Node: Conditional Init Constructs, Next: Sample Init File, Prev: Readline Init File Syntax, Up: Readline Init File
6155
761783bf
CR
61568.3.2 Conditional Init Constructs
6157---------------------------------
ccc6cda3 6158
761783bf 6159Readline implements a facility similar in spirit to the conditional
ccc6cda3
JA
6160compilation features of the C preprocessor which allows key bindings
6161and variable settings to be performed as the result of tests. There
cce855bc 6162are four parser directives used.
ccc6cda3
JA
6163
6164`$if'
6165 The `$if' construct allows bindings to be made based on the
6166 editing mode, the terminal being used, or the application using
6167 Readline. The text of the test extends to the end of the line; no
6168 characters are required to isolate it.
6169
6170 `mode'
6171 The `mode=' form of the `$if' directive is used to test
6172 whether Readline is in `emacs' or `vi' mode. This may be
6173 used in conjunction with the `set keymap' command, for
6174 instance, to set bindings in the `emacs-standard' and
6175 `emacs-ctlx' keymaps only if Readline is starting out in
6176 `emacs' mode.
6177
6178 `term'
6179 The `term=' form may be used to include terminal-specific key
6180 bindings, perhaps to bind the key sequences output by the
6181 terminal's function keys. The word on the right side of the
cce855bc
JA
6182 `=' is tested against both the full name of the terminal and
6183 the portion of the terminal name before the first `-'. This
ccc6cda3
JA
6184 allows `sun' to match both `sun' and `sun-cmd', for instance.
6185
6186 `application'
6187 The APPLICATION construct is used to include
6188 application-specific settings. Each program using the
6189 Readline library sets the APPLICATION NAME, and you can test
28ef6c31
JA
6190 for a particular value. This could be used to bind key
6191 sequences to functions useful for a specific program. For
6192 instance, the following command adds a key sequence that
6193 quotes the current or previous word in Bash:
ccc6cda3
JA
6194 $if Bash
6195 # Quote the current or previous word
6196 "\C-xq": "\eb\"\ef\""
6197 $endif
6198
6199`$endif'
cce855bc
JA
6200 This command, as seen in the previous example, terminates an `$if'
6201 command.
ccc6cda3
JA
6202
6203`$else'
6204 Commands in this branch of the `$if' directive are executed if the
6205 test fails.
6206
cce855bc
JA
6207`$include'
6208 This directive takes a single filename as an argument and reads
28ef6c31
JA
6209 commands and bindings from that file. For example, the following
6210 directive reads from `/etc/inputrc':
cce855bc
JA
6211 $include /etc/inputrc
6212
ccc6cda3
JA
6213\1f
6214File: bashref.info, Node: Sample Init File, Prev: Conditional Init Constructs, Up: Readline Init File
6215
761783bf
CR
62168.3.3 Sample Init File
6217----------------------
ccc6cda3 6218
761783bf
CR
6219Here is an example of an INPUTRC file. This illustrates key binding,
6220variable assignment, and conditional syntax.
ccc6cda3
JA
6221
6222
6223 # This file controls the behaviour of line input editing for
7117c2d2
JA
6224 # programs that use the GNU Readline library. Existing
6225 # programs include FTP, Bash, and GDB.
ccc6cda3
JA
6226 #
6227 # You can re-read the inputrc file with C-x C-r.
6228 # Lines beginning with '#' are comments.
cce855bc 6229 #
7117c2d2
JA
6230 # First, include any systemwide bindings and variable
6231 # assignments from /etc/Inputrc
cce855bc 6232 $include /etc/Inputrc
761783bf 6233
ccc6cda3
JA
6234 #
6235 # Set various bindings for emacs mode.
761783bf 6236
ccc6cda3 6237 set editing-mode emacs
761783bf 6238
ccc6cda3 6239 $if mode=emacs
761783bf 6240
ccc6cda3 6241 Meta-Control-h: backward-kill-word Text after the function name is ignored
761783bf 6242
ccc6cda3
JA
6243 #
6244 # Arrow keys in keypad mode
6245 #
d166f048
JA
6246 #"\M-OD": backward-char
6247 #"\M-OC": forward-char
6248 #"\M-OA": previous-history
6249 #"\M-OB": next-history
ccc6cda3
JA
6250 #
6251 # Arrow keys in ANSI mode
6252 #
d166f048
JA
6253 "\M-[D": backward-char
6254 "\M-[C": forward-char
6255 "\M-[A": previous-history
6256 "\M-[B": next-history
ccc6cda3
JA
6257 #
6258 # Arrow keys in 8 bit keypad mode
6259 #
d166f048
JA
6260 #"\M-\C-OD": backward-char
6261 #"\M-\C-OC": forward-char
6262 #"\M-\C-OA": previous-history
6263 #"\M-\C-OB": next-history
ccc6cda3
JA
6264 #
6265 # Arrow keys in 8 bit ANSI mode
6266 #
d166f048
JA
6267 #"\M-\C-[D": backward-char
6268 #"\M-\C-[C": forward-char
6269 #"\M-\C-[A": previous-history
6270 #"\M-\C-[B": next-history
761783bf 6271
ccc6cda3 6272 C-q: quoted-insert
761783bf 6273
ccc6cda3 6274 $endif
761783bf 6275
ccc6cda3
JA
6276 # An old-style binding. This happens to be the default.
6277 TAB: complete
761783bf 6278
ccc6cda3
JA
6279 # Macros that are convenient for shell interaction
6280 $if Bash
6281 # edit the path
6282 "\C-xp": "PATH=${PATH}\e\C-e\C-a\ef\C-f"
7117c2d2
JA
6283 # prepare to type a quoted word --
6284 # insert open and close double quotes
ccc6cda3
JA
6285 # and move to just after the open quote
6286 "\C-x\"": "\"\"\C-b"
7117c2d2
JA
6287 # insert a backslash (testing backslash escapes
6288 # in sequences and macros)
ccc6cda3
JA
6289 "\C-x\\": "\\"
6290 # Quote the current or previous word
6291 "\C-xq": "\eb\"\ef\""
6292 # Add a binding to refresh the line, which is unbound
6293 "\C-xr": redraw-current-line
6294 # Edit variable on current line.
6295 "\M-\C-v": "\C-a\C-k$\C-y\M-\C-e\C-a\C-y="
6296 $endif
761783bf 6297
ccc6cda3
JA
6298 # use a visible bell if one is available
6299 set bell-style visible
761783bf 6300
ccc6cda3
JA
6301 # don't strip characters to 7 bits when reading
6302 set input-meta on
761783bf 6303
7117c2d2
JA
6304 # allow iso-latin1 characters to be inserted rather
6305 # than converted to prefix-meta sequences
ccc6cda3 6306 set convert-meta off
761783bf 6307
7117c2d2
JA
6308 # display characters with the eighth bit set directly
6309 # rather than as meta-prefixed characters
ccc6cda3 6310 set output-meta on
761783bf 6311
7117c2d2
JA
6312 # if there are more than 150 possible completions for
6313 # a word, ask the user if he wants to see all of them
ccc6cda3 6314 set completion-query-items 150
761783bf 6315
ccc6cda3
JA
6316 # For FTP
6317 $if Ftp
6318 "\C-xg": "get \M-?"
6319 "\C-xt": "put \M-?"
6320 "\M-.": yank-last-arg
6321 $endif
6322
6323\1f
bb70624e
JA
6324File: bashref.info, Node: Bindable Readline Commands, Next: Readline vi Mode, Prev: Readline Init File, Up: Command Line Editing
6325
761783bf
CR
63268.4 Bindable Readline Commands
6327==============================
bb70624e
JA
6328
6329* Menu:
6330
6331* Commands For Moving:: Moving about the line.
6332* Commands For History:: Getting at previous lines.
6333* Commands For Text:: Commands for changing text.
6334* Commands For Killing:: Commands for killing and yanking.
6335* Numeric Arguments:: Specifying numeric arguments, repeat counts.
6336* Commands For Completion:: Getting Readline to do the typing for you.
6337* Keyboard Macros:: Saving and re-executing typed characters
6338* Miscellaneous Commands:: Other miscellaneous commands.
6339
6340 This section describes Readline commands that may be bound to key
6341sequences. You can list your key bindings by executing `bind -P' or,
6342for a more terse format, suitable for an INPUTRC file, `bind -p'.
28ef6c31
JA
6343(*Note Bash Builtins::.) Command names without an accompanying key
6344sequence are unbound by default.
bb70624e 6345
28ef6c31
JA
6346 In the following descriptions, "point" refers to the current cursor
6347position, and "mark" refers to a cursor position saved by the
bb70624e 6348`set-mark' command. The text between the point and mark is referred to
28ef6c31 6349as the "region".
bb70624e
JA
6350
6351\1f
6352File: bashref.info, Node: Commands For Moving, Next: Commands For History, Up: Bindable Readline Commands
6353
761783bf
CR
63548.4.1 Commands For Moving
6355-------------------------
bb70624e
JA
6356
6357`beginning-of-line (C-a)'
6358 Move to the start of the current line.
6359
6360`end-of-line (C-e)'
6361 Move to the end of the line.
6362
6363`forward-char (C-f)'
6364 Move forward a character.
6365
6366`backward-char (C-b)'
6367 Move back a character.
6368
6369`forward-word (M-f)'
6370 Move forward to the end of the next word. Words are composed of
6371 letters and digits.
6372
6373`backward-word (M-b)'
6374 Move back to the start of the current or previous word. Words are
6375 composed of letters and digits.
6376
6377`clear-screen (C-l)'
6378 Clear the screen and redraw the current line, leaving the current
6379 line at the top of the screen.
6380
6381`redraw-current-line ()'
6382 Refresh the current line. By default, this is unbound.
6383
761783bf 6384
bb70624e
JA
6385\1f
6386File: bashref.info, Node: Commands For History, Next: Commands For Text, Prev: Commands For Moving, Up: Bindable Readline Commands
6387
761783bf
CR
63888.4.2 Commands For Manipulating The History
6389-------------------------------------------
bb70624e 6390
28ef6c31 6391`accept-line (Newline or Return)'
bb70624e
JA
6392 Accept the line regardless of where the cursor is. If this line is
6393 non-empty, add it to the history list according to the setting of
28ef6c31
JA
6394 the `HISTCONTROL' and `HISTIGNORE' variables. If this line is a
6395 modified history line, then restore the history line to its
6396 original state.
bb70624e
JA
6397
6398`previous-history (C-p)'
28ef6c31
JA
6399 Move `back' through the history list, fetching the previous
6400 command.
bb70624e
JA
6401
6402`next-history (C-n)'
28ef6c31 6403 Move `forward' through the history list, fetching the next command.
bb70624e
JA
6404
6405`beginning-of-history (M-<)'
6406 Move to the first line in the history.
6407
6408`end-of-history (M->)'
6409 Move to the end of the input history, i.e., the line currently
6410 being entered.
6411
6412`reverse-search-history (C-r)'
6413 Search backward starting at the current line and moving `up'
6414 through the history as necessary. This is an incremental search.
6415
6416`forward-search-history (C-s)'
6417 Search forward starting at the current line and moving `down'
6418 through the the history as necessary. This is an incremental
6419 search.
6420
6421`non-incremental-reverse-search-history (M-p)'
6422 Search backward starting at the current line and moving `up'
6423 through the history as necessary using a non-incremental search
6424 for a string supplied by the user.
6425
6426`non-incremental-forward-search-history (M-n)'
6427 Search forward starting at the current line and moving `down'
6428 through the the history as necessary using a non-incremental search
6429 for a string supplied by the user.
6430
6431`history-search-forward ()'
6432 Search forward through the history for the string of characters
6433 between the start of the current line and the point. This is a
6434 non-incremental search. By default, this command is unbound.
6435
6436`history-search-backward ()'
6437 Search backward through the history for the string of characters
6438 between the start of the current line and the point. This is a
6439 non-incremental search. By default, this command is unbound.
6440
6441`yank-nth-arg (M-C-y)'
6442 Insert the first argument to the previous command (usually the
28ef6c31
JA
6443 second word on the previous line) at point. With an argument N,
6444 insert the Nth word from the previous command (the words in the
6445 previous command begin with word 0). A negative argument inserts
6446 the Nth word from the end of the previous command.
bb70624e 6447
28ef6c31 6448`yank-last-arg (M-. or M-_)'
bb70624e
JA
6449 Insert last argument to the previous command (the last word of the
6450 previous history entry). With an argument, behave exactly like
6451 `yank-nth-arg'. Successive calls to `yank-last-arg' move back
6452 through the history list, inserting the last argument of each line
6453 in turn.
6454
761783bf 6455
bb70624e
JA
6456\1f
6457File: bashref.info, Node: Commands For Text, Next: Commands For Killing, Prev: Commands For History, Up: Bindable Readline Commands
6458
761783bf
CR
64598.4.3 Commands For Changing Text
6460--------------------------------
bb70624e
JA
6461
6462`delete-char (C-d)'
28ef6c31
JA
6463 Delete the character at point. If point is at the beginning of
6464 the line, there are no characters in the line, and the last
6465 character typed was not bound to `delete-char', then return EOF.
bb70624e
JA
6466
6467`backward-delete-char (Rubout)'
6468 Delete the character behind the cursor. A numeric argument means
6469 to kill the characters instead of deleting them.
6470
6471`forward-backward-delete-char ()'
6472 Delete the character under the cursor, unless the cursor is at the
6473 end of the line, in which case the character behind the cursor is
6474 deleted. By default, this is not bound to a key.
6475
28ef6c31 6476`quoted-insert (C-q or C-v)'
bb70624e 6477 Add the next character typed to the line verbatim. This is how to
28ef6c31 6478 insert key sequences like `C-q', for example.
bb70624e
JA
6479
6480`self-insert (a, b, A, 1, !, ...)'
6481 Insert yourself.
6482
6483`transpose-chars (C-t)'
6484 Drag the character before the cursor forward over the character at
6485 the cursor, moving the cursor forward as well. If the insertion
6486 point is at the end of the line, then this transposes the last two
6487 characters of the line. Negative arguments have no effect.
6488
6489`transpose-words (M-t)'
6490 Drag the word before point past the word after point, moving point
f73dda09
JA
6491 past that word as well. If the insertion point is at the end of
6492 the line, this transposes the last two words on the line.
bb70624e
JA
6493
6494`upcase-word (M-u)'
6495 Uppercase the current (or following) word. With a negative
6496 argument, uppercase the previous word, but do not move the cursor.
6497
6498`downcase-word (M-l)'
6499 Lowercase the current (or following) word. With a negative
6500 argument, lowercase the previous word, but do not move the cursor.
6501
6502`capitalize-word (M-c)'
6503 Capitalize the current (or following) word. With a negative
6504 argument, capitalize the previous word, but do not move the cursor.
6505
7117c2d2
JA
6506`overwrite-mode ()'
6507 Toggle overwrite mode. With an explicit positive numeric argument,
6508 switches to overwrite mode. With an explicit non-positive numeric
6509 argument, switches to insert mode. This command affects only
6510 `emacs' mode; `vi' mode does overwrite differently. Each call to
6511 `readline()' starts in insert mode.
6512
6513 In overwrite mode, characters bound to `self-insert' replace the
6514 text at point rather than pushing the text to the right.
6515 Characters bound to `backward-delete-char' replace the character
6516 before point with a space.
6517
6518 By default, this command is unbound.
6519
761783bf 6520
bb70624e
JA
6521\1f
6522File: bashref.info, Node: Commands For Killing, Next: Numeric Arguments, Prev: Commands For Text, Up: Bindable Readline Commands
6523
761783bf
CR
65248.4.4 Killing And Yanking
6525-------------------------
bb70624e
JA
6526
6527`kill-line (C-k)'
6528 Kill the text from point to the end of the line.
6529
6530`backward-kill-line (C-x Rubout)'
6531 Kill backward to the beginning of the line.
6532
6533`unix-line-discard (C-u)'
6534 Kill backward from the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
6535
6536`kill-whole-line ()'
28ef6c31
JA
6537 Kill all characters on the current line, no matter where point is.
6538 By default, this is unbound.
bb70624e
JA
6539
6540`kill-word (M-d)'
6541 Kill from point to the end of the current word, or if between
6542 words, to the end of the next word. Word boundaries are the same
6543 as `forward-word'.
6544
28ef6c31 6545`backward-kill-word (M-<DEL>)'
bb70624e
JA
6546 Kill the word behind point. Word boundaries are the same as
6547 `backward-word'.
6548
6549`unix-word-rubout (C-w)'
6550 Kill the word behind point, using white space as a word boundary.
6551 The killed text is saved on the kill-ring.
6552
113d85a4
CR
6553`unix-filename-rubout ()'
6554 Kill the word behind point, using white space and the slash
6555 character as the word boundaries. The killed text is saved on the
6556 kill-ring.
6557
bb70624e
JA
6558`delete-horizontal-space ()'
6559 Delete all spaces and tabs around point. By default, this is
6560 unbound.
6561
6562`kill-region ()'
6563 Kill the text in the current region. By default, this command is
6564 unbound.
6565
6566`copy-region-as-kill ()'
6567 Copy the text in the region to the kill buffer, so it can be yanked
6568 right away. By default, this command is unbound.
6569
6570`copy-backward-word ()'
6571 Copy the word before point to the kill buffer. The word
6572 boundaries are the same as `backward-word'. By default, this
6573 command is unbound.
6574
6575`copy-forward-word ()'
6576 Copy the word following point to the kill buffer. The word
6577 boundaries are the same as `forward-word'. By default, this
6578 command is unbound.
