FUNDAMENTALS A Complete Guide for Beginners
Escaping is a great concept when you are dealing with double quotes and want to avoid unwanted interpretations and errors within a Bash script. In this article, I’ll illustrate how to escape double quotes in Bash and include them in a literal format within a string by using several effective cases. Let’s explore!
Why Escaping Double Quotes in Bash?
In Bash scripting, double quotes are generally used to expand variables, interpret commands and particular special characters, etc. But what to do when you don’t want to perform any of the mentioned tasks? Escaping is the only solution in this regard that includes all the characters within a string as literal values. You can also prevent the execution of variable and command substitution by escaping double quotes in Bash.
3 Different Cases to Escape Double Quotes in Bash
The following section is the demonstration of three different cases to escape double quote in Bash:
1. Using a Backslash Character (\) to Escape Double Quotes in Bash
To escape a double quote encased in a double-quoted string, use a backslash character (\) before each double quote inside. Follow the given code to do so:
#!/bin/bash
#Displaying the output
echo "I am escaping the word \"LinuxSimply\"."Here, in #!/bin/bash, ‘#!’ is called ‘Shebang’ or ‘Hashbang’. Then, in the line echo “I am escaping the word \”LinuxSimply\”.”, the echo command displays the output.
From the image, you can see that I have escaped the double quotes enclosed within a double-quoted string by using a backslash before them.
2. Using Single Quotes (‘) to Escape Double Quotes in Bash
If you want to escape double quotes directly without using any characters, then simply include the double quotes in a single-quoted string. For instance:
#!/bin/bash
#Displaying the output
echo 'I am escaping the word "LinuxSimply".'Here, in the line echo ‘I am escaping the word “LinuxSimply”.’, the echo command displays the output.
From the image, you can see that I have directly escaped the double quotes that are enclosed within a single-quoted string without using any characters.
3. Using ($’…’) Syntax to Escape Double Quotes in Bash
Another way to escape double quotes easily in Bash is to use the ANSI-C quoted string $’…’. Just include the double quotes within the string in the following manner:
#!/bin/bash
#Displaying the output
echo $'I am escaping the word "LinuxSimply".'Here, in the line echo $’I am escaping the word “LinuxSimply”.’, the echo command displays the output.
The above image resembles the escape quoting of double quotes enclosed within the syntax $’…’.
Conclusion
Summing up the whole article, master the proper quoting technique of escaping double quotes to prevent unintended bugs and make the Bash interpret strings within your scripts accurately.
People Also Ask
Why to escape double quote in Bash?
In Bash, you need to escape double quotes (“) when you want to include them as literal characters within a double-quoted string. Double quotes are used for variable expansion, meaning that the shell interprets and substitutes the values of variables enclosed within the quotes. However, if you want to include the actual double quote character in the string without triggering variable expansion, you use the backslash (\) to escape it.
How do you ignore special characters in bash?
To ignore special characters in bash, you can use quotes, such as single quotes (‘) or double quotes (“). Single quotes preserve the literal value of each character within the quotes, ignoring any special meaning they might have. Double quotes also preserve most literal characters, except for variables preceded by a dollar sign ($) and backticks, which are used for command substitution. Additionally, you can use backslashes (\) to escape specific special characters, treating them as literal. This prevents the shell from interpreting their special meanings.
Does Bash allow variable expansion after escaping double quotes?
No, after escaping double quotes, Bash doesn’t allow variable expansion rather it interprets the variable as a literal value.
Does Bash support hexadecimal or octal escape sequences for double quote?
No, Bash doesn’t support hexadecimal (\x) or octal (0) escape sequences for double quotes.
Related Articles
- How to Escape Single Quotes in Bash? [3 Interactive Cases]
- 4 Ways to Remove or Strip Quotes from String in Bash With Cases
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