bash program read array

Question

I am trying to run a bash program that takes a few command line input names, and then take an array as a command line input.

I.e.,

#!/bin/bash
name1=$1
name2=$2
my_array_input=("dog" "cat" "lion")

In this example I have name1 and name2 as input, and my_array_input is declared and set inside the script.

In my real script, I'd like to also have name1 and name2 as $1 and $2, but I'd also like to be able to take from the user a (unknown size/ variable size) my_array_input. The user could input arrays of different lengths, and with his own name of animals as he wish...

Note that all inputs should be command line inputs.

Is there a trick to do this using bash scripting?

Thanks!

ruakh · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-10 23:17:53Z

5

The arguments to a Bash script (or any program in Unix-like operating systems) are just a list of strings, so there's no way to do exactly what you describe.

However, you can set name1 to the first argument, name2 to the second argument, and my_array_input to all subsequent arguments:

#!/bin/bash
name1="$1"
name2="$2"
my_array_input=("${@:3}")

If the arguments to the above script are foo bar dog cat lion, then name1 will be foo, name2 will be bar, and my_array_input will be the array (dog cat lion).

answered Sep 10, 2013 at 23:17

ruakh

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