6579
6580`yank (C-y)'
28ef6c31 6581 Yank the top of the kill ring into the buffer at point.
bb70624e
JA
6582
6583`yank-pop (M-y)'
6584 Rotate the kill-ring, and yank the new top. You can only do this
28ef6c31 6585 if the prior command is `yank' or `yank-pop'.
bb70624e
JA
6586
6587\1f
6588File: bashref.info, Node: Numeric Arguments, Next: Commands For Completion, Prev: Commands For Killing, Up: Bindable Readline Commands
6589
761783bf
CR
65908.4.5 Specifying Numeric Arguments
6591----------------------------------
bb70624e
JA
6592
6593`digit-argument (M-0, M-1, ... M--)'
6594 Add this digit to the argument already accumulating, or start a new
28ef6c31 6595 argument. `M--' starts a negative argument.
bb70624e
JA
6596
6597`universal-argument ()'
6598 This is another way to specify an argument. If this command is
6599 followed by one or more digits, optionally with a leading minus
6600 sign, those digits define the argument. If the command is
6601 followed by digits, executing `universal-argument' again ends the
6602 numeric argument, but is otherwise ignored. As a special case, if
6603 this command is immediately followed by a character that is
6604 neither a digit or minus sign, the argument count for the next
6605 command is multiplied by four. The argument count is initially
6606 one, so executing this function the first time makes the argument
6607 count four, a second time makes the argument count sixteen, and so
6608 on. By default, this is not bound to a key.
6609
6610\1f
6611File: bashref.info, Node: Commands For Completion, Next: Keyboard Macros, Prev: Numeric Arguments, Up: Bindable Readline Commands
6612
761783bf
CR
66138.4.6 Letting Readline Type For You
6614-----------------------------------
bb70624e 6615
28ef6c31
JA
6616`complete (<TAB>)'
6617 Attempt to perform completion on the text before point. The
6618 actual completion performed is application-specific. Bash
6619 attempts completion treating the text as a variable (if the text
6620 begins with `$'), username (if the text begins with `~'), hostname
6621 (if the text begins with `@'), or command (including aliases and
6622 functions) in turn. If none of these produces a match, filename
6623 completion is attempted.
bb70624e
JA
6624
6625`possible-completions (M-?)'
28ef6c31 6626 List the possible completions of the text before point.
bb70624e
JA
6627
6628`insert-completions (M-*)'
6629 Insert all completions of the text before point that would have
6630 been generated by `possible-completions'.
6631
6632`menu-complete ()'
6633 Similar to `complete', but replaces the word to be completed with
6634 a single match from the list of possible completions. Repeated
6635 execution of `menu-complete' steps through the list of possible
6636 completions, inserting each match in turn. At the end of the list
28ef6c31
JA
6637 of completions, the bell is rung (subject to the setting of
6638 `bell-style') and the original text is restored. An argument of N
6639 moves N positions forward in the list of matches; a negative
6640 argument may be used to move backward through the list. This
6641 command is intended to be bound to <TAB>, but is unbound by
bb70624e
JA
6642 default.
6643
6644`delete-char-or-list ()'
6645 Deletes the character under the cursor if not at the beginning or
6646 end of the line (like `delete-char'). If at the end of the line,
6647 behaves identically to `possible-completions'. This command is
6648 unbound by default.
6649
6650`complete-filename (M-/)'
6651 Attempt filename completion on the text before point.
6652
6653`possible-filename-completions (C-x /)'
6654 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
6655 it as a filename.
6656
6657`complete-username (M-~)'
6658 Attempt completion on the text before point, treating it as a
6659 username.
6660
6661`possible-username-completions (C-x ~)'
6662 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
6663 it as a username.
6664
6665`complete-variable (M-$)'
6666 Attempt completion on the text before point, treating it as a
6667 shell variable.
6668
6669`possible-variable-completions (C-x $)'
6670 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
6671 it as a shell variable.
6672
6673`complete-hostname (M-@)'
6674 Attempt completion on the text before point, treating it as a
6675 hostname.
6676
6677`possible-hostname-completions (C-x @)'
6678 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
6679 it as a hostname.
6680
6681`complete-command (M-!)'
6682 Attempt completion on the text before point, treating it as a
6683 command name. Command completion attempts to match the text
6684 against aliases, reserved words, shell functions, shell builtins,
6685 and finally executable filenames, in that order.
6686
6687`possible-command-completions (C-x !)'
6688 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
6689 it as a command name.
6690
28ef6c31 6691`dynamic-complete-history (M-<TAB>)'
bb70624e
JA
6692 Attempt completion on the text before point, comparing the text
6693 against lines from the history list for possible completion
6694 matches.
6695
6696`complete-into-braces (M-{)'
6697 Perform filename completion and insert the list of possible
6698 completions enclosed within braces so the list is available to the
28ef6c31 6699 shell (*note Brace Expansion::).
bb70624e 6700
761783bf 6701
bb70624e
JA
6702\1f
6703File: bashref.info, Node: Keyboard Macros, Next: Miscellaneous Commands, Prev: Commands For Completion, Up: Bindable Readline Commands
6704
761783bf
CR
67058.4.7 Keyboard Macros
6706---------------------
bb70624e
JA
6707
6708`start-kbd-macro (C-x ()'
6709 Begin saving the characters typed into the current keyboard macro.
6710
6711`end-kbd-macro (C-x ))'
6712 Stop saving the characters typed into the current keyboard macro
6713 and save the definition.
6714
6715`call-last-kbd-macro (C-x e)'
6716 Re-execute the last keyboard macro defined, by making the
6717 characters in the macro appear as if typed at the keyboard.
6718
761783bf 6719
bb70624e
JA
6720\1f
6721File: bashref.info, Node: Miscellaneous Commands, Prev: Keyboard Macros, Up: Bindable Readline Commands
6722
761783bf
CR
67238.4.8 Some Miscellaneous Commands
6724---------------------------------
bb70624e
JA
6725
6726`re-read-init-file (C-x C-r)'
6727 Read in the contents of the INPUTRC file, and incorporate any
6728 bindings or variable assignments found there.
6729
6730`abort (C-g)'
6731 Abort the current editing command and ring the terminal's bell
6732 (subject to the setting of `bell-style').
6733
6734`do-uppercase-version (M-a, M-b, M-X, ...)'
6735 If the metafied character X is lowercase, run the command that is
6736 bound to the corresponding uppercase character.
6737
28ef6c31
JA
6738`prefix-meta (<ESC>)'
6739 Metafy the next character typed. This is for keyboards without a
6740 meta key. Typing `<ESC> f' is equivalent to typing `M-f'.
bb70624e 6741
28ef6c31 6742`undo (C-_ or C-x C-u)'
bb70624e
JA
6743 Incremental undo, separately remembered for each line.
6744
6745`revert-line (M-r)'
6746 Undo all changes made to this line. This is like executing the
6747 `undo' command enough times to get back to the beginning.
6748
6749`tilde-expand (M-&)'
6750 Perform tilde expansion on the current word.
6751
6752`set-mark (C-@)'
28ef6c31
JA
6753 Set the mark to the point. If a numeric argument is supplied, the
6754 mark is set to that position.
bb70624e
JA
6755
6756`exchange-point-and-mark (C-x C-x)'
6757 Swap the point with the mark. The current cursor position is set
6758 to the saved position, and the old cursor position is saved as the
6759 mark.
6760
6761`character-search (C-])'
6762 A character is read and point is moved to the next occurrence of
6763 that character. A negative count searches for previous
6764 occurrences.
6765
6766`character-search-backward (M-C-])'
6767 A character is read and point is moved to the previous occurrence
6768 of that character. A negative count searches for subsequent
6769 occurrences.
6770
6771`insert-comment (M-#)'
7117c2d2
JA
6772 Without a numeric argument, the value of the `comment-begin'
6773 variable is inserted at the beginning of the current line. If a
6774 numeric argument is supplied, this command acts as a toggle: if
6775 the characters at the beginning of the line do not match the value
6776 of `comment-begin', the value is inserted, otherwise the
6777 characters in `comment-begin' are deleted from the beginning of
6778 the line. In either case, the line is accepted as if a newline
6779 had been typed. The default value of `comment-begin' causes this
6780 command to make the current line a shell comment. If a numeric
6781 argument causes the comment character to be removed, the line will
6782 be executed by the shell.
bb70624e
JA
6783
6784`dump-functions ()'
6785 Print all of the functions and their key bindings to the Readline
6786 output stream. If a numeric argument is supplied, the output is
6787 formatted in such a way that it can be made part of an INPUTRC
6788 file. This command is unbound by default.
6789
6790`dump-variables ()'
6791 Print all of the settable variables and their values to the
6792 Readline output stream. If a numeric argument is supplied, the
6793 output is formatted in such a way that it can be made part of an
6794 INPUTRC file. This command is unbound by default.
6795
6796`dump-macros ()'
6797 Print all of the Readline key sequences bound to macros and the
28ef6c31
JA
6798 strings they output. If a numeric argument is supplied, the
6799 output is formatted in such a way that it can be made part of an
6800 INPUTRC file. This command is unbound by default.
bb70624e 6801
7117c2d2
JA
6802`glob-complete-word (M-g)'
6803 The word before point is treated as a pattern for pathname
6804 expansion, with an asterisk implicitly appended. This pattern is
6805 used to generate a list of matching file names for possible
6806 completions.
6807
bb70624e
JA
6808`glob-expand-word (C-x *)'
6809 The word before point is treated as a pattern for pathname
6810 expansion, and the list of matching file names is inserted,
7117c2d2
JA
6811 replacing the word. If a numeric argument is supplied, a `*' is
6812 appended before pathname expansion.
bb70624e
JA
6813
6814`glob-list-expansions (C-x g)'
6815 The list of expansions that would have been generated by
7117c2d2
JA
6816 `glob-expand-word' is displayed, and the line is redrawn. If a
6817 numeric argument is supplied, a `*' is appended before pathname
6818 expansion.
bb70624e
JA
6819
6820`display-shell-version (C-x C-v)'
6821 Display version information about the current instance of Bash.
6822
6823`shell-expand-line (M-C-e)'
6824 Expand the line as the shell does. This performs alias and
6825 history expansion as well as all of the shell word expansions
28ef6c31 6826 (*note Shell Expansions::).
bb70624e
JA
6827
6828`history-expand-line (M-^)'
6829 Perform history expansion on the current line.
6830
6831`magic-space ()'
6832 Perform history expansion on the current line and insert a space
28ef6c31 6833 (*note History Interaction::).
bb70624e
JA
6834
6835`alias-expand-line ()'
28ef6c31 6836 Perform alias expansion on the current line (*note Aliases::).
bb70624e
JA
6837
6838`history-and-alias-expand-line ()'
6839 Perform history and alias expansion on the current line.
6840
28ef6c31 6841`insert-last-argument (M-. or M-_)'
bb70624e
JA
6842 A synonym for `yank-last-arg'.
6843
6844`operate-and-get-next (C-o)'
6845 Accept the current line for execution and fetch the next line
6846 relative to the current line from the history for editing. Any
6847 argument is ignored.
6848
7117c2d2
JA
6849`edit-and-execute-command (C-xC-e)'
6850 Invoke an editor on the current command line, and execute the
c2258e1c 6851 result as shell commands. Bash attempts to invoke `$VISUAL',
7117c2d2 6852 `$EDITOR', and `emacs' as the editor, in that order.
bb70624e 6853
761783bf 6854
bb70624e
JA
6855\1f
6856File: bashref.info, Node: Readline vi Mode, Next: Programmable Completion, Prev: Bindable Readline Commands, Up: Command Line Editing
6857
761783bf
CR
68588.5 Readline vi Mode
6859====================
bb70624e 6860
761783bf 6861While the Readline library does not have a full set of `vi' editing
bb70624e
JA
6862functions, it does contain enough to allow simple editing of the line.
6863The Readline `vi' mode behaves as specified in the POSIX 1003.2
6864standard.
6865
6866 In order to switch interactively between `emacs' and `vi' editing
6867modes, use the `set -o emacs' and `set -o vi' commands (*note The Set
28ef6c31 6868Builtin::). The Readline default is `emacs' mode.
bb70624e
JA
6869
6870 When you enter a line in `vi' mode, you are already placed in
6871`insertion' mode, as if you had typed an `i'. Pressing <ESC> switches
6872you into `command' mode, where you can edit the text of the line with
6873the standard `vi' movement keys, move to previous history lines with
6874`k' and subsequent lines with `j', and so forth.
6875
6876\1f
6877File: bashref.info, Node: Programmable Completion, Next: Programmable Completion Builtins, Prev: Readline vi Mode, Up: Command Line Editing
6878
761783bf
CR
68798.6 Programmable Completion
6880===========================
bb70624e 6881
761783bf 6882When word completion is attempted for an argument to a command for
bb70624e 6883which a completion specification (a COMPSPEC) has been defined using
28ef6c31 6884the `complete' builtin (*note Programmable Completion Builtins::), the
bb70624e
JA
6885programmable completion facilities are invoked.
6886
6887 First, the command name is identified. If a compspec has been
6888defined for that command, the compspec is used to generate the list of
6889possible completions for the word. If the command word is a full
6890pathname, a compspec for the full pathname is searched for first. If
6891no compspec is found for the full pathname, an attempt is made to find
6892a compspec for the portion following the final slash.
6893
6894 Once a compspec has been found, it is used to generate the list of
6895matching words. If a compspec is not found, the default Bash completion
28ef6c31 6896described above (*note Commands For Completion::) is performed.
bb70624e
JA
6897
6898 First, the actions specified by the compspec are used. Only matches
6899which are prefixed by the word being completed are returned. When the
6900`-f' or `-d' option is used for filename or directory name completion,
6901the shell variable `FIGNORE' is used to filter the matches. *Note Bash
6902Variables::, for a description of `FIGNORE'.
6903
6904 Any completions specified by a filename expansion pattern to the
6905`-G' option are generated next. The words generated by the pattern
6906need not match the word being completed. The `GLOBIGNORE' shell
6907variable is not used to filter the matches, but the `FIGNORE' shell
6908variable is used.
6909
6910 Next, the string specified as the argument to the `-W' option is
6911considered. The string is first split using the characters in the `IFS'
6912special variable as delimiters. Shell quoting is honored. Each word
6913is then expanded using brace expansion, tilde expansion, parameter and
6914variable expansion, command substitution, arithmetic expansion, and
28ef6c31
JA
6915pathname expansion, as described above (*note Shell Expansions::). The
6916results are split using the rules described above (*note Word
6917Splitting::). The results of the expansion are prefix-matched against
bb70624e
JA
6918the word being completed, and the matching words become the possible
6919completions.
6920
6921 After these matches have been generated, any shell function or
6922command specified with the `-F' and `-C' options is invoked. When the
6923command or function is invoked, the `COMP_LINE' and `COMP_POINT'
6924variables are assigned values as described above (*note Bash
28ef6c31 6925Variables::). If a shell function is being invoked, the `COMP_WORDS'
bb70624e
JA
6926and `COMP_CWORD' variables are also set. When the function or command
6927is invoked, the first argument is the name of the command whose
6928arguments are being completed, the second argument is the word being
6929completed, and the third argument is the word preceding the word being
6930completed on the current command line. No filtering of the generated
6931completions against the word being completed is performed; the function
6932or command has complete freedom in generating the matches.
6933
6934 Any function specified with `-F' is invoked first. The function may
6935use any of the shell facilities, including the `compgen' builtin
28ef6c31
JA
6936described below (*note Programmable Completion Builtins::), to generate
6937the matches. It must put the possible completions in the `COMPREPLY'
6938array variable.
bb70624e
JA
6939
6940 Next, any command specified with the `-C' option is invoked in an
6941environment equivalent to command substitution. It should print a list
6942of completions, one per line, to the standard output. Backslash may be
6943used to escape a newline, if necessary.
6944
6945 After all of the possible completions are generated, any filter
6946specified with the `-X' option is applied to the list. The filter is a
6947pattern as used for pathname expansion; a `&' in the pattern is
6948replaced with the text of the word being completed. A literal `&' may
6949be escaped with a backslash; the backslash is removed before attempting
6950a match. Any completion that matches the pattern will be removed from
6951the list. A leading `!' negates the pattern; in this case any
6952completion not matching the pattern will be removed.
6953
6954 Finally, any prefix and suffix specified with the `-P' and `-S'
6955options are added to each member of the completion list, and the result
6956is returned to the Readline completion code as the list of possible
6957completions.
6958
28ef6c31
JA
6959 If the previously-applied actions do not generate any matches, and
6960the `-o dirnames' option was supplied to `complete' when the compspec
6961was defined, directory name completion is attempted.
6962
d3a24ed2
CR
6963 If the `-o plusdirs' option was supplied to `complete' when the
6964compspec was defined, directory name completion is attempted and any
6965matches are added to the results of the other actions.
6966
28ef6c31
JA
6967 By default, if a compspec is found, whatever it generates is
6968returned to the completion code as the full set of possible completions.
6969The default Bash completions are not attempted, and the Readline default
d3a24ed2
CR
6970of filename completion is disabled. If the `-o bashdefault' option was
6971supplied to `complete' when the compspec was defined, the default Bash
6972completions are attempted if the compspec generates no matches. If the
6973`-o default' option was supplied to `complete' when the compspec was
6974defined, Readline's default completion will be performed if the
6975compspec (and, if attempted, the default Bash completions) generate no
28ef6c31 6976matches.
bb70624e 6977
7117c2d2
JA
6978 When a compspec indicates that directory name completion is desired,
6979the programmable completion functions force Readline to append a slash
6980to completed names which are symbolic links to directories, subject to
6981the value of the MARK-DIRECTORIES Readline variable, regardless of the
6982setting of the MARK-SYMLINKED-DIRECTORIES Readline variable.
6983
bb70624e
JA
6984\1f
6985File: bashref.info, Node: Programmable Completion Builtins, Prev: Programmable Completion, Up: Command Line Editing
6986
761783bf
CR
69878.7 Programmable Completion Builtins
6988====================================
bb70624e 6989
761783bf 6990Two builtin commands are available to manipulate the programmable
bb70624e
JA
6991completion facilities.
