exit with value returned by command stored in variable

Question

I have a command that is constructed within a variable in a bash script, like so:

CMD="cowsay "
CMD+="-n "
CMD+="foo-moo"

I want to run this command, then exit the script with the return value of the command. I can do:

${CMD}
exit $?

But is there some way of doing this as a single action (i.e. without using $? or similar)? I tried variations on the following but could not achieve the desired result myself.

exit "$(${CMD})"

Boy! Linefeeds must be really expensive in your part of the world ;-) — Mark Setchell
– Mark Setchell, Commented Sep 27, 2018 at 11:11
Your approach is trying to exit using the text output from your command. — Gem Taylor
– Gem Taylor, Commented Sep 27, 2018 at 11:12
@GemTaylor Yes - this is why I mentioned that it doesn't work. — Toby
– Toby, Commented Sep 27, 2018 at 11:15
@MarkSetchell Heh, really I don't like to use this way in case the two statements get split up, for example by an echo "Command finished" or something — Toby
– Toby, Commented Sep 27, 2018 at 11:16
result=$? followed by echo "Command finished" then exit $result maybe? — Mark Setchell
– Mark Setchell, Commented Sep 27, 2018 at 11:19

Jon · Accepted Answer · 2018-09-27 11:33:16Z

1

Try

exec ${CMD}

That will replace the shell with your command, which has the effect of returning the command's result.

answered Sep 27, 2018 at 11:33

Jon

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