Bash script executing a binary

Question

I have a bash script that I am modifying. The script now also executes a binary. Say something like this mybin arg1 arg1 The binary takes about 5 minutes to execute and when I execute it from bash directly, it does show the intermediate outputs. When I add it to my script as

`mybin arg1 arg1`

I get the output in the end and bash thinks the output is a command and tries to execute it. So I want to solve 2 things

Show the intermediate output on the screen when I execute the binary from the bash script.
And the output must not be treated to be a command for processing, just regular output

Also note $(...) for command substitution serves the same purpose as backticks but is more readable. (oldengineer)--> — David C. Rankin
– David C. Rankin, Commented Aug 11, 2018 at 1:30
You may find ShellCheck useful. It automatically points out this issue. — that other guy
– that other guy, Commented Aug 11, 2018 at 3:09

melpomene · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-11 01:08:01Z

2

Remove the backticks.

`prog` means "collect the output of prog and interpolate it into the current command", so if `prog` is the only thing on the command line, its output will be executed as another command. This is known as command substitution.

In other words, the two things you don't want to happen are exactly what ` ` is designed to do.

edited Aug 11, 2018 at 1:08

answered Aug 11, 2018 at 1:06

melpomene

86.2k8 gold badges96 silver badges154 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Barmar Over a year ago

@curiousengineer I'm curious: Why did you think you needed the backticks in the first place? A shell script contains commands just like you'd normally type them.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Bash script executing a binary

1 Answer 1

1 Comment

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

1 Comment

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related