6992
6993`compgen'
6994 `compgen [OPTION] [WORD]'
6995
6996 Generate possible completion matches for WORD according to the
6997 OPTIONs, which may be any option accepted by the `complete'
6998 builtin with the exception of `-p' and `-r', and write the matches
6999 to the standard output. When using the `-F' or `-C' options, the
7000 various shell variables set by the programmable completion
7001 facilities, while available, will not have useful values.
7002
7003 The matches will be generated in the same way as if the
7004 programmable completion code had generated them directly from a
7005 completion specification with the same flags. If WORD is
7006 specified, only those completions matching WORD will be displayed.
7007
7008 The return value is true unless an invalid option is supplied, or
7009 no matches were generated.
7010
7011`complete'
7117c2d2 7012 `complete [-abcdefgjksuv] [-o COMP-OPTION] [-A ACTION] [-G GLOBPAT] [-W WORDLIST]
bb70624e
JA
7013 [-P PREFIX] [-S SUFFIX] [-X FILTERPAT] [-F FUNCTION]
7014 [-C COMMAND] NAME [NAME ...]'
7015 `complete -pr [NAME ...]'
7016
7017 Specify how arguments to each NAME should be completed. If the
7018 `-p' option is supplied, or if no options are supplied, existing
7019 completion specifications are printed in a way that allows them to
7020 be reused as input. The `-r' option removes a completion
7021 specification for each NAME, or, if no NAMEs are supplied, all
7022 completion specifications.
7023
7024 The process of applying these completion specifications when word
7025 completion is attempted is described above (*note Programmable
28ef6c31 7026 Completion::).
bb70624e
JA
7027
7028 Other options, if specified, have the following meanings. The
7029 arguments to the `-G', `-W', and `-X' options (and, if necessary,
7030 the `-P' and `-S' options) should be quoted to protect them from
7031 expansion before the `complete' builtin is invoked.
7032
28ef6c31
JA
7033 `-o COMP-OPTION'
7034 The COMP-OPTION controls several aspects of the compspec's
7035 behavior beyond the simple generation of completions.
7036 COMP-OPTION may be one of:
7037
d3a24ed2
CR
7038 `bashdefault'
7039 Perform the rest of the default Bash completions if the
7040 compspec generates no matches.
7041
28ef6c31 7042 `default'
7117c2d2
JA
7043 Use Readline's default filename completion if the
7044 compspec generates no matches.
28ef6c31
JA
7045
7046 `dirnames'
7047 Perform directory name completion if the compspec
7048 generates no matches.
7049
7050 `filenames'
7051 Tell Readline that the compspec generates filenames, so
d3a24ed2 7052 it can perform any filename-specific processing (like
28ef6c31
JA
7053 adding a slash to directory names or suppressing
7054 trailing spaces). This option is intended to be used
7055 with shell functions specified with `-F'.
7056
7117c2d2
JA
7057 `nospace'
7058 Tell Readline not to append a space (the default) to
7059 words completed at the end of the line.
7060
bb70624e
JA
7061 `-A ACTION'
7062 The ACTION may be one of the following to generate a list of
7063 possible completions:
7064
7065 `alias'
7066 Alias names. May also be specified as `-a'.
7067
7068 `arrayvar'
7069 Array variable names.
7070
7071 `binding'
7072 Readline key binding names (*note Bindable Readline
28ef6c31 7073 Commands::).
bb70624e
JA
7074
7075 `builtin'
7076 Names of shell builtin commands. May also be specified
7077 as `-b'.
7078
7079 `command'
7080 Command names. May also be specified as `-c'.
7081
7082 `directory'
7083 Directory names. May also be specified as `-d'.
7084
7085 `disabled'
7086 Names of disabled shell builtins.
7087
7088 `enabled'
7089 Names of enabled shell builtins.
7090
7091 `export'
7092 Names of exported shell variables. May also be
7093 specified as `-e'.
7094
7095 `file'
7096 File names. May also be specified as `-f'.
7097
7098 `function'
7099 Names of shell functions.
7100
f73dda09
JA
7101 `group'
7102 Group names. May also be specified as `-g'.
7103
bb70624e
JA
7104 `helptopic'
7105 Help topics as accepted by the `help' builtin (*note
28ef6c31 7106 Bash Builtins::).
bb70624e
JA
7107
7108 `hostname'
7109 Hostnames, as taken from the file specified by the
28ef6c31 7110 `HOSTFILE' shell variable (*note Bash Variables::).
bb70624e
JA
7111
7112 `job'
7113 Job names, if job control is active. May also be
7114 specified as `-j'.
7115
7116 `keyword'
7117 Shell reserved words. May also be specified as `-k'.
7118
7119 `running'
7120 Names of running jobs, if job control is active.
7121
7117c2d2
JA
7122 `service'
7123 Service names. May also be specified as `-s'.
7124
bb70624e
JA
7125 `setopt'
7126 Valid arguments for the `-o' option to the `set' builtin
28ef6c31 7127 (*note The Set Builtin::).
bb70624e
JA
7128
7129 `shopt'
7130 Shell option names as accepted by the `shopt' builtin
28ef6c31 7131 (*note Bash Builtins::).
bb70624e
JA
7132
7133 `signal'
7134 Signal names.
7135
7136 `stopped'
7137 Names of stopped jobs, if job control is active.
7138
7139 `user'
7140 User names. May also be specified as `-u'.
7141
7142 `variable'
7143 Names of all shell variables. May also be specified as
7144 `-v'.
7145
7146 `-G GLOBPAT'
7147 The filename expansion pattern GLOBPAT is expanded to generate
7148 the possible completions.
7149
7150 `-W WORDLIST'
7151 The WORDLIST is split using the characters in the `IFS'
7152 special variable as delimiters, and each resultant word is
7153 expanded. The possible completions are the members of the
7154 resultant list which match the word being completed.
7155
7156 `-C COMMAND'
7157 COMMAND is executed in a subshell environment, and its output
7158 is used as the possible completions.
7159
7160 `-F FUNCTION'
7161 The shell function FUNCTION is executed in the current shell
7162 environment. When it finishes, the possible completions are
7163 retrieved from the value of the `COMPREPLY' array variable.
7164
7165 `-X FILTERPAT'
7166 FILTERPAT is a pattern as used for filename expansion. It is
7167 applied to the list of possible completions generated by the
7168 preceding options and arguments, and each completion matching
7169 FILTERPAT is removed from the list. A leading `!' in
7170 FILTERPAT negates the pattern; in this case, any completion
7171 not matching FILTERPAT is removed.
7172
7173 `-P PREFIX'
7174 PREFIX is added at the beginning of each possible completion
7175 after all other options have been applied.
7176
7177 `-S SUFFIX'
7178 SUFFIX is appended to each possible completion after all
7179 other options have been applied.
7180
7181 The return value is true unless an invalid option is supplied, an
7182 option other than `-p' or `-r' is supplied without a NAME
7183 argument, an attempt is made to remove a completion specification
7184 for a NAME for which no specification exists, or an error occurs
7185 adding a completion specification.
7186
761783bf 7187
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JA
7188\1f
7189File: bashref.info, Node: Using History Interactively, Next: Command Line Editing, Prev: Job Control, Up: Top
7190
761783bf
CR
71919 Using History Interactively
7192*****************************
bb70624e 7193
761783bf 7194This chapter describes how to use the GNU History Library
bb70624e
JA
7195interactively, from a user's standpoint. It should be considered a
7196user's guide. For information on using the GNU History Library in
7197other programs, see the GNU Readline Library Manual.
7198
7199* Menu:
7200
7201* Bash History Facilities:: How Bash lets you manipulate your command
7202 history.
7203* Bash History Builtins:: The Bash builtin commands that manipulate
7204 the command history.
7205* History Interaction:: What it feels like using History as a user.
7206
7207\1f
7208File: bashref.info, Node: Bash History Facilities, Next: Bash History Builtins, Up: Using History Interactively
7209
761783bf
CR
72109.1 Bash History Facilities
7211===========================
bb70624e 7212
761783bf
CR
7213When the `-o history' option to the `set' builtin is enabled (*note The
7214Set Builtin::), the shell provides access to the "command history", the
7215list of commands previously typed. The value of the `HISTSIZE' shell
7216variable is used as the number of commands to save in a history list.
7217The text of the last `$HISTSIZE' commands (default 500) is saved. The
7218shell stores each command in the history list prior to parameter and
7219variable expansion but after history expansion is performed, subject to
7220the values of the shell variables `HISTIGNORE' and `HISTCONTROL'.
bb70624e
JA
7221
7222 When the shell starts up, the history is initialized from the file
7223named by the `HISTFILE' variable (default `~/.bash_history'). The file
7224named by the value of `HISTFILE' is truncated, if necessary, to contain
7225no more than the number of lines specified by the value of the
7226`HISTFILESIZE' variable. When an interactive shell exits, the last
7227`$HISTSIZE' lines are copied from the history list to the file named by
7228`$HISTFILE'. If the `histappend' shell option is set (*note Bash
28ef6c31 7229Builtins::), the lines are appended to the history file, otherwise the
bb70624e
JA
7230history file is overwritten. If `HISTFILE' is unset, or if the history
7231file is unwritable, the history is not saved. After saving the
7232history, the history file is truncated to contain no more than
7233`$HISTFILESIZE' lines. If `HISTFILESIZE' is not set, no truncation is
7234performed.
7235
d3a24ed2
CR
7236 If the `HISTTIMEFORMAT' is set, the time stamp information
7237associated with each history entry is written to the history file.
7238
bb70624e
JA
7239 The builtin command `fc' may be used to list or edit and re-execute
7240a portion of the history list. The `history' builtin may be used to
7241display or modify the history list and manipulate the history file.
7242When using command-line editing, search commands are available in each
7243editing mode that provide access to the history list (*note Commands
28ef6c31 7244For History::).
bb70624e
JA
7245
7246 The shell allows control over which commands are saved on the history
7247list. The `HISTCONTROL' and `HISTIGNORE' variables may be set to cause
7248the shell to save only a subset of the commands entered. The `cmdhist'
7249shell option, if enabled, causes the shell to attempt to save each line
7250of a multi-line command in the same history entry, adding semicolons
7251where necessary to preserve syntactic correctness. The `lithist' shell
7252option causes the shell to save the command with embedded newlines
7253instead of semicolons. The `shopt' builtin is used to set these
7254options. *Note Bash Builtins::, for a description of `shopt'.
7255
7256\1f
7257File: bashref.info, Node: Bash History Builtins, Next: History Interaction, Prev: Bash History Facilities, Up: Using History Interactively
7258
761783bf
CR
72599.2 Bash History Builtins
7260=========================
bb70624e 7261
761783bf 7262Bash provides two builtin commands which manipulate the history list
bb70624e
JA
7263and history file.
7264
7265`fc'
7266 `fc [-e ENAME] [-nlr] [FIRST] [LAST]'
7267 `fc -s [PAT=REP] [COMMAND]'
7268
7269 Fix Command. In the first form, a range of commands from FIRST to
7270 LAST is selected from the history list. Both FIRST and LAST may
7271 be specified as a string (to locate the most recent command
7272 beginning with that string) or as a number (an index into the
7273 history list, where a negative number is used as an offset from the
7274 current command number). If LAST is not specified it is set to
7275 FIRST. If FIRST is not specified it is set to the previous
7276 command for editing and -16 for listing. If the `-l' flag is
7277 given, the commands are listed on standard output. The `-n' flag
7278 suppresses the command numbers when listing. The `-r' flag
7279 reverses the order of the listing. Otherwise, the editor given by
7280 ENAME is invoked on a file containing those commands. If ENAME is
7281 not given, the value of the following variable expansion is used:
7282 `${FCEDIT:-${EDITOR:-vi}}'. This says to use the value of the
7283 `FCEDIT' variable if set, or the value of the `EDITOR' variable if
7284 that is set, or `vi' if neither is set. When editing is complete,
7285 the edited commands are echoed and executed.
7286
7287 In the second form, COMMAND is re-executed after each instance of
7288 PAT in the selected command is replaced by REP.
7289
7290 A useful alias to use with the `fc' command is `r='fc -s'', so
7291 that typing `r cc' runs the last command beginning with `cc' and
28ef6c31 7292 typing `r' re-executes the last command (*note Aliases::).
bb70624e
JA
7293
7294`history'
7295 history [N]
7296 history -c
7297 history -d OFFSET
7298 history [-anrw] [FILENAME]
7299 history -ps ARG
7300
7301 With no options, display the history list with line numbers.
28ef6c31 7302 Lines prefixed with a `*' have been modified. An argument of N
d3a24ed2
CR
7303 lists only the last N lines. If the shell variable
7304 `HISTTIMEFORMAT' is set and not null, it is used as a format
7305 string for STRFTIME to display the time stamp associated with each
7306 displayed history entry. No intervening blank is printed between
7307 the formatted time stamp and the history line.
7308
7309 Options, if supplied, have the following meanings:
bb70624e
JA
7310
7311 `-c'
7312 Clear the history list. This may be combined with the other
7313 options to replace the history list completely.
7314
7315 `-d OFFSET'
7316 Delete the history entry at position OFFSET. OFFSET should
7317 be specified as it appears when the history is displayed.
7318
7319 `-a'
7320 Append the new history lines (history lines entered since the
7321 beginning of the current Bash session) to the history file.
7322
7323 `-n'
7324 Append the history lines not already read from the history
7325 file to the current history list. These are lines appended
7326 to the history file since the beginning of the current Bash
7327 session.
7328
7329 `-r'
7330 Read the current history file and append its contents to the
7331 history list.
7332
7333 `-w'
7334 Write out the current history to the history file.
7335
7336 `-p'
7337 Perform history substitution on the ARGs and display the
7338 result on the standard output, without storing the results in
7339 the history list.
7340
7341 `-s'
7342 The ARGs are added to the end of the history list as a single
7343 entry.
7344
761783bf 7345
bb70624e
JA
7346 When any of the `-w', `-r', `-a', or `-n' options is used, if
7347 FILENAME is given, then it is used as the history file. If not,
7348 then the value of the `HISTFILE' variable is used.
7349
761783bf 7350
bb70624e
JA
7351\1f
7352File: bashref.info, Node: History Interaction, Prev: Bash History Builtins, Up: Using History Interactively
ccc6cda3 7353
761783bf
CR
73549.3 History Expansion
7355=====================
ccc6cda3 7356
761783bf
CR
7357The History library provides a history expansion feature that is similar
7358to the history expansion provided by `csh'. This section describes the
7359syntax used to manipulate the history information.
ccc6cda3 7360
bb70624e
JA
7361 History expansions introduce words from the history list into the
7362input stream, making it easy to repeat commands, insert the arguments
7363to a previous command into the current input line, or fix errors in
7364previous commands quickly.
ccc6cda3 7365
bb70624e
JA
7366 History expansion takes place in two parts. The first is to
7367determine which line from the history list should be used during
7368substitution. The second is to select portions of that line for
7369inclusion into the current one. The line selected from the history is
7370called the "event", and the portions of that line that are acted upon
7371are called "words". Various "modifiers" are available to manipulate
7372the selected words. The line is broken into words in the same fashion
7373that Bash does, so that several words surrounded by quotes are
7374considered one word. History expansions are introduced by the
7375appearance of the history expansion character, which is `!' by default.
7376Only `\' and `'' may be used to escape the history expansion character.
7377
7378 Several shell options settable with the `shopt' builtin (*note Bash
28ef6c31 7379Builtins::) may be used to tailor the behavior of history expansion.
bb70624e
JA
7380If the `histverify' shell option is enabled, and Readline is being
7381used, history substitutions are not immediately passed to the shell
7382parser. Instead, the expanded line is reloaded into the Readline
7383editing buffer for further modification. If Readline is being used,
7384and the `histreedit' shell option is enabled, a failed history
7385expansion will be reloaded into the Readline editing buffer for
7386correction. The `-p' option to the `history' builtin command may be
7387used to see what a history expansion will do before using it. The `-s'
7388option to the `history' builtin may be used to add commands to the end
7389of the history list without actually executing them, so that they are
7390available for subsequent recall. This is most useful in conjunction
7391with Readline.
7392
7393 The shell allows control of the various characters used by the
7394history expansion mechanism with the `histchars' variable.
7395
7396* Menu:
7397
7398* Event Designators:: How to specify which history line to use.
7399* Word Designators:: Specifying which words are of interest.
7400* Modifiers:: Modifying the results of substitution.
ccc6cda3
JA
7401
7402\1f
bb70624e 7403File: bashref.info, Node: Event Designators, Next: Word Designators, Up: History Interaction
ccc6cda3 7404
761783bf
CR
74059.3.1 Event Designators
7406-----------------------
ccc6cda3 7407
761783bf
CR
7408An event designator is a reference to a command line entry in the
7409history list.
ccc6cda3 7410
bb70624e
JA
7411`!'
7412 Start a history substitution, except when followed by a space, tab,
d3a24ed2
CR
7413 the end of the line, `=' or `(' (when the `extglob' shell option
7414 is enabled using the `shopt' builtin).
ccc6cda3 7415
bb70624e
JA
7416`!N'
7417 Refer to command line N.
ccc6cda3 7418
bb70624e
JA
7419`!-N'
7420 Refer to the command N lines back.
ccc6cda3 7421
bb70624e
JA
7422`!!'
7423 Refer to the previous command. This is a synonym for `!-1'.
ccc6cda3 7424
bb70624e
JA
7425`!STRING'
7426 Refer to the most recent command starting with STRING.
ccc6cda3 7427
bb70624e
JA
7428`!?STRING[?]'
7429 Refer to the most recent command containing STRING. The trailing
7430 `?' may be omitted if the STRING is followed immediately by a
7431 newline.
ccc6cda3 7432
bb70624e
JA
7433`^STRING1^STRING2^'
7434 Quick Substitution. Repeat the last command, replacing STRING1
7435 with STRING2. Equivalent to `!!:s/STRING1/STRING2/'.
