assignment

variable assignment

Initializing or changing the value of a variable

=

All-purpose assignment operator, which works for both arithmetic and string assignments.

var=27
category=minerals  # No spaces allowed after the "=".

Do not confuse the "=" assignment operator with the = test operator. # = as a test operator if [ "$string1" = "$string2" ] # if [ "X$string1" = "X$string2" ] is safer, # to prevent an error message should one of the variables be empty. # (The prepended "X" characters cancel out.) then command fi

arithmetic operators

+

plus

-

minus

*

multiplication

/

division

**

exponentiation

# Bash, version 2.02, introduced the "**" exponentiation operator.

let "z=5**3"
echo "z = $z"   # z = 125

%

modulo, or mod (returns the remainder of an integer division operation)

bash$ echo `expr 5 % 3`
2
	      

This operator finds use in, among other things, generating numbers within a specific range (see Example 9-24 and Example 9-27) and formatting program output (see Example 26-15 and Example A-6). It can even be used to generate prime numbers, (see Example A-16). Modulo turns up surprisingly often in various numerical recipes.

Example 8-1. Greatest common divisor

#!/bin/bash
# gcd.sh: greatest common divisor
#         Uses Euclid's algorithm

#  The "greatest common divisor" (gcd) of two integers
#+ is the largest integer that will divide both, leaving no remainder.

#  Euclid's algorithm uses successive division.
#  In each pass,
#+ dividend <---  divisor
#+ divisor  <---  remainder
#+ until remainder = 0.
#+ The gcd = dividend, on the final pass.
#
#  For an excellent discussion of Euclid's algorithm, see
#  Jim Loy's site, http://www.jimloy.com/number/euclids.htm.


# ------------------------------------------------------
# Argument check
ARGS=2
E_BADARGS=65

if [ $# -ne "$ARGS" ]
then
  echo "Usage: `basename $0` first-number second-number"
  exit $E_BADARGS
fi
# ------------------------------------------------------


gcd ()
{

                                 #  Arbitrary assignment.
  dividend=$1                    #  It does not matter
  divisor=$2                     #+ which of the two is larger.
                                 #  Why?

  remainder=1                    #  If uninitialized variable used in loop,
                                 #+ it results in an error message
				 #+ on first pass through loop.

  until [ "$remainder" -eq 0 ]
  do
    let "remainder = $dividend % $divisor"
    dividend=$divisor            # Now repeat with 2 smallest numbers.
    divisor=$remainder
  done                           # Euclid's algorithm

}                                # Last $dividend is the gcd.


gcd $1 $2

echo; echo "GCD of $1 and $2 = $dividend"; echo


# Exercise :
# --------
#  Check command-line arguments to make sure they are integers,
#+ and exit the script with an appropriate error message if not.

exit 0

+=

"plus-equal" (increment variable by a constant)

let "var += 5" results in var being incremented by 5.

-=

"minus-equal" (decrement variable by a constant)

*=

"times-equal" (multiply variable by a constant)

let "var *= 4" results in var being multiplied by 4.

/=

"slash-equal" (divide variable by a constant)

%=

"mod-equal" (remainder of dividing variable by a constant)

Arithmetic operators often occur in an expr or let expression.

Example 8-2. Using Arithmetic Operations

#!/bin/bash
# Counting to 11 in 10 different ways.

n=1; echo -n "$n "

let "n = $n + 1"   # let "n = n + 1"  also works.
echo -n "$n "


: $((n = $n + 1))
#  ":" necessary because otherwise Bash attempts
#+ to interpret "$((n = $n + 1))" as a command.
echo -n "$n "

(( n = n + 1 ))
#  A simpler alternative to the method above.
#  Thanks, David Lombard, for pointing this out.
echo -n "$n "

n=$(($n + 1))
echo -n "$n "

: $[ n = $n + 1 ]
#  ":" necessary because otherwise Bash attempts
#+ to interpret "$[ n = $n + 1 ]" as a command.
#  Works even if "n" was initialized as a string.
echo -n "$n "

n=$[ $n + 1 ]
#  Works even if "n" was initialized as a string.
#* Avoid this type of construct, since it is obsolete and nonportable.
#  Thanks, Stephane Chazelas.
echo -n "$n "

