Scribd
Upload
102 views3 pages

UNIX Tutorial What Is Shell Varia

This document discusses shell variables in Unix/Linux. It defines shell variables as character strings that are assigned values like numbers, text, or filenames. Variable names can only contain letters, numbers and underscores, and by convention are uppercase. Variables are defined using the assignment operator like VARIABLE="value". The dollar sign accesses a variable's value. Variables can also be marked read-only or unset. There are three types of variables: local, environment, and shell variables.

Uploaded by

K Raju
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
102 views3 pages

UNIX Tutorial What Is Shell Varia

This document discusses shell variables in Unix/Linux. It defines shell variables as character strings that are assigned values like numbers, text, or filenames. Variable names can only contain letters, numbers and underscores, and by convention are uppercase. Variables are defined using the assignment operator like VARIABLE="value". The dollar sign accesses a variable's value. Variables can also be marked read-only or unset. There are three types of variables: local, environment, and shell variables.

Uploaded by

K Raju
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Unix / Linux - Using Shell Variables - Tutorialspoint https://www.tutorialspoint.com/unix/unix-using-v...

Unix / Linux - Using Shell Variables

In this chapter, we will learn how to use Shell variables in Unix. A variable is a character
string to which we assign a value. The value assigned could be a number, text, filename,
device, or any other type of data.

A variable is nothing more than a pointer to the actual data. The shell enables you to create,
assign, and delete variables.

Variable Names
The name of a variable can contain only letters (a to z or A to Z), numbers ( 0 to 9) or the
underscore character ( _).

By convention, Unix shell variables will have their names in UPPERCASE.

The following examples are valid variable names −

_ALI
TOKEN_A
VAR_1
VAR_2

Following are the examples of invalid variable names −

2_VAR
-VARIABLE
VAR1-VAR2
VAR_A!

The reason you cannot use other characters such as !, *, or - is that these characters have a
special meaning for the shell.

Defining Variables
Variables are defined as follows −

variable_name=variable_value

For example −

NAME="Zara Ali"

1 of 3 03/04/20, 4:43 pm
Unix / Linux - Using Shell Variables - Tutorialspoint https://www.tutorialspoint.com/unix/unix-using-v...

The above example defines the variable NAME and assigns the value "Zara Ali" to it.
Variables of this type are called scalar variables. A scalar variable can hold only one value
at a time.

Shell enables you to store any value you want in a variable. For example −

VAR1="Zara Ali"
VAR2=100

Accessing Values
To access the value stored in a variable, prefix its name with the dollar sign ($) −

For example, the following script will access the value of defined variable NAME and print it
on STDOUT −

Live Demo
#!/bin/sh

NAME="Zara Ali"
echo $NAME

The above script will produce the following value −

Zara Ali

Read-only Variables
Shell provides a way to mark variables as read-only by using the read-only command. After
a variable is marked read-only, its value cannot be changed.

For example, the following script generates an error while trying to change the value of
NAME −

Live Demo
#!/bin/sh

NAME="Zara Ali"
readonly NAME
NAME="Qadiri"

The above script will generate the following result −

/bin/sh: NAME: This variable is read only.

2 of 3 03/04/20, 4:43 pm
Unix / Linux - Using Shell Variables - Tutorialspoint https://www.tutorialspoint.com/unix/unix-using-v...

Unsetting Variables
Unsetting or deleting a variable directs the shell to remove the variable from the list of
variables that it tracks. Once you unset a variable, you cannot access the stored value in the
variable.

Following is the syntax to unset a defined variable using the unset command −

unset variable_name

The above command unsets the value of a defined variable. Here is a simple example that
demonstrates how the command works −

#!/bin/sh

NAME="Zara Ali"
unset NAME
echo $NAME

The above example does not print anything. You cannot use the unset command to unset
variables that are marked readonly.

Variable Types
When a shell is running, three main types of variables are present −

Local Variables − A local variable is a variable that is present within the current
instance of the shell. It is not available to programs that are started by the shell.
They are set at the command prompt.

Environment Variables − An environment variable is available to any child


process of the shell. Some programs need environment variables in order to
function correctly. Usually, a shell script defines only those environment variables
that are needed by the programs that it runs.

Shell Variables − A shell variable is a special variable that is set by the shell and is
required by the shell in order to function correctly. Some of these variables are
environment variables whereas others are local variables.

3 of 3 03/04/20, 4:43 pm

You might also like