7436
7437`!#'
7438 The entire command line typed so far.
ccc6cda3 7439
761783bf 7440
ccc6cda3 7441\1f
bb70624e 7442File: bashref.info, Node: Word Designators, Next: Modifiers, Prev: Event Designators, Up: History Interaction
ccc6cda3 7443
761783bf
CR
74449.3.2 Word Designators
7445----------------------
ccc6cda3 7446
761783bf 7447Word designators are used to select desired words from the event. A
bb70624e
JA
7448`:' separates the event specification from the word designator. It may
7449be omitted if the word designator begins with a `^', `$', `*', `-', or
7450`%'. Words are numbered from the beginning of the line, with the first
7451word being denoted by 0 (zero). Words are inserted into the current
7452line separated by single spaces.
ccc6cda3 7453
bb70624e 7454 For example,
ccc6cda3 7455
bb70624e
JA
7456`!!'
7457 designates the preceding command. When you type this, the
7458 preceding command is repeated in toto.
ccc6cda3 7459
bb70624e
JA
7460`!!:$'
7461 designates the last argument of the preceding command. This may be
7462 shortened to `!$'.
ccc6cda3 7463
bb70624e
JA
7464`!fi:2'
7465 designates the second argument of the most recent command starting
7466 with the letters `fi'.
ccc6cda3 7467
bb70624e 7468 Here are the word designators:
ccc6cda3 7469
bb70624e
JA
7470`0 (zero)'
7471 The `0'th word. For many applications, this is the command word.
ccc6cda3 7472
bb70624e
JA
7473`N'
7474 The Nth word.
ccc6cda3 7475
bb70624e
JA
7476`^'
7477 The first argument; that is, word 1.
ccc6cda3 7478
bb70624e
JA
7479`$'
7480 The last argument.
ccc6cda3 7481
bb70624e
JA
7482`%'
7483 The word matched by the most recent `?STRING?' search.
ccc6cda3 7484
bb70624e
JA
7485`X-Y'
7486 A range of words; `-Y' abbreviates `0-Y'.
ccc6cda3 7487
bb70624e
JA
7488`*'
7489 All of the words, except the `0'th. This is a synonym for `1-$'.
7490 It is not an error to use `*' if there is just one word in the
7491 event; the empty string is returned in that case.
7492
7493`X*'
7494 Abbreviates `X-$'
7495
7496`X-'
7497 Abbreviates `X-$' like `X*', but omits the last word.
7498
761783bf 7499
bb70624e
JA
7500 If a word designator is supplied without an event specification, the
7501previous command is used as the event.
ccc6cda3
JA
7502
7503\1f
bb70624e 7504File: bashref.info, Node: Modifiers, Prev: Word Designators, Up: History Interaction
ccc6cda3 7505
761783bf
CR
75069.3.3 Modifiers
7507---------------
ccc6cda3 7508
761783bf 7509After the optional word designator, you can add a sequence of one or
bb70624e 7510more of the following modifiers, each preceded by a `:'.
ccc6cda3 7511
bb70624e
JA
7512`h'
7513 Remove a trailing pathname component, leaving only the head.
ccc6cda3 7514
bb70624e
JA
7515`t'
7516 Remove all leading pathname components, leaving the tail.
7517
7518`r'
7519 Remove a trailing suffix of the form `.SUFFIX', leaving the
7520 basename.
7521
7522`e'
7523 Remove all but the trailing suffix.
7524
7525`p'
7526 Print the new command but do not execute it.
7527
7528`q'
7529 Quote the substituted words, escaping further substitutions.
7530
7531`x'
7532 Quote the substituted words as with `q', but break into words at
7533 spaces, tabs, and newlines.
7534
7535`s/OLD/NEW/'
7536 Substitute NEW for the first occurrence of OLD in the event line.
7537 Any delimiter may be used in place of `/'. The delimiter may be
7538 quoted in OLD and NEW with a single backslash. If `&' appears in
7539 NEW, it is replaced by OLD. A single backslash will quote the
7540 `&'. The final delimiter is optional if it is the last character
7541 on the input line.
7542
7543`&'
7544 Repeat the previous substitution.
7545
7546`g'
d3a24ed2 7547`a'
bb70624e
JA
7548 Cause changes to be applied over the entire event line. Used in
7549 conjunction with `s', as in `gs/OLD/NEW/', or with `&'.
7550
d3a24ed2
CR
7551`G'
7552 Apply the following `s' modifier once to each word in the event.
7553
761783bf 7554
bb70624e
JA
7555\1f
7556File: bashref.info, Node: Installing Bash, Next: Reporting Bugs, Prev: Command Line Editing, Up: Top
7557
761783bf
CR
755810 Installing Bash
7559******************
b72432fd 7560
761783bf 7561This chapter provides basic instructions for installing Bash on the
bb70624e
JA
7562various supported platforms. The distribution supports the GNU
7563operating systems, nearly every version of Unix, and several non-Unix
7564systems such as BeOS and Interix. Other independent ports exist for
d3a24ed2 7565MS-DOS, OS/2, and Windows platforms.
ccc6cda3 7566
bb70624e 7567* Menu:
ccc6cda3 7568
bb70624e 7569* Basic Installation:: Installation instructions.
ccc6cda3 7570
bb70624e
JA
7571* Compilers and Options:: How to set special options for various
7572 systems.
ccc6cda3 7573
bb70624e
JA
7574* Compiling For Multiple Architectures:: How to compile Bash for more
7575 than one kind of system from
7576 the same source tree.
ccc6cda3 7577
bb70624e 7578* Installation Names:: How to set the various paths used by the installation.
ccc6cda3 7579
bb70624e 7580* Specifying the System Type:: How to configure Bash for a particular system.
ccc6cda3 7581
bb70624e
JA
7582* Sharing Defaults:: How to share default configuration values among GNU
7583 programs.
ccc6cda3 7584
bb70624e 7585* Operation Controls:: Options recognized by the configuration program.
ccc6cda3 7586
bb70624e
JA
7587* Optional Features:: How to enable and disable optional features when
7588 building Bash.
ccc6cda3 7589
bb70624e
JA
7590\1f
7591File: bashref.info, Node: Basic Installation, Next: Compilers and Options, Up: Installing Bash
ccc6cda3 7592
761783bf
CR
759310.1 Basic Installation
7594=======================
ccc6cda3 7595
761783bf 7596These are installation instructions for Bash.
ccc6cda3 7597
bb70624e 7598 The simplest way to compile Bash is:
ccc6cda3 7599
bb70624e
JA
7600 1. `cd' to the directory containing the source code and type
7601 `./configure' to configure Bash for your system. If you're using
7602 `csh' on an old version of System V, you might need to type `sh
7603 ./configure' instead to prevent `csh' from trying to execute
7604 `configure' itself.
ccc6cda3 7605
bb70624e
JA
7606 Running `configure' takes some time. While running, it prints
7607 messages telling which features it is checking for.
ccc6cda3 7608
bb70624e
JA
7609 2. Type `make' to compile Bash and build the `bashbug' bug reporting
7610 script.
ccc6cda3 7611
bb70624e 7612 3. Optionally, type `make tests' to run the Bash test suite.
ccc6cda3 7613
bb70624e
JA
7614 4. Type `make install' to install `bash' and `bashbug'. This will
7615 also install the manual pages and Info file.
ccc6cda3 7616
ccc6cda3 7617
bb70624e
JA
7618 The `configure' shell script attempts to guess correct values for
7619various system-dependent variables used during compilation. It uses
7620those values to create a `Makefile' in each directory of the package
7621(the top directory, the `builtins', `doc', and `support' directories,
7622each directory under `lib', and several others). It also creates a
7623`config.h' file containing system-dependent definitions. Finally, it
7624creates a shell script named `config.status' that you can run in the
7625future to recreate the current configuration, a file `config.cache'
7626that saves the results of its tests to speed up reconfiguring, and a
7627file `config.log' containing compiler output (useful mainly for
7628debugging `configure'). If at some point `config.cache' contains
7629results you don't want to keep, you may remove or edit it.
ccc6cda3 7630
bb70624e
JA
7631 To find out more about the options and arguments that the
7632`configure' script understands, type
ccc6cda3 7633
bb70624e 7634 bash-2.04$ ./configure --help
ccc6cda3 7635
bb70624e 7636at the Bash prompt in your Bash source directory.
ccc6cda3 7637
bb70624e
JA
7638 If you need to do unusual things to compile Bash, please try to
7639figure out how `configure' could check whether or not to do them, and
7640mail diffs or instructions to <bash-maintainers@gnu.org> so they can be
7641considered for the next release.
ccc6cda3 7642
bb70624e
JA
7643 The file `configure.in' is used to create `configure' by a program
7644called Autoconf. You only need `configure.in' if you want to change it
7645or regenerate `configure' using a newer version of Autoconf. If you do
f73dda09 7646this, make sure you are using Autoconf version 2.50 or newer.
ccc6cda3 7647
bb70624e
JA
7648 You can remove the program binaries and object files from the source
7649code directory by typing `make clean'. To also remove the files that
7650`configure' created (so you can compile Bash for a different kind of
7651computer), type `make distclean'.
ccc6cda3 7652
bb70624e
JA
7653\1f
7654File: bashref.info, Node: Compilers and Options, Next: Compiling For Multiple Architectures, Prev: Basic Installation, Up: Installing Bash
ccc6cda3 7655
761783bf
CR
765610.2 Compilers and Options
7657==========================
ccc6cda3 7658
761783bf 7659Some systems require unusual options for compilation or linking that
bb70624e
JA
7660the `configure' script does not know about. You can give `configure'
7661initial values for variables by setting them in the environment. Using
7662a Bourne-compatible shell, you can do that on the command line like
7663this:
ccc6cda3 7664
bb70624e 7665 CC=c89 CFLAGS=-O2 LIBS=-lposix ./configure
ccc6cda3 7666
bb70624e 7667 On systems that have the `env' program, you can do it like this:
cce855bc 7668
bb70624e 7669 env CPPFLAGS=-I/usr/local/include LDFLAGS=-s ./configure
b72432fd 7670
bb70624e 7671 The configuration process uses GCC to build Bash if it is available.
ccc6cda3 7672
bb70624e
JA
7673\1f
7674File: bashref.info, Node: Compiling For Multiple Architectures, Next: Installation Names, Prev: Compilers and Options, Up: Installing Bash
ccc6cda3 7675
761783bf
CR
767610.3 Compiling For Multiple Architectures
7677=========================================
ccc6cda3 7678
761783bf 7679You can compile Bash for more than one kind of computer at the same
bb70624e
JA
7680time, by placing the object files for each architecture in their own
7681directory. To do this, you must use a version of `make' that supports
7682the `VPATH' variable, such as GNU `make'. `cd' to the directory where
7683you want the object files and executables to go and run the `configure'
7684script from the source directory. You may need to supply the
7685`--srcdir=PATH' argument to tell `configure' where the source files
7686are. `configure' automatically checks for the source code in the
7687directory that `configure' is in and in `..'.
ccc6cda3 7688
bb70624e
JA
7689 If you have to use a `make' that does not supports the `VPATH'
7690variable, you can compile Bash for one architecture at a time in the
7691source code directory. After you have installed Bash for one
7692architecture, use `make distclean' before reconfiguring for another
7693architecture.
ccc6cda3 7694
bb70624e
JA
7695 Alternatively, if your system supports symbolic links, you can use
7696the `support/mkclone' script to create a build tree which has symbolic
7697links back to each file in the source directory. Here's an example
7698that creates a build directory in the current directory from a source
7699directory `/usr/gnu/src/bash-2.0':
ccc6cda3 7700
bb70624e 7701 bash /usr/gnu/src/bash-2.0/support/mkclone -s /usr/gnu/src/bash-2.0 .
ccc6cda3 7702
bb70624e
JA
7703The `mkclone' script requires Bash, so you must have already built Bash
7704for at least one architecture before you can create build directories
7705for other architectures.
ccc6cda3 7706
bb70624e
JA
7707\1f
7708File: bashref.info, Node: Installation Names, Next: Specifying the System Type, Prev: Compiling For Multiple Architectures, Up: Installing Bash
ccc6cda3 7709
761783bf
CR
771010.4 Installation Names
7711=======================
ccc6cda3 7712
761783bf 7713By default, `make install' will install into `/usr/local/bin',
bb70624e 7714`/usr/local/man', etc. You can specify an installation prefix other
f73dda09
JA
7715than `/usr/local' by giving `configure' the option `--prefix=PATH', or
7716by specifying a value for the `DESTDIR' `make' variable when running
7717`make install'.
ccc6cda3 7718
bb70624e
JA
7719 You can specify separate installation prefixes for
7720architecture-specific files and architecture-independent files. If you
7721give `configure' the option `--exec-prefix=PATH', `make install' will
7722use PATH as the prefix for installing programs and libraries.
7723Documentation and other data files will still use the regular prefix.
ccc6cda3
JA
7724
7725\1f
bb70624e 7726File: bashref.info, Node: Specifying the System Type, Next: Sharing Defaults, Prev: Installation Names, Up: Installing Bash
ccc6cda3 7727
761783bf
CR
772810.5 Specifying the System Type
7729===============================
ccc6cda3 7730
761783bf 7731There may be some features `configure' can not figure out
f73dda09 7732automatically, but need to determine by the type of host Bash will run
bb70624e
JA
7733on. Usually `configure' can figure that out, but if it prints a
7734message saying it can not guess the host type, give it the
7735`--host=TYPE' option. `TYPE' can either be a short name for the system
7736type, such as `sun4', or a canonical name with three fields:
f73dda09 7737`CPU-COMPANY-SYSTEM' (e.g., `i386-unknown-freebsd4.2').
ccc6cda3 7738
bb70624e
JA
7739 See the file `support/config.sub' for the possible values of each
7740field.
ccc6cda3 7741
bb70624e
JA
7742\1f
7743File: bashref.info, Node: Sharing Defaults, Next: Operation Controls, Prev: Specifying the System Type, Up: Installing Bash
7744
761783bf
CR
774510.6 Sharing Defaults
7746=====================
bb70624e 7747
761783bf
CR
7748If you want to set default values for `configure' scripts to share, you
7749can create a site shell script called `config.site' that gives default
7750values for variables like `CC', `cache_file', and `prefix'. `configure'
7751looks for `PREFIX/share/config.site' if it exists, then
bb70624e
JA
7752`PREFIX/etc/config.site' if it exists. Or, you can set the
7753`CONFIG_SITE' environment variable to the location of the site script.
7754A warning: the Bash `configure' looks for a site script, but not all
7755`configure' scripts do.
ccc6cda3
JA
7756
7757\1f
bb70624e 7758File: bashref.info, Node: Operation Controls, Next: Optional Features, Prev: Sharing Defaults, Up: Installing Bash
ccc6cda3 7759
761783bf
CR
776010.7 Operation Controls
7761=======================
ccc6cda3 7762
761783bf 7763`configure' recognizes the following options to control how it operates.
ccc6cda3 7764
bb70624e
JA
7765`--cache-file=FILE'
7766 Use and save the results of the tests in FILE instead of
7767 `./config.cache'. Set FILE to `/dev/null' to disable caching, for
7768 debugging `configure'.
ccc6cda3 7769
bb70624e
JA
7770`--help'
7771 Print a summary of the options to `configure', and exit.
ccc6cda3 7772
bb70624e
JA
7773`--quiet'
7774`--silent'
7775`-q'
7776 Do not print messages saying which checks are being made.
ccc6cda3 7777
bb70624e
JA
7778`--srcdir=DIR'
7779 Look for the Bash source code in directory DIR. Usually
7780 `configure' can determine that directory automatically.
ccc6cda3 7781
bb70624e
JA
7782`--version'
7783 Print the version of Autoconf used to generate the `configure'
7784 script, and exit.
ccc6cda3 7785
bb70624e
JA
7786 `configure' also accepts some other, not widely used, boilerplate
7787options. `configure --help' prints the complete list.
ccc6cda3 7788
bb70624e
JA
7789\1f
7790File: bashref.info, Node: Optional Features, Prev: Operation Controls, Up: Installing Bash
ccc6cda3 7791
761783bf
CR
779210.8 Optional Features
7793======================
ccc6cda3 7794
761783bf
CR
7795The Bash `configure' has a number of `--enable-FEATURE' options, where
7796FEATURE indicates an optional part of Bash. There are also several
7797`--with-PACKAGE' options, where PACKAGE is something like `bash-malloc'
7798or `purify'. To turn off the default use of a package, use
7799`--without-PACKAGE'. To configure Bash without a feature that is
bb70624e 7800enabled by default, use `--disable-FEATURE'.
ccc6cda3 7801
bb70624e
JA
7802 Here is a complete list of the `--enable-' and `--with-' options
7803that the Bash `configure' recognizes.
ccc6cda3 7804
bb70624e
JA
7805`--with-afs'
7806 Define if you are using the Andrew File System from Transarc.
ccc6cda3 7807
bb70624e
JA
7808`--with-bash-malloc'
7809 Use the Bash version of `malloc' in `lib/malloc/malloc.c'. This
7810 is not the same `malloc' that appears in GNU libc, but an older
7811 version derived from the 4.2 BSD `malloc'. This `malloc' is very
7812 fast, but wastes some space on each allocation. This option is
7813 enabled by default. The `NOTES' file contains a list of systems
7814 for which this should be turned off, and `configure' disables this
7815 option automatically for a number of systems.
ccc6cda3 7816
bb70624e
JA
7817`--with-curses'
7818 Use the curses library instead of the termcap library. This should
7819 be supplied if your system has an inadequate or incomplete termcap
7820 database.
