bash shell script declaring/creating arrays

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From the computer of: qmchenry (334 recipes)
Created: Aug 30, 2004

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The use of array variable structures can be invaluable. This recipe describes several methods for delcaring arrays in bash scripts.

The following are methods for declaring arrays:

This creates an array called names with four elements (Jennifer, Tonya, Anna, and Sadie).

This creates two array elements, each containing a space.

This declares three elements of an array using nonsequential index values and creates a sparse array (there are no array elements for index values 1 or 2).

This example places the contents of the file filename into an array. The tr command converts newlines to spaces so that multiline files will be handled properly.

This example adds another element to an existing array names.

If anyone has other techniques for creating or adding to arrays, add a comment to this recipe and share the wealth!