Operators...
1. Arithmetic Operators
Used to perform basic arithmetic calculations.
Operator Description Example
+ Addition echo $((5 + 3))
- Subtraction echo $((5 - 3))
* Multiplication echo $((5 * 3))
/ Division echo $((6 / 3))
% Modulus (remainder) echo $((5 % 2))
** Exponentiation echo $((2 ** 3))
2. Comparison Operators (Arithmetic)
Used to compare numbers in conditional expressions.
Operator Description Example
-eq Equal to [ 5 -eq 5 ]
-ne Not equal to [ 5 -ne 4 ]
-lt Less than [ 3 -lt 5 ]
-le Less than or equal to [ 5 -le 5 ]
-gt Greater than [ 5 -gt 3 ]
-ge Greater than or equal to [ 5 -ge 3 ]
3. Comparison Operators (String)
Used for string comparisons.
Operator Description Example
= Equal to [ "$str1" = "$str2" ]
!= Not equal to [ "$str1" != "$str2" ]
< Less than (lexicographically) [ "$str1" \< "$str2" ]
> Greater than (lexicographically) [ "$str1" \> "$str2" ]
-z String is empty [ -z "$str" ]
-n String is not empty [ -n "$str" ]
Note: < and > must be escaped (with \) inside single brackets [].
4. Logical Operators
Used to combine multiple conditions.
Operator Description Example
&& Logical AND [[ $num -gt 0 && $num -lt 10 ]]
` `
! Logical NOT [[ ! $num -eq 5 ]] (True if $num is not 5)
5. File Test Operators
Used to test properties of files and directories.
Operator Description Example
-e File exists [ -e file.txt ]
-f File is a regular file [ -f file.txt ]
-d File is a directory [ -d dir_name ]
-r File is readable [ -r file.txt ]
-w File is writable [ -w file.txt ]
-x File is executable [ -x file.sh ]
-s File has non-zero size [ -s file.txt ]
-L File is a symbolic link [ -L symlink.txt ]
-p File is a named pipe (FIFO) [ -p pipe_name ]
-S File is a socket [ -S socket_file ]
6. Bitwise Operators
These are used for bit-level operations.
Operator Description Example
& Bitwise AND echo $((5 & 3))
` ` Bitwise OR
^ Bitwise XOR echo $((5 ^ 3))
~ Bitwise NOT echo $((~5))
<< Left shift echo $((5 << 1))
>> Right shift echo $((5 >> 1))
7. Assignment Operators
Used for assigning values to variables.
Operator Description Example
= Assigns value var=5
+= Increment and assign var+=1
-= Decrement and assign var-=1
*= Multiply and assign var*=2
/= Divide and assign var/=2
%= Modulus and assign var%=2
8. Regular Expression Matching (Bash-specific)
Used to check if a string matches a regular expression.
Operator Description Example
=~ Regex match (Bash only) [[ $str =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]
9. Redirection Operators
Used to redirect input/output in Bash.
Operator Description Example
> Redirect standard output to file echo "text" > file.txt
>> Append standard output to file echo "more text" >> file.txt
< Redirect input from file cat < file.txt
Operator Description Example
2> Redirect standard error command 2> error.log
&> Redirect both stdout and stderr command &> output.log
` ` Pipe output to another command
10. Miscellaneous Operators
Other useful operators in Bash.
Operator Description Example
, Sequential execution echo "a", echo "b"
; Command separator command1; command2
& Run command in background command &
() Execute command in subshell (cd /tmp; ls)
{} Group commands in current shell { echo "a"; echo "b"; }