ccc6cda3 7821
bb70624e
JA
7822`--with-gnu-malloc'
7823 A synonym for `--with-bash-malloc'.
ccc6cda3 7824
f73dda09 7825`--with-installed-readline[=PREFIX]'
bb70624e
JA
7826 Define this to make Bash link with a locally-installed version of
7827 Readline rather than the version in `lib/readline'. This works
7117c2d2 7828 only with Readline 4.3 and later versions. If PREFIX is `yes' or
f73dda09
JA
7829 not supplied, `configure' uses the values of the make variables
7830 `includedir' and `libdir', which are subdirectories of `prefix' by
7831 default, to find the installed version of Readline if it is not in
7832 the standard system include and library directories. If PREFIX is
7833 `no', Bash links with the version in `lib/readline'. If PREFIX is
7834 set to any other value, `configure' treats it as a directory
7835 pathname and looks for the installed version of Readline in
7836 subdirectories of that directory (include files in
7837 PREFIX/`include' and the library in PREFIX/`lib').
ccc6cda3 7838
bb70624e
JA
7839`--with-purify'
7840 Define this to use the Purify memory allocation checker from
7841 Rational Software.
ccc6cda3 7842
bb70624e
JA
7843`--enable-minimal-config'
7844 This produces a shell with minimal features, close to the
7845 historical Bourne shell.
ccc6cda3 7846
bb70624e
JA
7847 There are several `--enable-' options that alter how Bash is
7848compiled and linked, rather than changing run-time features.
ccc6cda3 7849
f73dda09
JA
7850`--enable-largefile'
7851 Enable support for large files
7852 (http://www.sas.com/standards/large_file/x_open.20Mar96.html) if
7853 the operating system requires special compiler options to build
7117c2d2
JA
7854 programs which can access large files. This is enabled by
7855 default, if the operating system provides large file support.
f73dda09 7856
bb70624e
JA
7857`--enable-profiling'
7858 This builds a Bash binary that produces profiling information to be
7859 processed by `gprof' each time it is executed.
cce855bc 7860
bb70624e
JA
7861`--enable-static-link'
7862 This causes Bash to be linked statically, if `gcc' is being used.
7863 This could be used to build a version to use as root's shell.
d166f048 7864
bb70624e
JA
7865 The `minimal-config' option can be used to disable all of the
7866following options, but it is processed first, so individual options may
7867be enabled using `enable-FEATURE'.
d166f048 7868
bb70624e
JA
7869 All of the following options except for `disabled-builtins' and
7870`xpg-echo-default' are enabled by default, unless the operating system
7871does not provide the necessary support.
ccc6cda3 7872
bb70624e
JA
7873`--enable-alias'
7874 Allow alias expansion and include the `alias' and `unalias'
28ef6c31 7875 builtins (*note Aliases::).
ccc6cda3 7876
bb70624e
JA
7877`--enable-arith-for-command'
7878 Include support for the alternate form of the `for' command that
7879 behaves like the C language `for' statement (*note Looping
28ef6c31 7880 Constructs::).
ccc6cda3 7881
bb70624e
JA
7882`--enable-array-variables'
7883 Include support for one-dimensional array shell variables (*note
28ef6c31 7884 Arrays::).
ccc6cda3 7885
bb70624e
JA
7886`--enable-bang-history'
7887 Include support for `csh'-like history substitution (*note History
28ef6c31 7888 Interaction::).
ccc6cda3 7889
bb70624e
JA
7890`--enable-brace-expansion'
7891 Include `csh'-like brace expansion ( `b{a,b}c' ==> `bac bbc' ).
7892 See *Note Brace Expansion::, for a complete description.
ccc6cda3 7893
bb70624e
JA
7894`--enable-command-timing'
7895 Include support for recognizing `time' as a reserved word and for
7896 displaying timing statistics for the pipeline following `time'
28ef6c31 7897 (*note Pipelines::). This allows pipelines as well as shell
bb70624e 7898 builtins and functions to be timed.
ccc6cda3 7899
bb70624e 7900`--enable-cond-command'
5e13499c
CR
7901 Include support for the `[[' conditional command. (*note
7902 Conditional Constructs::).
7903
7904`--enable-cond-regexp'
7905 Include support for matching POSIX regular expressions using the
7906 `=~' binary operator in the `[[' conditional command. (*note
28ef6c31 7907 Conditional Constructs::).
ccc6cda3 7908
bb70624e
JA
7909`--enable-directory-stack'
7910 Include support for a `csh'-like directory stack and the `pushd',
28ef6c31 7911 `popd', and `dirs' builtins (*note The Directory Stack::).
ccc6cda3 7912
bb70624e
JA
7913`--enable-disabled-builtins'
7914 Allow builtin commands to be invoked via `builtin xxx' even after
7915 `xxx' has been disabled using `enable -n xxx'. See *Note Bash
7916 Builtins::, for details of the `builtin' and `enable' builtin
7917 commands.
ccc6cda3 7918
bb70624e
JA
7919`--enable-dparen-arithmetic'
7920 Include support for the `((...))' command (*note Conditional
28ef6c31 7921 Constructs::).
ccc6cda3 7922
bb70624e
JA
7923`--enable-extended-glob'
7924 Include support for the extended pattern matching features
7925 described above under *Note Pattern Matching::.
ccc6cda3 7926
bb70624e
JA
7927`--enable-help-builtin'
7928 Include the `help' builtin, which displays help on shell builtins
28ef6c31 7929 and variables (*note Bash Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 7930
bb70624e
JA
7931`--enable-history'
7932 Include command history and the `fc' and `history' builtin
28ef6c31 7933 commands (*note Bash History Facilities::).
ccc6cda3 7934
bb70624e 7935`--enable-job-control'
28ef6c31 7936 This enables the job control features (*note Job Control::), if
bb70624e 7937 the operating system supports them.
ccc6cda3 7938
d3a24ed2
CR
7939`--enable-multibyte'
7940 This enables support for multibyte characters if the operating
7941 system provides the necessary support.
7942
bb70624e
JA
7943`--enable-net-redirections'
7944 This enables the special handling of filenames of the form
7945 `/dev/tcp/HOST/PORT' and `/dev/udp/HOST/PORT' when used in
28ef6c31 7946 redirections (*note Redirections::).
ccc6cda3 7947
bb70624e 7948`--enable-process-substitution'
28ef6c31
JA
7949 This enables process substitution (*note Process Substitution::) if
7950 the operating system provides the necessary support.
ccc6cda3 7951
bb70624e
JA
7952`--enable-prompt-string-decoding'
7953 Turn on the interpretation of a number of backslash-escaped
7954 characters in the `$PS1', `$PS2', `$PS3', and `$PS4' prompt
7955 strings. See *Note Printing a Prompt::, for a complete list of
7956 prompt string escape sequences.
ccc6cda3 7957
bb70624e
JA
7958`--enable-progcomp'
7959 Enable the programmable completion facilities (*note Programmable
28ef6c31 7960 Completion::). If Readline is not enabled, this option has no
bb70624e 7961 effect.
ccc6cda3 7962
bb70624e
JA
7963`--enable-readline'
7964 Include support for command-line editing and history with the Bash
28ef6c31 7965 version of the Readline library (*note Command Line Editing::).
ccc6cda3 7966
bb70624e
JA
7967`--enable-restricted'
7968 Include support for a "restricted shell". If this is enabled,
7969 Bash, when called as `rbash', enters a restricted mode. See *Note
7970 The Restricted Shell::, for a description of restricted mode.
ccc6cda3 7971
bb70624e
JA
7972`--enable-select'
7973 Include the `select' builtin, which allows the generation of simple
28ef6c31 7974 menus (*note Conditional Constructs::).
ccc6cda3 7975
bb70624e
JA
7976`--enable-usg-echo-default'
7977 A synonym for `--enable-xpg-echo-default'.
ccc6cda3 7978
bb70624e
JA
7979`--enable-xpg-echo-default'
7980 Make the `echo' builtin expand backslash-escaped characters by
7981 default, without requiring the `-e' option. This sets the default
7982 value of the `xpg_echo' shell option to `on', which makes the Bash
7983 `echo' behave more like the version specified in the Single Unix
7984 Specification, version 2. *Note Bash Builtins::, for a
7985 description of the escape sequences that `echo' recognizes.
ccc6cda3 7986
761783bf 7987
bb70624e
JA
7988 The file `config-top.h' contains C Preprocessor `#define' statements
7989for options which are not settable from `configure'. Some of these are
7990not meant to be changed; beware of the consequences if you do. Read
7991the comments associated with each definition for more information about
7992its effect.
ccc6cda3 7993
bb70624e
JA
7994\1f
7995File: bashref.info, Node: Reporting Bugs, Next: Major Differences From The Bourne Shell, Prev: Installing Bash, Up: Top
d166f048 7996
761783bf
CR
7997Appendix A Reporting Bugs
7998*************************
ccc6cda3 7999
761783bf 8000Please report all bugs you find in Bash. But first, you should make
bb70624e 8001sure that it really is a bug, and that it appears in the latest version
d3a24ed2
CR
8002of Bash. The latest version of Bash is always available for FTP from
8003`ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/bash/'.
ccc6cda3 8004
bb70624e
JA
8005 Once you have determined that a bug actually exists, use the
8006`bashbug' command to submit a bug report. If you have a fix, you are
8007encouraged to mail that as well! Suggestions and `philosophical' bug
8008reports may be mailed to <bug-bash@gnu.org> or posted to the Usenet
8009newsgroup `gnu.bash.bug'.
ccc6cda3 8010
bb70624e
JA
8011 All bug reports should include:
8012 * The version number of Bash.
ccc6cda3 8013
bb70624e 8014 * The hardware and operating system.
ccc6cda3 8015
bb70624e 8016 * The compiler used to compile Bash.
ccc6cda3 8017
bb70624e 8018 * A description of the bug behaviour.
ccc6cda3 8019
bb70624e
JA
8020 * A short script or `recipe' which exercises the bug and may be used
8021 to reproduce it.
ccc6cda3 8022
bb70624e
JA
8023`bashbug' inserts the first three items automatically into the template
8024it provides for filing a bug report.
8025
8026 Please send all reports concerning this manual to <chet@po.CWRU.Edu>.
ccc6cda3
JA
8027
8028\1f
d3a24ed2 8029File: bashref.info, Node: Major Differences From The Bourne Shell, Next: Copying This Manual, Prev: Reporting Bugs, Up: Top
ccc6cda3 8030
761783bf
CR
8031Appendix B Major Differences From The Bourne Shell
8032**************************************************
ccc6cda3 8033
761783bf 8034Bash implements essentially the same grammar, parameter and variable
bb70624e
JA
8035expansion, redirection, and quoting as the Bourne Shell. Bash uses the
8036POSIX 1003.2 standard as the specification of how these features are to
8037be implemented. There are some differences between the traditional
8038Bourne shell and Bash; this section quickly details the differences of
8039significance. A number of these differences are explained in greater
8040depth in previous sections. This section uses the version of `sh'
28ef6c31 8041included in SVR4.2 as the baseline reference.
ccc6cda3 8042
bb70624e 8043 * Bash is POSIX-conformant, even where the POSIX specification
28ef6c31 8044 differs from traditional `sh' behavior (*note Bash POSIX Mode::).
ccc6cda3 8045
bb70624e 8046 * Bash has multi-character invocation options (*note Invoking
28ef6c31 8047 Bash::).
ccc6cda3 8048
28ef6c31 8049 * Bash has command-line editing (*note Command Line Editing::) and
bb70624e 8050 the `bind' builtin.
ccc6cda3 8051
bb70624e 8052 * Bash provides a programmable word completion mechanism (*note
28ef6c31 8053 Programmable Completion::), and two builtin commands, `complete'
bb70624e 8054 and `compgen', to manipulate it.
ccc6cda3 8055
28ef6c31 8056 * Bash has command history (*note Bash History Facilities::) and the
5e13499c
CR
8057 `history' and `fc' builtins to manipulate it. The Bash history
8058 list maintains timestamp information and uses the value of the
8059 `HISTTIMEFORMAT' variable to display it.
ccc6cda3 8060
bb70624e 8061 * Bash implements `csh'-like history expansion (*note History
28ef6c31 8062 Interaction::).
ccc6cda3 8063
28ef6c31 8064 * Bash has one-dimensional array variables (*note Arrays::), and the
bb70624e
JA
8065 appropriate variable expansions and assignment syntax to use them.
8066 Several of the Bash builtins take options to act on arrays. Bash
8067 provides a number of built-in array variables.
ccc6cda3 8068
bb70624e
JA
8069 * The `$'...'' quoting syntax, which expands ANSI-C
8070 backslash-escaped characters in the text between the single quotes,
28ef6c31 8071 is supported (*note ANSI-C Quoting::).
ccc6cda3 8072
bb70624e
JA
8073 * Bash supports the `$"..."' quoting syntax to do locale-specific
8074 translation of the characters between the double quotes. The
8075 `-D', `--dump-strings', and `--dump-po-strings' invocation options
8076 list the translatable strings found in a script (*note Locale
28ef6c31 8077 Translation::).
ccc6cda3 8078
bb70624e 8079 * Bash implements the `!' keyword to negate the return value of a
28ef6c31 8080 pipeline (*note Pipelines::). Very useful when an `if' statement
bb70624e 8081 needs to act only if a test fails.
ccc6cda3 8082
bb70624e 8083 * Bash has the `time' reserved word and command timing (*note
28ef6c31 8084 Pipelines::). The display of the timing statistics may be
bb70624e 8085 controlled with the `TIMEFORMAT' variable.
ccc6cda3 8086
bb70624e
JA
8087 * Bash implements the `for (( EXPR1 ; EXPR2 ; EXPR3 ))' arithmetic
8088 for command, similar to the C language (*note Looping
28ef6c31 8089 Constructs::).
ccc6cda3 8090
bb70624e 8091 * Bash includes the `select' compound command, which allows the
28ef6c31 8092 generation of simple menus (*note Conditional Constructs::).
ccc6cda3 8093
bb70624e 8094 * Bash includes the `[[' compound command, which makes conditional
28ef6c31 8095 testing part of the shell grammar (*note Conditional Constructs::).
ccc6cda3 8096
28ef6c31
JA
8097 * Bash includes brace expansion (*note Brace Expansion::) and tilde
8098 expansion (*note Tilde Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 8099
bb70624e 8100 * Bash implements command aliases and the `alias' and `unalias'
28ef6c31 8101 builtins (*note Aliases::).
ccc6cda3 8102
bb70624e 8103 * Bash provides shell arithmetic, the `((' compound command (*note
28ef6c31
JA
8104 Conditional Constructs::), and arithmetic expansion (*note Shell
8105 Arithmetic::).
ccc6cda3 8106
bb70624e
JA
8107 * Variables present in the shell's initial environment are
8108 automatically exported to child processes. The Bourne shell does
8109 not normally do this unless the variables are explicitly marked
8110 using the `export' command.
ccc6cda3 8111
bb70624e
JA
8112 * Bash includes the POSIX pattern removal `%', `#', `%%' and `##'
8113 expansions to remove leading or trailing substrings from variable
28ef6c31 8114 values (*note Shell Parameter Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 8115
bb70624e 8116 * The expansion `${#xx}', which returns the length of `${xx}', is
28ef6c31 8117 supported (*note Shell Parameter Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 8118
bb70624e
JA
8119 * The expansion `${var:'OFFSET`[:'LENGTH`]}', which expands to the
8120 substring of `var''s value of length LENGTH, beginning at OFFSET,
28ef6c31 8121 is present (*note Shell Parameter Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 8122
bb70624e
JA
8123 * The expansion `${var/[/]'PATTERN`[/'REPLACEMENT`]}', which matches
8124 PATTERN and replaces it with REPLACEMENT in the value of `var', is
28ef6c31 8125 available (*note Shell Parameter Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 8126
bb70624e
JA
8127 * The expansion `${!PREFIX}*' expansion, which expands to the names
8128 of all shell variables whose names begin with PREFIX, is available
28ef6c31 8129 (*note Shell Parameter Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 8130
bb70624e 8131 * Bash has INDIRECT variable expansion using `${!word}' (*note Shell
28ef6c31 8132 Parameter Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 8133
bb70624e 8134 * Bash can expand positional parameters beyond `$9' using `${NUM}'.
ccc6cda3 8135
bb70624e 8136 * The POSIX `$()' form of command substitution is implemented (*note
28ef6c31 8137 Command Substitution::), and preferred to the Bourne shell's ```'
bb70624e 8138 (which is also implemented for backwards compatibility).
ccc6cda3 8139
28ef6c31 8140 * Bash has process substitution (*note Process Substitution::).
ccc6cda3 8141
bb70624e
JA
8142 * Bash automatically assigns variables that provide information
8143 about the current user (`UID', `EUID', and `GROUPS'), the current
8144 host (`HOSTTYPE', `OSTYPE', `MACHTYPE', and `HOSTNAME'), and the
8145 instance of Bash that is running (`BASH', `BASH_VERSION', and
8146 `BASH_VERSINFO'). *Note Bash Variables::, for details.
ccc6cda3 8147
bb70624e 8148 * The `IFS' variable is used to split only the results of expansion,
28ef6c31 8149 not all words (*note Word Splitting::). This closes a
bb70624e 8150 longstanding shell security hole.
ccc6cda3 8151
bb70624e
JA
8152 * Bash implements the full set of POSIX 1003.2 filename expansion
8153 operators, including CHARACTER CLASSES, EQUIVALENCE CLASSES, and
28ef6c31 8154 COLLATING SYMBOLS (*note Filename Expansion::).
ccc6cda3 8155
bb70624e 8156 * Bash implements extended pattern matching features when the
28ef6c31 8157 `extglob' shell option is enabled (*note Pattern Matching::).
ccc6cda3 8158
bb70624e
JA
8159 * It is possible to have a variable and a function with the same
8160 name; `sh' does not separate the two name spaces.
