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Re: Why if test "xSTRING1= "xSTRING2" (the 'x') ?
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From: |
Keith MARSHALL |
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Subject: |
Re: Why if test "xSTRING1= "xSTRING2" (the 'x') ? |
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Date: |
Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:23:02 +0100 |
Jules Colding wrote:
> I'm wondering why I keep seeing the
>
> if test "xSTRING1" = "xSTRING2" ...
The common idiom is `if test x$foo = xbar ...', and the `x' is
a placeholder, in case $foo happens to expand to nothing. When
quotes are added, the `x' seems redundant, until the test goes
through a second round of evaluation; some writers leave the `x'
in place, just to be sure.
Regards,
Keith.