Normally, bash is able to assign multi-line output of a command:
L=`ls`
This works from both interactive shell and scripts. But it appears the output of a builtin can't be captured in a variable:
L=`dirs -l -p`
This works in the interactive shell, but in the script only first line end up in the variable, probably due to different treatment of builtins by bash.
Why does it happen, and how can I do what I need?
There seems to be some ambiguity in the way that you worded your question. You said:
but in the script only first line end up in the variable
and then your comments suggest that you are writing a shell function - not a script.
I suspect you know that scripts are useless for changing directories, since any cd within a script does not propagate out to the superior shell. If indeed you are trying to develop your directory changer in a script, you'll have a tough time as the directory stack is not inherited by subordinate shells:
$ dirs -l
/home/msw /home/msw/Ubuntu One /home/msw /usr/bin /usr/local /bin /usr/local
$ cat > dirs.sh
dirs -l
$ bash dirs.sh
/home/msw
You could get a function to help out:
$ function passdirs() { bash ndirs.sh `dirs -l -p`; }
$ cat > ndirs.sh
echo $#
echo "$@"
$ passdirs
8
/home/msw /usr/local /usr/bin /bin /usr/local /usr/bin /bin /home/msw
but, of course you'd need the function to also effect the cd in the current shell in which case wrapping and unwrapping arguments through the command line is a quoting chore so you are best just doing it all in the function
$ function cd_pattern() {
cd $(dirs -l -p | grep --max-count=1 -e "$1") ; dirs
}
$ dirs
~ /usr/local /bin /usr/share/doc/evince ~/Ubuntu One
$ cd_pattern v..c
/usr/share/doc/evince /usr/local /bin /usr/share/doc/evince ~/Ubuntu One
which also switched to using $(...) as a synonym for backticks to reduce quoting confusion.
~/.bashrc, but was testing it... *drum roll*... in a script.
– Alex B
Sep 07 '10 at 05:46
The output of commands can vary depending on whether it is run interactively or within a script. For example, "multiline output" goes fine with export:
#! /bin/bash
L=`export`
echo "$L"
, which gives you all the output just the same as when you run it interactively.
But not alias, which gives you nothing.
/home/phunehehe, and running L=`dirs -l -p`; echo $L always gives me/home/phunehehe. Why are you using it to test "multiline output"? – phunehehe Sep 07 '10 at 02:23pushd <dir>) some directories on the stack to have more than one line. – Alex B Sep 07 '10 at 03:38dirscommand that you specifically need in your script? If so, you'll need to better explain what you need asdirs(and$DIRSTACK) are treated specially in non-interactive shells. Bash in general tries to make built-ins behave like external commands, except in cases where there is affirmative reason not to. – msw Sep 07 '10 at 03:43dirsoutput, since I am writing a bash function tocdbased on regex (since I am already using pushd/popd, I'd like to keep it integrated with directory stack). But I think your remark warrants a separate answer if you can explain why bash treatsdirsdifferently. – Alex B Sep 07 '10 at 03:52pushd,$Lcontains multiple lines. – Dennis Williamson Sep 07 '10 at 17:46