ccc6cda3 8161
bb70624e
JA
8162 * Bash functions are permitted to have local variables using the
8163 `local' builtin, and thus useful recursive functions may be written
28ef6c31 8164 (*note Bash Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 8165
bb70624e 8166 * Variable assignments preceding commands affect only that command,
28ef6c31 8167 even builtins and functions (*note Environment::). In `sh', all
bb70624e
JA
8168 variable assignments preceding commands are global unless the
8169 command is executed from the file system.
ccc6cda3 8170
bb70624e 8171 * Bash performs filename expansion on filenames specified as operands
28ef6c31 8172 to input and output redirection operators (*note Redirections::).
ccc6cda3 8173
bb70624e
JA
8174 * Bash contains the `<>' redirection operator, allowing a file to be
8175 opened for both reading and writing, and the `&>' redirection
8176 operator, for directing standard output and standard error to the
28ef6c31 8177 same file (*note Redirections::).
d166f048 8178
bb70624e 8179 * Bash treats a number of filenames specially when they are used in
28ef6c31 8180 redirection operators (*note Redirections::).
ccc6cda3 8181
bb70624e 8182 * Bash can open network connections to arbitrary machines and
28ef6c31 8183 services with the redirection operators (*note Redirections::).
ccc6cda3 8184
bb70624e 8185 * The `noclobber' option is available to avoid overwriting existing
28ef6c31
JA
8186 files with output redirection (*note The Set Builtin::). The `>|'
8187 redirection operator may be used to override `noclobber'.
ccc6cda3 8188
28ef6c31
JA
8189 * The Bash `cd' and `pwd' builtins (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::)
8190 each take `-L' and `-P' options to switch between logical and
bb70624e 8191 physical modes.
b72432fd 8192
bb70624e
JA
8193 * Bash allows a function to override a builtin with the same name,
8194 and provides access to that builtin's functionality within the
8195 function via the `builtin' and `command' builtins (*note Bash
28ef6c31 8196 Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 8197
bb70624e 8198 * The `command' builtin allows selective disabling of functions when
28ef6c31 8199 command lookup is performed (*note Bash Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 8200
bb70624e 8201 * Individual builtins may be enabled or disabled using the `enable'
28ef6c31 8202 builtin (*note Bash Builtins::).
cce855bc 8203
bb70624e
JA
8204 * The Bash `exec' builtin takes additional options that allow users
8205 to control the contents of the environment passed to the executed
8206 command, and what the zeroth argument to the command is to be
28ef6c31 8207 (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::).
cce855bc 8208
bb70624e 8209 * Shell functions may be exported to children via the environment
28ef6c31 8210 using `export -f' (*note Shell Functions::).
cce855bc 8211
bb70624e
JA
8212 * The Bash `export', `readonly', and `declare' builtins can take a
8213 `-f' option to act on shell functions, a `-p' option to display
8214 variables with various attributes set in a format that can be used
8215 as shell input, a `-n' option to remove various variable
8216 attributes, and `name=value' arguments to set variable attributes
8217 and values simultaneously.
ccc6cda3 8218
bb70624e
JA
8219 * The Bash `hash' builtin allows a name to be associated with an
8220 arbitrary filename, even when that filename cannot be found by
8221 searching the `$PATH', using `hash -p' (*note Bourne Shell
28ef6c31 8222 Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 8223
bb70624e 8224 * Bash includes a `help' builtin for quick reference to shell
28ef6c31 8225 facilities (*note Bash Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 8226
bb70624e 8227 * The `printf' builtin is available to display formatted output
28ef6c31 8228 (*note Bash Builtins::).
ccc6cda3 8229
28ef6c31 8230 * The Bash `read' builtin (*note Bash Builtins::) will read a line
bb70624e
JA
8231 ending in `\' with the `-r' option, and will use the `REPLY'
8232 variable as a default if no non-option arguments are supplied.
8233 The Bash `read' builtin also accepts a prompt string with the `-p'
8234 option and will use Readline to obtain the line when given the
8235 `-e' option. The `read' builtin also has additional options to
8236 control input: the `-s' option will turn off echoing of input
8237 characters as they are read, the `-t' option will allow `read' to
8238 time out if input does not arrive within a specified number of
8239 seconds, the `-n' option will allow reading only a specified
8240 number of characters rather than a full line, and the `-d' option
8241 will read until a particular character rather than newline.
ccc6cda3 8242
bb70624e
JA
8243 * The `return' builtin may be used to abort execution of scripts
8244 executed with the `.' or `source' builtins (*note Bourne Shell
28ef6c31 8245 Builtins::).
d166f048 8246
bb70624e 8247 * Bash includes the `shopt' builtin, for finer control of shell
f73dda09
JA
8248 optional capabilities (*note Bash Builtins::), and allows these
8249 options to be set and unset at shell invocation (*note Invoking
8250 Bash::).
d166f048 8251
bb70624e 8252 * Bash has much more optional behavior controllable with the `set'
28ef6c31 8253 builtin (*note The Set Builtin::).
cce855bc 8254
5e13499c
CR
8255 * The `-x' (`xtrace') option displays commands other than simple
8256 commands when performing an execution trace (*note The Set
8257 Builtin::).
8258
28ef6c31 8259 * The `test' builtin (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::) is slightly
bb70624e
JA
8260 different, as it implements the POSIX algorithm, which specifies
8261 the behavior based on the number of arguments.
ccc6cda3 8262
5e13499c
CR
8263 * Bash includes the `caller' builtin, which displays the context of
8264 any active subroutine call (a shell function or a script executed
8265 with the `.' or `source' builtins). This supports the bash
8266 debugger.
8267
28ef6c31 8268 * The `trap' builtin (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::) allows a
bb70624e 8269 `DEBUG' pseudo-signal specification, similar to `EXIT'. Commands
d3a24ed2
CR
8270 specified with a `DEBUG' trap are executed before every simple
8271 command, `for' command, `case' command, `select' command, every
8272 arithmetic `for' command, and before the first command executes in
8273 a shell function. The `DEBUG' trap is not inherited by shell
8274 functions unless the function has been given the `trace' attribute
8275 or the `functrace' option has been enabled using the `shopt'
8276 builtin. The `extdebug' shell option has additional effects on the
8277 `DEBUG' trap.
d166f048 8278
f73dda09
JA
8279 The `trap' builtin (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::) allows an `ERR'
8280 pseudo-signal specification, similar to `EXIT' and `DEBUG'.
8281 Commands specified with an `ERR' trap are executed after a simple
8282 command fails, with a few exceptions. The `ERR' trap is not
d3a24ed2
CR
8283 inherited by shell functions unless the `-o errtrace' option to
8284 the `set' builtin is enabled.
8285
8286 The `trap' builtin (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::) allows a
8287 `RETURN' pseudo-signal specification, similar to `EXIT' and
8288 `DEBUG'. Commands specified with an `RETURN' trap are executed
8289 before execution resumes after a shell function or a shell script
8290 executed with `.' or `source' returns. The `RETURN' trap is not
f73dda09
JA
8291 inherited by shell functions.
8292
bb70624e 8293 * The Bash `type' builtin is more extensive and gives more
28ef6c31 8294 information about the names it finds (*note Bash Builtins::).
cce855bc 8295
bb70624e
JA
8296 * The Bash `umask' builtin permits a `-p' option to cause the output
8297 to be displayed in the form of a `umask' command that may be
28ef6c31 8298 reused as input (*note Bourne Shell Builtins::).
d166f048 8299
bb70624e
JA
8300 * Bash implements a `csh'-like directory stack, and provides the
8301 `pushd', `popd', and `dirs' builtins to manipulate it (*note The
28ef6c31 8302 Directory Stack::). Bash also makes the directory stack visible
bb70624e 8303 as the value of the `DIRSTACK' shell variable.
d166f048 8304
bb70624e 8305 * Bash interprets special backslash-escaped characters in the prompt
28ef6c31 8306 strings when interactive (*note Printing a Prompt::).
d166f048 8307
bb70624e 8308 * The Bash restricted mode is more useful (*note The Restricted
28ef6c31 8309 Shell::); the SVR4.2 shell restricted mode is too limited.
ccc6cda3 8310
bb70624e 8311 * The `disown' builtin can remove a job from the internal shell job
28ef6c31 8312 table (*note Job Control Builtins::) or suppress the sending of
bb70624e 8313 `SIGHUP' to a job when the shell exits as the result of a `SIGHUP'.
ccc6cda3 8314
bb70624e
JA
8315 * The SVR4.2 shell has two privilege-related builtins (`mldmode' and
8316 `priv') not present in Bash.
ccc6cda3 8317
bb70624e 8318 * Bash does not have the `stop' or `newgrp' builtins.
d166f048 8319
bb70624e
JA
8320 * Bash does not use the `SHACCT' variable or perform shell
8321 accounting.
d166f048 8322
bb70624e 8323 * The SVR4.2 `sh' uses a `TIMEOUT' variable like Bash uses `TMOUT'.
ccc6cda3 8324
28ef6c31 8325
bb70624e 8326More features unique to Bash may be found in *Note Bash Features::.
ccc6cda3 8327
761783bf
CR
8328B.1 Implementation Differences From The SVR4.2 Shell
8329====================================================
ccc6cda3 8330
761783bf
CR
8331Since Bash is a completely new implementation, it does not suffer from
8332many of the limitations of the SVR4.2 shell. For instance:
ccc6cda3 8333
bb70624e
JA
8334 * Bash does not fork a subshell when redirecting into or out of a
8335 shell control structure such as an `if' or `while' statement.
ccc6cda3 8336
bb70624e
JA
8337 * Bash does not allow unbalanced quotes. The SVR4.2 shell will
8338 silently insert a needed closing quote at `EOF' under certain
8339 circumstances. This can be the cause of some hard-to-find errors.
ccc6cda3 8340
bb70624e
JA
8341 * The SVR4.2 shell uses a baroque memory management scheme based on
8342 trapping `SIGSEGV'. If the shell is started from a process with
8343 `SIGSEGV' blocked (e.g., by using the `system()' C library
8344 function call), it misbehaves badly.
ccc6cda3 8345
bb70624e
JA
8346 * In a questionable attempt at security, the SVR4.2 shell, when
8347 invoked without the `-p' option, will alter its real and effective
8348 UID and GID if they are less than some magic threshold value,
8349 commonly 100. This can lead to unexpected results.
ccc6cda3 8350
bb70624e
JA
8351 * The SVR4.2 shell does not allow users to trap `SIGSEGV',
8352 `SIGALRM', or `SIGCHLD'.
ccc6cda3 8353
bb70624e
JA
8354 * The SVR4.2 shell does not allow the `IFS', `MAILCHECK', `PATH',
8355 `PS1', or `PS2' variables to be unset.
ccc6cda3 8356
bb70624e 8357 * The SVR4.2 shell treats `^' as the undocumented equivalent of `|'.
ccc6cda3 8358
bb70624e
JA
8359 * Bash allows multiple option arguments when it is invoked (`-x -v');
8360 the SVR4.2 shell allows only one option argument (`-xv'). In
8361 fact, some versions of the shell dump core if the second argument
8362 begins with a `-'.
ccc6cda3 8363
bb70624e
JA
8364 * The SVR4.2 shell exits a script if any builtin fails; Bash exits a
8365 script only if one of the POSIX 1003.2 special builtins fails, and
8366 only for certain failures, as enumerated in the POSIX 1003.2
8367 standard.
ccc6cda3 8368
bb70624e
JA
8369 * The SVR4.2 shell behaves differently when invoked as `jsh' (it
8370 turns on job control).
ccc6cda3
JA
8371
8372\1f
d3a24ed2
CR
8373File: bashref.info, Node: Copying This Manual, Next: Builtin Index, Prev: Major Differences From The Bourne Shell, Up: Top
8374
761783bf
CR
8375Appendix C Copying This Manual
8376******************************
d3a24ed2
CR
8377
8378* Menu:
8379
8380* GNU Free Documentation License:: License for copying this manual.
8381
8382\1f
8383File: bashref.info, Node: GNU Free Documentation License, Up: Copying This Manual
8384
761783bf
CR
8385C.1 GNU Free Documentation License
8386==================================
d3a24ed2
CR
8387
8388 Version 1.2, November 2002
761783bf 8389
d3a24ed2
CR
8390 Copyright (C) 2000,2001,2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
8391 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA
761783bf 8392
d3a24ed2
CR
8393 Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
8394 of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
8395
8396 0. PREAMBLE
8397
8398 The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other
8399 functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to
8400 assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it,
8401 with or without modifying it, either commercially or
8402 noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the
8403 author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not
8404 being considered responsible for modifications made by others.
8405
8406 This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative
8407 works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense.
8408 It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft
8409 license designed for free software.
8410
8411 We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for
8412 free software, because free software needs free documentation: a
8413 free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms
8414 that the software does. But this License is not limited to
8415 software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless
8416 of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book.
8417 We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is
8418 instruction or reference.
8419
8420 1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
8421
8422 This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium,
8423 that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it
8424 can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice
8425 grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration,
8426 to use that work under the conditions stated herein. The
8427 "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member
8428 of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you". You
8429 accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a
8430 way requiring permission under copyright law.
8431
8432 A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the
8433 Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with
8434 modifications and/or translated into another language.
8435
8436 A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section
8437 of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the
8438 publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall
8439 subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could
8440 fall directly within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document
8441 is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not
8442 explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of
8443 historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or
8444 of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position
8445 regarding them.
8446
8447 The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose
8448 titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in
8449 the notice that says that the Document is released under this
8450 License. If a section does not fit the above definition of
8451 Secondary then it is not allowed to be designated as Invariant.
8452 The Document may contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document
8453 does not identify any Invariant Sections then there are none.
8454
8455 The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are
8456 listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice
8457 that says that the Document is released under this License. A
8458 Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may
8459 be at most 25 words.
8460
8461 A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy,
8462 represented in a format whose specification is available to the
8463 general public, that is suitable for revising the document
8464 straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images
8465 composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some
8466 widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to
8467 text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of
8468 formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an
8469 otherwise Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of
8470 markup, has been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent
8471 modification by readers is not Transparent. An image format is
8472 not Transparent if used for any substantial amount of text. A
8473 copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque".
8474
8475 Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain
8476 ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format,
8477 SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and
8478 standard-conforming simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for
8479 human modification. Examples of transparent image formats include
8480 PNG, XCF and JPG. Opaque formats include proprietary formats that
8481 can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or
8482 XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally
8483 available, and the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF
8484 produced by some word processors for output purposes only.
8485
8486 The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself,
8487 plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the
8488 material this License requires to appear in the title page. For
8489 works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title
8490 Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the
8491 work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.
8492
8493 A section "Entitled XYZ" means a named subunit of the Document
8494 whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses
8495 following text that translates XYZ in another language. (Here XYZ
8496 stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as
8497 "Acknowledgements", "Dedications", "Endorsements", or "History".)
8498 To "Preserve the Title" of such a section when you modify the
8499 Document means that it remains a section "Entitled XYZ" according
8500 to this definition.
8501
8502 The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice
8503 which states that this License applies to the Document. These
8504 Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in
8505 this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other
8506 implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and
8507 has no effect on the meaning of this License.
8508
8509 2. VERBATIM COPYING
8510
8511 You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either
8512 commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the
8513 copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License
8514 applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you
8515 add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You
8516 may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading
8517 or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However,
8518 you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you
8519 distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow
8520 the conditions in section 3.
8521
8522 You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above,
8523 and you may publicly display copies.
8524
8525 3. COPYING IN QUANTITY
8526
8527 If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly
8528 have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and
8529 the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must
8530 enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all
8531 these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and
8532 Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly
8533 and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The
8534 front cover must present the full title with all words of the
8535 title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material
8536 on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the
8537 covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and
8538 satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in
8539 other respects.
8540
8541 If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit
8542 legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit
8543 reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto
8544 adjacent pages.
8545
8546 If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document
8547 numbering more than 100, you must either include a
8548 machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or
8549 state in or with each Opaque copy a computer-network location from
8550 which the general network-using public has access to download
8551 using public-standard network protocols a complete Transparent
8552 copy of the Document, free of added material. If you use the
8553 latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you
8554 begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that
8555 this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated
8556 location until at least one year after the last time you
8557 distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or
8558 retailers) of that edition to the public.
8559
8560 It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of
8561 the Document well before redistributing any large number of
8562 copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated
8563 version of the Document.
8564
8565 4. MODIFICATIONS
8566
8567 You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document
8568 under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you
8569 release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with
8570 the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus
8571 licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to
8572 whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these
8573 things in the Modified Version:
8574
8575 A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title
8576 distinct from that of the Document, and from those of
8577 previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed
8578 in the History section of the Document). You may use the
8579 same title as a previous version if the original publisher of
8580 that version gives permission.
8581
8582 B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or
8583 entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in
8584 the Modified Version, together with at least five of the
8585 principal authors of the Document (all of its principal
8586 authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you
8587 from this requirement.
8588
8589 C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the
8590 Modified Version, as the publisher.
8591
8592 D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
8593
8594 E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications
8595 adjacent to the other copyright notices.
8596
8597 F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license
8598 notice giving the public permission to use the Modified
8599 Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in
8600 the Addendum below.
8601
8602 G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant
8603 Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's
8604 license notice.
8605
8606 H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
8607
8608 I. Preserve the section Entitled "History", Preserve its Title,
8609 and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new
8610 authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on
8611 the Title Page. If there is no section Entitled "History" in
8612 the Document, create one stating the title, year, authors,
8613 and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page,
8614 then add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in
8615 the previous sentence.
8616
8617 J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document
8618 for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and
8619 likewise the network locations given in the Document for
8620 previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in
8621 the "History" section. You may omit a network location for a
8622 work that was published at least four years before the
8623 Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version
8624 it refers to gives permission.
8625
8626 K. For any section Entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications",
8627 Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the
8628 section all the substance and tone of each of the contributor
8629 acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
8630
8631 L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document,
8632 unaltered in their text and in their titles. Section numbers
8633 or the equivalent are not considered part of the section
8634 titles.