# Now for C-style increment operators.
# Thanks, Frank Wang, for pointing this out.

let "n++"          # let "++n"  also works.
echo -n "$n "

(( n++ ))          # (( ++n )  also works.
echo -n "$n "

: $(( n++ ))       # : $(( ++n )) also works.
echo -n "$n "

: $[ n++ ]         # : $[ ++n ]] also works
echo -n "$n "

echo

exit 0

bitwise operators

<<

bitwise left shift (multiplies by 2 for each shift position)

<<=

"left-shift-equal"

let "var <<= 2" results in var left-shifted 2 bits (multiplied by 4)

>>

bitwise right shift (divides by 2 for each shift position)

>>=

"right-shift-equal" (inverse of <<=)

&

bitwise and

&=

"bitwise and-equal"

|

bitwise OR

|=

"bitwise OR-equal"

~

bitwise negate

!

bitwise NOT

^

bitwise XOR

^=

"bitwise XOR-equal"

logical operators

&&

and (logical)

if [ $condition1 ] && [ $condition2 ]
# Same as:  if [ $condition1 -a $condition2 ]
# Returns true if both condition1 and condition2 hold true...

if [[ $condition1 && $condition2 ]]    # Also works.
# Note that && operator not permitted within [ ... ] construct.

&& may also, depending on context, be used in an and list to concatenate commands.

||

or (logical)

if [ $condition1 ] || [ $condition2 ]
# Same as:  if [ $condition1 -o $condition2 ]
# Returns true if either condition1 or condition2 holds true...

if [[ $condition1 || $condition2 ]]    # Also works.
# Note that || operator not permitted within [ ... ] construct.

Bash tests the exit status of each statement linked with a logical operator.

Example 8-3. Compound Condition Tests Using && and ||

#!/bin/bash

a=24
b=47

if [ "$a" -eq 24 ] && [ "$b" -eq 47 ]
then
  echo "Test #1 succeeds."
else
  echo "Test #1 fails."
fi

# ERROR:   if [ "$a" -eq 24 && "$b" -eq 47 ]
#+         attempts to execute  ' [ "$a" -eq 24 '
#+         and fails to finding matching ']'.
#
#  Note:  if [[ $a -eq 24 && $b -eq 24 ]]  works.
#  The double-bracket if-test is more flexible
#+ than the single-bracket version.       
#    (The "&&" has a different meaning in line 17 than in line 6.)
#    Thanks, Stephane Chazelas, for pointing this out.


if [ "$a" -eq 98 ] || [ "$b" -eq 47 ]
then
  echo "Test #2 succeeds."
else
  echo "Test #2 fails."
fi


#  The -a and -o options provide
#+ an alternative compound condition test.
#  Thanks to Patrick Callahan for pointing this out.


if [ "$a" -eq 24 -a "$b" -eq 47 ]
then
  echo "Test #3 succeeds."
else
  echo "Test #3 fails."
fi


if [ "$a" -eq 98 -o "$b" -eq 47 ]
then
  echo "Test #4 succeeds."
else
  echo "Test #4 fails."
fi


a=rhino
b=crocodile
if [ "$a" = rhino ] && [ "$b" = crocodile ]
then
  echo "Test #5 succeeds."
else
  echo "Test #5 fails."
fi

exit 0

The && and || operators also find use in an arithmetic context.

bash$ echo $(( 1 && 2 )) $((3 && 0)) $((4 || 0)) $((0 || 0))
1 0 1 0
	      

miscellaneous operators

,

comma operator

The comma operator chains together two or more arithmetic operations. All the operations are evaluated (with possible side effects), but only the last operation is returned.

let "t1 = ((5 + 3, 7 - 1, 15 - 4))"
echo "t1 = $t1"               # t1 = 11

let "t2 = ((a = 9, 15 / 3))"  # Set "a" and calculate "t2".
echo "t2 = $t2    a = $a"     # t2 = 5    a = 9

The comma operator finds use mainly in for loops. See Example 10-12.