Why Use Double Quotes around Variables in Bash?
Using double quotes never really made much sense until I tried this
First, set $x
x='-e h\ti'
Now look at these results
command | result | effective command | comment |
---|---|---|---|
echo $x |
h i |
echo -e h\ti |
A variable can be used to specify options, such a -e in this case. |
echo "$x" |
-e h\ti |
echo '-e h\ti' |
Double quotes around the variable prevent it from being used in options. |