8635
8636 M. Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section
8637 may not be included in the Modified Version.
8638
8639 N. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled
8640 "Endorsements" or to conflict in title with any Invariant
8641 Section.
8642
8643 O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.
8644
8645 If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or
8646 appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no
8647 material copied from the Document, you may at your option
8648 designate some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this,
8649 add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified
8650 Version's license notice. These titles must be distinct from any
8651 other section titles.
8652
8653 You may add a section Entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains
8654 nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various
8655 parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text
8656 has been approved by an organization as the authoritative
8657 definition of a standard.
8658
8659 You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text,
8660 and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end
8661 of the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one
8662 passage of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be
8663 added by (or through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the
8664 Document already includes a cover text for the same cover,
8665 previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity
8666 you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may
8667 replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous
8668 publisher that added the old one.
8669
8670 The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this
8671 License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to
8672 assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.
8673
8674 5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
8675
8676 You may combine the Document with other documents released under
8677 this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for
8678 modified versions, provided that you include in the combination
8679 all of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents,
8680 unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your
8681 combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all
8682 their Warranty Disclaimers.
8683
8684 The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and
8685 multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single
8686 copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name
8687 but different contents, make the title of each such section unique
8688 by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the
8689 original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a
8690 unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in
8691 the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the
8692 combined work.
8693
8694 In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled
8695 "History" in the various original documents, forming one section
8696 Entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections Entitled
8697 "Acknowledgements", and any sections Entitled "Dedications". You
8698 must delete all sections Entitled "Endorsements."
8699
8700 6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
8701
8702 You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other
8703 documents released under this License, and replace the individual
8704 copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy
8705 that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the
8706 rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the
8707 documents in all other respects.
8708
8709 You may extract a single document from such a collection, and
8710 distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert
8711 a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow
8712 this License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of
8713 that document.
8714
8715 7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
8716
8717 A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other
8718 separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of
8719 a storage or distribution medium, is called an "aggregate" if the
8720 copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the
8721 legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what the individual
8722 works permit. When the Document is included an aggregate, this
8723 License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which
8724 are not themselves derivative works of the Document.
8725
8726 If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these
8727 copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half
8728 of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed
8729 on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the
8730 electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic
8731 form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket
8732 the whole aggregate.
8733
8734 8. TRANSLATION
8735
8736 Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may
8737 distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section
8738 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special
8739 permission from their copyright holders, but you may include
8740 translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the
8741 original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a
8742 translation of this License, and all the license notices in the
8743 Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also
8744 include the original English version of this License and the
8745 original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a
8746 disagreement between the translation and the original version of
8747 this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will
8748 prevail.
8749
8750 If a section in the Document is Entitled "Acknowledgements",
8751 "Dedications", or "History", the requirement (section 4) to
8752 Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the
8753 actual title.
8754
8755 9. TERMINATION
8756
8757 You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document
8758 except as expressly provided for under this License. Any other
8759 attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is
8760 void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this
8761 License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights,
8762 from you under this License will not have their licenses
8763 terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
8764
8765 10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
8766
8767 The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of
8768 the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new
8769 versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
8770 differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See
8771 `http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/'.
8772
8773 Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version
8774 number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered
8775 version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you
8776 have the option of following the terms and conditions either of
8777 that specified version or of any later version that has been
8778 published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If
8779 the Document does not specify a version number of this License,
8780 you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the
8781 Free Software Foundation.
8782
761783bf
CR
8783C.1.1 ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents
8784----------------------------------------------------------
d3a24ed2 8785
761783bf 8786To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of
d3a24ed2
CR
8787the License in the document and put the following copyright and license
8788notices just after the title page:
8789
8790 Copyright (C) YEAR YOUR NAME.
8791 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
8792 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
8793 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
8794 with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
8795 A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU
8796 Free Documentation License''.
8797
8798 If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover
8799Texts, replace the "with...Texts." line with this:
8800
8801 with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with
8802 the Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts
8803 being LIST.
8804
8805 If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other
8806combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the
8807situation.
8808
8809 If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we
8810recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of
8811free software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to
8812permit their use in free software.
8813
8814\1f
8815File: bashref.info, Node: Builtin Index, Next: Reserved Word Index, Prev: Copying This Manual, Up: Top
ccc6cda3
JA
8816
8817Index of Shell Builtin Commands
8818*******************************
8819
761783bf 8820\0\b[index\0\b]
ccc6cda3
JA
8821* Menu:
8822
e8ce775d 8823* .: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8824 (line 16)
e8ce775d 8825* :: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8826 (line 11)
e8ce775d 8827* [: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8828 (line 212)
8829* alias: Bash Builtins. (line 11)
e8ce775d 8830* bg: Job Control Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8831 (line 7)
8832* bind: Bash Builtins. (line 21)
e8ce775d 8833* break: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8834 (line 29)
8835* builtin: Bash Builtins. (line 92)
8836* caller: Bash Builtins. (line 100)
e8ce775d 8837* cd: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8838 (line 36)
8839* command: Bash Builtins. (line 117)
bb70624e 8840* compgen: Programmable Completion Builtins.
761783bf 8841 (line 10)
bb70624e 8842* complete: Programmable Completion Builtins.
761783bf 8843 (line 28)
e8ce775d 8844* continue: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8845 (line 55)
8846* declare: Bash Builtins. (line 136)
bb70624e 8847* dirs: Directory Stack Builtins.
761783bf 8848 (line 7)
e8ce775d 8849* disown: Job Control Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8850 (line 83)
8851* echo: Bash Builtins. (line 191)
8852* enable: Bash Builtins. (line 244)
e8ce775d 8853* eval: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8854 (line 63)
e8ce775d 8855* exec: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8856 (line 70)
e8ce775d 8857* exit: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8858 (line 82)
e8ce775d 8859* export: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8860 (line 88)
cce855bc 8861* fc: Bash History Builtins.
761783bf 8862 (line 10)
e8ce775d 8863* fg: Job Control Builtins.
761783bf 8864 (line 16)
e8ce775d 8865* getopts: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8866 (line 103)
e8ce775d 8867* hash: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8868 (line 145)
8869* help: Bash Builtins. (line 272)
cce855bc 8870* history: Bash History Builtins.
761783bf 8871 (line 39)
e8ce775d 8872* jobs: Job Control Builtins.
761783bf 8873 (line 25)
e8ce775d 8874* kill: Job Control Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8875 (line 57)
8876* let: Bash Builtins. (line 281)
8877* local: Bash Builtins. (line 288)
8878* logout: Bash Builtins. (line 298)
bb70624e 8879* popd: Directory Stack Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8880 (line 37)
8881* printf: Bash Builtins. (line 302)
bb70624e 8882* pushd: Directory Stack Builtins.
761783bf 8883 (line 58)
e8ce775d 8884* pwd: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8885 (line 163)
8886* read: Bash Builtins. (line 324)
e8ce775d 8887* readonly: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8888 (line 172)
e8ce775d 8889* return: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8890 (line 187)
8891* set: The Set Builtin. (line 9)
e8ce775d 8892* shift: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8893 (line 200)
8894* shopt: Bash Builtins. (line 385)
8895* source: Bash Builtins. (line 600)
e8ce775d 8896* suspend: Job Control Builtins.
761783bf 8897 (line 94)
e8ce775d 8898* test: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8899 (line 212)
e8ce775d 8900* times: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8901 (line 276)
e8ce775d 8902* trap: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8903 (line 281)
8904* type: Bash Builtins. (line 604)
8905* typeset: Bash Builtins. (line 635)
8906* ulimit: Bash Builtins. (line 641)
e8ce775d 8907* umask: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf
CR
8908 (line 322)
8909* unalias: Bash Builtins. (line 703)
e8ce775d 8910* unset: Bourne Shell Builtins.
761783bf 8911 (line 339)
e8ce775d 8912* wait: Job Control Builtins.
761783bf 8913 (line 73)
ccc6cda3
JA
8914
8915\1f
8916File: bashref.info, Node: Reserved Word Index, Next: Variable Index, Prev: Builtin Index, Up: Top
8917
bb70624e
JA
8918Index of Shell Reserved Words
8919*****************************
ccc6cda3 8920
761783bf 8921\0\b[index\0\b]
ccc6cda3
JA
8922* Menu:
8923
761783bf 8924* !: Pipelines. (line 8)
cce855bc 8925* [[: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf 8926 (line 105)
cce855bc 8927* ]]: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf 8928 (line 105)
e8ce775d 8929* case: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf
CR
8930 (line 28)
8931* do: Looping Constructs. (line 12)
8932* done: Looping Constructs. (line 12)
e8ce775d 8933* elif: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf 8934 (line 7)
e8ce775d 8935* else: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf 8936 (line 7)
e8ce775d 8937* esac: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf 8938 (line 28)
e8ce775d 8939* fi: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf
CR
8940 (line 7)
8941* for: Looping Constructs. (line 29)
8942* function: Shell Functions. (line 13)
e8ce775d 8943* if: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf 8944 (line 7)
e8ce775d 8945* in: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf 8946 (line 28)
cce855bc 8947* select: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf 8948 (line 64)
e8ce775d 8949* then: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf
CR
8950 (line 7)
8951* time: Pipelines. (line 8)
8952* until: Looping Constructs. (line 12)
8953* while: Looping Constructs. (line 20)
8954* {: Command Grouping. (line 21)
8955* }: Command Grouping. (line 21)
ccc6cda3
JA
8956
8957\1f
8958File: bashref.info, Node: Variable Index, Next: Function Index, Prev: Reserved Word Index, Up: Top
8959
8960Parameter and Variable Index
8961****************************
8962
761783bf 8963\0\b[index\0\b]
ccc6cda3
JA
8964* Menu:
8965
761783bf
CR
8966* !: Special Parameters. (line 42)
8967* #: Special Parameters. (line 26)
8968* $: Special Parameters. (line 38)
8969* *: Special Parameters. (line 9)
8970* -: Special Parameters. (line 33)
8971* 0: Special Parameters. (line 46)
8972* ?: Special Parameters. (line 29)
8973* @: Special Parameters. (line 19)
8974* _: Special Parameters. (line 55)
e8ce775d 8975* auto_resume: Job Control Variables.
761783bf
CR
8976 (line 6)
8977* BASH: Bash Variables. (line 13)
8978* BASH_ARGC: Bash Variables. (line 16)
8979* BASH_ARGV: Bash Variables. (line 24)
8980* BASH_COMMAND: Bash Variables. (line 31)
8981* BASH_ENV: Bash Variables. (line 36)
8982* BASH_EXECUTION_STRING: Bash Variables. (line 42)
8983* BASH_LINENO: Bash Variables. (line 45)
8984* BASH_REMATCH: Bash Variables. (line 53)
8985* BASH_SOURCE: Bash Variables. (line 61)
8986* BASH_SUBSHELL: Bash Variables. (line 65)
8987* BASH_VERSINFO: Bash Variables. (line 69)
8988* BASH_VERSION: Bash Variables. (line 93)
e8ce775d 8989* bell-style: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 8990 (line 34)
e8ce775d 8991* CDPATH: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf
CR
8992 (line 9)
8993* COLUMNS: Bash Variables. (line 96)
e8ce775d 8994* comment-begin: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
8995 (line 41)
8996* COMP_CWORD: Bash Variables. (line 101)
8997* COMP_LINE: Bash Variables. (line 107)
8998* COMP_POINT: Bash Variables. (line 112)
8999* COMP_WORDBREAKS: Bash Variables. (line 120)
9000* COMP_WORDS: Bash Variables. (line 126)
e8ce775d 9001* completion-query-items: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9002 (line 51)
9003* COMPREPLY: Bash Variables. (line 132)
e8ce775d 9004* convert-meta: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9005 (line 60)
9006* DIRSTACK: Bash Variables. (line 137)
e8ce775d 9007* disable-completion: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9008 (line 66)
e8ce775d 9009* editing-mode: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9010 (line 71)
9011* EMACS: Bash Variables. (line 147)
e8ce775d 9012* enable-keypad: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9013 (line 77)
9014* EUID: Bash Variables. (line 152)
e8ce775d 9015* expand-tilde: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9016 (line 82)
9017* FCEDIT: Bash Variables. (line 156)
9018* FIGNORE: Bash Variables. (line 160)
9019* FUNCNAME: Bash Variables. (line 166)
9020* GLOBIGNORE: Bash Variables. (line 175)
9021* GROUPS: Bash Variables. (line 181)
9022* histchars: Bash Variables. (line 187)
9023* HISTCMD: Bash Variables. (line 202)
9024* HISTCONTROL: Bash Variables. (line 207)
9025* HISTFILE: Bash Variables. (line 223)
9026* HISTFILESIZE: Bash Variables. (line 227)
9027* HISTIGNORE: Bash Variables. (line 234)
f73dda09 9028* history-preserve-point: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9029 (line 85)
9030* HISTSIZE: Bash Variables. (line 253)
9031* HISTTIMEFORMAT: Bash Variables. (line 257)
e8ce775d 9032* HOME: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf 9033 (line 13)
e8ce775d 9034* horizontal-scroll-mode: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9035 (line 90)
9036* HOSTFILE: Bash Variables. (line 264)
9037* HOSTNAME: Bash Variables. (line 275)
9038* HOSTTYPE: Bash Variables. (line 278)
e8ce775d 9039* IFS: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf
CR
9040 (line 18)
9041* IGNOREEOF: Bash Variables. (line 281)
e8ce775d 9042* input-meta: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9043 (line 97)
9044* INPUTRC: Bash Variables. (line 291)
b72432fd 9045* isearch-terminators: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9046 (line 104)
e8ce775d 9047* keymap: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9048 (line 111)
9049* LANG: Bash Variables. (line 295)
9050* LC_ALL: Bash Variables. (line 299)
9051* LC_COLLATE: Bash Variables. (line 303)
9052* LC_CTYPE: Bash Variables. (line 310)
9053* LC_MESSAGES <1>: Locale Translation. (line 11)
9054* LC_MESSAGES: Bash Variables. (line 315)
9055* LC_NUMERIC: Bash Variables. (line 319)
9056* LINENO: Bash Variables. (line 323)
9057* LINES: Bash Variables. (line 327)
9058* MACHTYPE: Bash Variables. (line 332)
e8ce775d 9059* MAIL: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf
CR
9060 (line 22)
9061* MAILCHECK: Bash Variables. (line 336)
e8ce775d 9062* MAILPATH: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf 9063 (line 27)
e8ce775d 9064* mark-modified-lines: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9065 (line 124)
7117c2d2 9066* mark-symlinked-directories: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9067 (line 129)
f73dda09 9068* match-hidden-files: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9069 (line 134)
e8ce775d 9070* meta-flag: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9071 (line 97)
9072* OLDPWD: Bash Variables. (line 344)
e8ce775d 9073* OPTARG: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf
CR
9074 (line 34)
9075* OPTERR: Bash Variables. (line 347)
e8ce775d 9076* OPTIND: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf
CR
9077 (line 38)
9078* OSTYPE: Bash Variables. (line 351)
e8ce775d 9079* output-meta: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9080 (line 141)
7117c2d2 9081* page-completions: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9082 (line 146)
e8ce775d 9083* PATH: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf
CR
9084 (line 42)
9085* PIPESTATUS: Bash Variables. (line 354)
9086* POSIXLY_CORRECT: Bash Variables. (line 359)
9087* PPID: Bash Variables. (line 368)
9088* PROMPT_COMMAND: Bash Variables. (line 372)
e8ce775d 9089* PS1: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf 9090 (line 48)
e8ce775d 9091* PS2: Bourne Shell Variables.
761783bf
CR
9092 (line 53)
9093* PS3: Bash Variables. (line 376)
9094* PS4: Bash Variables. (line 381)
9095* PWD: Bash Variables. (line 387)
9096* RANDOM: Bash Variables. (line 390)
9097* REPLY: Bash Variables. (line 395)
9098* SECONDS: Bash Variables. (line 398)
9099* SHELL: Bash Variables. (line 404)
9100* SHELLOPTS: Bash Variables. (line 409)
9101* SHLVL: Bash Variables. (line 418)
e8ce775d 9102* show-all-if-ambiguous: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9103 (line 156)
d3a24ed2 9104* show-all-if-unmodified: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9105 (line 162)
9106* TEXTDOMAIN: Locale Translation. (line 11)
9107* TEXTDOMAINDIR: Locale Translation. (line 11)
9108* TIMEFORMAT: Bash Variables. (line 423)
9109* TMOUT: Bash Variables. (line 461)
9110* UID: Bash Variables. (line 473)
e8ce775d 9111* visible-stats: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf 9112 (line 171)
ccc6cda3
JA
9113
9114\1f
9115File: bashref.info, Node: Function Index, Next: Concept Index, Prev: Variable Index, Up: Top
9116
9117Function Index
9118**************
9119
761783bf 9120\0\b[index\0\b]
ccc6cda3
JA
9121* Menu:
9122
e8ce775d 9123* abort (C-g): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9124 (line 10)
9125* accept-line (Newline or Return): Commands For History. (line 6)
9126* backward-char (C-b): Commands For Moving. (line 15)
9127* backward-delete-char (Rubout): Commands For Text. (line 11)
9128* backward-kill-line (C-x Rubout): Commands For Killing. (line 9)
9129* backward-kill-word (M-<DEL>): Commands For Killing. (line 24)
9130* backward-word (M-b): Commands For Moving. (line 22)
9131* beginning-of-history (M-<): Commands For History. (line 20)
9132* beginning-of-line (C-a): Commands For Moving. (line 6)
9133* call-last-kbd-macro (C-x e): Keyboard Macros. (line 13)
9134* capitalize-word (M-c): Commands For Text. (line 46)
e8ce775d 9135* character-search (C-]): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf 9136 (line 41)
e8ce775d 9137* character-search-backward (M-C-]): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9138 (line 46)
9139* clear-screen (C-l): Commands For Moving. (line 26)
28ef6c31 9140* complete (<TAB>): Commands For Completion.
761783bf
CR
9141 (line 6)
9142* copy-backward-word (): Commands For Killing. (line 49)
9143* copy-forward-word (): Commands For Killing. (line 54)
9144* copy-region-as-kill (): Commands For Killing. (line 45)
9145* delete-char (C-d): Commands For Text. (line 6)
b72432fd 9146* delete-char-or-list (): Commands For Completion.
761783bf
CR
9147 (line 34)
9148* delete-horizontal-space (): Commands For Killing. (line 37)
9149* digit-argument (M-0, M-1, ... M--): Numeric Arguments. (line 6)
ccc6cda3 9150* do-uppercase-version (M-a, M-b, M-X, ...): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9151 (line 14)
9152* downcase-word (M-l): Commands For Text. (line 42)
e8ce775d 9153* dump-functions (): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf 9154 (line 64)
e8ce775d 9155* dump-macros (): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf 9156 (line 76)
e8ce775d 9157* dump-variables (): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9158 (line 70)
9159* end-kbd-macro (C-x )): Keyboard Macros. (line 9)
9160* end-of-history (M->): Commands For History. (line 23)
9161* end-of-line (C-e): Commands For Moving. (line 9)
e8ce775d 9162* exchange-point-and-mark (C-x C-x): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9163 (line 36)
9164* forward-backward-delete-char (): Commands For Text. (line 15)
9165* forward-char (C-f): Commands For Moving. (line 12)
9166* forward-search-history (C-s): Commands For History. (line 31)
9167* forward-word (M-f): Commands For Moving. (line 18)
9168* history-search-backward (): Commands For History. (line 51)
9169* history-search-forward (): Commands For History. (line 46)
e8ce775d 9170* insert-comment (M-#): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf 9171 (line 51)
e8ce775d 9172* insert-completions (M-*): Commands For Completion.
761783bf
CR
9173 (line 18)
9174* kill-line (C-k): Commands For Killing. (line 6)
9175* kill-region (): Commands For Killing. (line 41)
9176* kill-whole-line (): Commands For Killing. (line 15)
9177* kill-word (M-d): Commands For Killing. (line 19)
cce855bc 9178* menu-complete (): Commands For Completion.
761783bf
CR
9179 (line 22)
9180* next-history (C-n): Commands For History. (line 17)
ccc6cda3 9181* non-incremental-forward-search-history (M-n): Commands For History.
761783bf 9182 (line 41)
ccc6cda3 9183* non-incremental-reverse-search-history (M-p): Commands For History.
761783bf
CR
9184 (line 36)
9185* overwrite-mode (): Commands For Text. (line 50)
e8ce775d 9186* possible-completions (M-?): Commands For Completion.
761783bf 9187 (line 15)
28ef6c31 9188* prefix-meta (<ESC>): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9189 (line 18)
9190* previous-history (C-p): Commands For History. (line 13)
9191* quoted-insert (C-q or C-v): Commands For Text. (line 20)
e8ce775d 9192* re-read-init-file (C-x C-r): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9193 (line 6)
9194* redraw-current-line (): Commands For Moving. (line 30)
9195* reverse-search-history (C-r): Commands For History. (line 27)
e8ce775d 9196* revert-line (M-r): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9197 (line 25)
9198* self-insert (a, b, A, 1, !, ...): Commands For Text. (line 24)
e8ce775d 9199* set-mark (C-@): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9200 (line 32)
9201* start-kbd-macro (C-x (): Keyboard Macros. (line 6)
9202* transpose-chars (C-t): Commands For Text. (line 27)
9203* transpose-words (M-t): Commands For Text. (line 33)
28ef6c31 9204* undo (C-_ or C-x C-u): Miscellaneous Commands.
761783bf
CR
9205 (line 22)
9206* universal-argument (): Numeric Arguments. (line 10)
9207* unix-filename-rubout (): Commands For Killing. (line 32)
9208* unix-line-discard (C-u): Commands For Killing. (line 12)
9209* unix-word-rubout (C-w): Commands For Killing. (line 28)
9210* upcase-word (M-u): Commands For Text. (line 38)
9211* yank (C-y): Commands For Killing. (line 59)
9212* yank-last-arg (M-. or M-_): Commands For History. (line 63)
9213* yank-nth-arg (M-C-y): Commands For History. (line 56)
9214* yank-pop (M-y): Commands For Killing. (line 62)
ccc6cda3
JA
9215
9216\1f
9217File: bashref.info, Node: Concept Index, Prev: Function Index, Up: Top
9218
9219Concept Index
9220*************
9221
761783bf 9222\0\b[index\0\b]
ccc6cda3
JA
9223* Menu:
9224
761783bf
CR
9225* alias expansion: Aliases. (line 6)
9226* arithmetic evaluation: Shell Arithmetic. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9227* arithmetic expansion: Arithmetic Expansion.
761783bf
CR
9228 (line 6)
9229* arithmetic, shell: Shell Arithmetic. (line 6)
9230* arrays: Arrays. (line 6)
9231* background: Job Control Basics. (line 6)
9232* Bash configuration: Basic Installation. (line 6)
9233* Bash installation: Basic Installation. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9234* Bourne shell: Basic Shell Features.
761783bf
CR
9235 (line 6)
9236* brace expansion: Brace Expansion. (line 6)
9237* builtin: Definitions. (line 16)
e8ce775d 9238* command editing: Readline Bare Essentials.
761783bf 9239 (line 6)
e8ce775d 9240* command execution: Command Search and Execution.
761783bf 9241 (line 6)
cce855bc 9242* command expansion: Simple Command Expansion.
761783bf 9243 (line 6)
e8ce775d 9244* command history: Bash History Facilities.
761783bf 9245 (line 6)
e8ce775d 9246* command search: Command Search and Execution.
761783bf 9247 (line 6)
e8ce775d 9248* command substitution: Command Substitution.
761783bf
CR
9249 (line 6)
9250* command timing: Pipelines. (line 8)
9251* commands, compound: Compound Commands. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9252* commands, conditional: Conditional Constructs.
761783bf
CR
9253 (line 6)
9254* commands, grouping: Command Grouping. (line 6)
9255* commands, lists: Lists. (line 6)
9256* commands, looping: Looping Constructs. (line 6)
9257* commands, pipelines: Pipelines. (line 6)
9258* commands, shell: Shell Commands. (line 6)
9259* commands, simple: Simple Commands. (line 6)
9260* comments, shell: Comments. (line 6)
bb70624e 9261* completion builtins: Programmable Completion Builtins.
761783bf
CR
9262 (line 6)
9263* configuration: Basic Installation. (line 6)
9264* control operator: Definitions. (line 20)
9265* directory stack: The Directory Stack. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9266* editing command lines: Readline Bare Essentials.
761783bf
CR
9267 (line 6)
9268* environment: Environment. (line 6)
9269* evaluation, arithmetic: Shell Arithmetic. (line 6)
9270* event designators: Event Designators. (line 6)
cce855bc 9271* execution environment: Command Execution Environment.
761783bf
CR
9272 (line 6)
9273* exit status <1>: Exit Status. (line 6)
9274* exit status: Definitions. (line 24)
9275* expansion: Shell Expansions. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9276* expansion, arithmetic: Arithmetic Expansion.
761783bf
CR
9277 (line 6)
9278* expansion, brace: Brace Expansion. (line 6)
9279* expansion, filename: Filename Expansion. (line 9)
e8ce775d 9280* expansion, parameter: Shell Parameter Expansion.
761783bf
CR
9281 (line 6)
9282* expansion, pathname: Filename Expansion. (line 9)
9283* expansion, tilde: Tilde Expansion. (line 6)
9284* expressions, arithmetic: Shell Arithmetic. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9285* expressions, conditional: Bash Conditional Expressions.
761783bf 9286 (line 6)
d3a24ed2 9287* FDL, GNU Free Documentation License: GNU Free Documentation License.
761783bf
CR
9288 (line 6)
9289* field: Definitions. (line 28)
9290* filename: Definitions. (line 33)
9291* filename expansion: Filename Expansion. (line 9)
9292* foreground: Job Control Basics. (line 6)
9293* functions, shell: Shell Functions. (line 6)
cce855bc 9294* history builtins: Bash History Builtins.
761783bf
CR
9295 (line 6)
9296* history events: Event Designators. (line 7)
9297* history expansion: History Interaction. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9298* history list: Bash History Facilities.
761783bf 9299 (line 6)
bb70624e 9300* History, how to use: Programmable Completion Builtins.
761783bf
CR
9301 (line 203)
9302* identifier: Definitions. (line 49)
9303* initialization file, readline: Readline Init File. (line 6)
9304* installation: Basic Installation. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9305* interaction, readline: Readline Interaction.
761783bf
CR
9306 (line 6)
9307* interactive shell <1>: Interactive Shells. (line 6)
9308* interactive shell: Invoking Bash. (line 128)
9309* internationalization: Locale Translation. (line 6)
9310* job: Definitions. (line 36)
9311* job control <1>: Definitions. (line 40)
9312* job control: Job Control Basics. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9313* kill ring: Readline Killing Commands.
761783bf 9314 (line 19)
e8ce775d 9315* killing text: Readline Killing Commands.
761783bf
CR
9316 (line 6)
9317* localization: Locale Translation. (line 6)
9318* login shell: Invoking Bash. (line 125)
9319* matching, pattern: Pattern Matching. (line 6)
9320* metacharacter: Definitions. (line 44)
9321* name: Definitions. (line 49)
9322* native languages: Locale Translation. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9323* notation, readline: Readline Bare Essentials.
761783bf
CR
9324 (line 6)
9325* operator, shell: Definitions. (line 55)
e8ce775d 9326* parameter expansion: Shell Parameter Expansion.
761783bf
CR
9327 (line 6)
9328* parameters: Shell Parameters. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9329* parameters, positional: Positional Parameters.
761783bf
CR
9330 (line 6)
9331* parameters, special: Special Parameters. (line 6)
9332* pathname expansion: Filename Expansion. (line 9)
9333* pattern matching: Pattern Matching. (line 6)
9334* pipeline: Pipelines. (line 6)
9335* POSIX: Definitions. (line 9)
9336* POSIX Mode: Bash POSIX Mode. (line 6)
9337* process group: Definitions. (line 59)
9338* process group ID: Definitions. (line 63)
e8ce775d 9339* process substitution: Process Substitution.
761783bf 9340 (line 6)
bb70624e 9341* programmable completion: Programmable Completion.
761783bf
CR
9342 (line 6)
9343* prompting: Printing a Prompt. (line 6)
9344* quoting: Quoting. (line 6)
9345* quoting, ANSI: ANSI-C Quoting. (line 6)
bb70624e 9346* Readline, how to use: Job Control Variables.
761783bf
CR
9347 (line 24)
9348* redirection: Redirections. (line 6)
9349* reserved word: Definitions. (line 67)
e8ce775d 9350* restricted shell: The Restricted Shell.
761783bf
CR
9351 (line 6)
9352* return status: Definitions. (line 72)
9353* shell arithmetic: Shell Arithmetic. (line 6)
9354* shell function: Shell Functions. (line 6)
9355* shell script: Shell Scripts. (line 6)
9356* shell variable: Shell Parameters. (line 6)
9357* shell, interactive: Interactive Shells. (line 6)
9358* signal: Definitions. (line 75)
9359* signal handling: Signals. (line 6)
9360* special builtin <1>: Definitions. (line 79)
9361* special builtin: Special Builtins. (line 6)
9362* startup files: Bash Startup Files. (line 6)
9363* suspending jobs: Job Control Basics. (line 6)
9364* tilde expansion: Tilde Expansion. (line 6)
9365* token: Definitions. (line 83)
9366* translation, native languages: Locale Translation. (line 6)
9367* variable, shell: Shell Parameters. (line 6)
28ef6c31 9368* variables, readline: Readline Init File Syntax.
761783bf
CR
9369 (line 33)
9370* word: Definitions. (line 87)
9371* word splitting: Word Splitting. (line 6)
e8ce775d 9372* yanking text: Readline Killing Commands.
761783bf 9373 (line 6)
ccc6cda3
JA
9374
9375
9376\1f
9377Tag Table:
761783bf
CR
9378Node: Top\7f1349
9379Node: Introduction\7f3485
9380Node: What is Bash?\7f3714
9381Node: What is a shell?\7f4807
9382Node: Definitions\7f7348
9383Node: Basic Shell Features\7f10089
9384Node: Shell Syntax\7f11308
9385Node: Shell Operation\7f12340
9386Node: Quoting\7f13634
9387Node: Escape Character\7f14908
9388Node: Single Quotes\7f15393
9389Node: Double Quotes\7f15741
9390Node: ANSI-C Quoting\7f16767
9391Node: Locale Translation\7f17723
9392Node: Comments\7f18619
9393Node: Shell Commands\7f19233
9394Node: Simple Commands\7f19999
9395Node: Pipelines\7f20630
9396Node: Lists\7f22505
9397Node: Compound Commands\7f24136
9398Node: Looping Constructs\7f24920
9399Node: Conditional Constructs\7f27367
9400Node: Command Grouping\7f34434
9401Node: Shell Functions\7f35883
9402Node: Shell Parameters\7f40151
9403Node: Positional Parameters\7f41732
9404Node: Special Parameters\7f42632
9405Node: Shell Expansions\7f45299
9406Node: Brace Expansion\7f47224
9407Node: Tilde Expansion\7f49549
9408Node: Shell Parameter Expansion\7f51890
9409Node: Command Substitution\7f59153
9410Node: Arithmetic Expansion\7f60486
9411Node: Process Substitution\7f61336
9412Node: Word Splitting\7f62386
9413Node: Filename Expansion\7f63847
9414Node: Pattern Matching\7f65983
9415Node: Quote Removal\7f69316
9416Node: Redirections\7f69611
9417Node: Executing Commands\7f77190
9418Node: Simple Command Expansion\7f77865
9419Node: Command Search and Execution\7f79795
9420Node: Command Execution Environment\7f81801
9421Node: Environment\7f84572
9422Node: Exit Status\7f86232
9423Node: Signals\7f87436
9424Node: Shell Scripts\7f89400
9425Node: Shell Builtin Commands\7f91918
9426Node: Bourne Shell Builtins\7f93497
9427Node: Bash Builtins\7f110450
9428Node: The Set Builtin\7f138577
9429Node: Special Builtins\7f146800
9430Node: Shell Variables\7f147777
9431Node: Bourne Shell Variables\7f148217
9432Node: Bash Variables\7f150198
9433Node: Bash Features\7f169913
9434Node: Invoking Bash\7f170796
9435Node: Bash Startup Files\7f176615
9436Node: Interactive Shells\7f181473
9437Node: What is an Interactive Shell?\7f181883
9438Node: Is this Shell Interactive?\7f182533
9439Node: Interactive Shell Behavior\7f183348
9440Node: Bash Conditional Expressions\7f186624
9441Node: Shell Arithmetic\7f190049
9442Node: Aliases\7f192794
9443Node: Arrays\7f195362
9444Node: The Directory Stack\7f198393
9445Node: Directory Stack Builtins\7f199107
9446Node: Printing a Prompt\7f201998
9447Node: The Restricted Shell\7f204712
9448Node: Bash POSIX Mode\7f206544
9449Node: Job Control\7f213197
9450Node: Job Control Basics\7f213664
9451Node: Job Control Builtins\7f217954
9452Node: Job Control Variables\7f222274
9453Node: Command Line Editing\7f223432
9454Node: Introduction and Notation\7f224431
9455Node: Readline Interaction\7f226053
9456Node: Readline Bare Essentials\7f227244
9457Node: Readline Movement Commands\7f229033
9458Node: Readline Killing Commands\7f229998
9459Node: Readline Arguments\7f231918
9460Node: Searching\7f232962
9461Node: Readline Init File\7f235148
9462Node: Readline Init File Syntax\7f236207
9463Node: Conditional Init Constructs\7f247860
9464Node: Sample Init File\7f250393
9465Node: Bindable Readline Commands\7f253510
9466Node: Commands For Moving\7f254717
9467Node: Commands For History\7f255578
9468Node: Commands For Text\7f258479
9469Node: Commands For Killing\7f261152
9470Node: Numeric Arguments\7f263294
9471Node: Commands For Completion\7f264433
9472Node: Keyboard Macros\7f268026
9473Node: Miscellaneous Commands\7f268597
9474Node: Readline vi Mode\7f273908
9475Node: Programmable Completion\7f274822
9476Node: Programmable Completion Builtins\7f280634
9477Node: Using History Interactively\7f288004
9478Node: Bash History Facilities\7f288684
9479Node: Bash History Builtins\7f291379
9480Node: History Interaction\7f295236
9481Node: Event Designators\7f297792
9482Node: Word Designators\7f298807
9483Node: Modifiers\7f300446
9484Node: Installing Bash\7f301852
9485Node: Basic Installation\7f302989
9486Node: Compilers and Options\7f305681
9487Node: Compiling For Multiple Architectures\7f306422
9488Node: Installation Names\7f308086
9489Node: Specifying the System Type\7f308904
9490Node: Sharing Defaults\7f309620
9491Node: Operation Controls\7f310293
9492Node: Optional Features\7f311251
9493Node: Reporting Bugs\7f319530
9494Node: Major Differences From The Bourne Shell\7f320724
9495Node: Copying This Manual\7f336496
9496Node: GNU Free Documentation License\7f336772
9497Node: Builtin Index\7f359178
9498Node: Reserved Word Index\7f365727
9499Node: Variable Index\7f368163
9500Node: Function Index\7f378882
9501Node: Concept Index\7f385602
ccc6cda3
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9502\1f
9503End Tag Table